Independent snow and weather reporting from the Yuzawa & Minamiuonuma region of Niigata New snowfall at base 12cm Snowfall at base this season 159cm Posted on Thursday 5th January 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. Good morning from Yuzawa. And after enduring some more rain/sleet during the day yesterday in town (snow if you went higher), this morning we have some proper snow to report. Here's the headlines from the ski resorts (fresh snowfall): Kagura: 20cm Mitsumata: 15cm Tashiro: 15cm Maiko Snow Resort: 10-15cm on lower areas; 25cm at top We are measuring 12cm in Yuzawa and 8cm outside the office in Shiozawa, so somewhere around 10cm at town level and more as you go higher. I'm also happy to report that it is still snowing and hopefully should be for the day and into tomorrow so there should be more in my next report. We might get some clearer weather conditions for a few days from tomorrow, with a return to snow sometime around Monday-Tuesday. Good to see a refresh; more please! --- Resort-specific info as of Thursday 5th January 2017 GALA Yuzawa 11 courses in the Central and North areas are open as well as the sledding area. Official snow depth: 140cm Ishiuchi Maruyama Lifts from all three base areas are operating and most course areas are available. Official snow depth: 80cm Iwappara Iwappara is part open. 5 lifts and 14 courses are open - mid to upper areas. The resort has stopped nighta for the moment. Official snow depth: 40cm Joetsu Kokusai 13 lifts are operating and 11 courses are open in front of the hotel and in the Panorama and Atema areas. The resort has stopped nighta for the moment. Official snow depth: 50cm Kagura All areas of Kagura are open. The top Kagura Number 5 lift is now open. Official snow depth: Kagura - 170cm Mitsumata - 150cm Tashiro - 130cm Kandatsu Kogen Kandatsu Kogen is now mostly open and four lifts operating. Official snow depth: 100cm Maiko Snow Resort The upper Okusoeji area and part of the Maiko area are open. The resort has stopped nighta for the moment. 8 lifts and 12 courses are available. Official snow depth: Upper - 120cm Base - 20cm Muikamachi Hakkaisan The Ropeway, Number 1 and 3 romance pair lifts are operating. Official snow depth: 80cm Naeba Most lifts operating. Please see Naeba Now report for more specific details. Official snow depth: 100cm NASPA Ski Garden NASPA Ski Garden is open. All lifts are operating and all courses (apart from the mogul and slopestyle course) are open. Official snow depth: 80cm Yuzawa Kogen Yuzawa Kogen is mostly open including the lower Nunoba area. All lifts operating. Official snow depth: Top - 110cm Base - 40cm Yuzawa Park Yuzawa Park is part open with the Number 1, 3 and 7 lifts operating. Official snow depth: 50cm Yuzawa Nakazato Yuzawa Nakazato is open with all lifts operating. Official snow depth: 50cm Yuzawa Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Thursday 5th January 2017 Total snowfall at base so far 159cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 17 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 26cm (11th and 30th December) November 2016 snowfall 2cm reported on 1 day December 2016 snowfall 144cm reported on 14 days January 2017 snowfall 13cm 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 13cm Snowfall at base this season 172cm Posted on Friday 6th January 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. We enjoyed seeing the snow fall for pretty much most of the day yesterday and while it wasn't big thick fluffy flakes for the most part it is good to see another 13cm on the ground this morning. And here's what resorts are reporting: Kagura: 10-15cm Maiko Snow Resort: 5-15cm More snow means more lifts and courses being able to open - so while I can't quite say that "everywhere is open", we're getting there... It's also good to see nighta starting up again at Iwappara and Joetsu Kokusai, with Maiko Snow Resort following on tomorrow. The snow has now stopped and it is a generally very cloudy morning but if the forecasts are correct we might see some sun later on this afternoon. Fine weather is expected tomorrow as well and while it is a chilly start to the day today it will probably be slightly warmer tomorrow. Fingers crossed not too much. With Monday being a holiday in Japan, tomorrow is the first day of the long weekend and traditionally one of the busiest weekends of the season at popular resorts. If you are planning on being in Yuzawa and if it is possible, an early start is recommended! The next snow due around Monday night. (There's a chance of rain before snow at town level; let's avoid that this time, hey?!) It should be good out there on the slopes this morning. --- Resort-specific info as of Friday 6th January 2017 GALA Yuzawa 11 courses in the Central and North areas are