Japan · Niigata

Maiko Snow Resort

舞子スノーリゾート

Off season Opens 19 Dec (resort’s announcement)

Official site Lift tickets (official) 2026/27 adult day ticket ¥7,300 at the window (opens 19 Dec) (checked 19 Oct)

A snowy valley and distant snowfields seen past a gondola — Photo: the site operator / 19 January 2024 / Maiko Snow Resort (Minamiuonuma, Niigata)

No snow yet. The 2026/27 season is planned to open on 19 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.

Opens

19 Dec

Typical snowfall

695cm

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 →

Elevation: 258–911 m
Across: 4.3 km

From the Shiozawa-Ishiuchi interchange on the Kan-Etsu Expressway, the base is about a minute's drive. The terrain divides into three areas, Maiko, Nagamine and Okusoechi, and a gondola climbs to Okusoechi. Runs carry doubled-sound names such as Ran Ran, Gin Gin and Zoku Zoku. Sources: maiko-resort.com, niigata-kankou.or.jp (sources read 12 Oct 2026; reviewed by the editor)

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

695cm

per season

Worst of 12 winters

328cm

The middle winter of the 12: 750 cm. The best: 983 cm.

World rank

of 3,069 worldwide

Rank in country

of 397 in Japan

Elevation rank

262

Highest to lowest, of 397 in Japan. The centre point sits at 503 m, 263 m below the national median.

Quality rank

179

of 397 in Japan

Temp when snowing

−1.7°C

Japanese median: −3.6°C

Rain days

41%

Japanese median: 16%

Days over 5 cm

36%

Japanese median: 15%

Wind when snowing

13km/h

Average daily peak, 10 m above ground across a model grid cell; not the wind on ridges or lift tops

Dryness 27

Frequency 100

Freedom from rain 35

Calm when snowing (model grid) 100

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 area	Distance	Seasonal snowfall	World rank
Iwappara	3.5 km	712 cm	6
Ishiuchi Maruyama Ski Resort	3.9 km	695 cmsame grid cell	12
Ishiuchi Hanaoka Ski Area	4.0 km	695 cmsame grid cell	12
Ippon Sugi Ski Resort	5.1 km	695 cmsame grid cell	12
Gala Yuzawa Snow Resort	5.3 km	618 cm	36

Compare side by side with Iwappara and Ishiuchi Maruyama Ski Resort →

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

Run length

18km

Lifts

Vertical

653m

Top 911 m · base 258 m

Run map

EasyIntermediateAdvanced Lift

North is up. Runs are coloured by difficulty; black lines are lifts.

Slope shape, difficulty and lift types

The shape of the mountain

Longest run on the map2.6 km

Steepest pitch28°measured over at least 30 m

Average gradient of the runs9.1°

Which way the slopes face

North 52%

East 21%

South 12%

West 15%

73% 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.

By difficulty

Easy 13 · 11.2 km

Intermediate 9 · 4.8 km

Advanced 4 · 1.8 km

Lift types

Chairlift9
Gondola1

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.

When it falls, and how winters differ

Month by month

The most snow falls in January. March brings 29% 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. For skiing, though, the amount matters more than the share: March brings 76 cm, more than the median of 46 cm.

184cm

Dec

260cm

Jan

177cm

Feb

76cm

Mar

Average snowfall by month, last 12 winters

Winter by winter

Across the 12 winters measured, the average is 695 cm, and 5 of them fell short of it. The leanest was 2015/16 with 328 cm; the biggest was 2021/22 with 983 cm (3.0 times as much).

543

328

875

762

772

522

751

983

748

604

835

619

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

Live cameras

On the mountainSlope camera on the official winter page ↗Operated by: 舞子スノーリゾート Roads nearby国道17号 ↗From the resort: 3.6 kmOperated by: 北陸地方整備局長岡国道事務所

Footage remains the copyright of each operator. JAPANSNOWLINE neither stores nor redistributes it.

Echigo-Yuzawa webcams & snow report — all 17 ski areas →

Videos

Videos remain the copyright of whoever filmed them. JAPANSNOWLINE stores no video and plays everything through the standard YouTube player.

Official YouTube channel

More than we show here.

What was actually measured nearby

Total snowfall from December to March recorded at the 湯沢 weather station — 4.3 km from this ski area, 127 m below its mid-slope.

Three-season average	810 cm
2023/24	619 cm
2024/25	1080 cm
2025/26	732 cm

The figure calculated on this page is 686 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

Hot springs nearby, as analysed

4 hot spring sources with published analyses lie within 5 km of this ski area, nearest first (the hottest is 61.5 °C).

