Independent snow and weather reporting from the Yuzawa & Minamiuonuma region of Niigata New snowfall at base 0cm Snowfall at base this season 0cm Posted on Friday 20th November 2020 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. Welcome back to the Yuzawa Now reports. After a spell of cold weather and snow sprinkles on the mountains, this week has been rather warm, especially yesterday. I remember saying that a lot throughout last winter; hopefully I'll be saying it much less this time round. It remains very mild this morning too, it should be somewhat colder tomorrow and we are expecting some rain. Not to worry, it is still very early. Kagura was, however, originally hoping to be able to open from tomorrow (21st November 2020)... and they have announced a delay. There's hardly any snow up there right now. Back soon... Yuzawa Now 2020-2021 season Data as of Friday 20th November 2020 Total snowfall at base so far 0cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 0 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 0cm November 2020 snowfall 0cm 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 0cm Posted on Thursday 26th November 2020 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. Good morning from Yuzawa. It is a dry morning with quite a lot of cloud, though the sun is trying breaking through at times. We are expecting the chance of some rain later on with a high of around 9C. The forecast of some snow over the coming days appears to have been scaled back somewhat, but there is still a chance around Saturday especially higher up. Kagura remains on standby to open as soon as there is enough snow. --- The three month forecast was released yesterday and it certainly looks better for Niigata than last year. The headline is that it looks like we are forecast at least normal levels of snowfall through February, with January showing an increased chance of 'more than normal'. Remember... normal for us here in this region is usually very good. More than normal is great. We'll have some of that please! --- Opening as soon as there is enough snow: - Kagura (via Mitsumata) Saturday 5th December 2020 - Joetsu Kokusai Saturday 12th December 2020 - GALA Yuzawa - Kagura (via Tashiro) Friday 18th December 2020 - Ishiuchi Maruyama - Maiko Snow Resort Saturday 19th December 2020 - Kandatsu Snow Resort - Naeba - Nakazato Snow Wood - Yuzawa Kogen - Yuzawa Nakazato Thursday 24th December 2020 - Iwappara - NASPA Ski Garden Friday 25th December 2020 - Ipponsugi - Muica Snow Resort - Muikamachi Hakkaisan - Yuzawa Park Currently unconfirmed - Hakkai Sanroku - Itsukamachi - Chateau Shiozawa - Mt Granview Closed during the 2020-2021 winter season - Ishiuchi Hanaoka Yuzawa Now 2020-2021 season Data as of Thursday 26th November 2020 Total snowfall at base so far 0cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 0 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 0cm November 2020 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 4cm Snowfall at base this season 384cm Posted on Friday 25th December 2020 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. Good morning from Yuzawa and Merry Christmas. Santa is here in Yuzawa and can probably be found at a few ski areas during the day. Beautiful sunny blue skies again in the morning yesterday but by mid afternoon it had gradually changed into a more grey overcast kind of feel. Overnight I was woken up by the sound of rain - nooooo! - but I am happy to report that it is snowing. Not a whole lot just yet but we can expect snowfall during the day today and tomorrow. It is thankfully going to remain colder today, though not super cold. Today sees the Muikamachi Hakkaisan resort as well as a few other ski areas planning to be open. A few changes from other ski areas too with more of Joetsu Kokusai opening up and the two Nagamine quad lifts at Maiko starting their season. A much larger part of Naeba is now open. They have their Number 2 Gondola operating as well as the upper Takenokodaira pair lift which opens up quite a few more runs over there. More of Tashiro is now open (up to the Number 6 pair lift) but Tashiro and Kagura are not yet connected. ----- GALA Yuzawa Operating lifts: - Diligence Gondola - Barouche quad lift - Sociable quad lift - Coach pair lift - Phaeton pair lift - Victoria quad lift Courses open: - Central Area (all open except Edelweiss) - North Area (Broadway, Super Broadway, Swan and Super Swan open) Official snow depth: - 250cm Ishiuchi Maruyama Operating lifts: - 5 lifts and 15 courses open Official snow depth: - Central area: 240cm - Base area: 170cm Iwappara Operating lifts: - Number 2 pair - Number 3 pair Official snow depth: - 210cm Joetsu Kokusai Open lifts & courses: - 8 lifts and 12 courses Official snow depth: - 210cm Kagura Operating lifts: - Mitsumata Ropeway - Mitsumata Number 1 quad lift - Mitsumata Number 2 romance pair lift - Kagura Gondola - Kagura Number 1 high speed lift - Tashiro Ropeway - Tashiro Number 1 romance lift - Tashiro Number 2 romance lift - Tashiro Number 1 high speed lift - Tashiro Number 6 romance lift Courses open: - Most of Mitsumata and Kagura Areas open and a large part of Tashiro now open Official snow depth: - Top: 280cm - Base: 210cm Kandatsu Snow Resort Operating lifts: - A, C and E lifts Official snow depth: - 200cm Maiko Snow Resort Operating lifts: - Gondola - Nagamine Number 1 quad - Nagamine Number 2 quad - Okusoeji quad - Okusoeji pair Courses open: - 12 courses in top area and Nagamine area Official snow depth: - 240cm (top) Muikamachi Hakkaisan Official snow depth: - 260cm NASPA Ski Garden Operating lifts: - All lifts operating Courses open: - All main courses apart from Course E open Official snow depth: - 230cm Naeba Operating lifts: - Prince Number 2 Gondola - Number 5 high speed lift - Number 4 pair lift - Number 3 high speed lift - Takenokodaira pair lift Courses open: - 12 of 22 courses open Official snow depth: - 120cm (top) - 100cm (base) Yuzawa Kogen Operating lifts: - Yuzawa Kogen Ropeway - Cosmos - Kogen Express Yuzawa Nakazato Operating lifts: - Number 2 romance lift - Number 3 romance lift Official snow depth: - 240cm Yuzawa Now 2020-2021 season Data as of Friday 25th December 2020 Total snowfall at base so far 384cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 10 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 96cm (16th December) November 2020 snowfall 0cm December 2020 snowfall 384cm 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 4cm Snowfall at base this season 380cm Posted on Tuesday 22nd December 2020 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. Yesterday it was snowing on and off for a fair part of the day, though it wasn't the same kind of snowfall as it had been - less intense and just 4cm to report from it, plus a slight dusting overnight. This morning there was quite a lot of cloud around early on but it seems to be clearing up with increasing blue skies and the sun has appeared. It should be a fine day with milder temperatures. It might get up to around +5C in town today and tomorrow. By Friday we should be back to snow. It will be interesting to see how ski areas open up this week. There is still not confirmation yet on when the Tashiro Area of Kagura will open. Iwappara and NASPA Ski Garden are due to start their season from Thursday and then most of the others on Friday or Saturday. Mt Granview are still saying 'the end of the year' so it is unclear exactly when we'll be treated to their hallowed slopes. (They like a bit of mystery). ----- GALA Yuzawa Operating lifts: - Diligence Gondola - Barouche quad lift - Sociable quad lift - Coach pair lift - Phaeton pair lift - Victoria quad lift Courses open: - Central Area (all open except Edelweiss) - North Area (Broadway, Super Broadway & Swan open) Official snow depth: - 310cm Ishiuchi Maruyama Operating lifts: - Sunrise Express - Tyrol Triple - Kanko Number 1 Express - Kanko Number 3 Express - Summit High Speed Official snow depth: - Central: 280cm - Base: 200cm Joetsu Kokusai Open lifts & courses: - 5 lifts and 10 courses Official snow depth: - 240cm Kagura Operating lifts: - Mitsumata Ropeway - Mitsumata Number 1 quad lift - Mitsumata Number 2 romance pair lift - Kagura Gondola - Kagura Number 1 high speed lift Courses open: - Kagura main course - Technical course - Gondola course - Gondola line - Family (Mitsumata) Official snow depth: - Top: 280cm - Base: 210cm - The opening of Tashiro Area has been delayed - no confirmation yet on when it will be open Kandatsu Snow Resort Operating lifts: - A, B and C lifts Official snow depth: - 245cm Maiko Snow Resort Operating lifts: - Gondola - Okusoeji quad - Okusoeji pair Courses open: - 11 courses in top area and Nagamine area Official snow depth: - 280cm (top) Naeba Operating lifts: - Number 5 high speed lift - Number 4 romance lift Courses open: - Lower areas by those lifts Official snow depth: - 120cm (top) - 100cm (base) Yuzawa Kogen Operating lifts: - Yuzawa Kogen Ropeway - Cosmos - Kogen Express Yuzawa Nakazato Operating lifts: - Number 2 romance lift - Number 3 romance lift Official snow depth: - 240cm Yuzawa Now 2020-2021 season Data as of Tuesday 22nd December 2020 Total snowfall at base so far 380cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 9 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 96cm (16th December) November 2020 snowfall 0cm December 2020 snowfall 380cm 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 40cm Snowfall at base this season 376cm Posted on Monday 21st December 2020 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. Guess what? Yep, you guessed it. It's still snowing. There was a break yesterday morning for a short time when there was even some sunshine breaking through in places, but it got back to snow fairly quickly and there has been another thick layer overnight. Our measurement this morning: 40cm since 9am yesterday morning. That takes our total for the season to 376cm. 375cm of that over the last 7 days (!) The Kagura resort are reporting 70cm of snow since yesterday and this morning they have the Mitsumata Area open and just the Kagura Number 1 pair lift at Kagura. Both Maiko Snow Resort and Ishiuchi Maruyama