open as well as the sledding area. Official snow depth: 160cm Ishiuchi Maruyama Lifts from all three base areas are operating and most course areas are available. Official snow depth: 110cm Iwappara Iwappara is part open. 5 lifts and 14 courses are open - mid to upper areas. Nighta is back on from today! Official snow depth: 60cm Joetsu Kokusai 15 lifts are operating and 14 courses are open. The resort has started nighta again. Official snow depth: 60cm Kagura All areas of Kagura are open. Official snow depth: Kagura - 170cm Mitsumata - 150cm Tashiro - 130cm Kandatsu Kogen Kandatsu Kogen is now 'fully open'. (Note that Milky Way and Andromeda courses are open only on weekends and holidays). Nighta from 6pm until 4am tomorrow morning. Official snow depth: 120cm Maiko Snow Resort The upper Okusoeji area and part of the Maiko area are open. From noon today the Nagamine downhill course should also be open. The resort has stopped nighta for the moment - but it should be back open from tomorrow. 9 lifts and 14 courses are available. Official snow depth: Upper - 130cm Base - 30cm Muikamachi Hakkaisan The Ropeway, Number 1, 2 and 3 romance pair lifts are operating. Official snow depth: 100cm Naeba Most lifts operating. Please see Naeba Now report for more specific details. Official snow depth: 100cm NASPA Ski Garden NASPA Ski Garden is open. All lifts are operating and all courses (apart from the mogul course) are open. Official snow depth: 105cm Yuzawa Kogen Yuzawa Kogen is open including the lower Nunoba area. All lifts operating. Official snow depth: Top - 120cm Base - 50cm Yuzawa Park Yuzawa Park is part open with the Number 1, 3 and 7 lifts operating and 8 courses open. Official snow depth: 60cm Yuzawa Nakazato Yuzawa Nakazato is open with 6 lifts operating. Official snow depth: 65cm Yuzawa Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Friday 6th January 2017 Total snowfall at base so far 172cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 18 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 26cm (11th and 30th December) November 2016 snowfall 2cm reported on 1 day December 2016 snowfall 144cm reported on 14 days January 2017 snowfall 26cm 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 1cm Snowfall at base this season 173cm Posted on Tuesday 10th January 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. Yesterday it continued to be a case of ‘snow up top and rain in town’ in the region. And look at what Kagura are reporting this morning - 20cm of fresh snow at Mitsumata and a very nice 30-40cm of fresh snowfall at the main Kagura area and Tashiro. With that news, I imagine that there should be a nice new layer of snow at other higher areas as well. I know where I would be heading if it was a ski day for me! I'm posting my report this morning from nearby NASPA Ski Garden close to the town centre where light snow is currently falling and there's lots of cloud around. There has been a dusting of snow overnight down here at town level. Snow is due to ease off leaving us with a mostly cloudy day but should be back later on. It was on the news last night that out of 55 ski hills in Niigata Prefecture, only 36 (if I remember correctly) are able to be open “as normal” at this stage in the season. That’s a really worrying situation to be in on 10th January and I'm guessing that it is a similar situation in many regions of Japan (especially on Honshu). But within the next few days things do look set to change considerably. The forecast is still there for some heavy snowfall, and that should be starting sometime around tonight/tomorrow and with the most promising snowfall apparently due Friday-Sunday). Hopefully this is going to be a real sustained blast of winter with a lot of snow falling both on the mountainsides and in town. And be more like what we are used to in these parts. I must admit to being really very tired of having to talking about rain. It just feels so wrong! The forecast looks like this could be a real turning point of the season. Let’s hope so! --- Resort-specific info as of Monday 9th January 2017 Apologies for not being able to update the information this morning GALA Yuzawa The South Area is now open with the Batman and Eliza courses available. 