Courtesy snow Japan
Good morning and a cheery hello from Hakuba.
It has been 6 months since my last Hakuba Now report at the end of the 15-16 season, and here we are now with the 16-17 season just ahead of us. Everyone in Hakuba, and everyone who loves Hakuba of course, are excitedly looking forward to what 16-17 has in store. We are all hoping that it will be a lot of consistent snowfall and excellent conditions. I'll take you through the season with my daily reports, so let's see!
It was snowing yesterday. I was over at the base of Hakuba 47 and while it the snow was not sticking down to village level, it felt good to have snow falling on my head once again.
This morning it is cloudy but we may get some sunshine later on, though it is going to remain chilly. Overnight it will probably be raining down here but more snow is forecast for up on the mountains. After that slightly warmer conditions are forecast (10 degrees and slightly above) as well as a decent chance of sunny conditions again into at least early next week.
Here are the official planned season opening dates as I have been able to find. Of course, they are all subject to change depending on what happens weather-wise:
Hakuba Happo-one: from 19th November
Hakuba 47: from late November
Hakuba Goryu: from late November
Tsugaike Kogen: from 28th November
Hakuba Cortina: from 10th December
Hakuba Norikura Onsen: from mid December
Hakuba Iwatake Snow Field: from 16th December
Hakuba Sanosaka: from mid December
I will post more reports if and when it snows before the season starts, and then the reports will be daily throughout the season.