Japan s ski slopes have too much of a good thing Snow

Ski resorts in Japan are prized for having some of the deepest, lightest powder around. A winter of exceptionally heavy snow – some areas had more than 3.65m of snowpack this past week – should be skiers’ and snowboarders’ dream.

The ski terrain in Japan this winter is “super big and super gnarly”, Austrian professional skier Tao Kreibich, 27, said in a video about a recent backcountry excursion in the country. “You can do some crazy stuff.”

However...

Although many of Japan’s 500 or so ski areas are having a banner season, giant snowdrifts have led to challenges that have dented profits and raised safety concerns.

“Heavy snow is both a joy and a worry” for resort workers, said Mr Shinichi Imoto, a spokesperson for Washigatake Ski Resort, which is seeing some of its largest drifts in a decade. “There are concerns if it doesn’t fall, and concerns if it falls too much.”

Some resorts have had to close lifts to give crews more time to shovel out. Road closures have cut off access for would-be visitors. In some places, more skiers and snowboarders than usual have got lost in the backcountry or stuck in avalanches.

Operations have returned to normal at many ski resorts across the county. But the effects of snowstorms in February – which led to school closures and the cancellation of trains and flights – are still being felt.

At Kagura Ski Resort, a few kilometres by road north-east of Washigatake, visitor numbers are down in 2025 even though the snow has been good and plentiful, said spokesperson Kazuto Harasawa.

Unusually heavy snow forced the resort to close six times in February. The closure of a nearby highway, combined with the resort’s mile-high elevation, did not help.

The snow forced Gala Yuzawa Snow Resort, about 19km