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): 6 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
Elevation range is estimated by sampling points across the ski area.
| Date | Weather | Snow (cm) | Low / high (°C) | Wind (km/h) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 10 Nov | Fog | 0 | −12 to 0 | 10 |
| Wed 11 Nov | Drizzle | 0 | −11 to 2 | 17 |
| Thu 12 Nov | Drizzle | 0 | 1 to 7 | 24 |
| Fri 13 Nov | Cloudy | 0 | 1 to 10 | 21 |
| Sat 14 Nov | Cloudy | 0 | −1 to 8 | 18 |
| Sun 15 Nov | Cloudy | 0 | −1 to 5 | 17 |
| Mon 16 Nov | Drizzle | 0 | −5 to 3 | 15 |
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
The Kotobuki in the ski area's name is the district of Nakatombetsu where the slope lies. A run called the Shinsetsu (fresh-snow) course sits beneath the lift. Snowboarders have a run of their own, laid out between the intermediate course and the family course. Sources: r.goope.jp (sources read 11 Oct 2026; an AI draft the site operator has not yet checked)
Counted from the marked runs and lifts on the map, within 2.5 km of the centre of the ski area. These are not the resort’s own published figures.
Source: OpenStreetMap (ODbL 1.0). How finely ski areas are drawn varies by region, so treat the counts as indicative. Difficulty uses the European grades, which do not map onto North American green / blue / black.
This ski area does not put a camera on its own slopes. The nearest live view is the road below.
Footage remains the copyright of each operator. JAPANSNOWLINE neither stores nor redistributes it.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mikasayama Esashi | 23.0 km | 211 cm | 1048 |
| Otoineppu Otoifuji | 30.0 km | 248 cm | 748 |
| Higashigaoka Ski Area | 34.0 km | 191 cm | 1235 |
| Toyotomi Ski Area | 36.0 km | 191 cm | 1235 |
| Teshio Chomin Ski Area | 37.0 km | 201 cm | 1140 |
Compare side by side with Mikasayama Esashi and Otoineppu Otoifuji →
The most snow falls in January. March brings 69% of January’s snowfall. That is a gentler fall than the median for ski areas in Japan (52%). In amount, March brings 47 cm, about the same as the median of 46 cm.
Across the 12 winters measured, the average is 221 cm, and 6 of them fell short of it. The leanest was 2015/16 with 172 cm; the biggest was 2017/18 with 285 cm (1.7 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 中頓別 weather station — 3.1 km from this ski area, 67 m below its mid-slope.
| Three-season average | 617 cm |
| 2023/24 | 648 cm |
| 2024/25 | 638 cm |
| 2025/26 | 565 cm |
The figure calculated on this page is 252 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
Within 20 km in a straight line, nearest first. Some lie over a pass that is closed in winter.
| Place | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| 中頓別鍾乳洞 | Nature | 4.1 km |
| 浜頓別温泉 | Hot spring town | 15.6 km |
| Lake Kutcharoクッチャロ湖 | Nature | 16.1 km |
| North Okhotsk Prefectural Natural Park北オホーツク道立自然公園 | Nature | 18.5 km |
| Cape Kitami Kamui北見神威岬 | Nature | 18.6 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 (26 Oct 2026) · Source. “Not checked” means we have not looked yet. Compare with other ski areas →
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: 3 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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