Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata New snowfall at base 4cm Snowfall at base this season 4cm Posted on Friday 23rd November 2018 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here . Good evening all and welcome back to the reports. I am actually away from Zao at the moment but my trusted friend has filled me in on around 4-5cm of fresh snowfall in the village area early this morning along with a temperature of around -1C. Not a whole lot more to expect in the coming week as temperatures look set to rise a bit and there might be quite a bit of sunshine. I'll update you again when there is more snow to report. Zao Now 2018-2019 season Data as of Friday 23rd November 2018 Total snowfall at base 4cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 1 day Most snowfall observed in 1 day 4cm (on 23rd November) November 2018 snowfall 4cm observed on 1 day Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Zao Onsen. 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 Myoko region of Niigata New snowfall at base 5cm Snowfall at base this season 5cm Posted on Friday 23rd November 2018 This is an archived report. The latest Myoko Now report can be found here . It's not going to last (I think), but the first real snowfall at base level deserves a report! The weather report were saying there was a good chance for today, so we got the bamboo poles up (to mark where driveways and obstacles are under the snow, for snow throwing later on, the boats into the garage and (most of) the hydrangeas and bushes tied up. Snow tires are on one of two cars... A normal November first snow, in short. Things will probably melt over the weekend, but it's always fun when everything turns white for the first time. There's also that sudden drop of the temperature, that smell of the snow. Gets things going for the season that's now less than a month away! Myoko Now 2018-2019 season Data as of Friday 23rd November 2018 Total snowfall at base so far 5cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 1 day Most snowfall observed in 1 day 5cm (23rd November) November 2018 snowfall 5cm 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 Myoko. 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 Nozawa Onsen region of Nagano New snowfall at base 2cm Snowfall at base this season 2cm Posted on Friday 23rd November 2018 This is an archived report. The latest Nozawa Now report can be found here . The first snowfall down to village! It is always great to see that first snowfall down to the base and today is the day. It is more than likely not going to last long, but it has arrived. Right now there is just a thin layer at base, but there will be more higher up and hopefully the resort might report on that today and I will be able to give you more info tomorrow. As I mentioned yesterday, Nozawa has postponed opening so no lifts are planned to be moving this morning. Snow/sleet/(maybe rain) might continue today but clearer skies are likely from the weekend. So this is not destined to be a prolonged bout of snow; we are going to have to wait for that. Please note that it is always the top section of the resort that opens first, not the whole mountain. Nozawa Now 2018-2019 season Data as of Friday 23rd November 2018 Total snowfall at base 2cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 1 day Most snowfall observed in 1 day 2cm (23rd November) November 2018 snowfall 2cm reported on 1 day Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Nozawa Onsen. 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 Geto Kogen region of Iwate New snowfall at base 10cm Snowfall at base this season 29cm Posted on Friday 23rd November 2018 This is an archived report. The latest Geto Kogen Now report can be found here . Note: this is a backdated report to record snowfall on Friday 23rd November 2018 The first main report of the season is on 4th December 2018 Geto Kogen Now 2018-2019 season Data as of Friday 23rd November 2018 Total snowfall at base so far 29cm Number of days snowfall observed 2 days Most snowfall observed on 1 day 19cm (on 22nd November) November 2018 snowfall 29cm observed 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 Geto Kogen. 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 Hakuba region of Nagano New snowfall at base 0cm Snowfall at base this season 0cm Posted on Friday 23rd November 2018 This is an archived report. The latest Hakuba Now report can be found here . There's some fresh snow on them there hills. It's not quite down to village level but getting the closest yet. Come on down! It is still snowing higher up but due to ease off. Four resorts are waiting for more snow to get those first lifts open. The forecast isn't showing much chance of snow in the coming week beyond today, so I think we are going to need to be patient for the moment. Official planned ski resort opening dates: As soon as there is enough snow (earliest 23rd November) Hakuba 47 Hakuba Happo-one Hakuba Goryu Tsugaike Kogen Friday 14th December 2018 Hakuba Iwatake Snow Field Saturday 15th December 2018 Hakuba Cortina Hakuba Valley Kashimayari Mid December 2018 Hakuba Norikura Onsen Friday 21st December 2018 Hakuba Sanosaka Hakuba Now 2018-2019 season Data as of Friday 23rd November 2018 Total snowfall at base so far 0cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 0 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 0cm November 2018 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 Hakuba. 