Japan · Gunma

Norn Minakami

ノルン水上
Off season
Official site
Snow and slopes at Norn Minakami
Photo: 苗場山 / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons

No snow on the ground or falling right now. Not open yet for 2026/27. We have not yet found an official opening date. Snow depth and the seven-day outlook appear once snow is on the ground or forecast.

Typical snowfall
368cm

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
823–1,214 m
Across
1.7 km

This season so far (1 Nov to 9 Nov): 3 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 →

Minakami IC on the Kan-etsu Expressway is only about 3 km away, so the drive ends almost as soon as you leave the motorway. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, courses D and E are lit. By day, trailer cabins can be rented as private rooms to rest in between runs. Sources: norn.co.jp (sources read 13 Oct 2026; an AI draft the site operator has not yet checked)

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
368cm
per season
Worst of 12 winters
183cm
The middle winter of the 12: 364 cm. The best: 483 cm.
World rank
233
of 3,069 worldwide
Rank in country
93
of 397 in Japan
Elevation rank
111
Highest to lowest, of 397 in Japan. The centre point sits at 1,034 m, 268 m above the national median.
Quality rank
86
of 397 in Japan
Temp when snowing
−4.0°C
Japanese median: −3.6°C
Rain days
15%
Japanese median: 16%
Days over 5 cm
25%
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 43
Frequency 71
Freedom from rain 60
Calm when snowing (model grid) 92

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
Okutone9.3 km198 cm1164
Tanigawadake Tenjindaira Ski Area9.6 km368 cmsame grid cell233
Tambara Ski Park14.0 km423 cm144
Naeba14.0 km446 cm114
Hodaigi Ski Resort17.0 km291 cm514

Compare side by side with Okutone and Tanigawadake Tenjindaira Ski Area →

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
9
Run length
5.5km
Lifts
4
Vertical
391m
Top 1,214 m · base 823 m

Run map

NoviceIntermediate Lift
North is up. Runs are coloured by difficulty; black lines are lifts.
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 map1.1 km
Steepest pitch26°measured over at least 30 m
Average gradient of the runs12.7°

Which way the slopes face

North 9%
East 83%
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

Novice 4 · 2.4 km
Intermediate 5 · 3.2 km

Lift types

  • Chairlift4

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 52% of January’s snowfall. That is in line with the median for ski areas in Japan (52%). In amount, March brings 64 cm, more than the median of 46 cm.

94cm
Dec
124cm
Jan
87cm
Feb
64cm
Mar
Average snowfall by month, last 12 winters

Winter by winter

Across the 12 winters measured, the average is 368 cm, and 7 of them fell short of it. The leanest was 2015/16 with 183 cm; the biggest was 2024/25 with 483 cm (2.6 times as much).

291
183
458
363
381
349
365
481
356
382
483
321
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

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.

Hot springs nearby, as analysed

9 hot spring sources with published analyses lie within 5 km of this ski area, nearest first (the hottest is 66 °C).

Show the sources
SourceDistanceTemperaturepHType
新三国新三国2.9 km29℃ lukewarm7.6 mildly alkalinesimple
高原千葉村千葉源泉3.9 km25.5℃ lukewarm8.9 alkalinesulphur
猿ヶ京湯島3.9 km66℃ hot7.7 mildly alkaline—
大峰堤の湯4 km27.3℃ lukewarm9.4 alkalinealkaline simple
上牧新湯1号泉4.4 km42.5℃ hot7.6 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

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
Nagurumi Castle名胡桃城Historic site9.4 km
Doai Station土合駅Landmark10.5 km
Mount Tanigawa谷川岳Mountain10.7 km
Tanigawadake Ropeway谷川岳ロープウェイNature10.9 km
Marble Village Lockheart Castle大理石村ロックハート城Historic site13.2 km
Numata Castle沼田城Historic site13.9 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
Minakami Station (JR Joetsu Line): about 20 minutes by free shuttle bus; about 20 minutes by taxi (around 3,300 yen)
Winter roads
No reservation needed for the shuttle, but boarding is not guaranteed. Some runs operate only on weekends, public holidays and over New Year

Source: norn.co.jp · checked 1 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 (13 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.

2 properties on Rakuten Travel lie within about 3 km of this ski area. The table shows the nearest 2 with a listed price.

Property (links to Rakuten Travel)Lowest listed (per person, tax incl.)RatingDistanceGetting there
アジアンキャンプリゾートTapa ¥6,0004.00/5 35 reviews2.5 kmJR水上駅よりお車で10分。無料送迎有り(要予約)
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

4 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: 3.6 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 Gunma

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