Japan · Hokkaido

Katsurazawa Kokusetsu Ski Area

桂沢国設スキー場
41 / 100 Powder Score
No Snow Weather Partly cloudy

Not open yet for 2026/27. We have not yet found an official opening date. The snowfall below is a model figure and does not mean the slopes are skiable.

Base depth
8cm
Snow 48h
6cm
Next 72h
0cm

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 →

Snow 24h
4 cm
Next 24h
0 cm
Temperature
−4°C
Max wind
9 km/h
Elevation
104–316 m
Across
1.0 km

This season so far (1 Nov to 9 Nov): 16 cm, 135% of the average for the same dates. The average is over twelve winters on the same weather model. Across Japan →

Updated: 10 Nov 2026, 12:15

7-day outlook

Date Weather Snow (cm) Low / high (°C) Wind (km/h)
Tue 10 Nov Snow showers 2 −9 to −1 9
Wed 11 Nov Cloudy 0 −7 to 3 12
Thu 12 Nov Fog 0 −1 to 9 21
Fri 13 Nov Drizzle 0 3 to 11 21
Sat 14 Nov Cloudy 0 0 to 10 8
Sun 15 Nov Drizzle 0 0 to 9 8
Mon 16 Nov Snow showers 1 −4 to 5 14

Score breakdown

Fresh (48h) 15/40
Forecast (24h) 0/25
Snow quality 16/20
Wind 10/10
Base 0/5

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

Snow and slopes at Katsurazawa Kokusetsu Ski Area
Photo: Wakimasa / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Ski and snowboard rental is not offered to children of primary-school age or younger, so families need to bring their children's skis, boards and boots. Tubes and sleds, on the other hand, are lent free of charge, with tubes handled at the kids' park reception. Sources: city.mikasa.hokkaido.jp (sources read 12 Oct 2026; an AI draft the site operator has not yet checked)

Runs and lifts

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.

Marked runs
4
Run length
2.5km
Lifts
1
Vertical
212m
Top 316 m · base 104 m

Run map

EasyIntermediateAdvanced Lift
North is up. Runs are coloured by difficulty; black lines are lifts.
Run map

Drag to move around, and use + and − to zoom. On a phone, swipe to move and pinch to zoom in further.

Slope shape, difficulty and lift types

The shape of the mountain

Longest run on the map0.8 km
Steepest pitch25°measured over at least 30 m
Average gradient of the runs12.9°

Which way the slopes face

North 86%
East 13%
South 0%
West 0%

99% of the vertical on the runs descends to the north or east. Those slopes get the least sun, so the snow lasts longer.

By difficulty

Easy 1 · 0.6 km
Intermediate 2 · 1.2 km
Advanced 1 · 0.7 km

Lift types

  • Chairlift1

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.

How much snow it gets

Modelled from weather data the same way at all 3,069 ski areas we cover. These are not the resort’s own published figures.

Seasonal snowfall
232cm
per season
Worst of 12 winters
159cm
The middle winter of the 12: 248 cm. The best: 278 cm.
World rank
853
of 3,069 worldwide
Rank in country
219
of 397 in Japan
Elevation rank
360
Highest to lowest, of 397 in Japan. The centre point sits at 155 m, 611 m below the national median.
Quality rank
140
of 397 in Japan
Temp when snowing
−4.6°C
Japanese median: −3.6°C
Rain days
11%
Japanese median: 16%
Days over 5 cm
12%
Japanese median: 15%
Wind when snowing
19km/h
Average daily peak, 10 m above ground across a model grid cell; not the wind on ridges or lift tops
Dryness 48
Frequency 35
Freedom from rain 71
Calm when snowing (model grid) 96

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).

Compared with what is nearby

Within 50 km in a straight line. Ski areas in the same weather-model cell (about 30 km across) get the same figure.

Ski areaDistanceSeasonal snowfallWorld rank
Haginoyama Shimin Ski Area17.0 km164 cm1485
Hokkaido Greenland White Park18.0 km164 cm1485
Mount Racey23.0 km193 cm1217
Kamoidake Kokusai30.0 km201 cm1140
Furano Ski Resort34.0 km220 cm953

Compare side by side with Haginoyama Shimin Ski Area and Hokkaido Greenland White Park →

When it falls, and how winters differ

Month by month

The most snow falls in December. March brings 62% of January’s snowfall. That is a gentler fall than the median for ski areas in Japan (52%). For skiing, though, the amount matters more than the share: March brings 38 cm, less than the median of 46 cm.

82cm
Dec
61cm
Jan
51cm
Feb
38cm
Mar
Average snowfall by month, last 12 winters

Winter by winter

Across the 12 winters measured, the average is 232 cm, and 5 of them fell short of it. The leanest was 2019/20 with 159 cm; the biggest was 2020/21 with 278 cm (1.7 times as much). For 63% of the 397 ski areas in Japan the leanest winter was 2015/16; here it was a different one.

250
209
173
245
192
159
278
270
250
225
274
264
14/1515/1616/1717/1818/1919/2020/2121/2222/2323/2424/2525/26

Snowfall each winter (December–March total). The dashed line is the average; the numbers mark the leanest and the biggest winter.

How these figures are made

Worth seeing nearby

Within 20 km in a straight line, nearest first. Some lie over a pass that is closed in winter.

Show the list
PlaceTypeDistance
Mikasa City Museum三笠市立博物館Museum1.9 km
Katsurazawa Dam桂沢ダムNature2.1 km
Mikasa Railway Memorial Museum三笠鉄道記念館Museum6.5 km
Kan Yasuda Sculpture Museum Arte Piazza Bibai安田侃彫刻美術館 アルテピアッツァ美唄Museum10.8 km
Sandan Falls三段滝 (北海道)Nature17.9 km
Iwamizawa Parkいわみざわ公園Park18.3 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.

Map

The weather map, and where it sits among nearby ski areas.

Going with children

Kids’ area
Yes (details in Japanese on the official site)
Childcare
Not checked
Parking
Yes (details in Japanese on the official site)
Rental
Yes (details in Japanese on the official site)

Checked on the official site (22 Oct 2026) · Source. “Not checked” means we have not looked yet. Compare with other ski areas →

Places to stay nearbyPR

Contains advertising. Property names and Rakuten Travel’s booking pages are in Japanese.

1 properties on Rakuten Travel lie within about 3 km of this ski area. The table shows the nearest 1 with a listed price.

Property (links to Rakuten Travel)Lowest listed (per person, tax incl.)RatingDistanceGetting there
湯の元温泉旅館 ¥2,5004.25/5 21 reviews0.9 km岩見沢駅より車で道道116号線経由(約35分)◆札幌より車で道央道三笠IC経由、道道岩見沢三笠線を桂沢湖方面(約80分)
Pick dates and guests to check rooms on Rakuten Travel

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)

Places to stay on the map

1 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: 1.1 km

Show the nearest places

Nearest first

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.

Guides covering Hokkaido

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