Hakuba’s 5.8m Base Forces Upper Slope Closures

• Japan’s Tengendai Kogen Claims World’s Deepest Snowpack at 7.9m
• Niseko Stays 100% Open Despite Spring Thaw Threat
• Hokkaido Freeze-Thaw Delivers Perfect Late-Season Powder Days
• Japan’s Resorts Defy Spring With Record-Breaking Snow Depths

JAPAN REPORT 

Sunshine and mild spring temperatures have been the dominant weather in Japan over the past week. It's been cooler up in Hokkaido, with temperatures still getting well below freezing overnight. In Honshu, lows are only just around freezing, and afternoon highs have topped +15°C in valleys. There have been some showers, mostly light and falling as rain for some. Strong winds have also impacted operations at times, with Hakuba (580/580cm / 232/232”), which is still posting one of the deepest snowpacks in the world despite dropping below 6m/20 feet this week, closing its upper slopes at the weekend as a result. However, Japanese ski areas are sitting on huge bases still, and most are close to full operations. Niseko (120/370cm / 48/148”) is 100% open, and although it has dropped from its peak of 780cm (307”), Yamagata's Tengendai Kogen Ski Area (790/790cm / 307/307”) continues to post the world’s deepest snowpack and actually reported its base jump a foot (30cm) to a new seasonal high at the weekend as the numbers dropped almost everywhere else in Japan.

JAPAN FORECAST

Mostly cold with light-moderate snowfalls of 5-10cm (2-4”) a day and temperatures predominantly sub-zero but occasionally creeping up to +10°C just occasionally in Hokkaido—so, in other words, classic freeze-thaw. Further south on Honshu, temperatures are a little higher, and precipitation is less frequent, with plenty of sunny spells but more likely to be rain when it does fall.