Japan · Niigata

Naeba

苗場スキー場
Off season Opens 18 Dec (resort’s announcement)
Official site Lift tickets (official) 2026/27 adult day ticket ¥11,800 Mt. Naeba 1-day (Naeba, Kagura, Mitsumata and Tashiro), 18 Dec – 4 Apr (checked 19 Oct)

No snow yet. The 2026/27 season is planned to open on 18 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
18 Dec
Typical snowfall
446cm

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
882–1,785 m
A groomed run descending towards a lake and snow-covered mountains
Photo: the site operator / 19 March 2024 / Naeba (Yuzawa, Niigata)

The Dragondola gondola carries skiers across to the Tashiro area of neighbouring Kagura during the winter season. The resort opened in 1961, and in 1973 it hosted Japan's first Alpine World Cup races. It hosted the World Cup again in 1975, 2016 and 2020. Sources: e-yuzawa.gr.jp, princehotels.co.jp, town.yuzawa.lg.jp (sources read 11 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
446cm
per season
Worst of 12 winters
241cm
The middle winter of the 12: 451 cm. The best: 540 cm.
World rank
114
of 3,069 worldwide
Rank in country
55
of 397 in Japan
Elevation rank
97
Highest to lowest, of 397 in Japan. The centre point sits at 1,100 m, 334 m above the national median.
Quality rank
52
of 397 in Japan
Temp when snowing
−5.2°C
Japanese median: −3.6°C
Rain days
17%
Japanese median: 16%
Days over 5 cm
28%
Japanese median: 15%
Wind when snowing
22km/h
Average daily peak, 10 m above ground across a model grid cell; not the wind on ridges or lift tops
Dryness 51
Frequency 79
Freedom from rain 57
Calm when snowing (model grid) 91

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
Kagura6.8 km565 cm55
Kandatsu Kogen Ski Resort13.0 km618 cm36
Norn Minakami14.0 km368 cm233
Nakazato Snow Wood Ski Area14.0 km712 cm6
Yuzawa Nakazato Ski Resort15.0 km712 cm6

Compare side by side with Kagura and Kandatsu Kogen 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
29
Run length
19km
Lifts
15
Vertical
903m
Top 1,785 m · base 882 m

Run map

EasyIntermediateAdvanced Lift
North is up. Runs are coloured by difficulty; black lines are lifts.Lifts that run far beyond the ski area are cut at the edge of the map.
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 map2.5 km
Steepest pitch34°measured over at least 30 m
Average gradient of the runs13.5°

Which way the slopes face

North 16%
East 76%
South 8%
West 0%

92% 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 11 · 6.8 km
Intermediate 10 · 7.9 km
Advanced 8 · 4.7 km

Lift types

  • Chairlift12
  • Gondola3

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 53% of January’s snowfall. That is in line with the median for ski areas in Japan (52%). In amount, March brings 78 cm, more than the median of 46 cm.

120cm
Dec
147cm
Jan
101cm
Feb
78cm
Mar
Average snowfall by month, last 12 winters

Winter by winter

Across the 12 winters measured, the average is 446 cm, and 5 of them fell short of it. The leanest was 2015/16 with 241 cm; the biggest was 2021/22 with 540 cm (2.2 times as much).

389
241
536
451
489
428
454
540
445
451
524
399
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

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

Videos

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

Hot springs nearby, as analysed

1 hot spring sources with published analyses lie within 5 km of this ski area, nearest first (the hottest is 32 °C).

Show the sources
SourceDistanceTemperaturepHType
苗場苗場0.6 km32℃ lukewarm6.5 neutraliron

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
PlaceTypeDistance
Mikuni Pass三国峠 (群馬県・新潟県)Mountain3.8 km
Shimagawa Dam四万川ダムLandmark10.3 km
Shima Onsen四万温泉Hot spring town11.5 km
Mount Tanigawa谷川岳Mountain13.5 km
Tanigawadake Ropeway谷川岳ロープウェイNature16.2 km
Doai Station土合駅Landmark16.5 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.

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 50 minutes by local bus from the east exit of Echigo-Yuzawa Station (check the winter timetable on the official site); Naeba Prince Hotel guests can use a free shuttle bus (hotel guests only, reservation required, about 40 minutes, 12 December 2026 to 4 April 2027)
By car
about 30 minutes from Yuzawa IC or about 50 minutes from Tsukiyono IC (Kan-etsu Expressway), both via Route 17

Source: princehotels.co.jp · checked 7 Nov 2026. Shuttle days and times change with the season; check the official site before you go.

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.

41 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.)RatingDistanceGetting there
わらび荘 ¥6,0004.63/5 27 reviews0.2 km湯沢駅から車で25分
苗場ウッドインだいまる ¥4,000—0.3 kmJR上越新幹線・越後湯沢駅よりバスで45分, タクシーで約40分.関越自動車道,月夜野ICより50分、湯沢ICより30分
サンダンス・リゾート苗場 ¥7,7004.83/5 10 reviews0.3 km越後湯沢駅より南越後観光バス「西武ヴィラ入り口」下車、徒歩にて約15分
ファミールしらかば ¥8,8005.00/5 59 reviews0.3 km越後湯沢駅から車で30分 バス・苗場・浅貝方面行き40分
ロッヂ 丘 ¥4,0003.25/5 117 reviews0.4 kmJR上越新幹線・越後湯沢駅よりバスで45分/関越自動車道/月夜野I.Cより50分、湯沢I.Cより25分
苗場のホテルthe Kinta Naeba ¥12,0004.57/5 95 reviews0.4 km越後湯沢駅から苗場浅貝方面行きバス45分 苗場スキー場下車 到着後電話をいただければお迎えにあがります。
コンドミニアムホテル 苗場WEST・貸切コテージ ¥8,8003.93/5 252 reviews0.5 km月夜野ICより車で40分、湯沢ICより車で30分
三国峠温泉 御宿本陣 雪月風花 月見庵 雪見庵 ¥9,4004.22/5 693 reviews0.5 km月夜野ICより車で40分、湯沢ICより車で30分
苗場プリンスホテル ¥4,5653.71/5 1280 reviews0.6 km関越自動車道月夜野ICから33km(約50分)/湯沢ICから21km(約35分)/越後湯沢駅より専用バス有(事前予約制)
豊島ロッヂ ¥5,0003.00/5 6 reviews0.8 kmJR上越新幹線 ・越後湯沢駅よりバスで約45分/関越自動車道/月夜野I.Cより約40分、湯沢I.Cより約30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

7 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: 0.3 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 Niigata

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