The 2026/27 season is planned to open on 19 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.
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 | Snow | 0 | −5 to −2 | 14 |
| Wed 11 Nov | Partly cloudy | 0 | −6 to 0 | 15 |
| Thu 12 Nov | Clear | 0 | −2 to 7 | 7 |
| Fri 13 Nov | Cloudy | 0 | 0 to 8 | 7 |
| Sat 14 Nov | Cloudy | 0 | 1 to 10 | 4 |
| Sun 15 Nov | Cloudy | 0 | 3 to 10 | 6 |
| Mon 16 Nov | Drizzle | 0 | −3 to 4 | 9 |
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
Hotels fed by milky, strongly sulphurous hot springs stand right beside slopes that look out to Mount Asama. In winter the surrounding roads close, so there is no through route to Kusatsu or Shiga Kogen; drivers come in on the toll Manza Highway. Sources: princehotels.co.jp (sources read 13 Oct 2026; an AI draft the site operator has not yet checked)
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 18% of the vertical on the runs descends to the north or east. The most common direction is south (76%).
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.
Footage remains the copyright of each operator. JAPANSNOWLINE neither stores nor redistributes it.
Kusatsu and Manza webcams & snow report — all 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shiga Kogen Yokoteyama Ski Area | 4.1 km | 333 cm | 333 |
| Shiga Kogen Shibutoge Ski Area | 4.1 km | 333 cm | 333 |
| Shiga Kogen Kumanoyu Ski Area | 4.2 km | 333 cm | 333 |
| YAMABOKU Wild Snow Park | 4.9 km | 255 cmsame grid cell | 692 |
| Kusatsu Onsen Ski Resort | 6.6 km | 252 cm | 712 |
Compare side by side with Shiga Kogen Yokoteyama Ski Area and Shiga Kogen Shibutoge Ski Area →
The most snow falls in January. March brings 72% of January’s snowfall. That is a gentler fall than the median for ski areas in Japan (52%). In amount, March brings 57 cm, more than the median of 46 cm.
Across the 12 winters measured, the average is 255 cm, and 7 of them fell short of it. The leanest was 2025/26 with 197 cm; the biggest was 2014/15 with 337 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.
Snowfall each winter (December–March total). The dashed line is the average; the numbers mark the leanest and the biggest winter.
6 hot spring sources with published analyses lie within 5 km of this ski area, nearest first (the hottest is 96.2 °C).
| Source | Distance | Temperature | pH | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 万座鈴湯 | 0.8 km | 95℃ hot | 2 acidic | iron, acidic |
| 七味高山村 | 3.4 km | 96.2℃ hot | 8.3 mildly alkaline | — |
| 五色福田2号泉 | 4.1 km | 74℃ hot | 8.2 mildly alkaline | — |
| 硯川 | 4.9 km | 68℃ hot | — | sulphur |
| 熊の湯 | 5 km | 46.2℃ hot | 6.4 neutral | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Manza Onsen万座温泉 | Hot spring town | 0.8 km |
| Mount Kusatsu-Shirane草津白根山 | Nature | 2.4 km |
| Shibu-tōge渋峠 | Nature | 4.1 km |
| Shiga Highlands志賀高原 | Nature | 7.3 km |
| Kusatsu Onsen草津温泉 | Hot spring town | 8.7 km |
| Mount Azumaya四阿山 | Mountain | 13.5 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.
6 properties on Rakuten Travel lie within about 3 km of this ski area. The table shows the nearest 6 with a listed price.
| Property (links to Rakuten Travel) | Lowest listed (per person, tax incl.) | Rating | Distance | Getting there |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 万座温泉 万座亭 | ¥5,500 | 4.43／5 871 reviews | 0.5 km | 関越自動車道渋川伊香保ICより120分。国道292号線・県道牧干俣線は冬期通行止。 |
| 万座温泉 万座プリンスホテル | ¥3,893 | 3.77／5 2109 reviews | 0.6 km | 北陸新幹線「軽井沢駅南口」より送迎バスあり(約90分:要事前予約)/上信越自動車道「碓氷軽井沢IC」より約64km |
| 万座温泉 日進舘 | ¥6,590 | 4.21／5 2433 reviews | 0.6 km | 上信越自動車道碓氷軽井沢ICより車で90分。 |
| 万座温泉 万座高原ホテル | ¥2,793 | 4.07／5 1976 reviews | 0.8 km | JR吾妻線万座鹿沢口駅からバスで40分、タクシーで35分。/軽井沢ICから鬼押、万座ハイウェー(有料道路)経由で64km |
| 万座温泉 湯の花旅館 | ¥6,000 | 4.08／5 63 reviews | 0.8 km | JR吾妻線万座・鹿沢口駅より西武高原バスで約40分 |
| 万座温泉 万座ホテルジュラク | ¥17,500 | 4.42／5 2793 reviews | 1.0 km | 「車」渋川より約76km(約120分)軽井沢より約64km(約90分)「電車バス」万座鹿沢口駅~路線バス(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)
2 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.
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.
Onsen · 15 Sep 2026
Ski and Soak in Japan: Which Ski Areas Have a Hot Spring Source Next Door, and How Hot the Water IsWe matched 7,203 analysed hot spring sources to Japan's ski areas. 255 of 397 have one within 5 km, 145 of them at 42 °C or hotter, and 54 have one within 1 km. These are the ski areas that pair top snow with hot water close by, and the ones where the water is strongly acidic.