are reporting 20cm since last night. (They're surely doing some rounding down there. When numbers get big, ski areas seem to get wary of actually scaring people off with 'too much snow'.) GALA Yuzawa now has an official snow depth of 300cm. This has been mentioned in other reports in the last few days but it is worth repeating. All this snow does not mean that all the ski areas are going to be fully open. They are still very much dealing with it all and there are safety issues to consider. Dealing with such large amounts of snow is actually a very serious business, especially when it all comes at once. Last year was 'not normal'... this sudden massive snow is the other extreme. With the snow due to ease off somewhat by the end of today and then a few days of clearer skies and calmer conditions, everyone should be getting on top of the situation fairly soon. First of all, it needs to ease off! Keep that in mind and if you plan to be here and if you venture out in all this snow... it's natural to be excited by all this, but keep that in check and take extra care out there. As of 9am it is still snowing and visibility is limited. Yuzawa Now 2020-2021 season Data as of Monday 21st December 2020 Total snowfall at base so far 376cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 8 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 96cm (16th December) November 2020 snowfall 0cm December 2020 snowfall 376cm 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 51cm Snowfall at base this season 336cm Posted on Sunday 20th December 2020 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. Good morning from Yuzawa. More relentless snowfall during the day yesterday and overnight. Kagura are reporting 80cm since yesterday. Both Maiko Snow Resort and Ishiuchi Maruyama are reporting 30cm of snowfall overnight. Since yesterday at 9am, 51cm was just checked at our measuring point. We kind of feel hesitant posting such large numbers, but that is what was there, so... The continued snowfall means that many people remain in that 'dealing with it' mode and that includes the ski areas that are open. For example, this morning only the Mitsumata area of Kagura is open due to the current weather conditions. The main Kagura area is closed. There is a huge amount of snow around everywhere you look, but that does not automatically mean that ski areas are all fully open. Not yet. It looks like while it is due to be snowing today and perhaps into tomorrow, there should be less of it. (At the time of writing it is actually a bit brighter in the area to the north of Yuzawa). For the first part of the week we should have a few days of clearer skies, some sunshine and milder conditions. That will give everyone time to get on top of the situation. This is just a guess but I would expect everywhere to be able to catch up and get the snow settled in and be able to be close to fully opening come the end of the week, in time for Christmas. Last season we recorded 425cm of snowfall in Yuzawa (town level) throughout the whole of the winter. That was of course very low for Yuzawa. Just this week, since Monday, we have already recorded 336cm. Crazy! When we have more time we'll take a closer look at the numbers, but you can always find the data below on this page or on the Snowfall Analysis page (tab at the top). ----- GALA Yuzawa Operating lifts: - Diligence Gondola - Barouche quad lift - Sociable quad lift - Coach pair lift - Phaeton pair lift - Victoria quad lift Courses open: - Central Area (all open except Edelweiss) - North Area (Broadway, Super Broadway & Swan open) Official snow depth: - 270cm Ishiuchi Maruyama Operating lifts: - Sunrise Express - Tyrol Triple - Kanko Number 3 Express Official snow depth: - Central: 270cm - Base: 200cm Joetsu Kokusai Open lifts & courses: - 7 lifts and 11 courses Official snow depth: - 220cm Kagura Operating lifts: - Mitsumata Ropeway - Mitsumata Number 1 quad lift - Mitsumata Number 2 romance pair lift Courses open: - Mitsumata Official snow depth: - Top: 260cm - Base: 200cm - The opening of Tashiro Area has been delayed Kandatsu Snow Resort Operating lifts: - A, B and C lifts Courses open: - Most courses open Official snow depth: - 250cm Naeba Operating lifts: - Number 4 high speed lift - Number 5 high speed lift - Number 4 romance lift Courses open: - Lower areas Official snow depth: - 120cm (top) - 100cm (base) Maiko Snow Resort Operating lifts: - Gondola - Okusoeji quad - Okusoeji pair Courses open: - 11 courses in top area and Nagamine area Official snow depth: - 250cm (top) Yuzawa Kogen Operating lifts: - Yuzawa Kogen Ropeway - Cosmos - Kogen Express Yuzawa Nakazato Operating lifts: - Number 2 romance lift - Number 3 romance lift Official snow depth: - 220cm Yuzawa Now 2020-2021 season Data as of Sunday 20th December 2020 Total snowfall at base so far 336cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 7 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 96cm (16th December) November 2020 snowfall 0cm December 2020 snowfall 336cm 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 32cm Snowfall at base