Japan · Miyagi

Onikobe Ski Area

オニコウベスキー場

Off season

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

260cm

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: 361–1,038 m
Across: 2.2 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 →

Up in Onikobe, beyond Naruko Onsen, nearly the whole ski area faces north. With little direct sun, the snow holds up well late into the season. The Telecabin climbs from the Center Cube base to the summit, and from the top of Mount Nabekura an ungroomed run drops through the woods. Sources: onikoube.com (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

260cm

per season

Worst of 12 winters

141cm

The middle winter of the 12: 262 cm. The best: 352 cm.

World rank

667

of 3,069 worldwide

Rank in country

174

of 397 in Japan

Elevation rank

240

Highest to lowest, of 397 in Japan. The centre point sits at 610 m, 156 m below the national median.

Quality rank

197

of 397 in Japan

Temp when snowing

−3.5°C

Japanese median: −3.6°C

Rain days

20%

Japanese median: 16%

Days over 5 cm

18%

Japanese median: 15%

Wind when snowing

24km/h

Average daily peak, 10 m above ground across a model grid cell; not the wind on ridges or lift tops

Dryness 39

Frequency 50

Freedom from rain 49

Calm when snowing (model grid) 89

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
Uenono Ski Area	8.7 km	178 cm	1335
Green Valley Kamuro Ski Area	26.0 km	277 cm	586
Hanagasa Kogen Ski Area	30.0 km	321 cm	401
Kurobushi Kogen Snow Park Jangle Jungle	39.0 km	302 cm	472
Spring Valley Izumi Kogen	41.0 km	146 cm	1714

Compare side by side with Uenono Ski Area and Green Valley Kamuro 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

Run length

4.8km

Lifts

Vertical

677m

Top 1,038 m · base 361 m

Run map

NoviceEasyIntermediate Lift

North is up. Runs are coloured by difficulty; black lines are lifts.

Slope shape, difficulty and lift types

The shape of the mountain

Longest run on the map1.2 km

Steepest pitch37°measured over at least 30 m

Average gradient of the runs15.7°

Which way the slopes face

North 67%

East 25%

South 1%

West 8%

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 1 · 0.5 km

Easy 5 · 3.6 km

Intermediate 2 · 0.7 km

Lift types

Chairlift6

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 51% of January’s snowfall.

71cm

Dec

89cm

Jan

56cm

Feb

45cm

Mar

Average snowfall by month, last 12 winters

Winter by winter

Across the 12 winters measured, the average is 260 cm, and 5 of them fell short of it. The leanest was 2015/16 with 141 cm; the biggest was 2017/18 with 352 cm (2.5 times as much).

195

141

280

352

263

257

270

254

260

318

277

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

On the mountainオニコウベスキー場 ↗The live stream is paused (checked 9 Nov). Check the official page for when it returns.Roads nearby国道47号 ↗From the resort: 5.3 kmOperated by: 東北地方整備局山形河川国道事務所 Roads nearby国道47号 ↗From the resort: 6 kmOperated by: 東北地方整備局仙台河川国道事務所

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

Videos

【オニコウベスキー場】速報テレキャビンゴンドラ復活！その先のチロリアンロード

By: Kuniesta 8 · 10 Jan

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.

Hot springs nearby, as analysed

5 hot spring sources with published analyses lie within 5 km of this ski area, nearest first (the hottest is 100 °C).

Show the sources

Source	Distance	Temperature	pH	Type
轟轟の湯2号	3.1 km	78.6℃ hot	7.8 mildly alkaline	simple
間欠泉かんけつ荘弁天	3.7 km	100℃ hot	8.7 alkaline	—
宮沢元湯	3.9 km	99.5℃ hot	8.3 mildly alkaline	—
吹上吹上第2	4 km	97.7℃ hot	8.8 alkaline	—
鬼首柏木原No.5	4.2 km	40.8℃ warm	7.4 neutral	simple

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
Naruko Dam鳴子ダム	Nature	6.8 km
Naruko Canyon鳴子峡	Nature	7.1 km
Onikōbe Caldera鬼首カルデラ	Mountain	7.5 km
Kurikoma Quasi-National Park栗駒国定公園	Nature	8.7 km
Katanuma潟沼	Nature	9.4 km
Mount Kamuro神室山	Mountain	18.2 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

Get directions ↗ Open in Google Maps ↗

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.

7 properties on Rakuten Travel lie within about 3 km of this ski area. The table shows the nearest 7 with a listed price.

Property (links to Rakuten Travel)	Lowest listed (per person, tax incl.)	Rating	Distance	Getting there
鬼首温泉リゾートパークホテルオニコウベ	¥3,850	4.41／5 460 reviews	0.8 km	東北自動車道古川ICより47号線を鳴子方面へ、岩下こけし資料館前交差点から108号線を秋田方面に入り約20分
ホテルWAMAREオニコウベ	¥11,700	—	0.8 km	JR鳴子温泉駅より車で約20分
ペンションふうらいぼー	¥9,800	4.00／5 76 reviews	1.0 km	JR陸羽東線鳴子温泉駅よりバスにて35分(リゾートパークオニコウベ)
鳴子温泉郷とどろき旅館	¥13,750	4.29／5 48 reviews	3.1 km	鳴子温泉駅から車で20分/市営バス有り

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: 3.1 km

Show the nearest places