13 courses are open in total as well as the sledding area. Official snow depth: 160cm Ishiuchi Maruyama Lifts from all three base areas are operating and most course areas are available. Official snow depth: 80cm Iwappara Iwappara is now mostly open. 9 lifts and 17 courses are available. Official snow depth: 55cm Joetsu Kokusai 21 lifts are operating and 17 courses are open. Official snow depth: 50cm Kagura All areas of Kagura are open. Official snow depth: Kagura - 190cm Mitsumata - 170cm Tashiro - 150cm Kandatsu Kogen Kandatsu Kogen is now 'fully open'. (Note that Milky Way and Andromeda courses are open only on weekends and holidays). Official snow depth: 120cm Maiko Snow Resort All lifts now operating as planned and most courses are available. Official snow depth: Upper - 130cm Base - 20cm Muikamachi Hakkaisan All lifts are now operating and all main courses now open. Official snow depth: 100cm Naeba All lifts and areas now open. Please see Naeba Now report for more specific details. Official snow depth: 100cm NASPA Ski Garden NASPA Ski Garden is open. All lifts are operating and all courses (apart from the mogul course) are open. Official snow depth: 90cm Yuzawa Kogen All lifts operating and all courses open. Official snow depth: Top - 120cm Base - 50cm Yuzawa Park Yuzawa Park is now fully open. Official snow depth: 50cm Yuzawa Nakazato Yuzawa Nakazato is open with all lifts operating. Official snow depth: 65cm Yuzawa Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Tuesday 10th January 2017 Total snowfall at base so far 173cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 19 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 26cm (11th and 30th December) November 2016 snowfall 2cm reported on 1 day December 2016 snowfall 144cm reported on 14 days January 2017 snowfall 27cm 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 23cm Snowfall at base this season 196cm Posted on Wednesday 11th January 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. Soon after posting the report yesterday, I was off out for a ski. By the time I was in the gondola at Maiko Snow Resort, I was really surprised at how clear it was turning out to be and also how much snow there was hanging on the trees. While there had been hardly any fresh snow on lower levels, it was different higher up with about 20cm of fresh and some really nice conditions to boot. By late morning there was hardly a cloud in the sky - it had turned into a beautiful morning. That wasn't something that the forecast said... The contrast between the upper Okusoeji area of the resort (lots of nice fresh snow and it hanging on the trees) and the base (no fresh snow and it very thin on the ground) was quite stark. But it was certainly very good to see that fine conditions could be found - just need to go and seek them. By mid afternoon the skies were mostly grey... and then later on it rained again. I'm prepared to forget about that quickly though because this morning there's lovely fresh snow on the ground, it is snowing quite nicely, and it looks like we're in for a treat still through until at least early next week. This morning there's nearly 25cm on the ground - in town areas. And here is what I can get from resorts: Kagura: 20cm-30cm Mitsumata: 30cm Tashiro: 20cm Maiko Snow Resort: 20cm-40cm As I am writing this report and in the last few minutes it has actually just stopped snowing and I can even see a glimpse of some sky behind the fast-moving clouds... I think (hope) that it's just temporary and we should be back to the snow quickly. The forecast is for snow with particularly heavy snow from Friday through the weekend. I sense this will be the real turning point of the season. In a good way. :) --- Resort-specific info as of Wednesday 11th January 2017 GALA Yuzawa All three areas now open. 13 courses are open in total as well as the sledding area. Official snow depth: 190cm Ishiuchi Maruyama Lifts from all three base areas are operating and most course areas are available. Official snow depth: 100cm Iwappara Mostly open - just a few courses now not open. 6 lifts and 17 courses are available. Official snow depth: 65cm Joetsu Kokusai 17 lifts are operating and 17 courses are open. Official snow depth: 60cm Kagura All areas of Kagura are open. Official snow depth: Kagura - 210cm Mitsumata - 180cm Tashiro - 160cm Kandatsu Kogen Kandatsu Kogen is now 'fully open'. (Note that Milky Way and Andromeda courses are open only on weekends and holidays). Official snow depth: 150cm Maiko Snow Resort All lifts now operating as planned and most courses are available. Official snow depth: Upper - 160cm Base - 30cm Muikamachi Hakkaisan All planned lifts are now operating and all main courses now open. Note that the Number 2 lift and one course only operate on weekends and holidays. Official snow depth: 120cm Naeba All lifts and areas now open. Please see Naeba Now report for more specific details. Official snow depth: 130cm NASPA Ski Garden NASPA Ski Garden is open. All lifts are operating and all courses (apart from the mogul course) are open. Official snow depth: 95cm Yuzawa Kogen All lifts operating and all courses open. Official snow depth: Top - 130cm Base - 60cm Yuzawa Park Yuzawa Park is now fully open. Official snow depth: 75cm Yuzawa Nakazato Yuzawa Nakazato is open with all lifts operating. Official snow depth: 