this season 285cm Posted on Saturday 19th December 2020 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. After the relentless snow of the previous few days, it was good to be able to have a kind of break from it yesterday. Everyone was busy with lots to do before the next snow started. We could also enjoy a period of beautiful blue skies and sunshine in the late morning yesterday. The winter mountains look amazing. Temperatures rose to around 2C around mid-day and by late afternoon it was generally cloudy once again. (There were even reportedly a few spots of rain in places as evening approached). Interesting to see that in the place where 38cm was measured at 9am yesterday morning, untouched since then, that had halved to less than 20cm by 4pm. Overnight the snow has returned and as of 9am another 31cm has fallen. It is currently snowing heavily so adding up quite quickly. We are expecting snow through the day today and tomorrow, perhaps even into Monday. Clearer skies are due from Tuesday for a few days. Today is the first day of the season for a bunch of ski areas in Yuzawa and nearby Minamiuonuma. With the current conditions, information is patchy in places this morning - many people are still in 'coping' mode. For the moment as much information as possible has been updated on the list below, and it will be checked each morning. Things will calm down, but until then, sorry for the holes in information. Ski areas seem to generally be opening rather cautiously, rather than full-on from the get go. Not exactly sure why that is, but perhaps they are still managing the snow, mindful of the more heavy snow that is due over the weekend and of course safety issues. Whatever the reason, we will surely be seeing them fully open before long. ----- As of 3pm yesterday 670 vehicles were still stranded on the Kanetsu Expressway in the Minamiuonuma region and some people were facing a third night in their cars or trucks. Hopefully that situation will have been sorted this morning. There have also been a number of reports of injuries from people moving and dealing with snow. Whether you are skiing, snowboarding, moving snow or just going about normal things... take care. ----- GALA Yuzawa Operating lifts: - Diligence Gondola - Barouche quad lift - Sociable quad lift - Coach pair lift - Phaeton pair lift - Victoria quad lift Courses open: - Central Area (all open except Edelweiss) - North Area (Broadway & Swan open) Official snow depth: - 210cm Ishiuchi Maruyama Operating lifts: - Sunrise Express - Tyrol Triple - Kanko Number 3 Express Official snow depth: - Central: 250cm - Base: 200cm Joetsu Kokusai Open lifts & courses: - 7 lifts and 11 courses Official snow depth: - 170cm Kagura Operating lifts: - Mitsumata Ropeway - Mitsumata Number 1 quad lift - Mitsumata Number 2 romance pair lift - Kagura Number 1 high speed lift - Kagura Number 1 romance pair lift - Kagura Gondola Courses open: - Kagura main course - Technical course - Gondola course - Family course - Gondola line course Official snow depth: - Top: 220cm - Base: 140cm - The opening of Tashiro Area has been delayed Kandatsu Snow Resort Operating lifts: - A, B, C, E lifts Courses open: - Most courses open Official snow depth: - 200cm Naeba - Official site down at time of writing Maiko Snow Resort Operating lifts: - Gondola - Okusoeji quad - Okusoeji pair Courses open: - 11 courses in top area and Nagamine area Official snow depth: - 250cm (top) Yuzawa Kogen Operating lifts: - Yuzawa Kogen Ropeway - Cosmos - Kogen Express Yuzawa Nakazato Operating lifts: - Number 2 romance lift - Number 3 romance lift Official snow depth: - 220cm Nakazato Snow Wood ----- Other planned opening dates: Thursday 24th December 2020 - Iwappara - NASPA Ski Garden Friday 25th December 2020 - Ipponsugi - Muica Snow Resort - Muikamachi Hakkaisan - Yuzawa Park Saturday 26th December 2020 - Chateau Shiozawa - Hakkai Sanroku - Itsukamachi Late December - Mt Granview Closed during the 2020-2021 winter season - Ishiuchi Hanaoka Yuzawa Now 2020-2021 season Data as of Saturday 19th December 2020 Total snowfall at base so far 285cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 6 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 96cm (16th December) November 2020 snowfall 0cm December 2020 snowfall 285cm 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 38cm Snowfall at base this season 253cm Posted on Friday 18th December 2020 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. Good morning from Yuzawa. The snow continued yesterday and though it was not quite as heavy and persistent as it had been the previous few days, there's another measured 38cm to add to the report this morning. The snow has eased off now and there are actually some clearer skies above us at the moment and some sunshine breaking through. We are due more snow though from tonight, with potentially heavy snow again tomorrow and perhaps into Sunday. Many locals are going to be taking the time today during this calmer weather to prepare for more incoming snow. As of 5pm yesterday the official snow depth number being put out