Independent snow and weather reporting from the Yuzawa & Minamiuonuma region of Niigata New snowfall at base 0cm Snowfall at base this season 2cm Posted on Saturday 26th November 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. Good morning from Yuzawa and the sun is shining through my window here right now. There's some (early morning) cloud around but lots of blue sky too and a beautiful start to the day. It is going to be a relatively mild day (temperature up to around 10C in town maybe). We got some rain here in town last night but Kagura is reporting 2cm of fresh snow up top since yesterday, and also that they now have a 1,500m stretch of the main course open - along with the Kagura quad lift operating for the weekend. So to recap on what is open: 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 - Kagura Number 2 romance pair lift All but the last two are basically operating to get you 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. The forecast seems a bit more promising for tomorrow night into Monday, though it may well start with rain again in town. Kagura may well benefit from some decent snowfall though. I'll keep you updated. The images below for today are from Kagura, Mitsumata and NASPA Ski Garden. --- 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 Yuzawa Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Saturday 26th November 2016 Total snowfall at base so far 2cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 1 day Most snowfall observed in 1 day 2cm (24th November) November 2016 snowfall 2cm 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 0cm Snowfall at base this season 2cm Posted on Friday 2nd December 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. Another fairly mild overnight and early morning with wet roads due to the rain before dawn. Things seem to be getting brighter though and the weather forecast says that we will see some sunny conditions later in the day as well as a high temperature of around 8C in town. Up at the open Kagura resort, they are reporting 1-5cm of fresh snowfall overnight and again the main course, Technical and Family courses are open. The Giant and Gondola courses are also scheduled to be open from today as well, but they are not actually mentioning that on their morning mini-report -- so we'll call that unconfirmed for the moment. Tomorrow the Panorama course is also scheduled to be available. Fine weather is forecast for tomorrow with temperatures in town reaching double digits. Look to around Tuesday for the next snowfall. --- A recap on what is planned to be open today at Kagura: Open courses are: - Kagura main course - Technical course - Family course - Giant course (planned to be open) - Gondola course (planned to be open) Operating lifts are: - Mitsumata Ropeway - Mitsumata Number 1 quad - Mitsumata Number 2 romance pair - Kagura Gondola - Kagura Number 1 quad lift --- Ski resorts currently open: Kagura - part, via Mitsumata Ropeway Planned opening dates for resorts in Yuzawa Town and Minamiuonuma City (by date): As soon as there is enough snow: 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 Yuzawa Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Friday 2nd December 2016 Total snowfall at base so far 2cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 1 day Most snowfall observed in 1 day 2cm (24th November) November 2016 snowfall 2cm reported on 1 day December 2016 snowfall 0cm 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 1cm Snowfall at base this season 3cm Posted on Wednesday 7th December 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. Great to see some snow falling during the day yesterday. It was really trying to snow down to town level once again, though we didn't really get much other than a dusting in places, with more on the ground the higher up you go. Kagura this morning are reporting 10cm of fresh snow on the main Kagura runs and 5cm at the Mitsumata area. The fresh snowfall has allowed them to open up the Panorama course as well as the Family course at Mitsumata once again. Lots of cloud this morning and a wet feel but the forecast is for clearer conditions later on. It is a chilly morning but it might reach around 6C later on. There's a chance of more snow overnight, especially at higher elevations, and more over the weekend as well. This coming Saturday the Tashiro area of Kagura, Naeba and Maiko Snow Resort all plan to open... --- What is planned to be open today at Kagura: Open courses are: - Kagura main course - Technical course - Giant course - Gondola course - Panorama course - Family course (Mitsumata) Operating lifts are: - Mitsumata Ropeway - Mitsumata Number 1 quad - Mitsumata Number 2 romance pair - Kagura Gondola - Kagura Number 1 quad lift - Kagura Number 4 romance pair --- Ski resorts currently open: Kagura - open courses as noted above, access via Mitsumata Ropeway Planned opening dates for resorts in Yuzawa Town and Minamiuonuma City (by date): As soon as there is enough snow: 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 Ludens Yuzawa Muikamachi Hakkaisan Nakazato Snow Wood Yuzawa Kogen Yuzawa Nakazato Wednesday 21st December: Ishiuchi Maruyama Thursday 22nd December: NASPA Ski Garden Friday 23rd December: Chateaux Shiozawa Ipponsugi Itsukamachi Saturday 24th December: Hakkai Sanroku Mt Granview Wednesday 28thy December: Ishiuchi Hanaoka Yuzawa Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Wednesday 7th December 2016 Total snowfall at base so far 3cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 2 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 2cm (24th November) November 2016 snowfall 2cm reported on 1 day December 2016 snowfall 1cm 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 1cm Snowfall at base this season 4cm Posted on Thursday 8th December 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. Good morning from Yuzawa and I can see fresh snow. Just a bit here around town with Kagura reporting up to 20cm of fresh snowfall. Going back to yesterday - the clouds cleared up leaving us with a beautiful day with lots of blue sky and sunshine too. It was snowing when I got up early this morning but it's turned into a rather wet sleet at the moment, and it is raining just out of Yuzawa in Minamiuonuma. Currently 3C in town. The big news of the morning is that Kagura have announced that Tashiro will open as planned on Saturday and that all courses at Kagura will be opening as well. Currently there is apparently 50cm of snow at Tashiro with 15-20cm of that coming overnight. The main Kagura area has had about 20cm and the Mitsumata area about 10cm. Not bad going - they do try to get things open just as quickly as possible. It's still not normal season deep yet of course, but with all of it being open there'll be plenty of choice. And no doubt it will be busy too with other resorts not being able to open yet... Naeba is also of course set to open on Saturday and they have the artificial snow run at base to rely on, irrespective of how much natural snow there is. Iwappara and Joetsu Kokusai are already on stand-by to open and Maiko Snow Resort will be joining them from Saturday. I think they'll need to be on standby a little longer. Snow looks likely over the weekend though, so fingers-crossed... --- What is planned to be open today at Kagura: Open courses are: - Kagura main course - Technical course - Giant course - Gondola course - Panorama course - Family course (Mitsumata) Operating lifts are: - Mitsumata Ropeway - Mitsumata Number 1 quad - Mitsumata Number 2 romance pair - Kagura Gondola - Kagura Number 1 quad lift - Kagura Number 4 romance pair --- Ski resorts currently open: Kagura - open courses as noted above, access via Mitsumata Ropeway Planned opening dates for resorts in Yuzawa Town and Minamiuonuma City (by date): As soon as there is enough snow: 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 Ludens Yuzawa Muikamachi Hakkaisan Nakazato Snow Wood Yuzawa Kogen Yuzawa Nakazato Wednesday 21st December: Ishiuchi Maruyama Thursday 22nd December: NASPA Ski Garden Friday 23rd December: Chateaux Shiozawa Ipponsugi Itsukamachi Saturday 24th December: Hakkai Sanroku Mt Granview Wednesday 28thy December: Ishiuchi Hanaoka Yuzawa Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Thursday 8th December 2016 Total snowfall at base so far 4cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 3 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 2cm (24th November) November 2016 snowfall 2cm reported on 1 day December 2016 snowfall 2cm 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 8cm Snowfall at base this season 12cm Posted on Saturday 10th December 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. Good morning from a snowy Yuzawa. Yes, this is what we like to see! Snow on the ground, snow falling from the skies. When I went to bed last night heavy rain was belting down on the roof and I was wondering if it would be snowing, but it felt colder last night and while it isn't super cold this morning there's definitely a chill in the air. Hopefully it will keep that way and snow will continue through the day, as forecast. From today of course Kagura is almost all open - there are a few courses in the Tashiro area that are not open, but generally it's pretty much all accessible. They are reporting 20-30cm of snowfall since yesterday and so it should be good fun up there this morning. It is snowing down to town level which of course is good news for all of the other resorts. Maiko Snow