No snow yet. Not open yet for 2026/27. We have not yet found an official opening date. Snow depth and the seven-day outlook appear once snow is on the ground or forecast.
A weather-model figure, worked out the same way for every ski area, and lower than what actually falls. Use it to compare ski areas, not against the resort’s own totals. How we measure →
The ski area's hut doubles as a free rest house that anyone may use. The family slope is part of the Hachimoriyama Recreation Plaza in the Sanze district of Tsuruoka, and the Sea of Japan is in view from the hill. Sources: hatimoriyama.sanze.jp, tsuruokakanko.com, yamagatakanko.com, city.tsuruoka.lg.jp (sources read 12 Oct 2026; an AI draft the site operator has not yet checked)
Modelled from weather data the same way at all 3,069 ski areas we cover. These are not the resort’s own published figures.
The tick marks the median across every Japanese ski area we measure. All four bars run the same way — longer is better.
The quality score leaves out how much snow falls (it uses temperature, frequency, rain and wind).
Within 50 km in a straight line. Ski areas in the same weather-model cell (about 30 km across) get the same figure.
| Ski area | Distance | Seasonal snowfall | World rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hagurosan Ski Area | 28.0 km | 488 cm | 86 |
| Mount Gassan Ski Resort | 35.0 km | 655 cm | 25 |
Compare side by side with Hagurosan Ski Area and Mount Gassan Ski Resort →
Counted from the runs and lifts drawn on OpenStreetMap, within the boundary of the ski area. These are not the resort’s own published figures.
98% of the vertical on the runs descends to the north or east. Those slopes get the least sun, so the snow lasts longer.
Source: OpenSkiMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0). How finely ski areas are drawn varies by region, so treat the counts as indicative. Vertical is the difference between the highest and lowest points of the mapped runs and lifts.
The most snow falls in January. March brings 22% of January’s snowfall. That is a steeper fall than the median for ski areas in Japan (52%): the snow here is concentrated early in the season. In amount, March brings 18 cm, less than the median of 46 cm.
Across the 12 winters measured, the average is 213 cm, and 6 of them fell short of it. The leanest was 2019/20 with 79 cm; the biggest was 2014/15 with 430 cm (5.4 times as much). For 63% of the 397 ski areas in Japan the leanest winter was 2015/16; here it was a different one.
Snowfall each winter (December–March total). The dashed line is the average; the numbers mark the leanest and the biggest winter.
This ski area does not put a camera on its own slopes. The nearest live view is the road below.
Footage remains the copyright of each operator. JAPANSNOWLINE neither stores nor redistributes it.
1 hot spring sources with published analyses lie within 5 km of this ski area, nearest first (the hottest is 15.7 °C).
| Source | Distance | Temperature | pH |
|---|---|---|---|
| 波渡崎ホテル雷屋1号 | 2.9 km | 15.7℃ cold | 7.5 mildly alkaline |
These are analyses of hot spring sources, not a list of baths you can visit. They date from 1910 to 2005, many from decades ago, so today’s temperature and chemistry may differ. Names are as recorded in Japanese. Temperature and pH bands follow Japan’s standard for analysing hot springs.
Source: processed from the hot spring analysis data in the Geothermal Information Database (GRES-DB), Geological Survey of Japan, AIST
Within 20 km in a straight line, nearest first. Some lie over a pass that is closed in winter.
| Place | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Hakusanjima白山島 | Nature | 4.8 km |
| Atsumi Onsenあつみ温泉 | Hot spring town | 8.9 km |
| 湯田川温泉 | Hot spring town | 9.4 km |
| Kamo Aquarium鶴岡市立加茂水族館 | Museum | 10.1 km |
| Chidō Museum致道博物館 | Museum | 14.6 km |
| Chidōkan致道館 | Historic site | 14.9 km |
Chosen from the places most read about on Wikipedia, favouring those with an English article. Based on the Japanese Wikipedia lists of sights in each prefecture, as compiled in travel-log-data (CC BY-SA 4.0). English names from Wikidata (CC0). The content of this section is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
The weather map, and where it sits among nearby ski areas.
Checked on the official site (12 Oct 2026) · Source. “Not checked” means we have not looked yet. Compare with other ski areas →
21 places within 12 km of the slopes, as mapped on OpenStreetMap, many of them small inns and pensions. Many are not on booking sites — open the name for the website or the map.
Nearest: 8.9 km
Accommodation data: OpenStreetMap
Other booking sites: Booking.com ↗ · Agoda ↗ · Rakuten Travelad ↗
“ad” marks links that pay us a commission if you book. Links without it are not affiliated.
Planning a trip · 28 Sep 2026
El Niño and Japan's Snow in 2026/27: The Last Five El Niño Winters Averaged 88%NOAA expects a strong or very strong El Niño this winter. We measured every Japanese ski area across the last 12 winters: El Niño winters ran 88% of normal, and the strongest of the twelve left Japan at 63%. But Hakuba held 92% of its average that winter while Niseko fell to 57%.
Where the snow falls · 2 Nov 2026
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