there by Yuzawa Town was 182cm, and that is apparently over 7 times normal for this time in the season. It is of course still very early season and usually around the middle of December the snow is either just about starting to fall or there isn't any yet, so the numbers will clearly vary greatly at this stage. Still, that is an impressive statistic. (Remember, you can check out our own observed snowfall numbers from previous seasons in this report - see below and the Snowfall Analysis page. Been too busy to look but can imagine that those graphs look crazy!) I can't recall a year when ski areas have been delaying their opening due to heavy snow, but that is what is happening this time round with a few of them. Here's the latest ski area info as of this morning: Kagura and GALA Yuzawa are part open. Joetsu Kokusai is open from this morning. They have 5 lifts running with 8 courses open. The Tashiro Area of Kagura was planning on being open from today, but the heavy snowfall has delayed that opening. No confirmed news beyond that just now. Naeba is planning to open tomorrow. They will have lower areas open. There is of course enough snow on the upper mountain, but they are currently dealing with it. After delaying opening (originally due today), Maiko Snow Resort and Ishiuchi Maruyama are both now planning to open from tomorrow. There are a few other ski areas planning on opening tomorrow. More ski area updates tomorrow. ----- It was only after the report was posted yesterday that we heard the sad news from Kagura on Wednesday. A snowboarder lost their life up there after being buried in deep fresh snowfall. Apparently the lady who lost her life yesterday was not 'out of bounds'; there was just so much snow with low visibility. It might be easy for us all to get caught up in all of the excitement of heavy snowfall, but we need to remember to always be super extra careful in these conditions. There has been some serious disruption to traffic over the last few days. Trains have been affected and around 1000 vehicles have been stranded on the Kanetsu Expressway - apparently there was 16km of stationary vehicles either way starting around the Yuzawa and Shiozawa Ishiuchi exits, with some now stuck in the same place now for more than a day. Snow was falling through the day yesterday while the vehicles were stationary, so they were getting even more snowed-in making the situation even more difficult. The Self Defence Forces were called in to help check on drivers caught up in this awful situation and provide some water and food. A section of Route 17 was also closed yesterday as snow was being cleared. Authorities have been asking people to avoid travelling by car around Yuzawa and Minamiuonuma unless really necessary until the situation improves. Please do check on the transport/traffic situation before coming. Just a general comment: if you are driving and plan to be here when there is a chance of a snowstorm, please be sure to be prepared. That means having the right tyres, arriving in snow country with enough gasoline, some food and drink, and something to wipe and move snow from the car. All of these things are helpful if you find yourself stuck like all those folk affected at the moment. What a week it has been. Looking forward for everything to calm down so we can then perhaps turn thoughts more to fun snow stuff. ----- GALA Yuzawa Operating lifts: - Diligence Gondola - Sociable quad lift - Phaeton pair lift Courses open: - Melody - Entertainment - GiGi - Snow Enjoyment Park Official snow depth: - 230cm Joetsu Kokusai Open lifts & courses: - 5 lifts and 8 courses Official snow depth: - 180cm Kagura Operating lifts: - Mitsumata Ropeway - Mitsumata Number 1 quad lift - Mitsumata Number 2 romance pair lift - Kagura Number 1 high speed life - Kagura Gondola Courses open: - Kagura main course - Gondola course - Family course - Gondola line course Official snow depth: - Top: 220cm - Base: 140cm ----- Unclear - Kagura (via Tashiro) Saturday 19th December 2020 - Ishiuchi Maruyama - Kandatsu Snow Resort - Maiko Snow Resort - Naeba - Nakazato Snow Wood - Yuzawa Kogen - Yuzawa Nakazato Thursday 24th December 2020 - Iwappara - NASPA Ski Garden Friday 25th December 2020 - Ipponsugi - Muica Snow Resort - Muikamachi Hakkaisan - Yuzawa Park Saturday 26th December 2020 - Chateau Shiozawa - Hakkai Sanroku - Itsukamachi Late December - Mt Granview Closed during the 2020-2021 winter season - Ishiuchi Hanaoka Yuzawa Now 2020-2021 season Data as of Friday 18th December 2020 Total snowfall at base so far 253cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 5 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 96cm (16th December) November 2020 snowfall 0cm December 2020 snowfall 253cm 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 76cm Snowfall at base this season 215cm Posted on Thursday 17th December 2020 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. Since my report yesterday for the most part we have had more of the same. Snowfall, heavy at times, piling up quickly. It looks like the Yuzawa region and Minakami region in northern