Resort, Iwappara and Joetsu Kokusai are waiting until there is enough to open and they will be eager to do so. It is a big week coming up as well with a bunch of resorts hoping to open next weekend. So snow is forecast to continue today and tomorrow as well before clearer weather on Monday - and a return back to snow by Wednesday. --- Ski resorts that are currently open: Kagura (Mitsumata) Kagura (Tashiro) Naeba Planned opening dates for resorts in Yuzawa Town and Minamiuonuma City (by date): As soon as there is enough snow: Iwappara Joetsu Kokusai Maiko Snow Resort Friday 16th December: Muica Snow Resort Yuzawa Park Saturday 17th December: GALA Yuzawa Ipponsugi Kandatsu Kogen Ludens Yuzawa Muikamachi Hakkaisan Nakazato Snow Wood Yuzawa Kogen Yuzawa Nakazato Wednesday 21st December: Ishiuchi Maruyama Thursday 22nd December: NASPA Ski Garden Friday 23rd December: Chateaux Shiozawa Ipponsugi Itsukamachi Saturday 24th December: Hakkai Sanroku Mt Granview Wednesday 28thy December: Ishiuchi Hanaoka Yuzawa Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Saturday 10th December 2016 Total snowfall at base so far 12cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 4 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 8cm (10th December) November 2016 snowfall 2cm reported on 1 day December 2016 snowfall 10cm 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 26cm Snowfall at base this season 38cm Posted on Sunday 11th December 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. Hello from Yuzawa and it is a very good morning. I am happy to be able to report some decent snowfall, which is always something that makes me happy. I am hearing my first snow-moving-machine go up the road as well now - always a good sound! I have 3 different snowfall readings from a few different places this morning and they range from 18cm to 30cm. I'm going to go with my usual measuring point though and log in 26cm of fresh snowfall since the report yesterday. Interestingly, Kagura are reporting just 20cm - I thought they might have more to report than that... It is still snowing here now and coming down pretty heavily as well just now. The forecast is for snow through the day today thought it is forecast to clear up by tomorrow morning and there may be some sun up there to enjoy. As we get into Tuesday rain is forecast for (at least) town level unfortunately but by Wednesday hopefully we'll be back to snowy skies with more due through into the end of the week. So, a bit difficult to read but as things are this morning it's feeling pretty good. There's no word yet from the three resorts that remain on stand-by, but you can be sure that they will be opening up some lifts and courses as soon as they can. It's looking good though and I expect to hear something from them soon. --- Ski resorts that are currently open: Kagura (Mitsumata) Kagura (Tashiro) Naeba Planned opening dates for resorts in Yuzawa Town and Minamiuonuma City (by date): As soon as there is enough snow: Iwappara Joetsu Kokusai Maiko Snow Resort Friday 16th December: Muica Snow Resort Yuzawa Park Saturday 17th December: GALA Yuzawa Ipponsugi Kandatsu Kogen Ludens Yuzawa Muikamachi Hakkaisan Nakazato Snow Wood Yuzawa Kogen Yuzawa Nakazato Wednesday 21st December: Ishiuchi Maruyama Thursday 22nd December: NASPA Ski Garden Friday 23rd December: Chateaux Shiozawa Ipponsugi Itsukamachi Saturday 24th December: Hakkai Sanroku Mt Granview Wednesday 28thy December: Ishiuchi Hanaoka Yuzawa Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Sunday 11th December 2016 Total snowfall at base so far 38cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 5 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 26cm (11th December) November 2016 snowfall 2cm reported on 1 day December 2016 snowfall 36cm 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 15cm Snowfall at base this season 53cm Posted on Monday 12th December 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. That was a very satisfying weekend! Lots of snow falling and the first real 'mid-winter feel' of the season, at town level anyway. Dare I say it, it felt more like two seasons ago than last season. Check the archive reports to see what I mean by that! But, lets not get too over-excited just yet... So it was snowing for most of the day yesterday and heavily at times too. I have recorded another 15cm of snowfall since my report yesterday morning. There's a nice blanket of snow everywhere this morning. And what a morning it is too! The sun is out and we have clear blue skies over Yuzawa. Stunning. It is a fairly cold start to the morning but will warm up a bit, to perhaps around +4C this afternoon. Tomorrow is going to be warmer still and later on in the day it's looking like we are going to