The 2026/27 season is planned to open on 18 Dec (the resort’s announcement; it moves with the snow). The snowfall below is a model figure and does not mean the slopes are skiable.
This season is planned to run until 28 Mar (the resort’s announcement).
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 →
This season so far (1 Nov to 9 Nov): 1 cm. The average for these dates is under 10 cm, so we do not give a percentage yet. The average is over twelve winters on the same weather model. Across Japan →
Updated: 10 Nov 2026, 12:15
| Date | Weather | Snow (cm) | Low / high (°C) | Wind (km/h) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 10 Nov | Drizzle | 0 | 0 to 3 | 13 |
| Wed 11 Nov | Partly cloudy | 0 | −2 to 7 | 8 |
| Thu 12 Nov | Clear | 0 | −1 to 12 | 9 |
| Fri 13 Nov | Cloudy | 0 | 2 to 14 | 8 |
| Sat 14 Nov | Drizzle | 0 | 4 to 14 | 4 |
| Sun 15 Nov | Drizzle | 0 | 8 to 13 | 3 |
| Mon 16 Nov | Drizzle | 0 | 3 to 9 | 10 |
The five add up to the 100-point Powder Score: more fresh snow, more on the way and colder air all push it up. How we measure
The gondola rises to HAKUBA MOUNTAIN HARBOR, a terrace on the summit. It faces the Northern Alps head-on, including the Karamatsuzawa snowfield, recognised as a glacier in 2019. Non-skiers can ride the gondola up to the terrace too, just for the view. Sources: iwatake-mountain-resort.com, db.go-nagano.net, hakubavalley.com (sources read 12 Oct 2026; reviewed by the editor)
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.
65% of the vertical on the runs descends to the north or east; plenty of the terrain faces the sun as well, so the lean is modest.
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.
Official figures: 13 runs, longest 3,300 m, 1 gondola, 8 chairlifts, 539 m vertical, 30% beginner, 50% intermediate, 20% advanced. Source (checked 2 Oct)
Footage remains the copyright of each operator. JAPANSNOWLINE neither stores nor redistributes it.
Hakuba Valley webcams & snow report — all 10 ski areas →
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hakuba Happo-One | 3.0 km | 414 cm | 155 |
| Tsugaike Kogen | 3.5 km | 668 cmsame grid cell | 21 |
| Hakuba Norikura Onsen Ski Resort | 5.5 km | 635 cm | 30 |
| Hakuba 47 | 6.2 km | 668 cmsame grid cell | 21 |
| Hakuba Goryu | 6.8 km | 414 cm | 155 |
Compare side by side with Hakuba Happo-One and Tsugaike Kogen →
The most snow falls in January. March brings 46% of January’s snowfall. That is in line with the median for ski areas in Japan (52%). In amount, March brings 99 cm, more than the median of 46 cm.
Across the 12 winters measured, the average is 668 cm, and 5 of them fell short of it. The leanest was 2015/16 with 380 cm; the biggest was 2021/22 with 860 cm (2.3 times as much).
Snowfall each winter (December–March total). The dashed line is the average; the numbers mark the leanest and the biggest winter.
Total snowfall from December to March recorded at the 白馬 weather station — 3.2 km from this ski area, 240 m below its mid-slope.
| Three-season average | 447 cm |
| 2023/24 | 444 cm |
| 2024/25 | 648 cm |
| 2025/26 | 248 cm |
The figure calculated on this page is 718 cm.
A weather station is not a ski slope. We picked one at a similar elevation, but it stands in a valley or a village. More snow falls on the mountain above it. We have not tried to guess how much more.