Gunma have been in the bullseye of this particular snow storm and clocking up the biggest numbers. Many mentions on the national news even. Apparently, yesterday, a new 24 hour record of snowfall was observed in Yuzawa Town - 113cm. And at that official measuring point in town, 113cm is about 6 times the amount usually there at this time of the year. As of 9am this morning our measuring point shows 74cm of snowfall since 9am yesterday, with a similar situation to the north in Minamiuonuma. Snow observed on Sunday: 0cm Snow observed on Monday: 1cm Snow observed on Tuesday: 42cm Snow observed on Wednesday: 96cm Snow observed on Thursday: 76cm That's an incredible 215cm of snowfall observed since Monday morning. At town level! Forgive the lack of talk of skiing or snowboarding just yet! That's because we're still very much in survival and coping mode. Once everyone involved locally gets on top of the situation and things calm down, then we can concentrate on enjoying it. More snow is due over the coming days, possibly even through into early week, and clearer skies are forecast from Tuesday onwards. It does look like we might be seeing more sensible numbers from now on But could there be a bigger contrast with the start of last season? I don't think there could. You couldn't make it up, as they say. ----- On to news from ski areas this morning: GALA Yuzawa are open and added their Gigi course. Kagura are reporting another 80cm of snowfall this morning (since yesterday). But they also only have the Family Course at Mitsumata and the Gondola course open this morning. I'm guessing that is as they simply cope with the snow. But wouldn't be surprised to see them close on fully open soon. Maiko Snow Resort were planning on opening tomorrow (Friday) but they have delayed that opening - as they also deal with all the snow. Ishiuchi Maruyama and Joetsu Kokusai appear to still be planning on opening tomorrow. If you plan to drive here or come by train, check the traffic news. There has been and possibly may be various disruption in these circumstances. OK, back to the shovelling... ----- GALA Yuzawa Operating lifts: - Diligence Gondola - Sociable quad lift - Phaeton pair lift Courses open: - Melody - Entertainment - GiGi - Snow Enjoyment Park Official snow depth: - 180cm Kagura Operating lifts: - Mitsumata Ropeway - Mitsumata Number 1 quad lift - Mitsumata Number 2 romance lift - Kagura Gondola Courses open: - Gondola course - Family course Official snow depth: - Top: 200cm - Base: 120cm ----- Friday 18th December 2020 - Ishiuchi Maruyama - Joetsu Kokusai - Maiko Snow Resort *DELAYED* - Kagura (via Tashiro) Saturday 19th December 2020 - Kandatsu Snow Resort - Naeba - Nakazato Snow Wood - Yuzawa Kogen - Yuzawa Nakazato Thursday 24th December 2020 - Iwappara - NASPA Ski Garden Friday 25th December 2020 - Ipponsugi - Muica Snow Resort - Muikamachi Hakkaisan - Yuzawa Park Saturday 26th December 2020 - Chateau Shiozawa - Hakkai Sanroku - Itsukamachi Late December - Mt Granview Closed during the 2020-2021 winter season - Ishiuchi Hanaoka Yuzawa Now 2020-2021 season Data as of Thursday 17th December 2020 Total snowfall at base so far 215cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 4 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 96cm (16th December) November 2020 snowfall 0cm December 2020 snowfall 215cm 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 96cm Snowfall at base this season 139cm Posted on Wednesday 16th December 2020 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. A very good morning to you from Yuzawa. It has been a wild and crazy few days in Yuzawa and Minamiuonuma with some very heavy snowfall... real 'Snow Country' style snowfall. Last night on the local news it was saying that there was 74cm snow depth in Yuzawa town as of 5pm and that had increased to 82cm by 8pm (and it was 99cm in Tsunan Town at 8pm), and they were forecasting 60cm of snowfall by 6am this morning. A lot of time was spend shovelling snow yesterday afternoon and making way for the snow that was due overnight. When I measured the snow yesterday morning I put a ruler in the snow. This morning at 9am that same ruler shows 138cm. So it was 42cm yesterday and 138cm now - an increase of 96cm. After a walk around the area and conversations with a few friends, while there is less in some areas and actually more in others I think that is representative and it is also there in front of our eyes, so it's what goes on the report for today. The Kagura resort are reporting 80cm of fresh snowfall since yesterday. More courses at Kagura are opening this morning (details below) and they are also going to be opening the Tashiro Area from Friday. GALA Yuzawa is also planning on opening this morning. Joetsu Kokusai are going to be opening on Friday too. With all this snow, there's something of a happy panic going on as everyone gets to grip with it all. Ideally a base builds up, so this sudden heavy snow needs some management and there are of course safety issues too. But I think it's probably safe to say that the ski areas that were planning to be