get rained on in lower elevations. The good news is that by Wednesday it should be snowing again. In most seasons we do actually get a layer of snow down in town that melts away before we get the snow that remains for the winter. What will it be this season? Will this layer remain? We'll just have to wait and see what happens day by day, and I will of course bring you the latest every morning. I was half expecting Maiko Snow Resort to say they might be opening this morning, but as of 9am there is no word from them yet. They did mention that they had 30cm of snow at the base of the resort yesterday afternoon though. Iwappara and Joetsu Kokusai also remain 'on standby'. Resort-specific info as of Monday 12th December 2016 Ski resorts that are currently open in the region: Kagura Almost all of Kagura is now open. They are reporting 15-20cm of fresh snow overnight. Official snow depth: Kagura - 120cm Mitsumata - 80cm Tashiro - 100cm Naeba The lower slopes of Naeba are open. Official snow depth: 60cm Planned opening dates for other resorts in Yuzawa Town and Minamiuonuma City (by date): Opening as soon as there is enough snow: Iwappara Joetsu Kokusai Maiko Snow Resort Friday 16th December: Muica Snow Resort Yuzawa Park Saturday 17th December: GALA Yuzawa Kandatsu Kogen Ludens Yuzawa Muikamachi Hakkaisan Nakazato Snow Wood Yuzawa Kogen Yuzawa Nakazato Wednesday 21st December: Ishiuchi Maruyama Thursday 22nd December: NASPA Ski Garden Friday 23rd December: Chateau Shiozawa Ipponsugi Itsukamachi Saturday 24th December: Hakkai Sanroku Mt Granview Wednesday 28th December: Ishiuchi Hanaoka --- 'Nighta' (floodlit night operations) Below are details of the planned 'nighta' operations at ski and snowboards resorts around Yuzawa and Minamiuonuma this season. This information is subject to change due to snow and weather conditions. Ishiuchi Maruyama Daily from 23rd December 2016 until 19th March 2017. Nighta is from 5pm until 8:50pm. The Chuo Number 1, Chuo Number 2 and Kanko Number 3 Express lifts are open daily. The Kanko Number 1 Express lift, Hatsukaishi Entrance lift and Hatsukaishi Number 2 pair lifts are also open on weekends and holidays. Iwappara Daily from 17th December 2016 until 20th March 2017. Nighta is from 5pm until 9pm on Saturdays and until 8pm on weekdays and Sundays. The Main course, Grand course and West courses are open during nighta. Joetsu Kokusai Daily from 17th December 2016 until 20th March 2017. Nighta is from 5pm until 9pm. The area in front of the main base hotel is open for nighta. Kandatsu Kogen 'Hobo All Night' ('Almost All Night') is on Fridays, Saturdays and nights before holidays between 29th December 2016 and 1st April 2017. The nighta opening times on those days is from 6pm until 4am the following morning. Maiko Snow Resort Daily from 28th December 2016 until 19th March 2017. Nighta is from 4pm until 8pm. The Maiko center quad lift on the Maiko Side of the resort operates for nighta. Naeba Daily from 17th December 2016 until 26th March 2017. Nighta is from 4pm until 8:30pm. Part of the lower area of the resort is usually open for nighta. NASPA Ski Garden 'Thanks' (extended) opening on Saturdays in December, January and February and also on 23rd December and from 30th December until 8th January 2017. On those days the Number 1 lift is open until 6pm. Yuzawa Nakazato Every Saturday from 7th January until 11th March 2017, 29th December until 3rd January, 8th January 2017. Nighta is from 5pm until 8:30pm. The Number 2 pair lift operates during nighta. Yuzawa Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Monday 12th December 2016 Total snowfall at base so far 53cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 6 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 26cm (11th December) November 2016 snowfall 2cm reported on 1 day December 2016 snowfall 51cm 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 24cm Snowfall at base this season 77cm Posted on Thursday 15th December 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. It's a very good morning here in Yuzawa. We have a decent amount of fresh snow on the ground and also things are looking good for ski resort openings over the next few days. Yes, the wet conditions yesterday turned into snowy conditions later in the afternoon and this morning there's 20cm of fresh snow on the ground outside SnowJapan HQ here just to the north of Yuzawa, and 24cm at our Yuzawa measuring point. Maiko Snow Resort have announced that they will be opening from tomorrow (Friday), and they'll announce exactly what will be open in terms of lifts and courses later on today - though depending on how much snow falls it may just be the top Okusoeji bowl area via the Gondola. Iwappara and Joetsu Kokusai have said that they are both