Independent snow and weather reporting from the Yuzawa & Minamiuonuma region of Niigata New snowfall at base 0cm Snowfall at base this season 421cm Weather overview Clear and sunny Wind Light wind Temperature -1C base / -3C top Visibility Excellent Posted at 8:22am on Thursday 24th January 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here . We did see some of the sun yesterday in the end but we are going to see a lot of it today. Blue skies above Yuzawa and Minamiuonuma early this morning and it will probably stay like that for most of the day. It is a mild -1C start to the day and likely to warm up to around 4C this afternoon. Without a topup and the recent warmer conditions and that rain/sleet we had, snow isn't in the best of conditions at the moment. Groomers are probably the choice today, unless you want a real thigh workout. New snow is just around the corner though and we may get some overnight. It should really get going tomorrow though and the forecast is very promising with moderate-heavy snow on Friday and Saturday. It will probably get very windy as well. Looking forward to the new delivery! Yuzawa Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Thursday 24th January 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 421cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 32 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (10th December) November 2012 snowfall 8cm reported on 3 days December 2012 snowfall 217cm reported on 15 days January 2013 snowfall 196cm 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 0cm Snowfall at base this season 421cm Weather overview Cloud Wind Light wind Temperature 0C base / -2C top Visibility Fair Posted at 9:48am on Wednesday 23rd January 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here . So it was a mix of sleet and rain yesterday in town, wet snow at times, but by evening things were holding off - when I was outside anyway. This morning a few resorts round town are reporting a dusting of snow with Kagura resort saying they got up to 10cm on the upper slopes over there. Here in town it didn't really get that cold last night, just hovering around the zero level and right now it remains about that. Cloudy skies above and nothing falling from them. We might see the sun out later. The local forecast is for clear and sunny conditions tomorrow morning. We are still looking at a good chance of snow come Friday morning, maybe even tomorrow evening, and for Friday and Saturday to bring us back to mid-winter like conditions, including the wind. Yuzawa Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Wednesday 23rd January 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 421cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 32 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (10th December) November 2012 snowfall 8cm reported on 3 days December 2012 snowfall 217cm reported on 15 days January 2013 snowfall 196cm 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 0cm Snowfall at base this season 421cm Weather overview Cloud, wet snow/sleet Wind Light wind Temperature 2C base / -2C top Visibility Fair Posted at 9:57am on Tuesday 22nd January 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here . This morning it has been raining/sleeting/snowing and right now we have wet snow falling from the skies in Yuzawa. Better than wet rain, though with it likely getting a bit warmer during the day - a high of around 4 degrees C is forecast, while at the moment it is around +2 - we may well be getting rained on later. It's going to be borderine for today and overnight, though clouds should hopefully clear up for tomorrow when the sun is due back. Mild conditions will continue though into Thursday, before that new cold front coming onto the scene later on in the day and hopefully also bringing some potentially heavy snowfall with it. Yuzawa Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Tuesday 22nd January 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 421cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 32 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (10th December) November 2012 snowfall 8cm reported on 3 days December 2012 snowfall 217cm reported on 15 days January 2013 snowfall 196cm 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 0cm Snowfall at base this season 421cm Weather overview Cloud Wind Light wind Temperature 3C base / -2C top Visibility Good Posted at 2:42pm on Monday 21st January 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here . Milder and clearer it is then. This morning actually started off very bright with the sun shining down. It felt like it was going to be one of those days when the remaining clouds disperse and we are left with clear beautiful skies. For the first few hours of ski resorts being open it was like that, but around mid morning think cloud quickly started to form in the sky and very soon it was rather cloudy. Still bright and sunny but a layer of thin cloud everywhere. As we have moved into the afternoon it's gone a bit duller still and cloud is indeed forecast for the evening and overnight. At the moment as of 2:30pm it is +3C in Yuzawa. Looks like overnight we might see something fall from the skies. Hopefully snow, but there's a decent chance we are going to get some rain tomorrow as temperatures are forecast to rise to around +6 at town level. Currently Wednesday and Thursday are supposed to be clearer again but with continued mild conditions. The good news is that on the other side of that from Friday some heavy snowfall and much more winter-like conditions are likely. Let's keep an eye on that. Yuzawa Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Monday 21st January 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 421cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 32 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (10th December) November 2012 snowfall 8cm reported on 3 days December 2012 snowfall 217cm reported on 15 days January 2013 snowfall 196cm 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 20cm Snowfall at base this season 421cm Weather overview Cloud, snow Wind Moderate Temperature 0C base / -5C top Visibility Generally poor Posted at 9:53am on Sunday 20th January 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here . Yesterday was one of those days when conditions change very quickly. The morning was lovely. Clearing up with some beautiful blue clouds over the town and just a few clouds