Independent snow and weather reporting from the Yuzawa & Minamiuonuma region of Niigata New snowfall at base 15cm Snowfall at base this season 497cm Posted on Thursday 25th December 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. Good morning from Yuzawa and Merry Christmas! It's a White Christmas too, with snow coming down very nicely at the moment. First of all back to yesterday. Those early morning clouds lightened up and by mid morning there was some blue sky around and for a few hours before noon we enjoyed lots of sun and lots of blue sky. Lovely morning it turned out to be, and not cold either. The sun softened up the snow a bit too. More cloud just after lunch but it stayed generally fine for the day. The photos on the report this morning were taken yesterday morning at the Joetsu Kokusai resort in Minamiuonuma. So back to this morning and there's around 15cm or so of fresh snow on the top of my car. Kagura reporting 30cm. Naeba reporting 10-20cm. Maiko Snow Resort reporting 20cm. (By the way, someone asked why we only report the 'new snowfall' for a few resorts. Basically we want to post any useful information that we can find. Unfortunately lots of resorts don't mention the new snowfall every morning. If the info is available, we'll post it... as simple as that!) It's not too cold, in town at least hovering around zero, and so definitely colder than yesterday. The forecast for today and tomorrow is basically... snow. Once we get into the weekend some clearer skies are due and milder conditions as well. Just to remind Kagura fans that the too Kagura Number 1 Romance pair lift will be starting up for the season on New Years Day. Sounds good to me. Fresh snow, so it should be good out there today. --- Official snow depths: GALA Yuzawa: 240cm Ishiuchi Maruyama: 200cm Iwappara: 155cm Joetsu Kokusai: 170cm Kagura: 230cm Kandatsu Kogen: 180cm Maiko Snow Resort: 190cm Naeba: 150cm NASPA Ski Garden: 182cm Yuzawa Kogen: 200cm (Kogen) 150cm (Nunoba) Yuzawa Nakazato: 130cm --- Planned opening dates for resorts in Yuzawa Town and Minamiuonuma City (by date): All resorts not noted here are now at least part open. Saturday 27th December: Ishiuchi Hanaoka Late December Mt Granview Yuzawa Now 2014-2015 season Data as of Thursday 25th December 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 497cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 13 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 100cm (15th December) November 2014 snowfall 0cm December 2014 snowfall 497cm reported on 13 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Yuzawa. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Yuzawa & Minamiuonuma region of Niigata New snowfall at base 35cm Snowfall at base this season 532cm Posted on Friday 26th December 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. Snow for most of the day yesterday along with a moderate wind, though it didn't actually end up with the amount of snow that you'd think. It was really blowing around in the evening though, and the snow obviously set in good and proper overnight with a nice thick layer to report this morning. The on-top-of-the-car number is 35-40cm. Maiko Snow Resort report over 40cm. Kagura report 50cm. Naeba report 30-50cm. Looking good! Top conditions this morning wherever you go in the area, I'd say. But... Quite strong winds are messing with operations at Kagura early in the morning though - the Tashiro area will be closed for the day and from the Mitsumata Station it's open up to the Kagura Number 1 Romance pair lift (possibly that the quad will open later depending on conditions). Looks like the wind is affecting top areas of Naeba as well today. A quick look round other resorts and they all seem to be planning to be open as normal. It's snowing still this morning though a bit on and off over the last hour or so. Snow is forecast to be with us for the day today though so any breaks are probably just temporary. It should ease off by tomorrow morning though and we will probably get some sunny conditions over the weekend, especially on Sunday according to the local forecast. There's some impressive walls of snow around town and on Route 17. The tallest I have seen are around the traffic lights near the base areas of Ishiuchi Maruyama. Tomorrow sees the opening of the remaining two ski hills in the area.... Ishiuchi Hanaoka and the famous Mt Granview! --- Official snow depths: GALA Yuzawa: 250cm Ishiuchi Maruyama: 240cm Iwappara: 190cm Joetsu Kokusai: 170cm Kagura: 250cm Kandatsu Kogen: 200cm Maiko Snow Resort: 240cm Naeba: 170cm NASPA Ski Garden: 190cm Yuzawa Kogen: 210cm (Kogen) 160cm (Nunoba) Yuzawa Nakazato: 150cm --- Planned opening dates for resorts in Yuzawa Town and Minamiuonuma City (by date): All resorts not noted here are now at least part open. Saturday 27th December: Ishiuchi Hanaoka Mt Granview --- Nighta in the area Nighta 'night skiing' - where some slopes are floodlit for skiing and snowboarding in the evening, is available at the following resorts in the area. Ishiuchi Maruyama: Every day until 21st March (until 8:50pm) Iwappara: Every day until 22nd March (until 8pm on weekdays and Sundays, 9pm on Saturdays) Joetsu Kokusai: Every day until 22nd March (until 9pm) Kandatsu Kogen: From 23rd January, 'all night' on holidays (6pm or 10pm until 4am the next morning) Maiko Snow Resort: Every day until 14th March (until 8pm) Naeba: Every day until 29th March (until 9pm) NASPA Ski Garden (skiers only): 27th December until 3rd January; 11th January; Saturdays until 29th February (until 7pm) Yuzawa Nakazato: 27th December until 3rd January; 11th January; Saturdays from 10th January until 14th March (until 8:30pm) Chateaux Shiozawa also have nighta but only on certain days - no fixed schedule available at the moment). Resorts not mentioned above do not operate 'nighta'. Some resorts offer tickets that include nighta, others need a seperate lift ticket. Yuzawa Now 2014-2015 season Data as of Friday 26th December 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 532cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 14 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 100cm (15th December) November 2014 snowfall 0cm December 2014 snowfall 532cm reported on 14 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Yuzawa. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Yuzawa & Minamiuonuma region of Niigata New snowfall at base 2cm Snowfall at base this season 559cm Posted on Tuesday 30th December 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. It wasn't the best of days yesterday in terms of weather and associated conditions. Rain at times, some snow at higher elevations, and limited visibility as well in many areas due to cloud and fog. This morning Kagura are reporting 5cm of snow but there's no fresh to see down here in town - Maiko is reporting 2cm on it's slopes so perhaps a thin cover early morning around the resorts. It looks a bit wet out, but not raining or snowing now. In fact the sun is starting to shine through some thin cloud over there. The forecast for the day however is snow and it does look like snow clouds should be over the area again a little later on this morning. I didn't mention this on Saturday when this started but better late than never - the link up between Yuzawa Kogen, GALA Yuzawa and Ishiuchi Maruyama resorts is now open. Between the first two it's a Ropeway across from Yuzawa Kogen to the South Area of GALA Yuzawa. The link between GALA Yuzawa and Ishiuchi takes you from the North Area of GALA Yuzawa to the top of the Ishiuchi Maruyama resort area. A special ticket is available that allows you to have free ride of all of that lot. Lots of New Years events going on around the resorts mostly tomorrow night and Thursday night - expect to see a few fireworks going up! So how's the weather going to be? Well, forecasts are telling us to expect some today, a milder day tomorrow but temperatures to take a drop tomorrow night and snow to be falling. Might not be the best weather for the fireworks. Good chance of heavy snow into and over New Years Day. It would be good to get a refreshening of the snow out there, but we can't really complain with all the snow we have had this December. Here's hoping 2015 gets off to a snowy start and continues that way. --- Official snow depths: GALA Yuzawa: 300cm Ishiuchi Maruyama: 220cm Iwappara: 160cm Joetsu Kokusai: 180cm Kagura: 250cm Kandatsu Kogen: 210cm Maiko Snow Resort: 210cm Naeba: 180cm NASPA Ski Garden: 240cm Yuzawa Kogen: 230cm (Kogen) 180cm (Nunoba) Yuzawa Nakazato: 160cm Yuzawa Now 2014-2015 season Data as of Tuesday 30th December 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 559cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 16 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 100cm (15th December) November 2014 snowfall 0cm December 2014 snowfall 559cm reported on 16 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Yuzawa. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Yuzawa & Minamiuonuma region of Niigata New snowfall at base 0cm Snowfall at base this season 559cm Posted on Wednesday 31st December 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. Unfortunately it did rain yesterday and quite a bit at times as well. Sleet and snow at times and in higher elevations but a real wet feeling to the day. We were hoping for a layer of fresh snow to go on top of that this morning, but that hasn't really happened. Kagura were expecting 10-20cm, but got 5cm. Down herew at town levels it's more like a dusting, at best. It's a generally cloudy start to the day, but looks like there's some blue sky over Naeba and Kagura areas and a bit of sun early on. So as you know we have been eyeing up this heavy snow storm that has been forecast for, well, tonight and tomorrow really. Will it happen? Well, the forecasts are still pointing to that happening and for me to be able to start 2015 off with a nice report tomorrow morning of a thick new layer of snow. So fingers crossed that is what will happen. Another relatively mild day forecast, another chance of rain in there, before getting into the snow later on tonight. After that amazing first chunk of December, it's got to be said that it has been something of a disappointing end. Still, loads of snow still around we just need the fresh layers. And it does look like the new year should start off in a good place. So, until tomorrow then. Enjoy your New Years Eve wherever you may be. See you in 2015. --- Official snow depths: GALA Yuzawa: 300cm Ishiuchi Maruyama: 220cm Iwappara: 150cm Joetsu Kokusai: 180cm Kagura: 250cm Kandatsu Kogen: 200cm Maiko Snow Resort: 200cm Naeba: 180cm NASPA Ski Garden: 240cm Yuzawa Kogen: 230cm (Kogen) 180cm (Nunoba) Yuzawa Nakazato: 160cm Yuzawa Now 2014-2015 season Data as of Wednesday 31st December 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 559cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 16 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 100cm (15th December) November 2014 snowfall 0cm December 2014 snowfall 559cm reported on 16 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Yuzawa. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Yuzawa & Minamiuonuma region of Niigata New snowfall at base 25cm Snowfall at base this season 557cm Posted on Saturday 27th December 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. It's another decent delivery of snow to report this morning after snow on and off during the day yesterday and overnight. There's 25cm of snow outside my home and top of the car. Kagura report 40cm. Naeba report 30-50cm. Maiko Snow Report report 20-30cm. It has been snowing lightly early on but the snowfall is expected to ease off during the day today. I have just come back to Yuzawa from the Muikamachi area of Minamiuonuma, where there was a few nearly-clearings in the clouds where you could almost see the blue sky behind the thin cloud. Thicker cloud over Yuzawa at the moment though still. But maybe it will clear fairly quickly and we'll have a fine day. Current temperature -2 degrees. Whatever happens today, tomorrow is set to be clear and a bit warmer from the start of the day. All resorts now open in the area - today marks the first day for the famous Mt Granview! --- Official snow depths: GALA Yuzawa: 290cm Ishiuchi Maruyama: 260cm Iwappara: 205cm Joetsu Kokusai: 190cm Kagura: 250cm Kandatsu Kogen: 240cm Maiko Snow Resort: 240cm Naeba: 170cm NASPA Ski Garden: 230cm Yuzawa Kogen: 230cm (Kogen) 180cm (Nunoba) Yuzawa Nakazato: 160cm --- Nighta in the area Nighta 'night skiing' - where some slopes are floodlit for skiing and snowboarding in the evening, is available at the following resorts in the area. Ishiuchi Maruyama: Every day until 21st March (until 8:50pm) Iwappara: Every day until 22nd March (until 8pm on weekdays and Sundays, 9pm on Saturdays) Joetsu Kokusai: Every day until 22nd March (until 9pm) Kandatsu Kogen: From 23rd January, 'all night' on holidays (6pm or 10pm until 4am the next morning) Maiko Snow Resort: Every day until 14th March (until 8pm) Naeba: Every day until 29th March (until 9pm) NASPA Ski Garden (skiers only): 27th December until 3rd January; 11th January; Saturdays until 29th February (until 7pm) Yuzawa Nakazato: 27th December until 3rd January; 11th January; Saturdays from 10th January until 14th March (until 8:30pm) Chateaux Shiozawa also have nighta but only on certain days - no fixed schedule available at the moment). Resorts not mentioned above do not operate 'nighta'. Some resorts offer tickets that include nighta, others need a seperate lift ticket. Yuzawa Now 2014-2015 season Data as of Saturday 27th December 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 557cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 15 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 100cm (15th December) November 2014 snowfall 0cm December 2014 snowfall 557cm reported on 15 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Yuzawa. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Yuzawa & Minamiuonuma region of Niigata New snowfall at base 40cm Snowfall at base this season 599cm Posted on Thursday 1st January 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. Good morning and Happy New Year from Yuzawa and from us at SnowJapan. And as we hoped, things are getting off to a very snowy start! It took until later in the day yesterday for it to get going but this morning there's 40+cm of fresh snow piled up outside and it is continuing to snow as the lifts start off on their daily trips. Kagura reporting 50cm. Naeba reporting 30-50cm. Maiko Snow Resort reporting 40cm. The current conditions are affecting some resorts, most notably Kagura where only the Mitsumata area up to Kagura Number 1 Romance pair lift is operating - the Tashiro area closed. Naeba seems to be open as planned, as does GALA Yuzawa and other resorts. Generally pretty poor conditions due to the weather - I suspect a few folk might give it a late start or take a soak in an onsen before going out today. Snow forecast to continue falling through tomorrow, so resorts everywhere will have had a very good refresh. A good start to the year! --- Official snow depths: GALA Yuzawa: 270cm Ishiuchi Maruyama: 240cm Iwappara: 180cm Joetsu Kokusai: 190cm Kagura: 250cm Kandatsu Kogen: 240cm Maiko Snow Resort: 200cm Naeba: 200cm NASPA Ski Garden: 225cm Yuzawa Kogen: 230cm (Kogen) 180cm (Nunoba) Yuzawa Nakazato: 180cm Yuzawa Now 2014-2015 season Data as of Thursday 1st January 2015 Total snowfall at base so far 599cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 17 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 100cm (15th December) November 2014 snowfall 0cm December 2014 snowfall 559cm reported on 16 days January 2015 snowfall 40cm reported on 1 day Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Yuzawa. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Yuzawa & Minamiuonuma region of Niigata New snowfall at base 40cm Snowfall at base this season 639cm Posted on Friday 2nd January 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. There has been lots more snow fall over the region since my report yesterday morning. The snow depths may not change much (or change at all in the case of Kagura) but resorts report 30-50cm fresh since yesterday and the snow on my car tells the story too. It has really been coming down at times! While there was a bit of a break in the snow earlier on this morning when I first got up, it's back again now and the forecast remains for snow to continue falling today and also into tomorrow as well. How's that for a snowy start to the year? Somewhat clearer and milder conditions due around Sunday. --- Official snow depths: GALA Yuzawa: 270cm Ishiuchi Maruyama: 260cm Iwappara: 210cm Joetsu Kokusai: 190cm Kagura: 250cm Kandatsu Kogen: 260cm Maiko Snow Resort: 260cm Naeba: 210cm NASPA Ski Garden: 245cm Yuzawa Kogen: 240cm (Kogen) 190cm (Nunoba) Yuzawa Nakazato: 190cm Yuzawa Now 2014-2015 season Data as of Friday 2nd January 2015 Total snowfall at base so far 639cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 18 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 100cm (15th December) November 2014 snowfall 0cm December 2014 snowfall 559cm reported on 16 days January 2015 snowfall 80cm reported on 2 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Yuzawa. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Yuzawa & Minamiuonuma region of Niigata New snowfall at base 30cm Snowfall at base this season 669cm Posted on Saturday 3rd January 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. Another large delivery of snow has arrived in Yuzawa and Minamiuonuma. Here's the observations and reports coming in: My car - 30cm Maiko Snow Resort - 20+cm Kagura - 50cm Naeba - 30-50cm Going back to yesterday, by the afternoon many clouds cleared up somewhat especially leaving us the sun shining down on some of the slopes. Some lovely late afternoon scenes in the region. It was back to snow in the evening though and this morning there's just over 30cm on the car outside. Round the back of my house area, the snow that is piled up naturally (ie on a large piece of flat land) is now way higher than me - I'd say closer to 3m than 2m. Apparently there's quite a strong wind at higher elevations and I can see that early on the Tashiro area and the Kagura Number 1 Quad and Number 4 and 5 lifts are not moving. That may well change with the change in weather conditions. Talking of which, conflicting forecasts on what to expect today. More snow or a clearing of the skies? What they seem to be able to agree on is that from tomorrow it shouldn't be quite as cold as it has been and there's a good chance of fine and sunny conditions on Monday. That shouldn't last long though with a return of snow clouds from Tuesday. --- It may not be open early this morning due to the wind but it's worth another mention that Kagura have opened the Kagura Number 5 top pair lift from January 1st this season. --- Official snow depths: GALA Yuzawa: 330cm Ishiuchi Maruyama: 230cm Iwappara: 225cm Joetsu Kokusai: 190cm Kagura: 250cm Kandatsu Kogen: 275cm Maiko Snow Resort: 270cm Naeba: 220cm NASPA Ski Garden: 265cm Yuzawa Kogen: 250cm (Kogen) 200cm (Nunoba) Yuzawa Nakazato: 200cm --- Nighta in the area Nighta 'night