If you’re planning a ski trip to Japan this year to experience the infamous powder snow known as “Japow”, the best weeks for snowfall have been revealed in new analysis conducted by Snow Season Central.
The study analysed the daily recorded snowfall at five of Japan’s most popular resorts over the last 10 winter seasons (from 2012/13 to 2022/23) to determine which weeks are predicted to be the snowiest over the coming winter season (2023/34).
The analysis found the week of 31st Dec 2023 to 6th Jan 2024 is predicted to be the snowiest on average when looking at all resorts in the study. However, there is large variation from resort to resort given the geographical size of the country.
Below are the weekly annual snowfall by each resort :
Niseko, Hokkaido
If you’re planning to ski in the northern Island’s interconnected ski resort of Niseko, with hopes of skiing the infamously light powder, the week of 24th Dec 2023 to 30th Dec 2023 is predicted to record the largest amount of snowfall this season. Followed by 7th Jan 2024 to 13th Jan 2024 and 17th Dec to 23rd Dec.
Hakuba, Honshu
Hakuba Valley located in Honshu’s northwestern Nagano Prefecture is home to 10 different resorts and was one of the ski areas that hosted the 1998 Winter Olympics. 17th Dec to 13rd Dec 2023 is predicted to be the snowiest week of the season for Hakuba, having historically received 41.9cm on average over the last 10 seasons. The week of 21st Jan to 27th Jan 2024 was a close second with 41.8cm in historical snowfall, followed by the week prior (14th Jan to 20th Jan 2024) with an average of 40.7cm in the week.
Other Popular Resorts in Japan
- For Nozawa Onsen, also in the Nagano Prefecture, the best week of the season by a margin of more than 10% has New Year’s week, which this season will be 31st Dec 2023 to 6th Jan 2024. An impressive 89.2cm on average falls in this week over the recorded period. In second place came 4th Feb to 10th Feb 2024 with 75.8cm, followed by 24th Dec to 30th Dec 2024 with 73.8cm.
- Myoko, one of Japan’s largest ski resorts consisting of three connected resorts (Akakura, Myoko Suginohara and Ikenotaira Onsen), was found to have recorded the greatest weekly snowfall in multiple weekly periods. Historically, 31st Dec to 6th Jan has been the snowiest, recording a huge 138.4cm on average over the last ten winters. 4th to 10th Feb has historically brought 123.0cm, while 10th to 16th Dec is closely behind with 122.1cm. However, note that Myoko Kogen’s resort opening is usually mid to late December.
- Central Hokkaido’s Furano ski resort was also analysed. Once again, 31st Dec to 6th Jan is expected to be the best week of the season based on the last 10 winters, with an average weekly snowfall of 49.7cm. 3rd to 9th Dec is second with 48.9cm, followed by 24th to 30th Dec with an anticipated 47.6cm.
Ed Raine, Director of Snow Season Central, says
“As an international ski destination, Japan is undeniably one of the most exciting and unique options available to snowsports enthusiasts. Not only can visitors expect world class cuisine and authentic culture, but it is also famed for its fantastic quality and quantity of snowfall. This analysis not only shows the steer amount of snow which falls on a weekly basis in Japanese resorts, but should act as a tool to help plan holidays around snowfall. Due to the size of the country, there are large differences in weekly snowfall performance, and this should be considered when booking a trip. ”
Visit Snow Season Central to see the latest snowfall charts for each Japanese resort analysed within the study.
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