Source: Japan Meteorological Agency historical records
4 hot spring sources with published analyses lie within 5 km of this ski area, nearest first (the hottest is 38.8 °C).
| Source | Distance | Temperature | pH | Type | Analysed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a spring in 小谷村塩島 | 3.1 km | 13.6℃ cold | 8.2 mildly alkaline | — | 1972 |
| a spring in 白馬村 | 3.2 km | 38.8℃ warm | 6.6 neutral | sulphur | 1965 |
| a spring in 小谷村城山 | 3.4 km | 17.8℃ cold | 8 mildly alkaline | — | 1974 |
| a spring in 小谷村小谷村 | 3.9 km | 15.8℃ cold | 6.4 neutral | bicarbonate | 1969 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Chūbu-Sangaku National Park中部山岳国立公園 | Nature | 6.1 km |
| Happo Pond八方池 | Nature | 6.4 km |
| Mount Shirouma白馬岳 | Mountain | 8.6 km |
| Lake Aoki青木湖 | Nature | 12.7 km |
| Kurobe Gorge黒部峡谷 | Nature | 17 km |
| Mount Togakushi戸隠山 | Mountain | 19.4 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.
Getting there
Source: iwatake-mountain-resort.com · checked 7 Nov 2026. Shuttle days and times change with the season; check the official site before you go.
Checked on the official site (12 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.
215 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| プチホテル ピーターラビット | ¥5,390 | 4.53／5 76 reviews | 1.1 km | 長野豊科I.Cから60分、JR大糸線白馬駅から車で5分。 (送迎あり 無料) |
| ペンション 風見鶏 | ¥5,800 | 3.50／5 23 reviews | 1.3 km | JR大糸線白馬駅から5分。 |
| ペンション&コテージ クヌルプ | ¥8,250 | 4.74／5 115 reviews | 1.5 km | JR大糸線 白馬駅/長野道 安曇野IC/上信越道 更埴IC/北陸道 糸魚川ICより約1時間 |
| 入山登(イリヤマト) | ¥9,300 | 3.80／5 9 reviews | 1.5 km | R148号の岩岳入口の信号より岩岳ゲレンデ方面へ。 |
| SEASHA'sコテージR1 | ¥12,000 | — | 1.5 km | JR白馬駅よりお車で10分、安曇野ICより約1時間 |
| ヴィラ スコーレ白馬 | ¥5,800 | 4.20／5 45 reviews | 1.6 km | 上信越道長野IC、中央道豊科ICよりそれぞれ約50分 |
| 白馬岩岳 切久保館 | ¥6,300 | 4.75／5 24 reviews | 1.7 km | JR白馬駅よりタクシーで5分/長野IC又は安曇野ICより車で1時間 |
| B&D HAKUBA IWATAKE | ¥6,858 | — | 1.7 km | 白馬駅よりお車で約5分 |
| ホテルけやきの樹 | ¥10,350 | 3.75／5 28 reviews | 1.8 km | JR白馬駅よりお車で5分 |
| 白馬みずばしょう温泉 ホテル シェラリゾート白馬 | ¥17,167 | 4.64／5 998 reviews | 1.8 km | JR白馬駅よりホテルバス(要予約)にて10分/長野道安曇野I.Cより60分/糸魚川I.Cより60分 |
| Hotel La Neige(ホテル ラ・ネージュ) | ¥42,960 | 4.78／5 152 reviews | 1.8 km | JR白馬駅より無料送迎/白馬八方バスターミナルより無料送迎/安曇野IC・長野ICより約60分 |
| Amo 54(アモ54) | ¥83,699 | — | 1.8 km | JR 白馬駅よりお車にて約5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)
7 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: 1.2 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 · 2 Oct 2026
Hakuba's Ten Ski Areas, Side by Side: 1,071 m of Vertical at One End, 70% Beginner Runs at the OtherHakuba Valley is sold as one place and is ten separate ski areas. We put the terrain each one publishes next to the snow we measured over twelve winters. Happo-One has 23.3 km of piste and, with Goryu, the least snow; Cortina and Norikura share a ¥6,500 ticket and sit in the second-snowiest band; Jiigatake is 70% beginner runs with 260 m of vertical.