now planning towards opening from Saturday. Muica Snow Resort was hoping to open from tomorrow but has delayed that for the moment and no word from Yuzawa Park just yet (they were also aiming for Friday). Then there's the whole bunch of places that were hoping to open from Saturday... Exactly how much snow falls over the next few days is obviously going to have a big affect on what opens up by the weekend, but it is snowing right now still and snow is forecast for the day tomorrow as well - so it's all looking promising. If you look back over the archive reports, you'll notice that this time last year we were still waiting to record the first snow on the ground here in town, so we are definitely enjoying a more promising start to the season. Exciting times! We'll have a clearer idea on the situation tomorrow morning and I will of course update you with the latest. --- Resort-specific info as of Thursday 15th December 2016 Ski resorts that are currently open in the region: Kagura All areas of Kagura are now open. The top Kagura Number 5 pair lift and course will open from 1st January 2017. The resort is reporting 15cm of fresh snow at Tashiro, 20cm at Mitsumata and 20-30cm at the main Kagura area. Official snow depth: Kagura - 120cm Mitsumata - 80cm Tashiro - 100cm Naeba A few of the lower slopes of Naeba are open. Official snow depth: 60cm Planned opening dates for other resorts in Yuzawa Town and Minamiuonuma City (by date): Opening as soon as there is enough snow: Iwappara Joetsu Kokusai Maiko Snow Resort Muica Snow Resort Yuzawa Park Saturday 17th December: GALA Yuzawa Kandatsu Kogen Ludens Yuzawa Muikamachi Hakkaisan Nakazato Snow Wood Yuzawa Kogen Yuzawa Nakazato Wednesday 21st December: Ishiuchi Maruyama Thursday 22nd December: NASPA Ski Garden Friday 23rd December: Chateau Shiozawa Ipponsugi Itsukamachi Saturday 24th December: Hakkai Sanroku Mt Granview Wednesday 28th December: Ishiuchi Hanaoka Yuzawa Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Thursday 15th December 2016 Total snowfall at base so far 77cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 7 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 26cm (11th December) November 2016 snowfall 2cm reported on 1 day December 2016 snowfall 75cm 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 8cm Snowfall at base this season 85cm Posted on Friday 16th December 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. The snow continued falling for most of the day yesterday, though it didn't actually result in that much more cm on the ground. With more snowfall overnight I record another 8cm of fresh snowfall since my report yesterday morning. (Interestingly, Kagura are just reporting 5cm of fresh and so are Maiko Snow Resort). Talking of Maiko Snow Resort - they are open this morning. They have their gondola moving as well as the two lifts in the upper Okusoeji area and about 2/3 of the courses up there open. They are reporting a snow depth of 95cm up top with about 30cm at base. And it also looks like Kandatsu Kogen have opened this morning as well - their official opening was planned for tomorrow, but it seems they just can't wait! In what they are calling 'pre-open', 60% of their courses will be available. GALA Yuzawa enjoys a high elevation and so expect a large part of that resort to be open. They have said that they will have their Central and North areas open with 7 courses available. There's a bunch of ski and snowboard resorts in Yuzawa and Minamiuonuma preparing to open from tomorrow and with the snowfall we have received I expect them all to be able to - to varying degrees. There's still not a huge amount of snow at town level but more the higher up you go. It's all happening now though, and it feels good. After the poor start to the season last year I think many people were wary but we need to remember that last year was not 'normal'. We have a promising start here now so hopefully we're back to normal and we can expect some very nice snowfall this season. For the moment, it will be really great if the resorts can all open as planned. There's so much information to try and gather and with resorts themselves crazy busy in 'bata-bata' mode, I will do my best tomorrow morning to bring you all of the latest details.. and apologies in advance if the report is posted later than usual. --- Oops, I nearly forgot the forecast - snow through the day today and perhaps into tomorrow, some clearer skies and milder temperatures into early next week. Not too warm please!! --- Resort-specific info as of Friday 16th December 2016 Ski resorts that are currently open in the region: Kagura All areas of Kagura are now open. The top Kagura Number 5 pair lift and course will open from 1st January 2017. The resort is reporting 5cm