open from Friday and Saturday will all be able to. The snow is going to continue to pile up over at least the next few days and quite possibly into early next week. Almost scary to think how much more we might get... definitely exciting, though. Faith has been restored! :) ----- GALA Yuzawa Operating lifts: - Diligence Gondola - Sociable quad lift - Phaeton pair lift Courses open: - Melody - Entertainment - Snow Enjoyment Park Official snow depth: - 120cm Kagura Operating lifts: - Mitsumata Ropeway (8:00am until 4:30pm) - Mitsumata Number 1 quad lift (8:00am until 2:30pm) - Mitsumata Number 2 romance lift (8:15am until 4:00pm) - Kagura Gondola (8:15am until 3:45pm) - Kagura Number 1 high speed lift (8:30am until 3:00pm) Courses open: - Kagura main course (1,500m) - Gondola course - Family course - Technical course - Giant course - Panorama course Official snow depth: - Top: 120cm - Base: 80cm ----- Friday 18th December 2020 - Ishiuchi Maruyama - Joetsu Kokusai - Maiko Snow Resort - Kagura (via Tashiro) Saturday 19th December 2020 - Kandatsu Snow Resort - Naeba - Nakazato Snow Wood - Yuzawa Kogen - Yuzawa Nakazato Thursday 24th December 2020 - Iwappara - NASPA Ski Garden Friday 25th December 2020 - Ipponsugi - Muica Snow Resort - Muikamachi Hakkaisan - Yuzawa Park Saturday 26th December 2020 - Chateau Shiozawa - Hakkai Sanroku - Itsukamachi Late December - Mt Granview Closed during the 2020-2021 winter season - Ishiuchi Hanaoka Yuzawa Now 2020-2021 season Data as of Wednesday 16th December 2020 Total snowfall at base so far 139cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 3 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 96cm (16th December) November 2020 snowfall 0cm December 2020 snowfall 139cm 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 42cm Snowfall at base this season 43cm Posted on Tuesday 15th December 2020 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. What a difference just one day can make! It was snowing yesterday. More steadily than heavily for the most part, but it went into a higher gear overnight and there is a lot of snow around this morning. Yesterday morning Kagura were reporting 20-30cm of fresh snow by around lunchtime... and the forecast was for 50-80cm by the end of today. They haven't yet put out a number this morning, but I am guessing it might be around 50cm. Perhaps even more (but they might well hold back on the crazy numbers!) The local forecast was also saying that we were on for about 40cm of snowfall overnight last night, and I'd say they got that about right. Down in town areas there is around 40cm of snow on the ground; there is more than that in places. Same just to the north in Minamiuonuma. And more being added as the snow continues. There is a lot of shovelling going on this morning, but I doubt many people are complaining. All of this precious snow! GALA Yuzawa is going to be opening from tomorrow, Wednesday 16th December. No word from Kagura yet on expanded operations or the opening of Tashiro but that might be imminent. The snow is due to continue over at least the next few days. If that happens, you can expect the various ski areas to be able to open on their planned opening dates. Looks like we are going to be on for a very good start. Interesting point: Last season these Yuzawa Now reports observed a total of just 27cm in the whole of the month of December (and 39cm as a total for the season until the end of December). In just one day we have already blown through that number. It is still very early and much can happen in a season. But this definitely feels more like the 'normal' that we were yearning for last time round. Fingers crossed. ----- Kagura Operating lifts: - Mitsumata Ropeway (8:00am until 4:30pm) - Mitsumata Number 1 quad lift (8:00am until 2:30pm) - Mitsumata Number 2 romance lift (8:15am until 4:00pm) - Kagura Gondola (8:15am until 3:45pm) - Kagura Number 1 high speed lift (8:30am until 3:00pm) Courses open: - Kagura main course (1,500m) - Family Course - Official snow depth: 80cm (top); 40cm (base) ----- Currently part open - Kagura (via Mitsumata) Tomorrow - GALA Yuzawa As soon as there is enough snow - Joetsu Kokusai - Kagura (via Tashiro) Friday 18th December 2020 - Ishiuchi Maruyama - Maiko Snow Resort Saturday 19th December 2020 - Kandatsu Snow Resort - Naeba - Nakazato Snow Wood - Yuzawa Kogen - Yuzawa Nakazato Thursday 24th December 2020 - Iwappara - NASPA Ski Garden Friday 25th December 2020 - Ipponsugi - Muica Snow Resort - Muikamachi Hakkaisan - Yuzawa Park Saturday 26th December 2020 - Chateau Shiozawa - Hakkai Sanroku - Itsukamachi Late December - Mt Granview Closed during the 2020-2021 winter season - Ishiuchi Hanaoka Yuzawa Now 2020-2021 season Data as of Tuesday 15th December 2020 Total snowfall at base so far 43cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 2 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 42cm (15th December) November 2020 snowfall 0cm December 2020 snowfall 43cm 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 1cm Snowfall at base this season 1cm Posted on Monday 14th December 2020 