70cm Yuzawa Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Wednesday 11th January 2017 Total snowfall at base so far 196cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 20 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 26cm (11th and 30th December) November 2016 snowfall 2cm reported on 1 day December 2016 snowfall 144cm reported on 14 days January 2017 snowfall 50cm 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 19cm Snowfall at base this season 215cm Posted on Thursday 12th January 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. Morning from Yuzawa. And what a good one it is as well. Ah yes, this feels much more like it! Some good snowfall since yesterday and at times big thick flakes coming down from the sky. Fantastic to see. And it still looks like there's a lot more on the way as well. Steady snowfall is forecast right through into next week. And Saturday and Sunday are still forecast to bring us 'heavy snow' (along with potentially strong winds). So it looks like it might well be a stormy weekend - be prepared! Anyway, here is what resorts are reporting today in terms of fresh snowfall: Kagura: 20cm Mitsumata: 25cm Tashiro: 10cm Maiko Snow Resort: 15-20cm There's close to 20cm of fresh snow on the ground at my measuring point as well. Great to see my garden covered as well... it's gone from a very thin layer to over half a metre in the last two days and I am really hoping to see a lot more pile up before this snow storm is over. GALA Yuzawa is now reporting over 2m of snow depth. Oh yes by the way from this coming Saturday the link between GALA Yuzawa, Ishiuchi Maruyama and Yuzawa Kogen (and the lift ticket that covers all three of those resorts) will be opening up. --- You know what... with most ski resorts now either fully open or close to being fully open - and with the snow falling and lots more snow on the way over the coming few days - I think we are in the position now to not have to update the lift information for each ski resort in the reports. Apart from a few lifts and courses, most ski resorts in Yuzawa and Minamiuonuma are now able to operate as planned and we'll only be getting closer to 100% in the next few days. I'm so happy to - at last - be able to say that! But things are looking good. Here's to heavy snowfall over the next few days. By the way I will of course continue to update the official snow depth data (take it for what it is please) and any resort specific news, as well as how much snow resorts are reporting each day. :) --- Official snow depth information as of Thursday 12th January 2017 GALA Yuzawa Official snow depth: 210cm Ishiuchi Maruyama Official snow depth: 150cm Iwappara Official snow depth: 80cm Joetsu Kokusai Official snow depth: 90cm Kagura Official snow depth: Kagura - 210cm Mitsumata - 180cm Tashiro - 160cm Kandatsu Kogen Official snow depth: 160cm Maiko Snow Resort Official snow depth: Upper - 175cm Base - 50cm Muikamachi Hakkaisan Official snow depth: 180cm Naeba Official snow depth: 130cm NASPA Ski Garden Official snow depth: 115cm Yuzawa Kogen Official snow depth: Top - 150cm Base - 80cm Yuzawa Park Official snow depth: 80cm Yuzawa Nakazato Official snow depth: 75cm Yuzawa Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Thursday 12th January 2017 Total snowfall at base so far 215cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 21 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 26cm (11th and 30th December) November 2016 snowfall 2cm reported on 1 day December 2016 snowfall 144cm reported on 14 days January 2017 snowfall 69cm 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 24cm Snowfall at base this season 239cm Posted on Friday 13th January 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. The beautiful heavy snowfall continues here in Yuzawa. Since my report yesterday morning I measure another 24cm of fresh snow on the ground. (And counting). And as ski resorts, this is how much fresh snow they are reporting this morning: Naeba: 10-20cm or 20-30cm (the resort seems to be saying both!) Kagura: 20cm Kagura (Mitsumata area): 20cm Kagura (Tashiro area): 15cm Maiko Snow Resort: 30-50cm * For those of you new to the reports, the only reason I mention those resorts in particular is because they are the ones that actually publish such numbers daily. If others did, I'd mention those too! And here's out first-hand observations on the ground of the snowfall since the report yesterday. Outside our place in Minamiuonuma (not far from Maiko and Ishiuchi Maruyama just to the north of Yuzawa): 20cm At our measuring spot in Yuzawa town: 24cm And... the snow is still forecast to continue falling - at times heavily - until at least early in the week and probably beyond. Heaviest due over the weekend. Curiously it doesn't feel that