JAPOW — Japan powder
46/100
Of the 100 snowiest ski areas in the world, 46 are in Japan.
3,067 ski areas measured the same way, averaged over the last 12 seasons.
Why Japan
Twice the snow.
An ordinary Japanese ski area gets nearly twice the snow of an American one. Cold air from Siberia picks up moisture over the Sea of Japan and drops it on the mountains just behind the coast. So in Japan it is not only the famous names that are deep: the typical ski area is. Compare the median ski area in each country: 249 cm a season in Japan, 132 cm in the United States. Only the Alps keep up.
When it falls
Deepest in January.
It starts in December and peaks in January. Snowfall by month at the median Japanese ski area. March is still a winter month.
Videos
JAPOW is here.
Filmed by the people who rode it. Playing with the sound off; pick one below to switch to it, with sound.
Videos belong to the people who made them and play through YouTube’s embed.
Japan’s top ten
The deep end.
Where Japan gets the most snow. Snowfall per season over the last 12 seasons (weather-model estimate).
- 1 Okutadami Maruyama Ski Resort Niigata 765cm
- 2 Muikamachi Hakkaisan Niigata 728cm
- 3 Iwappara Niigata 712cm
- 4 Nakazato Snow Wood Ski Area Niigata 712cm
- 5 Yuzawa Nakazato Ski Resort Niigata 712cm
- 6 Yuzawa Park Ski Resort Niigata 712cm
- 7 Itoigawa Seaside Valley Ski Resort Niigata 703cm
- 8 Ippon Sugi Ski Resort Niigata 695cm
- 9 Ishiuchi Hanaoka Ski Area Niigata 695cm
- 10 Ishiuchi Maruyama Ski Resort Niigata 695cm