No snow yet. The 2026/27 season is planned to open on 17 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.
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 →
Mount Ninoji's flanks provide the terrain here. Bells are set along the beginner run Melody Line, and skiers try to ring each one on the way down. During the season a free shuttle bus makes the 30-minute run from Shibata Station. Sources: ninox.co.jp, niigata-kankou.or.jp (sources read 11 Oct 2026; an AI draft the site operator has not yet checked)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tainai Ski and Snowboard area | 9.1 km | 629 cm | 34 |
| Mikawa Onsen | 24.0 km | 363 cm | 243 |
| Yokone | 27.0 km | 446 cm | 114 |
| Sannokura | 39.0 km | 384 cm | 201 |
| Tenoko Ski Area | 44.0 km | 312 cm | 439 |
Compare side by side with Tainai Ski and Snowboard area and Mikawa Onsen →
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 7% of the vertical on the runs descends to the north or east. The most common direction is west (93%).
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.
The most snow falls in January. March brings 32% 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 67 cm, more than the median of 46 cm.
Across the 12 winters measured, the average is 567 cm, and 5 of them fell short of it. The leanest was 2015/16 with 261 cm; the biggest was 2017/18 with 752 cm (2.9 times as much).
Snowfall each winter (December–March total). The dashed line is the average; the numbers mark the leanest and the biggest winter.
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.
More than we show here.
Within 20 km in a straight line, nearest first. Some lie over a pass that is closed in winter.
| Place | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Tainaigawa Dam胎内川ダム | Nature | 6.5 km |
| Shimizu-en清水園 | Park | 13.5 km |
| Shibata Castle新発田城 | Historic site | 14 km |
| Tsukioka Onsen月岡温泉 | Hot spring town | 15.7 km |
| 五頭山 | Mountain | 18 km |
| Iide Mountains飯豊山地 | Mountain | 18.8 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.
Getting there
Source: ninox.co.jp · checked 1 Nov 2026. Shuttle days and times change with the season; check the official site before you go.
Checked on the official site (19 Oct 2026) · Source. “Not checked” means we have not looked yet. Compare with other ski areas →
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.
Planning a trip · 1 Oct 2026
How Japan's Early-Bird Lift Tickets Work: At Hakuba Happo-One, Eight of the Nine Need a Japanese ID CardHakuba Happo-One opened early-bird sales at 10:00 on 1 October. A day costs ¥6,400 against ¥9,800 at the window, 35% off. But every ticket on the list except one needs a My Number Card and a Japanese phone app. A visitor from abroad can buy exactly one of them, at 15% off.
Planning a trip · 15 Sep 2026
Japan Lift Ticket Prices for 2026/27Where the snow falls · 11 Aug 2026
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