The sun is out this morning and it's a beauty.

Kagura on their blog are reporting 20cm of fresh snow on the slopes, though the official website is saying 3-5cm (perhaps the latter being the 'overnight' number? Not clear, I'm afraid). But anyway, it was definitely snowing higher up yesterday the photos from Kagura look nice.

Snow nearly reached town levels at times yesterday but we didn't end up with any white covering down here. It was rain and sometimes heavy rain falling for most of the time.

This morning is different though with blue skies and the sun out from early on. There are some early morning clouds hanging around in places but they seem to be quickly disappearing. It is fairly chilly early on, but will warm up to perhaps around 8C in town later on this afternoon.

Tomorrow is forecast to warm up further still and if anything falls into early next week, it will likely be rain - perhaps even higher up too. Looking at the weekly forecast, there isn't much mention of snow on there just at the moment.

But, it is still November! That argument goes from tomorrow though of course when the serious subject of December snowfall comes into focus. Last year - poor. The year before - amazing. The last two seasons have really been one extreme to the other and people are somewhat wary of what this year is going to bring. One thing for sure, it's going to be interesting.

You can see all the numbers for yourselves down below on this page and on the new 'Snowfall Analysis' page.

---

A recap on what is planned to be open today:

A 1,500m section of the main run at Kagura. The course is 30-50m in width and the natural snow has been helped on by snow making machines giving what the resort reports as 50cm snow depth.

Operating lifts are:

- Mitsumata Ropeway
- Mitsumata Number 1 quad
- Mitsumata Number 2 romance pair
- Kagura Gondola
- Kagura Number 1 quad lift

All but the Kagura quad lift are basically operating to get people over to the course area that is open. The lifts can be used to get back down as well, which means that there is no shuttle bus needed. The Mitsumata Ropeway plans to be operating from 8am until 5pm, with the last one going up at 4:30pm.

---

Ski resorts currently open:
Kagura via Mitsumata Ropeway - a 1,500m long run is now open at the main Kagura area

Planned opening dates for resorts in Yuzawa Town and Minamiuonuma City (by date):

Saturday 3rd December:
Iwappara
Joetsu Kokusai

Saturday 10th December:
Kagura (Tashiro)
Maiko Snow Resort
Naeba

Friday 16th December:
Muica Snow Resort
Yuzawa Park

Saturday 17th December:
GALA Yuzawa
Ipponsugi
Kandatsu Kogen
Muimamachi Hakkaisan
Nakazato Snow Wood
Yuzawa Kogen
Yuzawa Nakazato

Wednesday 21st December:
Ishiuchi Maruyama

Thursday 22nd December:
NASPA Ski Garden

Friday 23rd December:
Chateaux Shiozawa

---

Ski resorts in Yuzawa town
Ski resorts in Minamiuonuma City