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El Niño vs La Niña winters: powder days at Japan ski resorts
Which resorts got the most snow in El Niño winters and in La Niña winters? Days with 15 cm+ of snow, compared over 21 seasons of JMA AMeDAS data. For this winter, see our snow outlook.
El Niño vs La Niña winters
This season (2026-27) is expected to be an El Niño winter (JMA El Niño outlook, Oct 9, 2026). In past El Niño winters (5 seasons), averaged 9.1 JAPOW days and 0.3 DEEP POW days.
AverageEach season (most and fewest labelled)
National values are JAPOW (15 cm+) and DEEP POW (50 cm+) days per station.
By region
| El Niño | La Niña | Neutral | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hokkaido | 8.3 | 8.6 | 9.0 |
| Tohoku | 11.0 | 13.6 | 13.1 |
| Niigata / Myoko | 14.8 | 17.6 | 16.8 |
| Nagano / Hakuba | 10.0 | 10.3 | 10.2 |
| Gunma / Kanto / Mt. Fuji | 7.5 | 7.6 | 7.9 |
| Hokuriku / Chubu | 7.4 | 9.8 | 8.3 |
| Kansai / West Japan | 5.3 | 7.9 | 6.9 |
Few seasons per group, so treat this as a rough guide, not a forecast.
Which winters count as El Niño▾▴
El Niño winters: 2009-10, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2018-19, 2023-24
La Niña winters: 2007-08, 2010-11, 2017-18, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23
Neutral winters: 2005-06, 2006-07, 2008-09, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2016-17, 2019-20, 2024-25, 2025-26
Grouped exactly as JMA's table of El Niño and La Niña periods (a winter counts if the period covers December–February). Most stations are near the base.JMA table ↗
Top 10 in El Niño winters (JAPOW days)
JAPOW (15 cm+) daysDEEP POW (50 cm+)
Open a row for all 21 seasons · resorts sharing a station are one row
| # | Resort ／ El Niño avg | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HakkodaAomori · Sukayu 890m34.0 daysDEEP POW 2.0AMeDAS Sukayu 890m | ||
| 2 | Shibetsu HinataHokkaido · Shumarinai 255m31.0 daysDEEP POW 0.0AMeDAS Shumarinai 255m | ||
| 3 | YunodaiYamagata · Hijiori 330m28.6 daysDEEP POW 1.4AMeDAS Hijiori 330m | ||
| 4 | New Greenpia TsunanMatsunoyama Onsen, Sakae ClubNiigata · Tsunan 452m27.2 daysDEEP POW 2.6AMeDAS Tsunan 452m | ||
| 5 | YudonosanGassan Ski Resort, Asahi Shizenkan Snow ParkYamagata · Oisawa 440m26.2 daysDEEP POW 0.0AMeDAS Oisawa 440m | ||
| 6 | TadamiFukushima · Tadami 377m25.2 daysDEEP POW 1.4AMeDAS Tadami 377m | ||
| 7 | HorotachiHokkaido · Horokanai 159m24.4 daysDEEP POW 0.0AMeDAS Horokanai 159m | ||
| 8 | Arai Mountain ResortAkakura Onsen, Akakura Kanko, Myoko Suginohara, Seki Onsen, Charmant Hiuchi, Ikenotaira Alpenblick, Kyukamura Myoko LunlunNiigata · