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Country
Japan
Famous for deep, frequent powder, especially on Hokkaido and the Sea of Japan side of Honshu.
Japan snow forecast
No snow is expected at any of the 18 places in Japan in the next 7 days.
Snow in Japan
Japan gets more snow than any other ski country. Cold air pouring off Siberia crosses the Sea of Japan, picks up moisture and dumps it on the first mountains it meets, so the resorts on Hokkaido and the Sea of Japan side of Honshu see snow most days in midwinter. Niseko, Rusutsu and Furano are the Hokkaido names; on Honshu, Hakuba Valley and Shiga Kogen in Nagano and Nozawa Onsen further north are the big areas. The cities of Sapporo, Aomori and Niigata are among the snowiest in the world.
In our record the Japanese resorts average about 20 snowy days at mid-mountain in January and 19 in December, roughly twice the figure for the Alps, and Hakuba’s record shows 23 in January. The trade-off is altitude and cold: Hokkaido’s resorts top out well under 1,500 m, and the snow is light because the air is so cold, not because the mountains are high.
When it snows
Most resorts open in late November or early December. Hokkaido’s snow is heaviest from December to February and tails off quickly in March; Honshu’s higher resorts, such as Shiga Kogen, run into May. Spring brings sun and heavier snow.
Getting there
New Chitose airport near Sapporo serves Hokkaido, with Niseko about two to three hours away. Tokyo’s airports serve Nagano, and the Hokuriku Shinkansen reaches Nagano city in under two hours, with buses on to Hakuba, Shiga Kogen and Nozawa Onsen.