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
| Date | Weather | Snow (cm) | Low / high (°C) | Wind (km/h) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 10 Nov | Snow | 0 | −3 to 0 | 13 |
| Wed 11 Nov | Cloudy | 0 | −4 to 3 | 12 |
| Thu 12 Nov | Clear | 0 | −1 to 9 | 7 |
| Fri 13 Nov | Cloudy | 0 | 3 to 11 | 6 |
| Sat 14 Nov | Cloudy | 0 | 3 to 13 | 8 |
| Sun 15 Nov | Cloudy | 0 | 5 to 13 | 6 |
| Mon 16 Nov | Fog | 0 | 0 to 7 | 14 |
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
Sugadaira came to be called Japan's Davos because its landscape resembles the Swiss resort. On Davos Hill stands a tower marking the sister-city tie with Davos. The same hill holds a memorial to Hannes Schneider, the Austrian ski master who visited Sugadaira in 1930. Sources: city.ueda.nagano.jp, ueda-kanko.or.jp, sugadaira-snowresort.com (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 13% of the vertical on the runs descends to the north or east. The most common direction is south (45%).
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.
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.
Sugadaira webcams & snow report — all 4 ski areas →
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sugadaira Taro Area | 1.8 km | 153 cmsame grid cell | 1621 |
| Minenohara Kogen | 1.9 km | 198 cm | 1164 |
| Sugadairakogen Pine Beak Ski Area | 4.4 km | 153 cmsame grid cell | 1621 |
| Palcall Tsumagoi Resort Ski & Hotel | 8.7 km | 178 cm | 1335 |
| Kazawa Snow Area | 11.0 km | 136 cm | 1860 |
Compare side by side with Sugadaira Taro Area and Minenohara Kogen →
The most snow falls in January. March brings 93% of January’s snowfall. That is a gentler fall than the median for ski areas in Japan (52%). In amount, March brings 41 cm, about the same as the median of 46 cm.
Across the 12 winters measured, the average is 153 cm, and 6 of them fell short of it. The leanest was 2025/26 with 108 cm; the biggest was 2014/15 with 226 cm (2.1 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 菅平 weather station — 2.7 km from this ski area, 199 m below its mid-slope.
| Three-season average | 379 cm |
| 2023/24 | 509 cm |
| 2024/25 | 345 cm |
| 2025/26 | 284 cm |
The figure calculated on this page is 156 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Mount Neko根子岳 (長野県) | Mountain | 3.9 km |
| Mount Azumaya四阿山 | Mountain | 5.4 km |
| Matsushiro Underground Imperial Headquarters松代大本営跡 | Historic site | 13.3 km |
| Matsushiro Castle松代城 | Historic site | 14.2 km |
| Ueda Castle上田城 | Historic site | 18.1 km |
| Zenkō-ji Temple善光寺 | Temple | 19.9 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.
The weather map, and where it sits among nearby ski areas.
Checked on the official site (22 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.
62 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ロッジ Erste Liebe | ¥9,000 | 4.33／5 33 reviews | 0.2 km | 上田菅平ICより約45分 須坂長野東ICより約50分 「菅平」交差点より約10分 |
| Dogコテージ JAM’s WAN! | ¥9,990 | 5.00／5 5 reviews | 0.2 km | 上信越道上田菅平又は須坂長野東ICより約50分 |
| ぷれじーる | ¥13,200 | 4.69／5 261 reviews | 0.2 km | 長野新幹線上田駅/上信越道上田菅平ICより30分/須坂長野東ICより30分 |
| ペンション さすらいの自由飛行館 | ¥13,500 | — | 0.2 km | 上信越道上田菅平又は須坂長野東ICより約50分 |
| ロッジ アボリア | ¥16,680 | — | 0.6 km | 菅平高原まで1分、上信越道上田菅平ICより40分、須坂長野東ICより40分/北陸新幹線上田駅下車、菅平高原行きバス50分 |
| ヴィラ十の原 | ¥6,100 | 4.00／5 27 reviews | 0.9 km | 長野新幹線上田駅よりバス→菅平高原ダボス下車 |
| ペンション 白いつばさ | ¥8,800 | 4.00／5 11 reviews | 0.9 km | 上田駅からバス |
| 菅平高原温泉 菅平プリンスホテル | ¥9,900 | 4.67／5 54 reviews | 0.9 km | [車]上田菅平ICまたは須坂長野東ICより約30分 [電車]JR上田駅よりバスまたは車で約50分 |
| スポーツロッジMIYA | ¥6,600 | — | 1.0 km | 関東から上信越自動車道上田菅平ICより約30分。関西から上信越自動車道須坂長野東ICより約30分。 |
| ロッジやまぼうし | ¥10,120 | 4.00／5 7 reviews | 1.0 km | 上田菅平IC・須坂長野東ICからいずれも約30分(約20km)、須坂駅からタクシーで約30分 |
| ペンション のいちご | ¥6,500 | 3.67／5 33 reviews | 1.1 km | 上田駅から菅平高原までバス60分(峰の原高原はバスはありません) |
| さわがに&ロスタイム | ¥12,300 | — | 1.1 km | 上田駅より車で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: 0.1 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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