Good morning from Hakuba.

And on a day when we hear of snowfall in places where it doesn't usually fall, I am happy to also report some snow in a place where it most definitely should be falling. Here!

This morning 10-15cm of snow is being reported around the resorts this morning and I am stoked to be able to add 10cm myself.

It's not that cold at all actually, around 0C at base.

Here is the data as reported by the resorts, and may I add that Tsugaike Kogen also seems to be reporting 20cm presumably on upper areas.

The information in this table is data reported by the ski resorts	New snowfall (lower)	New snowfall (upper)	TOTAL ACCUMULATION (UPPER)
Hakuba 47	?cm	15cm	291cm
Hakuba Cortina	10cm	10cm	258cm
Hakuba Goryu	10cm	15cm	309cm
Hakuba Happo-one	15cm	15cm	382cm
IMPORTANT: See below for an explanation of the above data

Wind is causing some issues though with the top lifts at Happo-one on hold and the top section of the Tsugaike Gondola on hold. Operations at Hakuba Cortina also look rather limited this morning.

On the other hand, the Cosmo Four lift at Goryu is back up and running this morning.

Tonight is due to be milder and there may be some pesky rain (just stop it please), but the forecast is looking good for late Thursday onwards and I am most definitely excited at that prospect.

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A message from SnowJapan

This general message is being posted on all our daily reports.
It is not specific to one report or region.

What’s going on?

Here we are, closing in on the end of January. Normally we would be out playing in deep, fresh snow, watching the incredible snowfall, taking pictures of the huge snow walls along the roads (while the locals moan about having to shovel snow).

It is peak season, and lots of visitors are here enjoying themselves.

But we can't say it's a normal year almost anywhere in Japan. Even where the snow is falling, it’s way below what people have come to expect in Japan - even those who have been here all their lives. Take a look at our reports on the daily snowfalls and total depths and look at the links to individual ski areas.

Covering the winter season in our daily reports is normally a real joy. It’s a lot of fun to share all the amazingly deep snowfalls. And then, of course, going out to sample it ourselves!

So for us, too, many mornings this season have been something of a shock. We don't want to use words like "rain," "unseasonably warm," or "really shallow snowpack," but we're here to give you honest information. And those words, unfortunately, describe what we're seeing too often.

SnowJapan is not here to sell Japan as a destination, or to promote any one area over another. We are not a ski resort or a tourism association – we are 100-percent independent. Our commitment is to provide you with the most honest and accurate information we can, with the voices of our local reporters. We gather official information from the ski areas but also provide commentary and an inside view of what is really out there for you.

In this year of low (and still, sadly, no snow in some places), reporting is tougher than usual. We do not want to be negative or take away from the fun, because we know you are out on the slopes and there still is good skiing. We just try to keep a sense of balance, and sometimes that means commenting on the weather, or on overly enthusiastic snow depths being reported by resorts, or on developments in their local areas.

Our reporters are human, of course. We know that they bring good data to our pages but also interesting, even opinionated comments, and usually with a good sense of humour. They are all people who want to be with you out on the slopes, after all! Many of you have written in to tell us that you appreciate our reports, and the honesty we bring - and we thank you for this.

In fact, SnowJapan has seen a significant increase in traffic to our site this year. We believe a main reason is because people are looking for good information they can trust, and here is where they can find it. While that is positive news for the website itself, we would happily trade in some of it for heavy snow if we possibly could...

We do care very much about the Japan snow world, about the resorts and towns, and of course our readers, the most important reason why we do this work. SnowJapan has been here for over 20 years. This site has been developed with a lot of love, care and effort. I believe we can honestly say that we have played a major part in introducing the world to winter sports in Japan, and we are proud to have been recognized for this by the Japanese ski industry.

As we enter February, our hope is that the rest of the season will see more of what should be normal - heavy snow across the country - and that this year will go down as the exception to be looked back on and remembered.

Whatever happens, though, you can trust SnowJapan to report the real conditions to you. Not negative, but not sugar-coated. The truth, with a touch of original and hopefully interesting commentary.

Thanks, as always, for joining us on the site and reading our content.

If you do enjoy using our site, please do let others know about us. That does help us keep on doing what we are doing. And if you wish to contact us, you can do so using this contact form.

Now, let’s get out in the snow!