skiing' - where some slopes are floodlit for skiing and snowboarding in the evening, is available at the following resorts in the area. Ishiuchi Maruyama: Every day until 21st March (until 8:50pm) Iwappara: Every day until 22nd March (until 8pm on weekdays and Sundays, 9pm on Saturdays) Joetsu Kokusai: Every day until 22nd March (until 9pm) Kandatsu Kogen: From 23rd January, 'all night' on holidays (6pm or 10pm until 4am the next morning) Maiko Snow Resort: Every day until 14th March (until 8pm) Naeba: Every day until 29th March (until 9pm) NASPA Ski Garden (skiers only): 27th December until 3rd January; 11th January; Saturdays until 29th February (until 7pm) Yuzawa Nakazato: 27th December until 3rd January; 11th January; Saturdays from 10th January until 14th March (until 8:30pm) Chateaux Shiozawa also have nighta but only on certain days - no fixed schedule available. Resorts not mentioned above do not operate 'nighta'. Some resorts offer tickets that include nighta, others need a seperate lift ticket. Yuzawa Now 2014-2015 season Data as of Saturday 3rd January 2015 Total snowfall at base so far 669cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 19 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 100cm (15th December) November 2014 snowfall 0cm December 2014 snowfall 559cm reported on 16 days January 2015 snowfall 110cm reported on 3 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Yuzawa. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Yuzawa & Minamiuonuma region of Niigata New snowfall at base 20cm Snowfall at base this season 689cm Posted on Sunday 4th January 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. Just a slight dusting of snow since yesterday evening as eventually the snow clouds cleared up - could actually see the shape of the mountains - though it was snowing pretty much for all of the day yesterday, heavily at times even in town. While Kagura and other resorts say no new snow this morning that doesn't take into account what fell during the day, so I'm giving them the same 20cm (at least) that we had here on the report stats. This morning is an overcast/cloudy start to the day - brighter towards the south of the Yuzawa area than out in the Minamiuonuma valley. It's not quite as cold this morning and later today and overnight we are told to expect a bit more light snow (starting off as rain at lower levels maybe). There's hope that tomorrow might see sunshine and some blue skies. We're going through one of those periods when it seems that three different local forecasts will give you differing ideas as to what to expect, so looks like it's difficult to read. --- Some sobering news yesterday on hearing that three snowboarders are missing after not reporting back in with friends and family the evening before. They had been up at Kagura and while search teams were out yesterday, conditions were not good for such a search. Apparently they will continue looking this morning so hopefully the missing people will be found. While details aren't known of what happened there, it reminds us how easy it is in blizzard conditions and with lots of fresh deep snow for things to happen whether it's just going the wrong way in poor visibility or something else. --- Official snow depths: GALA Yuzawa: 340cm Ishiuchi Maruyama: 280cm Iwappara: 215cm Joetsu Kokusai: 190cm Kagura: 290cm Kandatsu Kogen: 260cm Maiko Snow Resort: 260cm Naeba: 220cm NASPA Ski Garden: 265cm Yuzawa Kogen: 250cm (Kogen) 200cm (Nunoba) Yuzawa Nakazato: 200cm Yuzawa Now 2014-2015 season Data as of Sunday 4th January 2015 Total snowfall at base so far 689cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 20 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 100cm (15th December) November 2014 snowfall 0cm December 2014 snowfall 559cm reported on 16 days January 2015 snowfall 130cm reported on 4 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Yuzawa. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Yuzawa & Minamiuonuma region of Niigata New snowfall at base 20cm Snowfall at base this season 709cm Posted on Wednesday 7th January 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. Back to snow! Yes, very happy to report a return to snow falling from the skies and around 20cm or so on the ground. Here's what I'm getting from resorts (and the top of my car): My car - 20cm Maiko Snow Resort - over 20cm Kagura - 20cm Yesterday we avoided rain until around noon. Even had some blue sky in areas from time to time and the sun trying to appear, though it didn't feel like it got as warm as was forecast. In the end though rain won out, and it was falling in the afternoon. That had changed to snow by night time though and so here we are with 20cm fresh snow on the ground. It's really coming down as I look outside the wind now as well. Lots please! Snow