The 2026/27 season is planned to open on 12 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.
This season is planned to run until 4 Apr (the resort’s announcement).
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 →
Updated: 10 Nov 2026, 12:15
| Date | Weather | Snow (cm) | Low / high (°C) | Wind (km/h) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 10 Nov | Snow | 1 | −5 to −1 | 10 |
| Wed 11 Nov | Partly cloudy | 0 | −6 to 2 | 10 |
| Thu 12 Nov | Clear | 0 | −2 to 6 | 8 |
| Fri 13 Nov | Cloudy | 0 | −2 to 9 | 10 |
| Sat 14 Nov | Cloudy | 0 | 1 to 11 | 9 |
| Sun 15 Nov | Cloudy | 0 | 3 to 12 | 10 |
| Mon 16 Nov | Fog | 0 | −1 to 7 | 9 |
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
Local buses bound for the Kita-Yatsugatake Ropeway leave every day from the west exit of JR Chino Station. The ropeway climbs to a snowfield in the northern Yatsugatake, with the Tsuboniwa area close to the summit station. Visitors who do not ski ride it too, and set out across the snow on snowshoes. Sources: pilatus.jp, navi.chinotabi.jp (sources read 12 Oct 2026; an AI draft the site operator has not yet checked)
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 1% of the vertical on the runs descends to the north or east. The most common direction is west (80%).
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.
Footage remains the copyright of each operator. JAPANSNOWLINE neither stores nor redistributes it.
Shirakaba and Kurumayama webcams & snow report — all 9 ski areas →
More than we show here.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tateshina Tokyu Ski Area | 4.9 km | 136 cm | 1860 |
| Shirakaba 2 in 1 | 5.3 km | 133 cm | 1909 |
| Yachiho Kōgen Ski Resort | 5.7 km | 136 cm | 1860 |
| Shirakaba Kogen Kokusai Ski | 6.6 km | 140 cm | 1801 |
| Shirakabako Royal Hill | 7.0 km | 133 cm | 1909 |
Compare side by side with Tateshina Tokyu Ski Area and Shirakaba 2 in 1 →
The most snow falls in March. March brings as much as January, or more. In amount, March brings 51 cm, about the same as the median of 46 cm.
Across the 12 winters measured, the average is 143 cm, and 7 of them fell short of it. The leanest was 2025/26 with 95 cm; the biggest was 2023/24 with 186 cm (2.0 times as much). For 63% of the 397 ski areas in Japan the leanest winter was 2015/16; here it was a different one.
Snowfall each winter (December–March total). The dashed line is the average; the numbers mark the leanest and the biggest winter.
25 hot spring sources with published analyses lie within 5 km of this ski area, nearest first (the hottest is 90.5 °C).
| Source | Distance | Temperature | pH | Type | Analysed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 蓼科温泉親湯 | 3.8 km | 29.5℃ lukewarm | 3.6 mildly acidic | simple | 1983 |
| 渋川温泉 | 3.9 km | 19.5℃ cold | 4.2 mildly acidic | iron | 1965 |
| 奥蓼科温泉渋川温泉ホテル | 3.9 km | 19.5℃ cold | 4 mildly acidic | — | 1980 |
| 奥蓼科温泉明治湯 | 4.2 km | 24.2℃ cold | 4 mildly acidic | iron | 1980 |
| 奥蓼科温泉明治上湯 | 4.2 km | 22.2℃ cold | 3.9 mildly acidic | iron | 1980 |
| a spring in 茅野市三室平6号 | 4.7 km | 90.5℃ hot | 2.8 acidic | chloride, sulphate, acidic | 1969 |
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
Within 20 km in a straight line, nearest first. Some lie over a pass that is closed in winter.
| Place | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Kitayatsugatake Ropeway北八ヶ岳ロープウエイ | Nature | 0 km |
| Mount Kitayoko北横岳 | Mountain | 1.5 km |
| Mount Tateshina蓼科山 | Mountain | 3.6 km |
| Lake Megami女神湖 | Nature | 8 km |
| Southern Yatsugatake Volcanic Group八ヶ岳 | Nature | 12.6 km |
| Suwa taisha諏訪大社 | Shrine | 19.3 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 →
Contains advertising. Property names and Rakuten Travel’s booking pages are in Japanese.
17 properties on Rakuten Travel lie within about 3 km of this ski area. The table shows the nearest 12 with a listed price.
| Property (links to Rakuten Travel) | Lowest listed (per person, tax incl.) | Rating | Distance | Getting there |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 蓼科高原 ヴィラ「山ぼうし」 ^ | ¥20,713 | — | 1.0 km | 松原湖駅から車で1時間約28分 |
| 蓼科リゾートイン プリマリオ | ¥11,990 | 4.00／5 27 reviews | 1.1 km | 中央道諏訪ICより40分。JR茅野駅よりバス40分 |
| 泊まれるレストラン ペンションピラタス | ¥7,300 | 4.45／5 86 reviews | 1.2 km | 茅野駅より北八ヶ岳ロープウェイ行き路線バスで約50分「北八ヶ岳ロープウェイ」下車後、徒歩約7分 |
| 絶景の宿 ドレミファン! | ¥9,900 | 4.83／5 294 reviews | 1.2 km | JR茅野駅よりピラタスロープウェイ行きバス50分。 |
| ラリックス蓼科Villa ^ | ¥15,080 | — | 1.2 km | 茅野駅から車で約28分 |
| ペンション ピラタス 2 | ¥6,300 | 3.33／5 6 reviews | 1.3 km | JR中央本線 茅野駅より北八ヶ岳ロープウェイ行路線バスにて50分、終点下車、徒歩にて7分 |
| 森のペンション・リトルフット | ¥7,500 | 4.43／5 18 reviews | 1.3 km | 中央本線「茅野駅」よりバスにて50分。中央道 諏訪ICよりビーナスラインを40分。 |
| 四季の宿 すばる | ¥9,400 | 3.71／5 43 reviews | 1.4 km | JR中央線 茅野駅より北八ヶ岳ロープウェイ行バスで約50分。終点下車し徒歩8分。 |
| ハイランドリゾート アゲイン | ¥13,800 | 4.33／5 8 reviews | 1.4 km | JR中央線茅野駅より路線バス「ピラタスロープウェイ行」終点下車/中央道諏訪ICビーナスライン |
| ペンションサンセットお料理自慢の宿 | ¥16,500 | 4.86／5 126 reviews | 1.4 km | 中央道 諏訪ICよりクルマ40分/JR中央線 茅野駅より北八ヶ岳ロープウェイ行バス約50分終点下車、急な登山道徒歩30分 |
| ペンション グリーンアローズ | ¥9,000 | — | 1.5 km | JR茅野駅よりタクシーで40分 |
| ポイントバケーション蓼科高原 | ¥5,750 | 4.40／5 41 reviews | 1.7 km | 茅野駅からバス41分/北八ヶ岳ロープウェイから車5分・徒歩23分/諏訪南ICから50分 |
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)
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.
Nearest: 4.3 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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