On the east coast of Japan it has been a long hot summer, and as such Koyo season – when deciduous trees change colour dramatically and beautifully. Autumn brings respite from the stifling summer, beautiful vistas like these and delicious food from the harvest. It’s not surprising that it’s the favourite season of many Japanese. The following photos are taken at Mino falls in Osaka. Not a huge tourist attraction but looks like a beautiful place! Photos courtesy of Yoshi Imoto.

Mino Falls near Osaka

Outside a Ryokan - Autumn is a popular time for holidays in Japan

Spectacular Japanese Maple

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This photo shows Yamabiko B course, a long cruisy intermediate groomer which runs from the first Yamabiko lift down to the covered lift. From the Nozawa Onsen Ski resort website:

Looks like a cracker of an evening, and you can even see someone has claimed first tracks! The countdown is on, with under two weeks until the resort is due to open. December 3rd is the first day of the season, another one or two small dumps like this one should be sufficient to open the top lifts for business.

This season has followed much the same pattern as last season, when we saw a very snowy January, seemingly “snowing-out” and then a dry February to compensate. Obviously the main hope is that this extended period of warm weather will subsequently be balanced out with one last long snowy hurrah, but at this stage there is not too much expected in the forecast and it may be March before we see any more substantial snowfall.

Interestingly, the base at Yamabiko is 290cm at the moment, but despite all the snow we had it still didn’t reach the average maximum of 3.75m. The good news is that we did get an awful lot of snow in January, which has set up the resort for a long season which should see quality top to bottom skiing right into march. The rice paddies down in the village are covered with a good thick layer of snow (at least a metre and a half in most places). But the words on everyones lips must be “bring back the powder!”

Looking back at Nozawa Onsen from near Togari Ski Resort

We also spotted a rare pheasant, which is the national bird of Japan.

A rare sighting of a pheasant - the national bird of Japan

It has warmed up considerably today with not the slightest chill in the air this morning. We are expecting precipitation of the wrong kind in the village tonight… Hopefully the rainfall will be limited to the lower slopes and we can get some snow up top. The snow we had a couple of days ago was rather heavy and in general the weather seems to be more springlike. Hopefully this will turn around for one more chilly blast before spring hits.

Here is a little clip of the action:

Here was my weapon of choice for the day:

Ready for business

The local villagers were rather excited that a warm spell had been forecast from today, in fact it has been bitterly cold and snowing for most of the day with some isolated clear patches. It should still be nice and fresh tomorrow

Today was the kind of day you cross your fingers and hope you get on your trip to Japan, a weekday without crowds and massive amounts of snow. There was a lot to start with and it fell throughout the day freshening up the mountain and continuing until now. Tomorrow looks set to be a complete reset. The forecast for the weekend is for more heavy snow, January really has turned out to be a cracker of a month.

Once again, not much of a day to be stopping to take photos, but have a look at our Facebook page for some action on the GoPro.

The snow doesn’t seem to be showing any signs of letting up today. Looking forward Saturday seems to be set for a big dump – long may the great season we have been having since the end of December continue!

Friday was the first day on the mountain for me in quite a while, and it was a spectacular day with ankle – shin deep fresh snow and great visibility. A typical Nozawa weekday, there was almost noone on the mountain and fresh powder in easy to get places until lunch time. It was my first chance to explore my favourite tree runs since the serious snow started at the beginning of the year, good progress has been made and pretty much everywhere is accessible with good bush cover.

The forecast for the week calls for continued cold temps and light snow. Now is the perfect time to be in Nozawa with almost no-one on the mountain during the week and excellent conditions.