Well its been an amazing couple of days,the people in village are saying there has been at least 150 cm ,they are all out shoveling hard.I will try and post some pics when they come to hand,as they say no friends on a powder day and its just been too good to muck around with a camera.Andy has returned back to Australia so I will be trying to keep you all updated on conditions here in town.Cheers for now Rob

Ok well that will teach me for teasing the weather – it’s been another day of Myoko powder madness! With the first half of the day being taken up by clearing away the snow around Hotel Mumon, only the second half was left for riding but the conditions were epic to say the least. Up to 80cm fell across the Myoko resorts, and it was another case of ‘point and hope (no stopping!) sliding’ with endless faceshots to boot. To top it all off, the weather cleared for the last hour of the day making for some fantastic views as well. Needless to say, under the frozen neck warmer it was all smiles!

The cold weather and heavy snow don’t look like ending any time soon either – there is more heavy snow forecast tonight and tomorrow night as well as light to moderate snow through to the middle of next week. Time to soak away the sore powder legs in a nice hot Onsen and hit the hay in preparation for another day in a powder junkie’s paradise….

To make a booking or find out more information about Hotel Mumon and Myoko Kogen, email me at tim@hotelmumon.com

Where’s the heavy snow? Oh well, with plenty of powder left over and light snow mixed with nice sunny weather today, who cares!

BELOW: Celebrating the unexpected great weather with friends at Tangram Ski Circus

The forecast is still for heavy snow tonight, although it’s not falling yet. Heavy snow warnings are all over the local Niigata news as well so with any luck some or all of it will fall in the mountains where we can use it rather than in the valleys where it is just in the way!

To make a booking or find out more information about Hotel Mumon and Myoko Kogen, email me at tim@hotelmumon.com

It’s the return of a familiar sight here in Myoko – fresh snow blanketing the town and the resorts of a morning! Around 30cm fell in the village of Akakura Onsen and up to 70cm was reported in Seki Onsen where the base is back up over 5 meters!

The Japanese news is filled with reports of the ‘biggest cold snap of the season’ and there was 4cm of snow on the ground in Tokyo today! Heavy snow and avalanche danger warnings are out for the whole of Niigata with up to 80cm expected to fall tomorrow.

The snow is predicted to fall pretty much non-stop until the end of next weekend, with the heaviest dump coming tomorrow night. Conditions were already very nice today so it looks like a return to the bottomless Myoko powder we know and love!

Rider: Fi Photos: Tim

To make a booking or find out more information about Hotel Mumon and Myoko Kogen, email me at tim@hotelmumon.com

The snow is falling again in the Myoko area! Light snow and light winds all day today, and there is quite a bit of fresh building up already, especially on the leeward slopes.

Looking ahead, snow showers and light snow are forecast for the next couple of days, with falls getting heavier towards Wednesday night when we are expecting a bigger dump of fresh goodness. Temperatures are looking nice and cold, with westerly winds blowing straight of Russia and providing one half of the snow equation. This system looks like hanging around for a while with moderate snow falls right through to next Sunday – should be plenty to bury the hard surface that has developed over the last week!

To make a booking or find out more information about Hotel Mumon and Myoko Kogen, email me at tim@hotelmumon.com

It has been a partly cloudy day here in Myoko today, with temperatures getting a little above zero and soft conditions on piste.

The forecast is for 6cm tonight and colder temperatures tomorrow before heavier snow settles in from Tuesday night for the rest of the week. We’ve almost had a week without any real new snow to speak of which is unusual for January, but it looks like the powder is coming back!

To make a booking or find out more information about Hotel Mumon and Myoko Kogen, email me at tim@hotelmumon.com

It’s been a cloudy day in Myoko today, with light snow showers falling throughout the day. The forecast is for about 10cm of snow tonight and light snow and snow showers to continue through to Tuesday afternoon. From then on the snow will get a bit heavier, with around 40cm predicted by the end of the week. Knowing Myoko that could easily be an underestimate, but either way it looks like we’ll be in for some more powder riding next week!

To make a booking or find out more information about Hotel Mumon and Myoko Kogen, email me at tim@hotelmumon.com

Cloudy conditions with occasional light snow showers today, but not enough to really make an impact on the snow conditions. Fairly hard out on the slopes today with a bit of freeze-thaw action in effect.

The forecast is still teetering between rain and snow at village level for tomorrow night but either way it will be snowing higher up in the mountains. And there is quite a bit of snow on the horizon – light snow tomorrow night, moderate snow Saturday night and then light to moderate snow from Tuesday night right through to the end of the forecast.

To make a booking or find out more information about Hotel Mumon and Myoko Kogen, email me at tim@hotelmumon.com

It’s been a partly cloudy day today in Myoko but patches of brilliant sunshine and stunning views across the valley with some low cloud sliding in at times as well. The snow held up relatively well to the slightly above zero temperatures and sliding conditions were good right up to last lifts. Still no new snow though, but it looks like we’ll be getting light snow and snow showers from tomorrow morning right through to next week.

Thankfully the dreaded rain monster has been wiped of the forecast again, let’s hope it stays that way! After a few days of enjoying the groomers I’m about ready to get back into some powder riding so here’s hoping that the snow showers turn into something a bit more hefty…..

To make a booking or find out more information about Hotel Mumon and Myoko Kogen, email me at tim@hotelmumon.com

No new snow overnight but we awoke to a perfect clear day in Myoko this morning. With only light southwesterly breezes and wisps of cloud it was a great day to enjoy the slopes and soak up the fantastic views out across the valley and to the sea of Japan.

BELOW: A view of Mt. Myoko from Shibu Onsen (near Shiga Kogen)

Overnight the winds will turn easterly and remain light but are expected to bring in some light cloud. Snow showers will develop Friday afternoon and into the evening before light snow Friday night and throughout Saturday. From then on it looks like light snow and snow showers into next week.

Although the sunny days are great on the mountain, there are also lots of beautiful places and amazing things to see in Niigata and Nagano when the legs need a rest. One must-see attraction is the snow monkeys at Shibu Onsen. About an hours drive from Akakura through stunning scenery, the monkey park has an outdoor Onsen where the Japanese Maquacs come to warm up and relax…. a truly amazing sight to see!

ABOVE AND LEFT: A beautiful day to visit the snow monkeys in Shibu Onsen, about 1 hours drive from Akakura

To make a booking or find out more information about Hotel Mumon and Myoko Kogen, email me at tim@hotelmumon.com