Japan · Hokkaido

Wassamu Higashiyama Ski Resort

和寒東山スキー場
38 / 100 Powder Score
Fair 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
10cm
Snow 48h
3cm
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
1 cm
Next 24h
0 cm
Temperature
−9°C
Max wind
7 km/h
Elevation (est.)
150–355 m
Across
1.0 km

This season so far (1 Nov to 9 Nov): 17 cm, 142% of the average for the same dates. The average is over twelve winters on the same weather model. Across Japan →

Updated: 10 Nov 2026, 12:15

Elevation range is estimated by sampling points across the ski area.

7-day outlook

Date Weather Snow (cm) Low / high (°C) Wind (km/h)
Tue 10 Nov Snow showers 1 −14 to −2 7
Wed 11 Nov Fog 0 −14 to 1 13
Thu 12 Nov Fog 0 −3 to 6 18
Fri 13 Nov Drizzle 0 1 to 9 17
Sat 14 Nov Cloudy 0 −1 to 8 14
Sun 15 Nov Cloudy 0 −2 to 7 6
Mon 16 Nov Snow showers 0 −6 to 4 15

Score breakdown

Fresh (48h) 8/40
Forecast (24h) 0/25
Snow quality 20/20
Wind 10/10
Base 1/5

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

Snow and slopes at Wassamu Higashiyama Ski Resort
Photo: Wakimasa / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons

The second lift leads to a run that drops through the woods. Areas marked red on the course map are left ungroomed. In summer the slope hosts HIGASHIYAMA 500, a race up the hill. Sources: town.wassamu.hokkaido.jp, hokkaido-np.co.jp (sources read 12 Oct 2026; an AI draft the site operator has not yet checked)

Runs and lifts

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.

Marked runs
0
Lifts
2

Lift types

  • Chairlift2

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.

Live cameras

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.

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
217cm
per season
Worst of 12 winters
176cm
The middle winter of the 12: 207 cm. The best: 280 cm.
World rank
978
of 3,069 worldwide
Rank in country
240
of 397 in Japan
Elevation rank
335
Highest to lowest, of 397 in Japan. The centre point sits at 236 m, 530 m below the national median.
Quality rank
216
of 397 in Japan
Temp when snowing
−5.8°C
Japanese median: −3.6°C
Rain days
7%
Japanese median: 16%
Days over 5 cm
6%
Japanese median: 15%
Wind when snowing
18km/h
Average daily peak, 10 m above ground across a model grid cell; not the wind on ridges or lift tops
Dryness 56
Frequency 17
Freedom from rain 83
Calm when snowing (model grid) 97

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 areaDistanceSeasonal snowfallWorld rank
Pippu Ski Slopes13.0 km220 cm953
Kokusetsu Horotachi Ski Area23.0 km250 cm734
Touma Ski Area24.0 km232 cm853
Santa present park32.0 km200 cm1149
Inosawa Sky Slopes33.0 km200 cm1149

Compare side by side with Pippu Ski Slopes and Kokusetsu Horotachi Ski Area →

When it falls, and how winters differ

Month by month

The most snow falls in December. March brings 71% of January’s snowfall. That is a gentler fall than the median for ski areas in Japan (52%). In amount, March brings 40 cm, about the same as the median of 46 cm.

75cm
Dec
56cm
Jan
47cm
Feb
40cm
Mar
Average snowfall by month, last 12 winters

Winter by winter

Across the 12 winters measured, the average is 217 cm, and 6 of them fell short of it. The leanest was 2019/20 with 176 cm; the biggest was 2017/18 with 280 cm (1.6 times as much). For 63% of the 397 ski areas in Japan the leanest winter was 2015/16; here it was a different one.

254
241
184
280
192
176
250
195
217
196
192
224
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

What was actually measured nearby

Total snowfall from December to March recorded at the 和寒 weather station — 1.1 km from this ski area, 102 m below its mid-slope.

Three-season average428 cm
2023/24455 cm
2024/25396 cm
2025/26434 cm

The figure calculated on this page is 204 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

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
PlaceTypeDistance
和寒町郷土資料館Museum1 km
Shiokari Pass Museum塩狩峠記念館Museum8.1 km
Kembuchichoehonnoyakata剣淵町絵本の館Museum8.5 km
Sheep and cloud hill羊と雲の丘Historic site15.9 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.

Map

The weather map, and where it sits among nearby ski areas.

We have not yet checked the family facilities (kids’ area, childcare, parking, rental) on the official site.

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.)RatingDistanceGetting there
剣淵温泉レークサイド桜岡 ¥7,1004.18/5 159 reviews6.7 km宗谷本線 剣淵駅より温泉送迎バス有り
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

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: 1 km

Show the nearest places

Nearest first

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.

Guides covering Hokkaido

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