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.
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 →
Updated: 10 Nov 2026, 12:15
| Date | Weather | Snow (cm) | Low / high (°C) | Wind (km/h) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 10 Nov | Snow | 0 | −2 to 1 | 13 |
| Wed 11 Nov | Cloudy | 0 | −3 to 3 | 12 |
| Thu 12 Nov | Clear | 0 | 0 to 10 | 7 |
| Fri 13 Nov | Cloudy | 0 | 3 to 12 | 7 |
| Sat 14 Nov | Cloudy | 0 | 4 to 13 | 6 |
| Sun 15 Nov | Cloudy | 0 | 6 to 14 | 6 |
| Mon 16 Nov | Drizzle | 0 | 0 to 7 | 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
Minenohara Kogen is a highland village lined with pensions. On clear days the top of Course B looks out over the city of Nagano and the Northern Alps. Course F follows a twisting gully, and the way it swings skiers from side to side has earned it the nickname Furiko-sawa, the pendulum valley. Sources: minenoharakogen.com, minenohara-tourism.com, city.suzaka.nagano.jp (sources read 12 Oct 2026; an AI draft the site operator has not yet checked)
Weather models read low in the mountains: a Japan Meteorological Agency station 4 km away measured 379 cm a winter over the last three seasons, against 203 cm from the model.
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 36% of the vertical on the runs descends to the north or east. The most common direction is west (49%).
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.
Footage remains the copyright of each operator. JAPANSNOWLINE neither stores nor redistributes it.
Sugadaira webcams & snow report — all 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sugadaira Kogen Davos Hill Ski Area | 1.9 km | 153 cm | 1621 |
| Sugadaira Taro Area | 3.2 km | 153 cm | 1621 |
| Sugadairakogen Pine Beak Ski Area | 5.7 km | 153 cm | 1621 |
| Palcall Tsumagoi Resort Ski & Hotel | 8.4 km | 178 cm | 1335 |
| Kazawa Snow Area | 12.0 km | 136 cm | 1860 |
Compare side by side with Sugadaira Kogen Davos Hill Ski Area and Sugadaira Taro Area →
The most snow falls in January. March brings 80% of January’s snowfall. That is a gentler fall than the median for ski areas in Japan (52%). In amount, March brings 49 cm, about the same as the median of 46 cm.
Across the 12 winters measured, the average is 198 cm, and 6 of them fell short of it. The leanest was 2015/16 with 159 cm; the biggest was 2016/17 with 245 cm (1.5 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 菅平 weather station — 4 km from this ski area, 168 m below its mid-slope.
| Three-season average | 379 cm |
| 2023/24 | 509 cm |
| 2024/25 | 345 cm |
| 2025/26 | 284 cm |
The figure calculated on this page is 203 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
1 hot spring sources with published analyses lie within 5 km of this ski area, nearest first (the hottest is 34.5 °C).
| Source | Distance | Temperature | pH |
|---|---|---|---|
| 仙仁仙峡荘右洞 | 4 km | 34.5℃ warm | 7.9 mildly alkaline |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Mount Neko根子岳 (長野県) | Mountain | 3.8 km |
| Mount Azumaya四阿山 | Mountain | 5.6 km |
| Matsushiro Underground Imperial Headquarters松代大本営跡 | Historic site | 13.5 km |
| Matsushiro Castle松代城 | Historic site | 14.1 km |
| Zenkō-ji Temple善光寺 | Temple | 18.8 km |
| Ueda Castle上田城 | Historic site | 19.8 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 (22 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.
48 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| REWILD ZEKKEI GLAMPING RESORT ^ | ¥7,450 | — | 0.5 km | 須坂駅から車で約35分 |
| 時空の杜 | ¥6,600 | 4.33／5 9 reviews | 0.6 km | 菅平インターより車40分 上田駅よりバス ダボスバス停まで送迎有(要予約) |
| 奥山ペンション・ラディッシュ | ¥13,550 | 4.00／5 10 reviews | 0.7 km | 上信越道上田・菅平I.Cより30分 |
| ペンション のいちご | ¥6,500 | 3.67／5 33 reviews | 0.8 km | 上田駅から菅平高原までバス60分(峰の原高原はバスはありません) |
| Kong | ¥7,250 | 4.67／5 52 reviews | 0.8 km | 車:練馬ICから195km!上田菅平・須坂東から25分。 |
| ChillSheep | ¥11,100 | — | 0.8 km | JR上田駅:車で約40分、長野駅:同約50分、上信越自動車道・須坂長野東IC/上田菅平IC:車で約30分 |
| ペットと泊まれる宿 ペンション・チロル<長野県> | ¥12,500 | 4.67／5 45 reviews | 0.8 km | JR上田駅より上電バスで約55分/ 関越・上信越道から上田菅平IC・約30分 |
| ペンション きら星 | ¥13,200 | 4.67／5 35 reviews | 0.8 km | 上信越道上田菅平ICまたは須坂長野東ICより30分。 電車の場合は上田駅または長野駅よりタクシーやレンタカーで約50分。 |
| 信州・峰の原 ペンション ガーデンストーリー | ¥15,800 | — | 0.8 km | 上信越自動車道/上田菅平ICより35分、須坂長野東ICより35分、 長野新幹線/上田駅下車~菅平行きバス65分~送迎5分 |
| スポーツロッジMIYA | ¥6,600 | — | 1.0 km | 関東から上信越自動車道上田菅平ICより約30分。関西から上信越自動車道須坂長野東ICより約30分。 |
| ペンション 白いつばさ | ¥8,800 | 4.00／5 11 reviews | 1.2 km | 上田駅からバス |
| ロッジ Erste Liebe | ¥9,000 | 4.33／5 33 reviews | 1.8 km | 上田菅平ICより約45分 須坂長野東ICより約50分 「菅平」交差点より約10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)
3 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: 11.2 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.
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