Kanayasan is a small ski area located close to the centre of Joetsu City in the western region of Niigata Prefecture.
This ski area played an important role in the history of skiing in Japan. It is where the Austrian Major Theodor Edler von Lerch first introduced skiing to Japan in 1911, teaching young officers of the nearby Takada Regiment to ski. There is a small memorial museum near the base of the ski area to commemorate this fact.
More about the history of skiing in Japan can be found in our introduction to skiing in Japan guides.
Modern-day Kanayasan ski area is small, with one single lift and a base elevation of just over 20m. Unfortunately, in recent years this low-lying region does not receive as much snow as it used to. That often means that the ski season can be quite short.
Mountain
statistics
Top/peak (m)
134
Vertical (m)
113
Bottom/base (m)
21
Beginner runs (%)
25
Intermediate runs (%)
50
Advanced runs (%)
25
Longest course (m)
780
Steepest slope (°)
27
Number of courses
4
Ski lifts
1
Ropeway cable car
0
Gondola
0
Quad lift (4-person)
0
Triple lift (3-person)
0
Pair lift (2-person)
0
Single lift (1-person)
1
Surface lift
0
Information
Normal season dates
Season dates can be unpredictable at Kanayasan due to snowfall. See below for the actual opening and closing dates in recent seasons.
Normal opening hours
Kanayasan is normally open from 9:00am until 4:30pm.
Night skiing
There is no night skiing at this area.
Families & children
There is an area for sledding.
Lift ticket prices
2025-2026 season
Information for the upcoming 2026-2027 season will be added by December 2026
11 lift coupons
Adult: 2,100 yen
Child: 1,600 yen
Historical snow depth data
The following ski season and official snow depth data have been independently compiled by SnowJapan for publication on this website. Where available, the data is updated annually after each ski season.
First and last dates of recent seasons
2025-2026 season: 24th January - 8th March (44 days)
2024-2025 season: 8th February - 12th March (33 days)
2023-2024 season: 28th January - 15th February (19 days)
2022-2023 season: 1st February - 28th February (28 days)
2021-2022 season: 16th January - 12th March (56 days)
Deepest recorded snow depth
2025-2026 season: 225cm on 9th February
2024-2025 season: 190cm on 24th February
2023-2024 season: 63cm on 6th February
2022-2023 season: 90cm on 1st February
2021-2022 season: 210cm on 24th February
2020-2021 season: 300cm on 13th-22nd January
2018-2019 season: 110cm on 14th February
2017-2018 season: 160cm on 14th February
2016-2017 season: 85cm on 26th-27th January
2015-2016 season: 80cm on 7th-8th February
2014-2015 season: 150cm on 10th-15th February
Resources
Weather & snowfall (Japan Meteorological Agency) [open in new window]
Introduction to the region
Niigata Prefecture is located in the Chubu region of the main island of Honshu, and it is commonly associated with the Hokuriku subregion. The long Niigata coastline faces the Sea of Japan, and the prefecture borders Yamagata Prefecture, Fukushima Prefecture, Gunma Prefecture, Nagano Prefecture, and Toyama Prefecture.
Niigata played a significant role in the history of skiing in Japan. After Hokkaido and Nagano Prefecture, it is currently home to the third-most ski areas in Japan.
The ski areas of Niigata are scattered across the mountainous regions of the prefecture, and there is even one on Sado Island. The majority can be found in Yuzawa Town and Minamiuonuma City in the Chuetsu region and Myoko City in the Joetsu region.
Joetsu City is to the north of Myoko City, which home to numerous famous ski areas.
Kanayasan is one of 2 ski areas currently operating in Joetsu City.
About the information on this page
SnowJapan independently researches, checks and updates the information on this page at least once each year, in the lead-up to every ski season. We also update it whenever we become aware of other changes. The information published on SnowJapan is based on independent research using official Japanese-language sources and is not supplied by ski areas. If you are planning to visit a ski area, we recommend checking the official ski area website for the latest operational information. We take great care to keep the information on SnowJapan accurate and up to date. However, SnowJapan accepts no responsibility for decisions made based on information published on this website.
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