cold. There's big flakes coming down at quite some speed. The 'walls of snow' that develop by the side of the roads are starting to appear - though they have some way to go yet before being the 3m in height that they have known to be. Let's see how big they can get over the next few days. Yes. This all feels... right! :) If you like skiing or snowboarding while heavy snow is falling and visibility is limited, it should be really great out there this morning. Do take care in these conditions though. If you want to wait until the storm passes, it's might be an idea to consider leaving it until at least early next week. Though of course sometimes we just have to ski when we get the chance. Wrap up well and enjoy! One thing is for certain, this snowfall will breathe new life into all the resorts in the region and they can concentrate on just getting on with peak season. There'll be lots of smiling faces around now. Including mine. --- On a very sad note, it was on the news yesterday about two snowboarders missing for a few days. They had gone up to Kagura for some backcountry riding (according to the news) and are still missing. Apparently the search will continue this morning but it's going to be difficult in these conditions. Let's hope that particular story can end with good news. --- Official snow depth information as of Friday 13th January 2017 GALA Yuzawa Official snow depth: 210cm Ishiuchi Maruyama Official snow depth: 170cm Iwappara Official snow depth: 100cm Joetsu Kokusai Official snow depth: 120cm Kagura Official snow depth: Kagura - 240cm Mitsumata - 210cm Tashiro - 190cm Kandatsu Kogen Official snow depth: 180cm Maiko Snow Resort Official snow depth: Upper - 200cm Base - 70cm Muikamachi Hakkaisan Official snow depth: 200cm Naeba Official snow depth: 140cm NASPA Ski Garden Official snow depth: 115cm Yuzawa Kogen Official snow depth: Top - 160cm Base - 90cm Yuzawa Park Official snow depth: 110cm Yuzawa Nakazato Official snow depth: 85cm Yuzawa Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Friday 13th January 2017 Total snowfall at base so far 239cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 22 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 26cm (11th and 30th December) November 2016 snowfall 2cm reported on 1 day December 2016 snowfall 144cm reported on 14 days January 2017 snowfall 93cm 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 72cm Snowfall at base this season 311cm Posted on Saturday 14th January 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. Snow has continued falling in the region since my last report. At times light at times very heavy. During the day yesterday it was curiously mild - and at times the snow was a bit heavy/wet - but this morning it seems finer and drier. By 4pm yesterday afternoon I measured 34cm of fresh snowfall and this morning there is an additional 38cm. So that makes a whopping 72cm of snowfall since yesterday. Honest! Here is what the resorts are reporting: Naeba: 10-20cm Kagura: 30cm Kagura (Mitsumata area): 50cm Kagura (Tashiro area): 30cm Hakkai-san: 50cm It seems that the Minamiuonuma valley just to the north of Yuzawa is getting as much as - if not more than in places - Yuzawa itself. That can often be the case and last night actually it was on the news that Uonuma (to the north of Minamiuonuma) was getting more snow still. All good. This is what we expect here in this region and it's brilliant to see it happening now. How things can transform in just a few days! And what's more... it's not done yet. Heavy snow is forecast to continue today and tomorrow with snow clouds likely into early week as well. So we can expect some more big numbers in the next few reports. Visibility is limited, it's cold (though not Hokkaido-cold!) and the snow is coming down. Take care on the roads if you are coming by car and of course out on the slopes. This sudden heavy snowfall creates its own dangers. But do have fun! --- Official snow depth information as of Saturday 14th January 2017 GALA Yuzawa Official snow depth: 250cm Ishiuchi Maruyama Official snow depth: 220cm Iwappara Official snow depth: 140cm Joetsu Kokusai Official snow depth: 180cm Kagura Official snow depth: Kagura - 270cm Mitsumata - 240cm Tashiro - 220cm Kandatsu Kogen Official snow depth: 195cm Maiko Snow Resort Official snow depth: Upper - 230cm Base - 120cm Muikamachi Hakkaisan Official snow depth: 200cm Naeba Official snow depth: 150cm NASPA Ski Garden Official snow depth: 170cm Yuzawa Kogen Official snow depth: Top - 180cm Base - 100cm Yuzawa Park Official snow depth: 130cm Yuzawa Nakazato Official snow depth: 100cm Yuzawa Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Saturday 14th January 2017 Total snowfall at base so far 311cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 23 