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 Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 25cm Snowfall at base this season 31cm Posted on Friday 23rd November 2018 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here Excite update at 12:00pm: Drop your toast! Niseko Grand Hirafu will be open tomorrow. Details as I have them: * The Ace Number 2 Center Four Lift will be open from 8:30am until 3:10pm - for transport up to open area only * The Ace Number 3 Pair Lift will be open from 8:40am until 3:30pm * Only the Center Course will be available A special lift ticket will cost 2,000 yen for adults and 1,000 yen for children and seniors. No official word yet from Annupuri, but they may well get going as well. More details tomorrow morning. Any fresh snowfall since my original report this morning and my upcoming report tomorrow morning will be reported in my report tomorrow morning. I hope that makes sense! --- Original report posted early this morning: Good morning everyone. I have very good news for you this morning. There is lots of snow on the ground. Oh yes. I measured just slightly over 25cm of fresh snowfall on the ground which is a very nice showing and of course there will be more than that at higher elevations. Remember, I take my readings close to the base of Hirafu. Snow is still falling (some patches of blue sky showing away from the mountain), and the forecast is generally looking nice and regular. What all this means for ski lifts is not clear as yet - it's only 7:30am - but I wanted to convey the good news as early as possible. If anything does happen today, I will try to update this report. If not, I will see you tomorrow! --- Niseko Grand Hirafu 6-day snow and weather forecast --- The official planned opening dates of the ski resorts are as follows: - Niseko Grand Hirafu: as soon as there is enough snow - Niseko Annupuri: as soon as there is enough snow - Niseko Village: Saturday 1st December 2018 - Niseko Hanazono: Saturday 1st December 2018 Actual opening dates will depend on snow conditions. Niseko Now 2018-2019 season Data as of Friday 23rd November 2018 Total snowfall at base so far 31cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 4 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 25cm (23rd November) November 2018 snowfall 31cm 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 Kutchan/Niseko. 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 Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 1cm Snowfall at base this season 6cm Posted on Thursday 22nd November 2018 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here As expected, ski lifts opening tomorrow at Hirafu and Annupuri is not going to happen and both resorts have confirmed this. They will basically just open as soon as there is enough snow. The good news is that it is currently snowing and there's a little more on the ground. It does look like we can expect snowfall over the next few days, so we can feel positive and excited about what is to come. Hirafu are officially reporting 30cm of snow up top and 5cm at base this morning. --- Now, I don't make a habit of looking at blogs and other stuff that people in Niseko say - it's definitely best that way - but I had to laugh yesterday when I read something about massive amounts of snow falling. Some people just cannot take off that marketing hat. I'm definitely happy that I don't have the pressure of owning such a hat. --- The official planned opening dates of the ski resorts are as follows: - Niseko Grand Hirafu: as soon as there is enough snow - Niseko Annupuri: as soon as there is enough snow - Niseko Village: Saturday 1st December 2018 - Niseko Hanazono: Saturday 1st December 2018 Actual opening dates will depend on snow conditions. Niseko Now 2018-2019 season Data as of Thursday 22nd November 2018 Total snowfall at base so far 6cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 3 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 3cm (21st November) November 2018 snowfall 6cm 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 Kutchan/Niseko. 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 Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 3cm Snowfall at base this season 5cm Posted on Wednesday 21st November 2018 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here Good morning everyone from my secret Hirafu base. I am happy to be able to bring you some snowy news. Hurray! I have measured 3cm of the lovely stuff here at Hirafu base and of course there will be more of that higher up on the mountain. Just how much - I don't know. If and when I hear anything on that I will of course let you know. Hirafu and Annupuri are hoping to get some lifts open from Friday. We will need more snow for that to be able to happen, but the forecast is looking pretty decent over the coming week (especially from tomorrow evening). So even if they are not able to opening on Friday, perhaps they might be able to open soon after. I will of course keep you updated as best I can. --- The official planned opening dates of the ski resorts are as follows: - Niseko Grand Hirafu: Friday 23rd November 2018 - Niseko Annupuri: Friday 23rd November 2018 - Niseko Village: Saturday 1st December 2018 - Niseko Hanazono: Saturday 1st December 2018 Actual opening dates will depend on snow conditions. Niseko Now 2018-2019 season Data as of Wednesday 21st November 2018 Total snowfall at base so far 5cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 2 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 3cm (21st November) November 2018 snowfall 5cm 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 Kutchan/Niseko. 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 Furano region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 5cm Snowfall at base this season 5cm Posted on Tuesday 20th November 2018 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . Welcome back to all those searching for Furano snow information that is independent and reliable. It has been a slow start to winter this year with the warm weather from Autumn persisting much longer than is normal. It would be reasonable to expect that the first snow in the Kitanomine ski village would have fallen about a month ago, however the first snow to fall and settle on the ground has just happened today. In the last few days there has been light snow on the upper mountain of the ski area that has stuck around, and with todays snowfall I would expect the mountain to remain white from top to bottom from now on. Wintery temperatures are forecast for the rest of the week along with further snow. Furano Ski Resort has a proposed opening date of 24 November but unfortunately it looks unlikely they will be able to open that soon, unless a huge amount of snow arrives over the next few days. Furano Now 2018-2019 season Data as of Tuesday 20th November 2018 Total snowfall at base 5cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 1 day Most snowfall observed in 1 day 5cm (20th November) November 2018 snowfall 5cm reported on 1 day Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Furano. 