2018/03/17 Okunakayamakogen Ski Resort
OfficialBy: OkunakayamakogenResort · 17 Mar
Japan · Iwate
Okunakayamakogen Ski Area
奥中山高原スキー場
21 / 100 Powder Score
No Snow Weather Partly cloudy 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.
Base depth
0cm
Snow 48h
0cm
Next 72h
0cm
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 →
- Snow 24h
- 0 cm
- Next 24h
- 0 cm
- Temperature
- −3°C
- Max wind
- 10 km/h
- Elevation
- 646–1,003 m
- Across
- 1.9 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 →
Updated: 10 Nov 2026, 12:15
7-day outlook
| Date | Weather | Snow (cm) | Low / high (°C) | Wind (km/h) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 10 Nov | Partly cloudy | 0 | −5 to 1 | 10 |
| Wed 11 Nov | Partly cloudy | 0 | −5 to 2 | 9 |
| Thu 12 Nov | Partly cloudy | 0 | −2 to 9 | 14 |
| Fri 13 Nov | Fog | 0 | 2 to 13 | 19 |
| Sat 14 Nov | Drizzle | 0 | 3 to 13 | 14 |
| Sun 15 Nov | Drizzle | 0 | 2 to 11 | 5 |
| Mon 16 Nov | Drizzle | 0 | −5 to 6 | 20 |
Score breakdown
Fresh (48h) 0/40
Forecast (24h) 0/25
Snow quality 11/20
Wind 10/10
Base 0/5
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
First opened as Nishidake Ski Area, the hill on the Okunakayama plateau in Ichinohe reached its 50th year in 2025, and that winter's opening ceremony was the 50th. The town newsletter notes that few municipally backed ski areas anywhere in Japan have lasted so long. Sources: town.ichinohe.iwate.jp, okunakayamakogen.jp (sources read 13 Oct 2026; an AI draft the site operator has not yet checked)
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
10
Run length
6.1km
Lifts
5
Vertical
357m
Top 1,003 m · base 646 m
Run map
EasyIntermediateAdvanced Lift
Slope shape, difficulty and lift types
The shape of the mountain
Longest run on the map1.0 km
Steepest pitch29°measured over at least 30 m
Average gradient of the runs13.5°
Which way the slopes face
North 22%
East 72%
South 6%
West 0%
94% 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 3 · 1.6 km
Intermediate 2 · 1.7 km
Advanced 5 · 2.8 km
Lift types
- Chairlift5
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.
Live cameras
On the mountain奥中山高原スキー場 ↗Roads nearby国道4号 ↗From the resort: 4.5 kmOperated by: 東北地方整備局 岩手河川国道事務所Roads nearby国道4号 ↗From the resort: 10.8 kmOperated by: 東北地方整備局 岩手河川国道事務所
Footage remains the copyright of each operator. JAPANSNOWLINE neither stores nor redistributes it.
Appi and Hachimantai webcams & snow report — all 11 ski areas →
Videos
Videos remain the copyright of whoever filmed them. JAPANSNOWLINE stores no video and plays everything through the standard YouTube player.
Official YouTube channel
More than we show here.
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
185cm
per season
Worst of 12 winters
127cm
The middle winter of the 12: 176 cm. The best: 245 cm.
World rank
1281
of 3,069 worldwide
Rank in country
284
of 397 in Japan
Elevation rank
190
Highest to lowest, of 397 in Japan. The centre point sits at 788 m, 22 m above the national median.
Quality rank
210
of 397 in Japan
Temp when snowing
−5.3°C
Japanese median: −3.6°C
Rain days
15%
Japanese median: 16%
Days over 5 cm
9%
Japanese median: 15%
Wind when snowing
21km/h
Average daily peak, 10 m above ground across a model grid cell; not the wind on ridges or lift tops
Dryness 52
Frequency 27
Freedom from rain 61
Calm when snowing (model grid) 93
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 area | Distance | Seasonal snowfall | World rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tayama Ski Area (Hachimantai City) | 20.0 km | 265 cm | 643 |
| Appi Kogen | 23.0 km | 377 cm | 211 |
| Hachimantai Resort Panorama Ski Are | 28.0 km | 329 cm | 360 |
| Hachimantai Resort Shimokura Ski area | 29.0 km | 329 cm | 360 |
| Hanawa Ski Area | 32.0 km | 263 cm | 657 |
Compare side by side with Tayama Ski Area (Hachimantai City) and Appi Kogen →
When it falls, and how winters differ
Month by month
The most snow falls in January. March brings 63% of January’s snowfall. That is a gentler fall than the median for ski areas in Japan (52%). For skiing, though, the amount matters more than the share: March brings 35 cm, less than the median of 46 cm.
54cmDec
56cmJan
40cmFeb
35cmMar
Winter by winter
Across the 12 winters measured, the average is 185 cm, and 8 of them fell short of it. The leanest was 2015/16 with 127 cm; the biggest was 2017/18 with 245 cm (1.9 times as much).
157
127
164
245
180
234
148
173
167
217
179
227
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.
What was actually measured nearby
Total snowfall from December to March recorded at the 奥中山 weather station — 4.7 km from this ski area, 315 m below its mid-slope.
| Three-season average | 450 cm |
| 2023/24 | 410 cm |
| 2024/25 | 570 cm |
| 2025/26 | 369 cm |
The figure calculated on this page is 208 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
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 15 °C).
Show the sources
| Source | Distance | Temperature | pH |
|---|---|---|---|
| 七時雨山(荒沢)田代の湯 | 4.5 km | 15℃ cold | 6.1 neutral |
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
| Place | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Fudō Falls不動の滝 (八幡平市) | Nature | 10.6 km |
| Goshono Site御所野遺跡 | Historic site | 16.3 km |
| Nesori no dai keikaboku根反の大珪化木 | Nature | 17.4 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.
Going with children
- Kids’ area
- Yes (details in Japanese on the official site)
- Childcare
- Not checked
- 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. “Not checked” means we have not looked yet. Compare with other ski areas →
Places to stay nearbyPR
Contains advertising. Property names and Rakuten Travel’s booking pages are in Japanese.
1 properties on Rakuten Travel lie within about 3 km of this ski area. The table shows the nearest 1 with a listed price.
| Property (links to Rakuten Travel) | Lowest listed (per person, tax incl.) | Rating | Distance | Getting there |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ホテル奥中山高原 | ¥5,800 | 4.18／5 142 reviews | 0.8 km | IGRいわて銀河鉄道 奥中山高原駅から車で10分 最寄駅から無料送迎有※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
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: 0.8 km
Show the nearest places
Nearest first
- 奥中山高原センターハウス 0.8 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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