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 72cm (14th January) November 2016 snowfall 2cm reported on 1 day December 2016 snowfall 144cm reported on 14 days January 2017 snowfall 165cm 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 59cm Snowfall at base this season 370cm Posted on Sunday 15th January 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. Snow continuously falling throughout yesterday and more overnight. Very cold this morning too. Since my last report I have recorded an additional 59cm of snow (22cm of that since yesterday evening when I cleared the measuring point). I double checked those just to be sure. Here's what the resorts are reporting in terms of fresh snow overnight... Kagura: 60cm Kagura (Mitsumata area): 40cm Kagura (Tashiro area): 60cm Maiko Snow Resort: 30-40cm I make that 197cm of snow being observed in town over the last 5 reports. How does that sound! Stylish. Talk about a lot of snow all at once! Check how the official snow depths have suddenly also gone from looking rather sad to rather impressive. I knew there was a good reason why this is the original 'Snow Country'. :) As I write this report (just before 8am) actually it is not snowing and there's even a break in the clouds and some blue sky too just to the north of Yuzawa. It's very likely only temporary though as snow is still forecast for all of today and actually all of tomorrow too. Looks like wind is affecting operations at Kagura this morning with just the Mitsumata area open at the start of the day (may well change). GALA Yuzawa appears to be open as normal as are other resorts. Hope you can enjoy your Sunday wherever you are. If you are about to visit Yuzawa soon... congratulations on the timing! --- Official snow depth information as of Sunday 15th January 2017 GALA Yuzawa Official snow depth: 280cm Ishiuchi Maruyama Official snow depth: 250cm Iwappara Official snow depth: 190cm Joetsu Kokusai Official snow depth: 230cm Kagura Official snow depth: Kagura - 300cm Mitsumata - 270cm Tashiro - 250cm Kandatsu Kogen Official snow depth: 195cm Maiko Snow Resort Official snow depth: Upper - 270cm Base - 150cm Muikamachi Hakkaisan Official snow depth: 250cm Naeba Official snow depth: 150cm NASPA Ski Garden Official snow depth: 170cm Yuzawa Kogen Official snow depth: Top - 230cm Base - 150cm Yuzawa Park Official snow depth: 160cm Yuzawa Nakazato Official snow depth: 130cm Yuzawa Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Sunday 15th January 2017 Total snowfall at base so far 370cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 24 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 72cm (14th January) November 2016 snowfall 2cm reported on 1 day December 2016 snowfall 144cm reported on 14 days January 2017 snowfall 224cm 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 36cm Snowfall at base this season 406cm Posted on Monday 16th January 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. Good morning from Yuzawa and the snowy conditions have continued. Yesterday was a day of at times quickly changing weather conditions - at base areas anyway. We even had a brief spell of blue skies and sunshine in the morning, but it soon got back to snowing. During the day and at town level it wasn't always coming down as hard as it was on Saturday but we still got around 15cm of snowfall at town levels by evening. There was another period of clearer skies in the evening as well, before the snow clouds came back once again. Here's the new snowfall data reported this morning: Kagura (all areas): 40cm Maiko Snow Resort: 15-30cm Note: Kagura say that their number is 'until this morning'. Maiko Snow Resort say that their number is 'since yesterday evening'. Remember, it's not a science! Since the report yesterday, we have measured the following amount of fresh snow on the ground Minamiuonuma measuring point (near Ishiuchi): 35cm Yuzawa measuring point: 36cm ...with about 20cm of that since yesterday evening. So it's another thick layer of snow everywhere. This morning, when I started putting this report together it was just cloudy but snow has started falling once again and indeed it is forecast for the whole day - and tomorrow. Forecasts seem to disagree about what to expect on Wednesday and Thursday with some talking of sunshine, others of snow clouds to remain. So we'll have to just wait and see on that score. Whatever, conditions should be fantastic everywhere this coming week with more than enough snow. --- 233cm of snowfall observed at town level over the last 6 reports. How's that then? :) I said things could change dramatically in a matter of days didn't I? It's amazing how much things look different from this time last week. --- Unfortunately it looks like wind conditions are affecting Kagura this morning. Just the Mitsumata