of fresh snow. Official snow depth: Kagura - 120cm Mitsumata - 80cm Tashiro - 100cm Naeba More of Naeba opening up now with the Number 2 gondola operating. Official snow depth: 60cm Maiko Snow Resort The top Okusoeji area is about 2/3 of that area is open from this morning. Official snow depth: Upper - 95cm Base - 30cm Kandatsu Kogen Special 'pre-open' today with the resort saying it is '60% open'. Official snow depth: 80cm Planned opening dates for other resorts in Yuzawa Town and Minamiuonuma City (by date): Planned opening tomorrow: GALA Yuzawa Iwappara Joetsu Kokusai Ludens Yuzawa Muica Snow Resort Muikamachi Hakkaisan Nakazato Snow Wood Yuzawa Kogen Yuzawa Nakazato Yuzawa Park Wednesday 21st December: Ishiuchi Maruyama Thursday 22nd December: NASPA Ski Garden Friday 23rd December: Chateau Shiozawa Ipponsugi Itsukamachi Saturday 24th December: Hakkai Sanroku Mt Granview Wednesday 28th December: Ishiuchi Hanaoka Yuzawa Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Friday 16th December 2016 Total snowfall at base so far 85cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 8 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 26cm (11th December) November 2016 snowfall 2cm reported on 1 day December 2016 snowfall 83cm 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

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Yuzawa & Minamiuonuma region of Niigata New snowfall at base 20cm Snowfall at base this season 105cm Posted on Saturday 17th December 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. Yesterday we enjoyed more snowfall through most of the day - there were a few small patches of blue sky in the afternoon from time to time but overnight the snow was falling again and outside SJHQ in Minamiuonuma there's 18cm of fresh since the last report. 20cm on the ground in Yuzawa. Nice. Maiko Snow Resort are reporting up to 25cm of fresh snow while Kagura are reporting up to 20cm. We have done really well since last weekend and happily it means that the resorts who were planning on opening from today are able to. I have done my best to update the individual resort information below with all of the latest that is available. Looking beyond today, there is more sunshine on the forecast for the coming week than snow and it does look like it is gradually going to be warming up a bit. Not what we want to hear but hopefully it'll peak out late week and we can be back to snow in time for Christmas. In the meantime the snow we have now should keep us going. It's still snowing now so fingers crossed we'll get a decent amount more today before it eases off... though it isn't that cold this morning and actually forecast for temperatures to rise a bit later - watch out for the chance of it being too warm for snow and dreaded rain falling later on. Hopefully not! --- Resort-specific info as of Saturday 17th December 2016 GALA Yuzawa GALA Yuzawa is open from this morning. The Central and North areas are open: Central Area - Melody, Edelweiss, Entertainment, Gigi, Grenoble courses and the sledging area North Area - Broadway and Swan courses Official snow depth: 120cm Iwappara Iwappara is part open from today. The Number 2 and Number 3 pair lifts as well as the Chuo and Summit quad lifts are operating. Official snow depth: 60cm Joetsu Kokusai Joetsu Kokusai is part open from today with 11 lifts operating and 12 courses open. Official snow depth: 70cm Kagura All areas of Kagura are now open. The top Kagura Number 5 pair lift and course will open from 1st January 2017. The resort is reporting 5-20m of fresh snow. Official snow depth: Kagura - 150cm Mitsumata - 110cm Tashiro - 130cm Kandatsu Kogen After the special 'pre-open' yesterday, Kandatsu Kogen is now officially open for the season. Official snow depth: 85cm Naeba The Prince Number 2 Gondola, Takenokodaira pair, Number 5 high speed lift, Number 3 and Number 4 romance pair lifts are operating. Official snow depth: 70cm Maiko Snow Resort The Gondola and Okusoeji quad and pair lifts are operating as well as the Maiko Center quad lift (on the Maiko side). Official snow depth: Upper - 120cm Base - 50cm Muikamachi Hakkaisan Hakkaisan is part open from today. The Ropeway and Number 1 and 3 romance pair lifts are operating. Official snow depth: 80cm Yuzawa Kogen Yuzawa Kogen is part open from today. The Ropeway, Cosmos pair lift, Summit pair lift and Nunoba pair lift are operating. Official snow depth: Top - 100cm Base - 45cm Yuzawa Park It seems Yuzawa Park actually part opened yesterday and today the Number 1 and Number 7 lifts are operating. Yuzawa Nakazato Yuzawa Nakazato is part open from today. The Number 1 high speed lift, Number 2 and Number 3 romance pair lifts are operating. Official snow depth: 50cm Other nearby resorts now at least