397 Japanese ski areas, measured the same way
Ski areas in Japan with 3 cm or more of snow in the last 48 hours
Browse ski areas in Japan Snowfall rankings
46/100 What is JAPOW?46 of the world’s 100 snowiest ski areas are in Japan. See it on video.Mashike Choei Shokanbetsudake Ski Area 16.9 cm
One bar per ski area. Dark: last 48 hours. Light: a normal season (each scaled to its own maximum).
Madarao Kogen ski area, Nagano — photo by the site operator, December 2024 · Shot by the site operator, Ski Salaryman
| Region | Areas | SnowingSnowing | Most in 48 h | Base (median) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hokkaido | 82 | 27 | Mashike Choei Shokanbetsudake16.9cm | 8cm |
| Tohoku | 74 | 3 | Mount Gassan9.5cm | 5cm |
| Hokuriku | 71 | 0 | Kagura Area0.4cm | 4cm |
| Kanto-Koshin | 90 | 0 | Shirakaba Kogen Kokusai Ski1.5cm | 1cm |
| Tokai, Kinki | 20 | 0 | — | — |
| West | 23 | 0 | — | — |
Snowing means 3 cm or more in 48 hours. Base is the median among areas with snow.
Only those on sale now, checked on each resort's own site, soonest deadline first.
All lift tickets and early-bird deals → Early-bird deadlines, and who can buy →
Ski areas in Japan, five with the most.
The next openings, from the 73 resorts whose dates we have checked on their official sites.
An opening date is the resort’s plan. It moves with the snow. Checked: .
Open now: 2 ski areas → Opening dates, and whether there will be snow → All opening dates → Compare up to three ski areas →
Ski areas in 13 countries have had snow in the last 48 hours. Most first.
Planning a trip
Hakuba Happo-One opened early-bird sales at 10:00 on 1 October. A day costs ¥6,400 against ¥9,800 at the window, 35% off. But every ticket on the list except one needs a My Number Card and a Japanese phone app. A visitor from abroad can buy exactly one of them, at 15% off.
Ski areas with 3cm+ of snow in the last 48 hours. Anything over 15cm gets a snow mark.
Tap the map to zoom in there · once resorts are spread out, tap one for details · drag to pan · pinch or scroll to zoom
The highest-scoring resorts with a camera on the slopes or on the road up.
All live cameras →Ski areas in Japan scored on today’s snow.
| Ski area | Score | Snow 48h | Next 24h | Base depth | Temperature | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mashike Choei Shokanbetsudake Ski Area Hokkaido | 57 | 17 cm | 4 cm | 29 cm | −2°C |
| 2 | Boyodai Ski Area Hokkaido | 55 | 17 cm | 3 cm | 20 cm | −4°C |
| 3 | Niseko Grand Hirafu HokkaidoOpens 28 Nov | 50 | 8 cm | 0 cm | 23 cm | −13°C |
| 4 | Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort HokkaidoOpens 28 Nov | 50 | 8 cm | 0 cm | 23 cm | −12°C |
| 5 | Daisetsuzan Sounkyo Kurodake Ski Area HokkaidoOpens 1 Dec | 49 | 9 cm | 0 cm | 62 cm | −15°C |
| 6 | Haboro Chomin Skijo Hokkaido | 48 | 9 cm | 2 cm | 8 cm | −5°C |
| 7 | Asahidake Hokkaido | 47 | 9 cm | 0 cm | 37 cm | −14°C |
| 8 | Asahigaoka Ski Resort Hokkaido | 47 | 7 cm | 0 cm | 19 cm | −9°C |
| 9 | Nayoro Piyashiri Hokkaido | 47 | 7 cm | 0 cm | 15 cm | −11°C |
| 10 | Iwanai Resort Hokkaido | 47 | 8 cm | 1 cm | 12 cm | −5°C |
| 11 | Ashimoi Kanko Takaho Ski Area Hokkaido | 47 | 7 cm | 0 cm | 10 cm | −7°C |
| 12 | Kokusetsu Horotachi Ski Area Hokkaido | 45 | 6 cm | 0 cm | 19 cm | −8°C |
Top 12 of 360 resorts · All ski areas in Japan
Japanese ski areas ordered by snowfall in an average winter, over twelve winters.
| Ski area | Typical snowfall | Lowest winter | Highest winter | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Okutadami Maruyama Ski Resort Niigata | 765 cm | 381 cm | 989 cm |
| 2 | Muikamachi Hakkaisan Niigata | 728 cm | 313 cm | 974 cm |
| =3 | Iwappara, Nakazato Snow Wood Ski Area, Yuzawa Nakazato Ski Resort, Yuzawa Park Ski Resort Niigata (same grid cell) | 712 cm | 328 cm | 921 cm |
| 7 | Itoigawa Seaside Valley Ski Resort Niigata | 703 cm | 388 cm | 849 cm |
| =8 | Ippon Sugi Ski Resort, Ishiuchi Hanaoka Ski Area, Ishiuchi Maruyama Ski Resort, Joetsu International, Maiko Snow Resort Niigata (same grid cell) | 695 cm | 328 cm | 983 cm |
| 13 | Charmant Hiuchi Snow Resort Niigata | 690 cm | 388 cm | 816 cm |
| 14 | Seki Onsen Ski Area Niigata | 689 cm | 273 cm | 867 cm |
| 15 | Tateyama Sanroku Ski Area Toyama | 682 cm | 298 cm | 868 cm |
Where a row names several ski areas, they fall in the same weather-model grid cell (about 30 km across), so they share the figures and the rank.
Ranked on both the snow falling now and how much people are talking about it.
All hidden gems →Hokkaido
Snowfall 416 cm a season
Buried in snow, barely known
Hokkaido
Snowfall 365 cm a season
Buried in snow, barely known
Yamagata
Snowfall 655 cm a season
Buried in snow, barely known
Nagano
Snowfall 136 cm a season
People are talking, snow is not there yet
Niigata
Snowfall 618 cm a season
People are talking, snow is not there yet
Nagano
Snowfall 414 cm a season
People are talking, snow is not there yet
How well known a resort is comes from the number of Wikipedia language editions. Once the season starts this switches to live video buzz.
Updated daily · 10 Nov 2026, 12:15