Ropeway will open and Kagura up to the Number 1 pair lift. The quad lift may get moving depending on conditions. The South Area of GALA Yuzawa is closed today due to avalanche danger with all the fresh snow over the last run of days. Other resorts in Yuzawa and region appear to be opening as planned. --- Official snow depth information as of Monday 16th January 2017 GALA Yuzawa Official snow depth: 290cm Ishiuchi Maruyama Official snow depth: 250cm Iwappara Official snow depth: 195cm Joetsu Kokusai Official snow depth: 250cm Kagura Official snow depth: Kagura - 300cm Mitsumata - 270cm Tashiro - 250cm Kandatsu Kogen Official snow depth: 245cm Maiko Snow Resort Official snow depth: Upper - 280cm Base - 170cm Muikamachi Hakkaisan Official snow depth: 250cm Naeba Official snow depth: 200cm NASPA Ski Garden Official snow depth: 230cm Yuzawa Kogen Official snow depth: Top - 250cm Base - 180cm Yuzawa Park Official snow depth: 170cm Yuzawa Nakazato Official snow depth: 150cm Yuzawa Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Monday 16th January 2017 Total snowfall at base so far 406cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 25 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 72cm (14th January) November 2016 snowfall 2cm reported on 1 day December 2016 snowfall 144cm reported on 14 days January 2017 snowfall 260cm 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 24cm Snowfall at base this season 430cm Posted on Tuesday 17th January 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. The headlines this morning: snow clouds remain the region and there's more fresh snow to report. By evening time last night I measured 19cm of fresh and this morning there's another 5cm, so that makes 24cm observed at town level. Here's what the resorts are reporting: Kagura: 20-30cm Maiko Snow Resort: 10-15cm (since yesterday evening) We are due snowfall during the day today - more light snow than heavy snow is forecast - and then looks like tomorrow the sun might take over and give us some fine weather. With the fresh snow and potentially fine weather, tomorrow should be top draw! (Today should be great too of course, just likely limited visibility). After that looks like Friday night into Saturday is the next decent snowfall. --- I spoke with a manager at one of the ski resorts yesterday and he was (half-joking) that there's now 'too much snow'. Apparently many people stayed away over the weekend due to the heavy snow being heavily featured on the national news. Great for people who made it here and enjoyed such conditions. Anyway I of course told him not to be silly and that we always want more snow. But on a more serious note, over the last six days or so we have made up for the low-on-snow start to the season. What we ideally want now is regular top-ups - 30cm or so please, preferably during the night - and maybe a few more storms. That would be good for nice long fresh season. --- Official snow depth information as of Tuesday 17th January 2017 GALA Yuzawa Note: South Area currently closed due to avalanche danger. The Central and North areas are open. Official snow depth: 290cm Ishiuchi Maruyama Official snow depth: 250cm Iwappara Official snow depth: 195cm Joetsu Kokusai Official snow depth: 260cm Kagura Official snow depth: Kagura - 310cm Mitsumata - 280cm Tashiro - 260cm Kandatsu Kogen Official snow depth: 240cm Maiko Snow Resort Official snow depth: Upper - 270cm Base - 160cm Muikamachi Hakkaisan Official snow depth: 270cm Naeba Official snow depth: 200cm NASPA Ski Garden Official snow depth: 240cm Yuzawa Kogen Official snow depth: Top - 250cm Base - 180cm Yuzawa Park Official snow depth: 170cm Yuzawa Nakazato Official snow depth: 160cm Yuzawa Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Tuesday 17th January 2017 Total snowfall at base so far 430cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 26 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 72cm (14th January) November 2016 snowfall 2cm reported on 1 day December 2016 snowfall 144cm reported on 14 days January 2017 snowfall 284cm 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 8cm Snowfall at base this season 438cm Posted on Wednesday 18th January 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. Once again, snow continued falling through pretty much all of the day yesterday, though for the most part it wasn’t as full on as the snowfall over the weekend and so much smaller numbers. We have measured another 8cm of fresh snow on the ground (6cm of that before evening; 2cm overnight). Kagura resort are reporting 10cm across mountain. This morning we are starting the day with a mix of blue sky and cloud (like less cloud with time) and it looks and feels like it should be a very fine and sunny day. Actually it may be getting a little