The new SnowJapan has now settled in, with more people finding the site and, from what we can see, increasingly exploring deeper into the information available. With more than 13,000 pages across the site, there is a lot to discover.
From time to time, we thought we might highlight some of the content that you may not have come across yet.
Today: the actual opening (and closing dates) of ski areas in Japan
Wondering about the opening dates of ski areas?
In the run-up to the winter season, most ski areas usually give a ‘planned opening date’, though of course whether they actually can open then is dependent on weather and snow conditions. (That’s where the ‘planned’ bit comes in!)
Since the 2021-2022 season, SnowJapan has researched and published the actual opening and closing dates of ski areas throughout Japan. As most ski areas aim to open around the same time every season, this archive information can give you a good idea of what to expect for the upcoming season. The actual closing dates and length of season are also included.
We offer two types of chart – a visualisation of the data that can be filtered by prefecture and a chart where the data can be searched, filtered and sorted.
Visualisation:
Sort/filter chart:
We are currently in the process of updating the information on the ski areas listing pages on SnowJapan - including ‘planned opening dates’ - and that process will continue over the coming weeks. More about that process here.
From late October through mid-December 2026, we will be keeping a daily watch on ski area openings in Japan. You can find the updates here.