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here. I had flashbacks of last season overnight when I was woken by heavy rain on the roof. But it has turned to snow and the forecast is still looking really good. (Phew!) So let's go back to yesterday. Wet down below but snow falling at higher elevations and it creeping down to nearly town level. It was good to see the GALA Yuzawa and Yuzawa Kogen webcams turn white. This morning Kagura is reporting 10cm of snowfall, and they are opening up some more courses - the Gondola Line and Family Course are now available. When I got up this morning it was still raining down here in town, but it has gradually been turning into snow. As you can see from the images below, there's a thin covering of snow on the slopes of NASPA Ski Garden which is close to town. I was just over there and it is snowing quite nicely now. There's no snow sticking yet along Route 17 as you can see from the webcam image below but I imagine within a short time it will be looking whiter. I am celebrating the first snow down here with a 1cm in this report to get us going. The forecasts are still looking great for snow throughout the week. By tomorrow we should be into proper decent snowfall and the numbers will begin piling up (as my friend said in another report this morning). With the snow arriving and a lot going on, there will be a lot to check each morning so apologies if the reports are a bit later in the coming days. From today, additional photos are being added to the report which will hopefully give you a good idea of how things are going. All, of course, with permission. See below. ----- Coronavirus in Japan Compared to many countries, Japan appears to have managed to keep its number of (official confirmed) cases relatively low and without any major ‘lockdowns’. Still, coronavirus has overwhelmingly been the major issue of the year and has had a profound impact on many people and businesses. Hospitality and tourism are two of the areas that have been hit particularly hard hit, with the Go To campaign providing a certain amount of relief for some. In recent weeks, the number of confirmed cases announced in the country every day has increased to around 2500-3000, in what is being labelled the third wave. Let us all hope that we might soon see a decrease in the numbers again and do what we can to help that happen. How ski areas in Japan are dealing and measures being taken Correct information on coronavirus is of course important and we encourage everyone to keep up to date with information from trusted sources. We also encourage people intending to visit a ski area in Japan to take on all relevant advice and requests being asked of visitors. While there is understandably a sense of unease along with a bunch of unknowns as we start the winter season, most ski areas in Japan plan to be opening and are implementing various measures to try and minimise the potential for infections. Actual measures and requests vary but generally include limiting the number of people riding gondola cabins, ropeways and multiple-person ski lifts; wearing masks and face coverings; using hand sanitisers; practising social distancing and avoiding queues. Some ski areas are resting various ski lifts for the season, though in many such cases that will not affect the amount of terrain that is available to skiers and snowboarders. There are a small number of ski areas that have decided to not open at all this winter – some citing coronavirus, some citing a lack of snowfall in recent years… some mentioning both. ----- Kagura Operating lifts: - Mitsumata Ropeway (7:30am until 4:30pm) - Mitsumata Number 1 quad lift (7:30am until 2:30pm) - Mitsumata Number 2 romance lift (7:45am until 4:00pm) - Kagura Gondola (7:45am until 3:45pm) - Kagura Number 1 romance lift (9:00am until 3:00pm) - Kagura Number 1 high speed lift (8:00am until 3:00pm) Courses open: - Kagura main course (1,500m) - Gondola Line - Family Course - Official snow depth: 40cm ----- Planned opening dates for ski areas in the region Below are the planned opening dates of ski areas in Yuzawa and Minamiuonuma. All are of course subject to change. Currently part open: - Kagura (via Mitsumata) As soon as there is enough snow - GALA Yuzawa (earliest Tuesday) - Joetsu Kokusai - Kagura (via Tashiro) Friday 18th December 2020 - Ishiuchi Maruyama - Maiko Snow Resort Saturday 19th December 2020 - Kandatsu Snow Resort - Naeba - Nakazato Snow Wood - Yuzawa Kogen - Yuzawa Nakazato Thursday 24th December 2020 - Iwappara - NASPA Ski Garden Friday 25th December 2020 - Ipponsugi - Muica Snow Resort - Muikamachi Hakkaisan - Yuzawa Park Saturday 26th December 2020 - Chateau Shiozawa - Hakkai Sanroku - Itsukamachi Late December - Mt Granview Closed during the 2020-2021 winter season - Ishiuchi Hanaoka Yuzawa Now 2020-2021 season Data as of Monday 14th December 2020 Total snowfall at base so far 1cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 1 day Most snowfall observed in 1 day 1cm (14th December) November 2020 snowfall 0cm December 2020 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