A Winters day

Strong winds, poor visibility and snowfall which is almost horizontal is what it is set to be all day. Kagura and Gala are both closed to due to the strong winds. The snow is set to remain till at least Saturday but depending on the weather could change to snow again after Saturday. This system is set to put another 20-30cm on the Yuzawa reorts and a little bit more at Kagura. I hope everyone can get out on the hill this weekend !

Beatiful Snow

Overnight snowfall was around 15cm in town, much more up in Kagura where it started snowing in the late afternoon. It has no cleared up to a fine partly cloudy day. The weekend outlook is for it to snow all through the weekend. This is good news because Monday is a public holiday and Kagura should be really good.

Blue skies and powder snow in Tashiro

Today was the first time that we had the chance to try out a few runs in the Tashiro area of Kagura ski resort.

After quickly bombing around the resort just to make sure that all the runs were still there, we ended up taking one or two slight diversions, finding some great runs and fresh powder snow.

The weather was very changeable: periods of deep winter blizzards interspersed with bright blue skies. I took these photos while the sun was out (click photo for a larger version)...

Kagura ski resort

Slight diversion in Tashiro

Kagura opening day - amazing conditions out there!

Kagura's season started on Friday 23rd November, and with style: the conditions were fantastic.

Even the lowest slopes in the Mitsumata area had knee-deep powder runs. Friday was a cold day, though thankfully as the morning progressed the snow held up, allowing for better visibility.

Usually on the first day of the season, there isn't a great deal of snow around: this gives you a chance to get your legs ready for when the snow dumps arrive. There was no such luxury this time round: from the very start, the powder was up to knee deep. It was amazing to have such conditions at the end of November. My leg muscles were begging for mercy after an hour or two, but it was impossible to stop.

Saturday was more of a blue sky day. There was still plenty of powder snow to be found, as shown on the picture below (clicking on the image gives a larger version).

Blue sky & fresh powder snow in Kagura, Sat 24 November

Kagura main gelende, Sat 24 November

Outside Echigo Yuzawa Train station, Friday 23rd November

The ski season couldn't have started better. Looking forward to plenty more days like these...

Snow on the slopes!

Okay, its only the man-made stuff, but its still good to see. I went to Naeba yesterday, and saw the resort preparing for the start of their season on 17th November. The snow-making has started in earnest.


The picture shows part of the snow being covered. The temperature when I visited at lunchtime was 11 degrees, with quite a wind chill and spitting rain. It certainly wouldn't take much to get the temperature down to 4 degrees overnight, and for that rain to turn to snow.


Apart from the forthcoming snow season, at the moment its actually a beautiful time to escape the concrete of Tokyo and get out into the Niigata or Nagano mountains. Its now the peak of the 'kouyou' season, when the leaves of the trees turn colour. The below picture shows Daigenta canyon, a 15min drive from Yuzawa.

Free Japanese sake tasting

WeLoveSnow is based in Yuzawa - apart from ski resorts and huge snowfall, this town is also famous for

its 'onsen' hot springs, and the best quality quality rice in Japan is grown here.

The rice is so good here due to the quality of the water. And because the rice and water are so good, this makes for one of the best places in Japan to make sake.

Shirataki Brewery makes 'Jozen', one of the most famous sake brands in Japan. We have been helping Shirataki brewery to make their new English website. Feel free to take a look.

Apart from a wealth of information on the sake-brewing process and Shirataki's products, the best part of the site is the offer of free sake and a sake glass when you take a tasting tour at the brewery - the tour is also free of charge, and is open to everyone over 20 years of age (the legal age for drinking alcohol in Japan).

The brewery is only a 5 minute walk from Echigo-Yuzawa train station. For more information, see this sake tasting tours page.

First snow of 2007/08 season

Whippie whippie, just watched the evening news and it is official, snow is forecast for the mountains tomorrow night. 3cm bring it right on! and just getting whispered in my ear that it has already sprinkled some down on the top of Fuji. There we go this season is going to be massive in Yuzawa, it is going to be early, big, fantastic and just POWDER. Nothing more to add to the blog except for I Love Snow, You Love Snow WELOVESNOW.

Fall-line skiing

Much excitement in WeLoveSnow towers last night, when we received a sneak preview of a 6 page article on skiing in Yuzawa from Fall-Line Skiing magazine in the UK. The article will appear in the October issue of the magazine, in the shops on September 21: for readers in the UK, check it out!