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.
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
Elevation range is estimated by sampling points across the ski area.
| Date | Weather | Snow (cm) | Low / high (°C) | Wind (km/h) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 10 Nov | Partly cloudy | 0 | −5 to 1 | 21 |
| Wed 11 Nov | Cloudy | 0 | −5 to 5 | 10 |
| Thu 12 Nov | Cloudy | 0 | −4 to 10 | 20 |
| Fri 13 Nov | Partly cloudy | 0 | 1 to 12 | 18 |
| Sat 14 Nov | Cloudy | 0 | −1 to 11 | 20 |
| Sun 15 Nov | Drizzle | 0 | 2 to 6 | 12 |
| Mon 16 Nov | Snow showers | 4 | −2 to 5 | 23 |
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
Schoolchildren from the town come to this slope for their ski lessons. From the top, the view takes in the streets of Saroma. The hill is lit after dark, and the Saroma Ski Association has used it for evening ski classes. Sources: town.saroma.hokkaido.jp (sources read 12 Oct 2026; an AI draft the site operator has not yet checked)
Counted from the marked runs and lifts on the map, within 2.5 km of the centre of the ski area. These are not the resort’s own published figures.
Source: OpenStreetMap (ODbL 1.0). How finely ski areas are drawn varies by region, so treat the counts as indicative. Difficulty uses the European grades, which do not map onto North American green / blue / black.
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Arc Resort | 20.0 km | 148 cm | 1686 |
| Engaru Rock Valley | 20.0 km | 186 cm | 1270 |
| Rubeshibe-cho Happodai | 29.0 km | 166 cm | 1457 |
| Wakamatsu Shimin Ski Area | 32.0 km | 149 cm | 1677 |
| Bihoro Lily Yama Ski Area | 33.0 km | 143 cm | 1761 |
Compare side by side with Northern Arc Resort and Engaru Rock Valley →
The most snow falls in January. March brings 80% 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 39 cm, less than the median of 46 cm.
Across the 12 winters measured, the average is 171 cm, and 6 of them fell short of it. The leanest was 2020/21 with 133 cm; the biggest was 2014/15 with 250 cm (1.9 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.
Total snowfall from December to March recorded at the 佐呂間 weather station — 1.3 km from this ski area, 21 m below its mid-slope.
| Three-season average | 343 cm |
| 2023/24 | 319 cm |
| 2024/25 | 393 cm |
| 2025/26 | 318 cm |
The figure calculated on this page is 176 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
Within 20 km in a straight line, nearest first. Some lie over a pass that is closed in winter.
| Place | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Horoiwa Yama幌岩山 | Mountain | 11.9 km |
| Lake Saromaサロマ湖 | Nature | 15.3 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 (12 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.
Nearest: 10.5 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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