warmer than we would like - up to around 4C forecast in town later on. Let's hope that doesn't rise too much. But people who are lucky enough to be around today should be in for a real treat. Hope you can get to enjoy it. After a few days of what looks set to be mixed weather conditions (cloud, sun, light snow tonight perhaps), moderate to heavy snow is on the forecast for Friday-Saturday and then more come Monday. Just the kind of thing that most of us probably want. The winter storm of the last week has really kicked things into shape well and good and this month looks like it is going to continue to deliver. Music to my ears! --- I was meaning to mention this before, but a mail sent in asking about it reminded me. One early morning in late October, the ‘Ishiuchi Drive-In’ yaki-niku restaurant by the side of Route 17 in Ishiuchi (just to the north of Yuzawa) was sadly burnt to the ground. It was popular with locals and visitors alike. More than a few ‘SnowJapan meetings’ have been held in there over the years and in fact your reporter was enjoying some yaki-niku there the day before the fire. Unconfirmed, but we are hearing that there are no plans to re-build it – at least by the people who owned it. It will be missed! (Update some time later: it has been rebuilt and re-opened). --- Official snow depth information as of Wednesday 18th January 2017 Some resorts have not yet updated their numbers as this report was posted and so unchanged. GALA Yuzawa Note: South Area currently closed due to avalanche danger. The Central and North areas are open. Official snow depth: 290cm Ishiuchi Maruyama Official snow depth: 250cm Iwappara Official snow depth: 195cm Joetsu Kokusai Official snow depth: 260cm Kagura Official snow depth: Kagura - 310cm Mitsumata - 280cm Tashiro - 260cm Kandatsu Kogen Official snow depth: 240cm Maiko Snow Resort Official snow depth: Upper - 270cm Base - 160cm Muikamachi Hakkaisan Official snow depth: 270cm Naeba Official snow depth: 200cm NASPA Ski Garden Official snow depth: 240cm Yuzawa Kogen Official snow depth: Top - 250cm Base - 180cm Yuzawa Park Official snow depth: 170cm Yuzawa Nakazato Official snow depth: 160cm Yuzawa Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Wednesday 18th January 2017 Total snowfall at base so far 438cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 27 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 72cm (14th January) November 2016 snowfall 2cm reported on 1 day December 2016 snowfall 144cm reported on 14 days January 2017 snowfall 292cm 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 1cm Snowfall at base this season 439cm Posted on Thursday 19th January 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. The remaining clouds cleared leaving us with beautiful blue skies over the region yesterday morning. It got quite mild as well, I believe it rose to around 4C in the afternoon. Things got a bit more overcast once again later on and it has been snowing overnight - and light snow currently snowing now too - though there's not fresh to report from down in town. Kagura is reporting 5cm and so it would seem that at higher elevations there's a layer of fresh. The forecast doesn't have this lasting long though and it will probably ease off this morning. The same forecast still looks good for potentially heavy snow late tomorrow and into Saturday and while there may be a break in the snow Sunday the snow clouds should be back once again as we enter the new week. So regular topups are due. --- Official snow depth information as of Thursday 19th January 2017 Some resorts have not yet updated their numbers as this report was posted and so unchanged. GALA Yuzawa Note: South Area currently closed due to avalanche danger. The Central and North areas are open. Official snow depth: 290cm Ishiuchi Maruyama Official snow depth: 230cm Iwappara Official snow depth: 175cm Joetsu Kokusai Official snow depth: 250cm Kagura Official snow depth: Kagura - 310cm Mitsumata - 280cm Tashiro - 260cm Kandatsu Kogen Official snow depth: 230cm Maiko Snow Resort Official snow depth: Upper - 250cm Base - 150cm Muikamachi Hakkaisan Official snow depth: 270cm Naeba Official snow depth: 200cm NASPA Ski Garden Official snow depth: 235cm Yuzawa Kogen Official snow depth: Top - 250cm Base - 180cm Yuzawa Park Official snow depth: 170cm Yuzawa Nakazato Official snow depth: 165cm Yuzawa Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Thursday 19th January 2017 Total snowfall at base so far 439cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 28 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 72cm (14th January) November 2016 snowfall 2cm reported on 1 day December 2016 snowfall 144cm reported on 14 days January 2017 snowfall 293cm 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