around. Afternoon was a different story though. Clouds gathered and snow started to fall. And it's still falling this morning. And there's a decent amount of new snow on the ground to show for it as well. My car was in Yuzawa overnight and there was 20cm or so on top to move off this morning. It should be continuing to snow for the day today as well and so I think we can expect some more cm out of it. Stronger winds early on have calmed down a bit now. Conditions out on the slopes around town yesterday were pretty great everywhere. Really nice snow and lots of it. Add to that some more today and it should be another fine day. It's feeling like a proper Yuzawa mid-winter today which is what we like to see. The snow at the side of the roads has gradually been building up and starting to look pretty impressive in places. More of the same please! We might have to wait a bit for more though as the next 3-4 days is forecast to be milder and clearer skies. The sun will likely be out tomorrow. Yuzawa Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Sunday 20th January 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 421cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 32 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (10th December) November 2012 snowfall 8cm reported on 3 days December 2012 snowfall 217cm reported on 15 days January 2013 snowfall 196cm 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 15cm Snowfall at base this season 401cm Weather overview Sun, some cloud Wind Light to moderate Temperature -2C base / -9C top Visibility Very good Posted at 8:50am on Saturday 19th January 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here . Perhaps another 20cm or so since yesterday, though a bit difficult to tell with the wind and some places looking more stacked than others. I had to move up to 15cm off the car this morning here in Minamiuonuma and there was some on there yesterday as well.... Anyway this morning rather than snow falling still - the sun is out! Blue skies, the sun, great snow conditions. Those first tracks this morning will be sweet. The forecast still tells us to expect it to cloud over later on and perhaps light snow fall and these things can happen quickly. For the moment though a lovely start to the day here. Whatever happens with the weather though, there should be fantastic snow conditions out there all around town so take your pick. Local forecast is for cloud and light snow tomorrow as well, with early in the week due to be drier and milder. Right now it is -2C in Yuzawa. Yuzawa Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Saturday 19th January 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 401cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 31 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (10th December) November 2012 snowfall 8cm reported on 3 days December 2012 snowfall 217cm reported on 15 days January 2013 snowfall 176cm 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 30cm Snowfall at base this season 386cm Weather overview Cloud cover Wind Moderate to strong Temperature -2C base / -6C top Visibility Generally poor Posted at 8:52am on Friday 18th January 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here . Good news it is! Yes the snow has been coming down hard overnight and we wake to a very snowy morning in Yuzawa. Strong winds were blowing about later on in the evening yesterday and the snow started falling. There must be about 30cm of new snow here in town areas and more on the mountain. Indeed up at Kagura which usually is the place that gets the most snowfall in the region, they are saying that half a metre of snow fell overnight. I'd imagine 30-50cm is the haul at most higher areas, but today the snow should be pretty great everywhere. Strong winds are affecting operations in some of those higher elevations though. The Tashiro Ropeway at Kagura is not going to be open today (along with the Dragondola connecting Kagura with Naeba). Only part of Kagura (via Mitsumata) is also open and the top areas of Naeba are not open early on. All due to the wind. If they stay closed for the day, the people travelling up for the weekend will be as happy as tomorrow morning getting access to all that untouched! It's currently about -4C in town. The clearer weather we were expecting for the weekend seems to have been shunted back a day, as we have the snow to continue falling today and possibly into tomorrow. Clearer skies on Sunday. You never know though, tomorrow might end up clear as was originally forecast. Whichever, it is going to be a good weekend here in Yuzawa and Minamiuonuma. Yuzawa Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Friday 18th January 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 386cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 30 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (10th December) November 2012 snowfall 8cm reported on 3 days December 2012 snowfall 217cm reported on 15 days January 2013 snowfall 161cm reported on 12 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 7cm Snowfall at base this season 356cm Weather overview Cloud, light snow Wind Slight wind Temperature -2C base / -6C top Visibility Fair to good Posted at 1:17pm on Thursday 17th January 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here . More snow this morning though not a huge amount. Perhaps 5-10cm or so in places with resorts around town reporting anything from 10cm to up to 30cm once again at Kagura. It is still snowing lightly this morning but not the kind of snow that is building up the cm - the roads are clear and visibility is decent. At lunchtime now it is -2C in Yuzawa town area. Snow is forecast to continue snowing today and all tomorrow as well, when it should be colder too. A good chance of heavier snowfall than today as well, which would be good. From Saturday onwards a number of days of milder conditions and clearer skies is forecast for the region. Yuzawa Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Thursday 17th January 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 356cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 29 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (10th December) November 2012 snowfall 8cm reported on 3 days December 2012 snowfall 217cm reported on 15 days January 2013 snowfall 131cm reported on 11 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 10cm Snowfall at base this season 349cm Weather