Show the sources

Source	Distance	Temperature	pH	Type
上越後楽園上越後楽園	2 km	31.1℃ lukewarm	8.2 mildly alkaline	—
石打丸山丸山3号	3.2 km	25.8℃ lukewarm	8.1 mildly alkaline	—
上野鉱泉新泉1号	4 km	24.3℃ cold	8.1 mildly alkaline	simple
湯沢第3配湯所混湯	4.6 km	61.5℃ hot	8.3 mildly alkaline	simple

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

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

Place	Type	Distance
Yuzawa Kōgen Ropeway湯沢高原ロープウェイ	Nature	5.2 km
Kiyotsu Gorge清津峡	Nature	7.5 km
Mount Makihata巻機山	Mountain	11.4 km
Mount Tanigawa谷川岳	Mountain	17.4 km
Tanigawadake Ropeway谷川岳ロープウェイ	Nature	19 km
Doai Station土合駅	Landmark	19.7 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.

Official piste map ↗

Getting there

By train: Echigo-Yuzawa Station (JR Joetsu Shinkansen): about 30 minutes by free shuttle bus to the day-skier ski centre (about 20 minutes to Maiko Kogen Hotel)
By car: 1 minute by car from Shiozawa-Ishiuchi IC (Kan-Etsu Expressway)
Winter roads: Free shuttle buses leave about 80 m to the right of Echigo-Yuzawa Station east exit (near the regional tourist car park). Route A goes to Maiko Kogen Hotel, Route B to the day-skier ski centre. The 2026-27 winter timetable is still being prepared

Source: maiko-resort.com · checked 1 Nov 2026. Shuttle days and times change with the season; check the official site before you go.

Get directions ↗ Open in Google Maps ↗

Going with children

Kids’ area: Yes (details in Japanese on the official site)
Childcare: Yes (details in Japanese on the official site)
Parking: Yes (details in Japanese on the official site)
Rental: Yes (details in Japanese on the official site)

Checked on the official site (19 Oct 2026) · Source. Compare with other ski areas →

Places to stay nearbyPR

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

38 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
舞子グランピング	¥11,000	4.72／5 140 reviews	1.3 km	車の場合→関越自動車道「塩沢石打IC」より約5分■新幹線の場合→上越新幹線越後湯沢駅より無料送迎バスで約20分(要予約)
舞子温泉飯士の湯舞子高原ホテル	¥8,800	4.41／5 1479 reviews	1.4 km	関越自動車道「塩沢石打IC」より直進1km、約2分!越後湯沢駅からは無料シャトルバスで約20分(春~秋は予約制)
ロッヂヤングメイト	¥5,200	4.92／5 144 reviews	1.7 km	お車:関越自動車道・塩沢石打ICから2分/電車:タクシー(繁忙期困難)で越後湯沢駅から約15分、石打駅から約5分
ロッヂB&W	¥7,500	4.57／5 28 reviews	1.8 km	越後湯沢駅東口より車で約10分 ※送迎車あり(冬:スキー場のバス運行/グリーン期:応相談)
加賀屋旅館	¥7,500	—	1.9 km	関越自動車道塩沢石打ICより約2分
和風いん越路	¥9,500	4.67／5 28 reviews	2.1 km	上越新幹線越後湯沢駅/関越自動車道塩沢石打ICより1分
五右衛門旅館	¥7,000	—	2.4 km	関越自動車道塩沢石打ICより30秒、越後湯沢駅よりお車で約15分
ミストラル	¥5,300	3.00／5 64 reviews	2.9 km	関越道塩沢石打ICより5分, 越後湯沢駅よりバス10分, 最寄り駅石打駅
ベルビューニシウラ	¥6,000	5.00／5 27 reviews	2.9 km	越後湯沢駅・GALA湯沢駅・上越線石打駅/関越高速道・塩沢石打ICより5分
ホテルnozomi ^	¥17,400	—	2.9 km	石打駅から徒歩で約5分
BIRD LAND	¥5,000	—	3.0 km	JR石打駅:車で約3分、徒歩約15分、上越新幹線・越後湯沢駅より石打丸山スキー場行の無料シャトルバス有、下車後徒歩約3分
田中屋旅館<新潟県>	¥5,000	4.33／5 177 reviews	3.1 km	上越新幹線の越後湯沢駅で上越線に乗り換え、次の石打駅で下車、徒歩2分。/関越自動車道の塩沢石打ICより車で5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)

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.

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