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 →
Mount Asama fills the view as you ski. The slope belongs to the ANA Holiday Inn Resort Karuizawa on the Kita-Karuizawa plateau, and a free shuttle bus, booked in advance, runs from the south exit of Karuizawa Station, so a car is not essential. Sources: resemom.jp, report.iko-yo.net, weathernews.jp (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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prince Hotels and Resorts Karuizawa | 9.5 km | 81 cm | 2572 |
| Takamine Mountain Park Ski Area | 15.0 km | 145 cm | 1729 |
| Saku Ski Garden Parada | 18.0 km | 90 cm | 2478 |
| Kazawa Snow Area | 19.0 km | 136 cm | 1860 |
| Palcall Tsumagoi Resort Ski & Hotel | 22.0 km | 178 cm | 1335 |
Compare side by side with Prince Hotels and Resorts Karuizawa and Takamine Mountain Park Ski Area →
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 35% of the vertical on the runs descends to the north or east. The most common direction is west (65%).
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 March. March brings as much as January, or more. In amount, March brings 40 cm, about the same as the median of 46 cm.
Across the 12 winters measured, the average is 115 cm, and 5 of them fell short of it. The leanest was 2025/26 with 56 cm; the biggest was 2014/15 with 190 cm (3.4 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.
Karuizawa and Asama webcams & snow report — all 3 ski areas →
6 hot spring sources with published analyses lie within 5 km of this ski area, nearest first (the hottest is 33.5 °C).
| Source | Distance | Temperature | pH | Type | Analysed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 小瀬温泉蓬莱館 | 3.6 km | 32.5℃ lukewarm | 7.5 mildly alkaline | simple | 1969 |
| 霧積温泉入の湯 | 4.1 km | — | 7.6 mildly alkaline | sulphate | 1983 |
| 北軽井沢温泉四季1号泉 | 4.9 km | 29.2℃ lukewarm | 7.4 neutral | simple | 1977 |
| 北軽井沢温泉四季1号 | 4.9 km | — | 8.2 mildly alkaline | simple | 1987 |
| 北軽井沢温泉四季2号泉 | 4.9 km | 33.5℃ lukewarm | 8.2 mildly alkaline | simple | 1977 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Karuizawa軽井沢町 | Old streets | 8.5 km |
| Usui Pass碓氷峠 | Nature | 9.2 km |
| Mount Asama浅間山 | Mountain | 9.4 km |
| Usui Bridge No. 3碓氷第三橋梁 | Landmark | 9.5 km |
| Usui Pass Railway Heritage Park碓氷峠鉄道文化むら | Museum | 13.4 km |
| Yanba Dam八ッ場ダム | Landmark | 17 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 (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.
3 properties on Rakuten Travel lie within about 3 km of this ski area. The table shows the nearest 3 with a listed price.
| Property (links to Rakuten Travel) | Lowest listed (per person, tax incl.) | Rating | Distance | Getting there |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANAホリデイ・インリゾート軽井沢 by IHG | ¥8,867 | 4.26／5 772 reviews | 0.5 km | 上信越自動車道「碓氷軽井沢IC」より約50分。 軽井沢駅からは無料送迎バスで約40分。 |
| Villa The Club KARUIZAWA | ¥6,000 | 4.25／5 239 reviews | 2.0 km | JR 軽井沢駅よりお車にて30分/送迎バス(事前予約制)にて約30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)
10 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 · 1 Nov 2026
Ski Resorts Near Tokyo 2026/27: The Nearest Get the Least SnowDay trips from Tokyo, compared: Karuizawa (an hour by Shinkansen) averages 9 cm of December snow on our model, GALA Yuzawa (75 minutes) 170 cm. Fifteen ski areas, with 2026/27 opening dates and day-ticket prices.
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