overview Cloud, clearing up? Wind Slight wind Temperature -2C base / -7C top Visibility Good Posted at 9:55am on Wednesday 16th January 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here . Snowfall did continue through until this morning though perhaps just 10-15cm since the report yesterday morning. The snow has eased off now and the clouds seem to be breaking up with more and more blue sky appearing and the sun casting shadows down on the valley in places. Feels like it might clear up nicely today. It's about -2 degrees at the moment with a high of around +1 forecast for later and hardly any wind to report. All resorts up and running. While today may end up with the sun doing it's thing, snow clouds are forecast to be back with us from tomorrow. Snow depth numbers below looking better the last few days and a bit more like normal. We still certainly have less snow than normal for the time of the season but there's still plenty out there. Conditions should be good out there this morning. Yuzawa Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Wednesday 16th January 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 349cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 28 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (10th December) November 2012 snowfall 8cm reported on 3 days December 2012 snowfall 217cm reported on 15 days January 2013 snowfall 124cm reported on 10 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 339cm Weather overview Cloud, snow Wind Moderate wind Temperature -3C base / -8C top Visibility Poor Posted at 9:20am on Tuesday 15th January 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here . It felt strange watching the Japanese news last night with heavy snowfall in Tokyo and other areas. A very large number of people being inconveniences by snow that they don't expect. Looking at the reports, more snow had fallen in central Tokyo than in Yuzawa. Very strange - one of those 'what's wrong with this picture?' moments! Here we just had 5-10cm of wet, heavy snow by the end of the day. This morning is a different story though and it feels like a proper Snow Country kind of morning. Nice big flakes of snow are coming down from the skies with some real speed and purpose at the moment. This is what we like to see. I had to move 20cm of snow this morning and with the way it is falling right now I expect that to quickly increase. Around town resorts are reporting about 20-30cm of new snowfall, Naeba saying up to 40cm has fallen since yesterday. Resorts seem to begenerally open as normal except the top areas of Naeba and the Tashiro part of Kagura. Very poor visibility out though even low down in town and with some strong winds as well it's not the most hospitably of conditions. The snowfall is forecast to continue into tomorrow morning. Yuzawa Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Tuesday 15th January 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 339cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 27 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (10th December) November 2012 snowfall 8cm reported on 3 days December 2012 snowfall 217cm reported on 15 days January 2013 snowfall 114cm reported on 9 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 5cm Snowfall at base this season 319cm Weather overview Cloud, wet snow Wind Slight wind Temperature 1C base / -4C top Visibility Fair Posted at 10:32am on Monday 14th January 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here . Mostly cloudy yesterday with some sunny periods from time to time. This morning we are back to snow though. Perhaps not as much as some places nearer Tokyo (!) but around 5cm being reported from ski resorts around town and Naeba saying up to 20cm of fresh snow in some places on their resort slopes. The snow falling in town is of the wet variety and right now it is around +1C in Yuzawa. With temperatures forecast to drop during the day we can hopefully expect drier snow to be piling up later on. Up to 10-15cm of snow is forecast to fall in the region before evening today. Hopefully it will be snowing for most of the day here, though by later tomorrow the clouds are set to clear up and be followed by sunny weather on Wednesday. Back to snow on Thursday and Friday though so hopefully this week we can stack up a fair amount of fresh powder to play in. Yuzawa Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Monday 14th January 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 319cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 26 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (10th December) November 2012 snowfall 8cm reported on 3 days December 2012 snowfall 217cm reported on 15 days January 2013 snowfall 94cm reported on 8 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 314cm Weather overview Fine with some cloud Wind Slight wind Temperature 1C base / -2C top Visibility Good Posted at 10:13am on Sunday 13th January 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here . Yesterday the weather was a strange one. It started off with those thin clouds and seemed to cloud over more before starting to clear up mid-morning. By late morning the sun was out and the clouds had almost all gone from the sky and lunchtime to mid afternoon it was a very fine day weather wise. Snow was good as well from the reports I have been hearing from people out and about. There's more cloud cover up there this morning for sure but the sun is out at the moment over Yuzawa. I don't think it will end up being like yesterday though as we are told to expect a cloudy afternoon and the chance of sleet (possibly even rain, nooooo!). The mild conditions look set to continue into tomorrow with another borderline rain/sleet/snow vauge local forecast for town. It should be snowing higher up though and the further good news is that later in the week we are due what looks like could be potentially decent snowfall. Let's hope so. Another fairly busy day at the popular resorts today and tomorrow too, also a holiday in Japan. Yuzawa Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Sunday 13th January 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 314cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 25 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (10th December) November 2012 snowfall 8cm reported on 3 days December 2012 snowfall 217cm reported on 15 days January 2013 snowfall 89cm 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