No snow yet. The 2026/27 season is planned to open on 25 Dec (the resort’s announcement; it moves with the snow). 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 →
Visitors park at the foot of the mountain and ride an eight-person gondola to the top, where the ski area begins. Skis, boards and clothing can all be rented at the summit rental centre, so there is no need to bring gear. The beginner Biwako View slope lives up to its name, looking down over Lake Biwa. Sources: hakodateyama.com (sources read 13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kutsuki Snow Park | 13.0 km | 118 cm | 2117 |
| Ohana Resort | 14.0 km | 116 cm | 2148 |
| Akoyama Skijo Snowpal | 24.0 km | 142 cm | 1775 |
| Biwako Valley | 26.0 km | 98 cm | 2397 |
| Yogo Kogen Resort | 33.0 km | 249 cm | 743 |
Compare side by side with Kutsuki Snow Park and Ohana 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.
Only 39% of the vertical on the runs descends to the north or east. The most common direction is west (41%).
See past trail maps on Skimap.org ↗
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 16% 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 7 cm, less than the median of 46 cm.
Across the 12 winters measured, the average is 113 cm, and 5 of them fell short of it. The leanest was 2015/16 with 19 cm; the biggest was 2021/22 with 169 cm (8.9 times as much).
Snowfall each winter (December–March total). The dashed line is the average; the numbers mark the leanest and the biggest winter.
Footage remains the copyright of each operator. JAPANSNOWLINE neither stores nor redistributes it.
More than we show here.
Within 20 km in a straight line, nearest first. Some lie over a pass that is closed in winter.
| Place | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lakefront Village of Sugaura菅浦の湖岸集落 | Old streets | 14.4 km |
| Chikubu Island竹生島 | Nature | 14.5 km |
| Hōgon-ji Temple宝厳寺 | Temple | 14.5 km |
| Tsukubusuma Shrine都久夫須麻神社 | Shrine | 14.6 km |
| Mikata Five Lakes三方五湖 | Nature | 17.4 km |
| Shirahige Shrine白鬚神社 | Shrine | 18.4 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.
Checked on the official site (13 Oct 2026) · Source. “Not checked” means we have not looked yet. Compare with other ski areas →
Contains advertising. Property names and Rakuten Travel’s booking pages are in Japanese.
16 properties on Rakuten Travel lie within about 3 km of this ski area. The table shows the nearest 12 with a listed price.
| Property (links to Rakuten Travel) | Lowest listed (per person, tax incl.) | Rating | Distance | Getting there |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 民宿やまそ | ¥6,000 | — | 1.8 km | JR近江今津駅から総合運動公園線バス「三谷」下車、徒歩約5分 |
| 民宿 いづみや | ¥5,940 | 5.00／5 7 reviews | 1.9 km | 近江今津駅 |
| 民宿 やまげん<滋賀県> | ¥13,000 | 4.00／5 9 reviews | 2.0 km | 近江今津駅より車で10分 |
| 一棟貸しの別荘 Ahouse ^ | ¥8,816 | — | 2.2 km | 近江中庄駅から車で約9分 |
| ARCH HOUSE TAKASHIMA | ¥7,200 | — | 2.5 km | JR湖西線 近江今津駅よりお車で約15分 |
| 家族旅行村ビラデスト今津 | ¥2,800 | 3.67／5 48 reviews | 2.6 km | 京都東ICより車で90分/敦賀・小浜より車で50分/北陸自動車道 木之本ICより車で50分 |
| 箱館山麓大空荘/民泊 | ¥18,792 | — | 2.6 km | 近江今津駅から車で12分 |
| フォレストヴィライーリオびわ湖 ^ | ¥7,842 | — | 3.2 km | 近江中庄駅から車で7分 |
| 森のかくれ宿 シープ | ¥18,150 | — | 3.2 km | 国道303号 小浜・上中方面より約40分 |
Prices are the lowest Rakuten Travel lists; a property name, or “Pick dates and guests” above, shows prices and rooms for your dates.
Contains advertising. Property names and Rakuten Travel’s booking pages are in Japanese. · Property data by Rakuten Travel (Supported by Rakuten Developers)
13 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: 2.1 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.
Where the snow falls · 5 Sep 2026
Is Western Japan Snowier Than It Looks? Our Model Against the Weather StationsWestern Japan's ski areas look thin in our data — a median of 125 cm against a national 249 cm. Against 16 Japan Meteorological Agency stations, the model we use returns 44% of what the ground records there. The region is far snowier than our own numbers say.