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A perfect day for powder fiends today with around 30cm of fresh up top on top of yesterday’s snow and sunny conditions…….what else can you say? It’s going to be getting warmer over the next few days so the melt will be back on but at least there is now 270cm on Yamabiko!

New Snow (Resort): 30 cm
New Snow (Village): 2 cm
Weather: Mostly sunny conditions and very light westerly winds.
Official statistics: (15:20)

Click here to check out a slide show of some of my favorite photographs from this season at Myoko Kogen.

It’s been a snowy day across Nagano and Niigata prefectures with around 10~15cm building up around the village of Nozawa Onsen so far. More is predicted to fall overnight before conditions should clear up somewhat during the day. Strong southwesterly winds on Thursday are forecast to bring the warmer spring conditions back so get a good night’s sleep and have fun in the powder tomorrow morning!

New Snow (Resort): 10 cm
New Snow (Village): 2 cm
Weather: Moderate northwesterly winds and light to moderate snow.
Official statistics: (15:20)

Click here to check out a slide show of some of my favorite photographs from this season at Myoko Kogen.

I have been checking out the “Dead or Alive” big air competition in Myoko today, where a 13 year old student has taken out the title with a 1080 ‘make’ over a jump around 20 meters in length, taking home 500,000 Yen. Pretty good weather for the event too, with the cloud rolling in just as the event was finishing.

Light snow and cloudy conditions predicted today for Nozawa, with heavier falls in the evening and tomorrow night with fairly cold conditions which should make for some more good spring riding. Warmer again on Wednesday and Thursday before rain and then another cold change.

New Snow (Resort): 1~3 cm
New Snow (Village): 0 cm
Weather: Light snow for most of the day and fairly cold temperatures.
Official statistics: (16:20)

Click here to check out a slide show of some of my favorite photographs from this season at Myoko Kogen.

Nozawa lets it’s collective hair down…..

Most of the local contingent made it down to stay bar last night for a bit of frivolity – lifties and other seasonaires put together a great party with games, djs, balloons, projected visuals and lots of dancing!

There was quite a bit of snow up on Yamabiko this morning – the official report says 20cm – and it has been snowing lightly on and off for most of the day, making for another great day of riding here in Nozawa Onsen. A very light westerly wind and cold temperatures kept the snow in good condition well into the afternoon. As is so often the case the snow comes the day after a party (see the slide show above), just to spite us all! Tomorrow morning should be partly fine but apart from that it’s looking like a snowy weekend and coming week. Continued cold temperatures should see snow falling down in the village too.

New Snow (Resort): 10~20 cm
New Snow (Village): 5 cm (observed)
Weather: Very light westerly winds and light snow.
Official statistics: (15:35)

Click here to check out a slide show of some of my favorite photographs from this season at Myoko Kogen.

Video Update….

It’s a rainy day down here in the village, although it is trying with all it’s might to snow – sometimes the flakes make it down this far before melting but only for brief periods. It is definitely snowing up on Yamabiko though, and it’s forecast to keep doing so until Saturday morning so conditions on the weekend should be pretty nice. Temperatures are also falling somewhat so even some of the lower areas might get a nice top up over the next couple of days

New Snow (Resort): 0 cm
New Snow (Village): 0 cm
Weather: Light southwesterly winds turning northwesterly in the afternoon. Light snow and rain reducing visibility.
Official statistics: (10:20 AM)

Click here to check out a slide show of some of my favorite photographs from this season at Myoko Kogen.

It was an overcast day down here in the village but the top of the mountain was above the clouds for most of the day making for great spring riding. Snow showers moved in in the afternoon reducing visibility, but no one is complaining! It is forecast to keep snowing right through to Friday night with the freezing level getting lower so we should see the snow depth creep up a little or at least stabilize for the time being. Saturday is predicted to be a perfect sunny day then more snow moves in from Saturday night. It won’t be long now before the bottom half of the resort is closed, but there is still plenty of life left in Yamabiko yet. So slap on some sunscreen and get into the springtime fun!

New Snow (Resort): 0 cm
New Snow (Village): 0 cm
Weather: Moderate southeasterly wind and light snow in the afternoon
Official statistics: (3:00 PM)

Click here to check out a slide show of some of my favorite photographs from this season at Myoko Kogen.

It has been an overcast day here in Nozawa with a moderate westerly wind and almost no sunshine. Temperatures have stayed fairly cool keeping the snow from melting too much, but the Chinese sand that came in the last storm is making things pretty sticky up on the mountain. Lower down it’s very slushy and rumor is they will be closing the bottom half of the mountain after the next weekend. It may even have to happen earlier with some heavy precipitation forecast for the rest of the week and likely to fall as rain on the lower slopes as well as in the village. Snow is still forecast up higher though, and quite a bit of it so Yamabiko should be a lot of fun this week, especially on Friday.

New Snow (Resort): 0 cm
New Snow (Village): 0 cm
Weather: Overcast with a moderate westerly wind.
Official statistics: (8:00 AM)

Click here to check out a slide show of some of my favorite photographs from this season at Myoko Kogen.

Absolutely stunning spring conditions here in Nozawa today, with 10~20cm of fresh snow overnight and a bluebird day today with almost no wind. The only drawback was that it was a national holiday today so the local Japanese contingent was out in force making for long lift lines this morning on Yamabiko (by Japanese standards….) as you can see in the slide show below. Nevertheless it was a great day, and with some more snow on the horizon it looks like the season will roll on a while longer yet. 35cm is forecast for the period between Wednesday night and Friday morning, with another 20cm between Friday night and Sunday morning. With cold temperatures on the cards too it should be snowing right down to village level giving the lower slopes a much needed top-up.

On the hill today….

New Snow (Resort): 10~20 cm
New Snow (Village): 10 cm
Weather: Beautiful sunny weather with a light westerly wind.
Official statistics: (12:07 PM)

Click here to check out a slide show of some of my favorite photographs from this season at Myoko Kogen.

Nozawa’s Niko Niko Matsuri

Crowds gathered in the main street of Nozawa Onsen last night for the annual “Niko Niko Matsuri” which saw souvenir shops doing a brisk trade and patrons enjoying local specialty foods, sake tasting and a ‘Junken Taikai’ (scissors-paper-rock competition), the winner of which took home a new pair of skis! The Nozawa mascot ‘Nasuki’ was also on hand to delight the youngsters.

Today’s snow report

After a warm start to the day with some strange low cloud and strong southwesterly winds, it has turned cold again and moderately heavy snow is falling. There is still a fairly strong wind blowing although it is now a northwesterly. Temperatures up on Yamabiko have plunged back down to sub-zero levels. The forecast is for more snow tonight followed by a cloudy day tomorrow with light snow showers.

Strange weather conditions

New Snow (Resort): 0 cm
New Snow (Village): 0 cm
Weather: Strong southwesterly winds in the morning, weakening slightly and turning northwesterly bringing light snow.

Official statistics: (12:30 PM)

Click here to check out a slide show of some of my favorite photographs from this season at Myoko Kogen.

With a top temperature of 15 degrees C up on Yamabiko today, t-shirts were the order of the day. Due to the hot weather we’ve lost more of the base too – it is almost down to 2 meters up the top, and the melting doesn’t look like it’s going to slow down. Next week is looking pretty warm with lots of rain down low, although some of that will fall as snow up the top.

New Snow (Resort): 0 cm
New Snow (Village): 0 cm
Weather: Hot and sunny with a light southwesterly breeze.

Official statistics: (3:30 PM)

Click here to check out a slide show of some of my favorite photographs from this season at Myoko Kogen.