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 Myoko region of Niigata New snowfall at base 0cm Snowfall at base this season 0cm Posted on Monday 19th November 2018 This is an archived report. The latest Myoko Now report can be found here . One month to go to the official opening, a touch of snow on the peak, so time, I think, for a pre-report on the 2018-2019 season. Actually, it's a little less than a month for most of the resorts: Akakan on 12/15, Akakura Onsen on 12/12, Ikenotaira on 12/16, Suginohara and Seki Onsen on 12/22. I would not plan a vacation based on those dates, though; there have been a lot of years where we really wonder if we're going to have a white Christmas or not. While it almost always turns out that we get a merry dusting of white, the conditions on the hill can be a little thin. Still more fun than scraping along on artificial snow, but something to keep in mind. I actually heard about some guests who wanted to do some backcountry touring around Christmas; that's not going to happen (remember that this is almost a rain forest area in summer; takes a good dump of snow to push down the saplings and cover the grape vines). Since we're talking rainforest, it was a wet last part of the summer here. Hot and dry to start the summer, then lots of rain. Akakan has been running the gondola in summer, which is a nice thing to do here - get up higher, enjoy a lunch on the mountain, take a hike through the buna (beech) forests. But the numbers were down because it was pretty wet for the main part of the tourism season. The gondola also serves as one of the best ways for climbing Mt. Myoko, as the route is shorter than from Tsubame Onsen to the north. No major changes at the resorts, as all the owners have remained the same with no big changes to infrastructure. We'd like to hear more from the newest member of the community, Lotte Arai, as there just isn't a lot of communication to the community. The people who did go during the season said they had the place to themselves, and a lot of the local schools extended their season by heading over to Arai. For the moment it's very un-wintery. We often get one big dump of wet, heavy snow about this time of year which brings down trees and incites panic in all those who haven't changed to snow tires, but it could be a while for that. A little bit might be falling higher up over the next week, but it doesn't look like it will come down to base level. So that's where we are. Quiet, fall colors gone, not as grim as some Novembers can be and really ready for the snow to fall (my snow tires are on). Myoko Now 2018-2019 season Data as of Monday 19th November 2018 Total snowfall at base so far 0cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 0 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 0cm November 2018 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 Myoko. 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 Shiga Kogen region of Nagano New snowfall at base 1cm Snowfall at base this season 1cm Posted on Thursday 15th November 2018 This is an archived report. The latest Shiga Kogen Now report can be found here . Good morning from Shiga Kogen. As with many regions of Japan, it has been relatively mild over the last few weeks. The good news is that this morning feels rather cold and there is some light snow falling and a thin layer of snow on the ground in places. I was just over in Ichinose and feel confident that I can 'award' the reports 1cm. Right now the sun is out. The Kumanoyu resort area has been trying to pump out some 'snow' from the snow-making machines, but they have this morning said that they have stopped due to temperature. It is looking like their hoped-for planned opening this Saturday (17th November) is going to be very (very) difficult. I wouldn't expect it. The forecast for later on next week looks like it might be quite encouraging. I'll be with you again next week! The section of the Route 292 road that connects Shiga Kogen with Gunma Prefecture will be closed for the winter from 1:00pm today - and it will then be closed until 19th April 2019. Access to Shiga Kogen is by Route 292 from the north-west. Shiga Kogen Now 2018-2019 season Data as of Thursday 15th November 2018 Total snowfall at base 1cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 1 day Most snowfall observed in 1 day 1cm (15th November) November 2018 snowfall 1cm reported on 1 day Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Shiga Kogen. 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 Nozawa Onsen region of Nagano New snowfall at base 0cm Snowfall at base this season 0cm Posted on Friday 2nd November 2018 This is an archived report. The latest Nozawa Now report can be found here . Good morning and welcome to the Nozawa Now reports for the upcoming 2018-2019 winter season. It was a hot summer in Japan, but things have been cooling down very quickly in recent weeks - and yesterday there was some white frosting going on up top. (It is fine weather this morning and over the coming few days things will be warming up somewhat according to the forecasts). Nozawa Onsen is gearing up for a busy season and we are likely to see even more international guests descend on the village this time round. Hopefully, as Nozawa continues to get more famous and popular it will still be able to retain most of it's unique charm. I am confident it will. The resort plans to be open from Friday 23rd November which is just three weeks from now. Note that if they are able to do that, it will almost surely be just the top area. We shall see. I will be back with a few more reports before that date, especially if there is any noteworthy news. Once the lifts start moving, daily reports should be appearing. Here's to a great season. Nozawa Now 2018-2019 season Data as of Friday 2nd November 2018 Total snowfall at base 0cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 0 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 0cm November 2018 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 Nozawa Onsen. 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