forecast for the day today and into tomorrow as well and in fact snow clouds shouldn't be far away over the next week. It's definitely colder this morning and it should remain cold as well. Strong winds are preventing the Tashiro area to open though this morning and it's limited at Kagura as well up the Kagura Number 1 Romance pair lift. Other resorts seem to be planning to be open as planned. --- Official snow depths: GALA Yuzawa: 300cm Ishiuchi Maruyama: 230cm Iwappara: 185cm Joetsu Kokusai: 190cm Kagura: 290cm Kandatsu Kogen: 230cm Maiko Snow Resort: 240cm Naeba: 220cm NASPA Ski Garden: 215cm Yuzawa Kogen: 250cm (Kogen) 200cm (Nunoba) Yuzawa Nakazato: 190cm Yuzawa Now 2014-2015 season Data as of Wednesday 7th January 2015 Total snowfall at base so far 709cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 21 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 100cm (15th December) November 2014 snowfall 0cm December 2014 snowfall 559cm reported on 16 days January 2015 snowfall 150cm reported on 5 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Yuzawa. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Yuzawa & Minamiuonuma region of Niigata New snowfall at base 30cm Snowfall at base this season 739cm Posted on Thursday 8th January 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. More snow to report this morning. About the same amount of fresh snow here in town as we had yesterday morning, so about 20cm or so. That's in addition to the 10-20cm that we had during the day yesterday, so I'm calling it at at least 30cm since my last report. No doubt more higher up, so we have had a very nice refresh these last two days. It's another cold morning here and the snow is continuing to fall coming in helped on by a moderate northly wind, and is forecast to for the day easing up by tomorrow. I'm too early with my report this morning for some of the below numbers to be updated for the day. I have just seen though that Tashiro will need to be closed again today due to wind and also all of the Kagura area apart from Mitsumata. They are reporting 30cm fresh this morning. --- Official snow depths: GALA Yuzawa: 320cm Ishiuchi Maruyama: 260cm Iwappara: 215cm Joetsu Kokusai: 190cm Kagura: 290cm Kandatsu Kogen: 250cm Maiko Snow Resort: 260cm Naeba: 220cm NASPA Ski Garden: 215cm Yuzawa Kogen: 260cm (Kogen) 210cm (Nunoba) Yuzawa Nakazato: 190cm Yuzawa Now 2014-2015 season Data as of Thursday 8th January 2015 Total snowfall at base so far 739cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 22 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 100cm (15th December) November 2014 snowfall 0cm December 2014 snowfall 559cm reported on 16 days January 2015 snowfall 180cm reported on 6 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Yuzawa. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Yuzawa & Minamiuonuma region of Niigata New snowfall at base 35cm Snowfall at base this season 774cm Posted on Friday 9th January 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. I'm happy to report a lot more snow again this morning. It built up steadily yesterday - heavy at times, with a moderate wind blowing about as well - and overnight there's 30cm of snow to move from outside here, so I'm recording 35cm since yesterday. From around the resorts that say numbers.... Kagura reporting 30cm (but still an official snow depth of 290cm!) and Maiko Snow Resort reporting 35cm. No word yet from Naeba. I think around 30cm is a good average for around the resorts this morning. Add that to what we had yesterday and there's a nice deep new layer of snow to enjoy playing in pretty much everywhere you decided to go to. It is still snowing now and it looks like it might continue again through the day today though not expecting 'heavy' snowfall. Snow still forecast for the weekend as well though so it looks like it might be early next week before we can enjoy clearer skies. Less wind today so all resorts look set to be opening as planned. Monday is a holiday in Japan so it's a long - and popular - weekend coming up. Early starts recommended if possible! --- Official snow depths: GALA Yuzawa: 320cm Ishiuchi Maruyama: 300cm Iwappara: 245cm Joetsu Kokusai: 190cm Kagura: 290cm Kandatsu Kogen: 250cm Maiko Snow Resort: 290cm Naeba: 220cm NASPA Ski Garden: 215cm Yuzawa Kogen: 270cm (Kogen) 220cm (Nunoba) Yuzawa Nakazato: 210cm Yuzawa Now 2014-2015 season Data as of Friday 9th January 2015 Total snowfall at base so far 774cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 23 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 100cm (15th December) November 2014 snowfall 0cm December 2014 snowfall 559cm reported on 16 days January 2015 snowfall 215cm reported on 7 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Yuzawa. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com