Kagura will open on 22 Nov 2014

Great news for those of you who have been impatiently waiting to get back on snow for the 2014/15 winter season.

Cold temperatures and a few early snowfalls mean that Kagura will be good to go on November 22nd. You can keep an eye on the webcam if you want to know how things are looking but indications are that there will be about 1500 meters of slope available, 20-50 meters wide with a base of 60 cms. That is a pretty good opening day.

Can't wait!

Ski Resort Openings - 2014/2015 Season [UPDATED 2014/12/8]

A few more resort opening dates to add to the list courtesy of the instructors at Pod Snowsports who look like they are itching to get back on snow to teach ski and snowboard lessons.

Kagura - November 22nd 2014  OPEN
Tashiro - December 6th   OPEN

Iwappara - December 6th  Opening soon
Joetsu Kokusai - December 6th Opening soon
Naeba - December 13th
Maiko Kogen - December 13th
Houdaigi - December 13th
Norn - December 18th
Ishiuchi - December 19th
Yuzawa Nakazato - December 19th
GALA - December 20th
NASPA - December 20th
Kandatsu - December 20th
Hakkai-san - December 20th

All dates are planned opening dates so you'll want to check closer to the time if the resorts will actually open on that date or not.

Start doing your snow dance and let's get some big falls of the white stuff on the way.

Daily Updates on the SnowJapan Yuzawa Now page.

Spotlight on Snow Country feature

Winter is just around the corner and for many people that is a reason to get excited. There is still a bit of a wait until the first resorts open up, so in the meantime, to keep excitement levels high why not check out "The White at the End of the Tunnel" which was an introduction to Snow Country that appeared in Outdoor Japan magazine a couple of winters back.

Some interesting facts in the articles and some great pictures to keep the anticipation for winter going.

Banff Mountain Film Festival in Minakami 2014

One not to miss for all armchair adventure lovers. The highly regarded Banff Mountain Film Festival is on tour in Japan and stopping in Minakami on Saturday November 8th 2014.

The website is pretty amazing and worth checking out. Clips of various films are playing in the background, and they will definitely get you excited for the main event.

There are two sessions: an AM session at 1030 and a PM session at 1430. There are different films during each session so you probably want to check the schedule before you book your tickets.

The films are being screened at the Minakami Kankou Kaikan.

This is a great opportunity to see some amazing footage, and fantastic that they are touring outside of the major cities.

La Festa Mille Miglia 2014

The annual classic car rally that passes through Yuzawa each autumn is going to roar through town on Friday afternoon. They are booked to stay at NASPA New Otani for the night and head over the hill to Tokamachi on Saturday morning. It's a fantastic sight to see over 100 vintage cars pass through the center of town.

The cars are due to pass through  from around 4pm - 5.15pm on Friday 17th October 2014 and will be parked up at NASPA if you want to head up for a closer look.

La Festa Mille Miglia 2014

Traveling on a Dime - Independent Travel Video in Snow Country

Traveling On A Dime based in Niigata City trip around Japan highlighting some of the many great things there are to do. Being so close, they inevitably pop into Yuzawa to check out some of the activities going on in and around Snow Country. Their latest video sees them trying the Summer Skiing in Gala Yuzawa as well as the Zipline Course in Yuzawa Kogen. There is some pretty amazing footage shot from the air in the video so make sure you have a look....

Some other episodes featuring Snow Country adventures include:
Tokamachi Snow Festival, Snowboarding in Yuzawa, and some Minakami bungy action.

Click on the links for the inside look at some of these fun attractions.

Hakkai-san Firewalking - October 20th 2014

It is that time of year again. Shed your shoes and socks and walk barefoot across hot coals.

With Mount Hakkai towering above and the heavily wooded foothills all around the location is beautiful. The faithful walk across the hot coals and if you are keen you can join them. Or sit back and watch if you prefer. Check out our previous posts on this to find out why.

Details here in Japanese or if you are interested you can see a few more photos here.