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Individual ski resort information
This information is checked and manually adjusted each morning

Hakuba Happo-one

Operating lifts:
- All lifts apart from the lifts noted below are normally operating:
- Kurobishi Number 3 pair
- Nakiyama Number 2 pair
- Shirakaba Number 1 pair
- Shirakaba Number 2 pair
- Central pair
- Sakka Number 2 pair
- Sakka Number 3 triple

Courses open:
- Riesen Grat
- Panorama
- Usagidaira
- Kurobishi
- Skyline
- Riesen Slalom
- Kita-one 3
- Kita-one
- Nakiyama South
- Olympic Course (partially closed)
- Sakka South (partially closed)
- Sakka North (partially closed)
- The base Nakiyama South and Sakka areas are now at least part open
- You can also take the Gondola or other lifts back down

Official snow depth:
- Kurobishi: 170cm
- Usagidaira: 100cm
- Nakiyama: 15cm

Hakuba 47

All lifts apart from the lifts noted below are normally operating:
- Pair Line D (usually only operates when Gondola not operating)

Courses open:
- All main courses now open
- Tree Riding Zones are part open (Gate 2 closed)

Official snow depth:
- Top: 150cm
- Base: 50cm

Hakuba Goryu

Operating lifts:
- All lifts apart from the lifts noted below are normally operating:
- Toomi Number 2 pair

Courses open:
- All courses are open now apart from the following:
- Cosmo River
- Sunny Way
- Straight Whiskey
- Snow Diving
- Adventure

Official snow depth:
- Alps: 165cm
- Toomi: 75cm
- Iimori: 50cm

Tsugaike Kogen

Operating lifts:
- All lifts apart from the lifts noted below are normally operating:
- Top section of gondola
- Han-no-ki Number 4
- Tsuga Number 1 pair
- Han-no-ki Number 1 quad
- Han-no-ki Number 2 pair
- Kane-no-naru-oka Skyliner I
- Kane-no-naru Romance
- Tsugaike Ropeway

Courses open:
- Most course areas are now at least part open; lower slopes part open
- 'Lower course through the forest' is closed
- DBD: Gate Number 1 closed early on; may open depending on conditions

Official snow depth:
- Tsuga-no-mori: 140cm
- Maruyama: 45cm
- Kane-no-naru-oka: 40cm

Hakuba Cortina

Operating lifts:
- Limited operations due to wind

Official snow depth:
- Top: 120cm
- Base: 55cm

Hakuba Valley Kashimayari
- All lifts apart from Number 8 pair lift are operating

Hakuba Norikura Onsen

Operating lifts:
- All lifts apart from Number 7 are operating

Hakuba Iwatake Snow Field

Operating lifts:
- Gondola
- 4sen East
- 4sen North
- View2
- 5sen South

Open courses:
- 5 courses open on the Mountain Side
- Village Side is closed

Hakuba Sanosaka

Operating lifts:
- All lifts apart from top Number 5 pair operating

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Photos today (below):

- Hakuba Happo-one [Usagidaira]
- Hakuba Happo-one [Usagidaira]
- Hakuba Goryu [base area]
- Hakuba 47
- Tsugaike Kogen [upper Tsuganomori area]
- Tsugaike Kogen [lower Kane-no-naru-oka area]
- Hakuba Iwatake
- Looking towards Hakuba Iwatake and Hakuba Happo-one

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About the data in the above ‘snowfall as reported by ski resorts’ table
* The table within the above report contains data that is published by individual ski resorts
* The data shown is the amount of snowfall that the ski resorts are themselves reporting each 24 hour period on the upper areas of their mountain
* The source ‘new snowfall’ data and ‘total accumulation’ data is not updated at the same time
* The ‘new snowfall’ data is updated in the morning
* The ‘accumulation’ data is apparently updated/refreshed at midnight
* That means that there is a time lag between the two numbers being updated
* We manually check and update the data just before we publish each Hakuba Now report - so the data in each Hakuba Now report table is what is available at that time
* Any odd-looking numbers are due to the source data. We are not responsible for and have no control over the data. We are simply sharing the data with you
* Just to be extra clear, unlike our own ‘observed snowfall’ data from base that we show at the top of each report, the data in the table is not an independent observation by SnowJapan
* A more in-depth introduction and explanation can be found in this report