part open: Ludens Yuzawa Muica Snow Resort Nakazato Snow Wood Planned opening dates for other resorts in Yuzawa Town and Minamiuonuma City (by date): Wednesday 21st December: Ishiuchi Maruyama Thursday 22nd December: NASPA Ski Garden Friday 23rd December: Chateau Shiozawa Ipponsugi Itsukamachi Saturday 24th December: Hakkai Sanroku Mt Granview Wednesday 28th December: Ishiuchi Hanaoka Yuzawa Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Saturday 17th December 2016 Total snowfall at base so far 105cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 9 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 26cm (11th December) November 2016 snowfall 2cm reported on 1 day December 2016 snowfall 103cm 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 1cm Snowfall at base this season 106cm Posted on Sunday 18th December 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. Yesterday the snow eased off and it definitely felt milder than it had been. Later on in the day there were spots of rain falling - wet snow in higher places - but let's do our best to try and forget about that. (The observed snowfall on the report this morning is what fell yesterday post-report). This morning the sun is out. There's lots of blue sky over Yuzawa, more cloud to the north. Actually it seems a bit more silvery-blue now than it was earlier and the forecast is more for cloud than sun - so perhaps it is gradually going to cloud over today. It is going to be mild too, up to about 7C later on in town according to the forecasts. In fact, this coming week we can expect some very mild temperatures with the warmest being around Wednesday to Thursday when it might be getting into double digit temperature territory. And rain. Shudder, I don't like the sound of that. After the lovely snow and real mid-winter feel we have enjoyed over the last week or so as well. It would be a crime if conditions were spoiled by it. We can but hope that the actual weather patterns change before we get there. The longer range forecast does show temperatures dropping as we head to the weekend and signs of snow as well, so fingers crossed for a return to snowy conditions over Christmas. For now though we have a decent amount of snow on the ground - much better than last year - and places are mostly part open. So it's time to head out and enjoy some skiing. I'll see you tomorrow. --- Resort-specific info as of Sunday 18th December 2016 GALA Yuzawa GALA Yuzawa is part open. The Central and North areas are open: Central Area - Melody, Edelweiss, Entertainment, Gigi, Grenoble courses and the sledging area North Area - Broadway and Swan courses. 7 courses open in total. Official snow depth: 130cm Iwappara Iwappara is part open. The Number 2 and Number 3 pair lifts as well as the Chuo and Summit quad lifts are operating. 11 courses open in total. Official snow depth: 60cm Joetsu Kokusai Joetsu Kokusai is part open with 11 lifts operating and 12 courses open. Official snow depth: 70cm Kagura All areas of Kagura are open. The top Kagura Number 5 pair lift and course will open from 1st January 2017. The resort is reporting 0-5m of fresh snow. Official snow depth: Kagura - 150cm Mitsumata - 110cm Tashiro - 130cm Kandatsu Kogen Kandatsu Kogen is mostly open with three lifts operating. Official snow depth: 80cm Naeba The Prince Number 2 Gondola, Takenokodaira pair, Number 5 high speed lift, Number 3 and Number 4 romance pair lifts are operating. Official snow depth: 70cm Maiko Snow Resort The Gondola and Okusoeji quad and pair lifts are operating as well as the Maiko Center quad lift (on the Maiko side). 9 courses open in total. Official snow depth: Upper - 110cm Base - 40cm Muikamachi Hakkaisan Hakkaisan is part open. The Ropeway and Number 1 and 3 romance pair lifts are operating. Official snow depth: Top - 150cm Base - 80cm Yuzawa Kogen Yuzawa Kogen is part open. The Ropeway, Cosmos pair lift, Summit pair lift and Nunoba pair lift are operating. Official snow depth: Top - 100cm Base - 45cm Yuzawa Park Yuzawa Park is part open. Official snow depth: 50cm Yuzawa Nakazato Yuzawa Nakazato is part open. The Number 1 high speed lift, Number 2 and Number 3 romance pair lifts are operating. Official snow depth: 50cm Other nearby resorts now at least part open: Ludens Yuzawa Muica Snow Resort Nakazato Snow Wood Planned opening dates for other resorts in Yuzawa Town and Minamiuonuma City (by date): Wednesday 21st December: Ishiuchi Maruyama Thursday 22nd December: NASPA Ski Garden Friday 23rd December: Chateau Shiozawa Ipponsugi Itsukamachi Saturday 24th December: Hakkai Sanroku Mt Granview Wednesday 28th December: Ishiuchi Hanaoka Yuzawa Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Sunday 18th December 2016 Total snowfall at base so far 106cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 10 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 26cm (11th December) November 2016 snowfall 2cm reported on 1 day December 2016 snowfall 104cm 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 0cm Snowfall at base this season 106cm Posted on Friday 23rd December 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. Hello from Yuzawa and a bit of a later report this morning as I wanted to check everything -- unfortunately, the weather is making things a bit tricky at the moment. Yesterday was - as expected - another very warm day. I posted my report early yesterday and didn't initially pick up on the fact that some resorts were not going to be able to open due to strong winds. GALA Yuzawa was closed for the day, as were the Tashiro and main Kagura areas at Kagura. It was fairly windy low down too. We knew it was going to be mild/warm but I was still pretty shocked to see 18C on the road-side thermometer here in Shiozawa just outside of Yuzawa at 6pm. That's just silly numbers and I wish to lodge a formal complaint to someone/somewhere! And then there was the rain. Yes, it rained overnight and heavily at times. This morning it's cloudy with a few spots of rain here and there but generally it is holding off for now. After such a good start a few weeks back, this last week has inflicted some serious damage. The 60cm of snow that was nicely piling up in my garden has now all gone. And slopes around town level in the region are now looking rather brown unfortunately as the snow has disappeared. Ishiuchi Maruyama and Yuzawa Park had opened, but they are going to be closed for the day today due to the conditions. A few other resorts are now reducing the areas that are open due to the current snow conditions. I know what I have written is all a bit grim, but in the interests of telling it like it is. But we all want some good news as well of course, so let's get onto that... By tonight it should be snowing again and hopefully it will turn everywhere back to white by the morning and continue through the day. After that a break from the snow and a little warmer (but thankfully not the kind of warm we have experienced this last week) before more snow due around Tuesday-Wednesday. So fingers crossed we can get back to 'winter mode' fairly quickly. I have updated the resort-specific information below with what info I have available. Will do our best to keep this up to data every day. Snow. Now. Please! :) --- Resort-specific info as of Friday 23rd December 2016 GALA Yuzawa GALA Yuzawa is part open. 9 courses in the Central and North areas open in total. Official snow depth: 90cm Ishiuchi Maruyama Closed today due to the snow conditions. Official snow depth: 50cm Iwappara Iwappara is part open. 4 lifts and 11 courses are open. Opening of nighta has been delayed until there is more snow. Official snow depth: 30cm Joetsu Kokusai Part of the Panorama area of Joetsu Kokusai is open with 6 lifts operating and 5 courses open. Official snow depth: 50cm Kagura All areas of Kagura are generally open. The top Kagura Number 5 pair lift and course will open from 1st January 2017. The Dragondola was planning to be open from today, but they have delayed opening due to the lack of snow. Official snow depth: Kagura - 150cm Mitsumata - 110cm Tashiro - 130cm Kandatsu Kogen Kandatsu Kogen is part open with three lifts operating. Official snow depth: 40cm Naeba The Prince Number 2 Gondola, Takenokodaira pair, Number 3 and 5 high speed lifts, Number 4 romance pair lifts are operating. Official snow depth: 50cm Maiko Snow Resort The Gondola and Okusoeji quad and pair lifts are operating. 6 courses open in total. The Maiko side of the resort is currently closed. Official snow depth: Upper - 50cm Base - 0cm Muikamachi Hakkaisan The Ropeway and Number 3 romance pair lifts are operating. Official snow depth: 50cm NASPA Ski Garden NASPA Ski Garden is open with 5 courses and lifts 1, 3, 4 and 5 operating. Official snow depth: 35cm Yuzawa Kogen Yuzawa Kogen is part open. The lower Nunoba area is closed. The Ropeway, Cosmos pair lift, Summit pair lift are operating. Official snow depth: Top - 60cm Base - 10cm Yuzawa Park Yuzawa Park has had to close due to the snow situation. Official snow depth: 30cm Yuzawa Nakazato Yuzawa Nakazato is part open. The Number 2 pair lift is operating. Official snow depth: 25cm Yuzawa Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Friday 23rd December 2016 Total snowfall at base so far 106cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 10 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 26cm (11th December) November 2016 snowfall 2cm reported on 1 day December 2016 snowfall 104cm 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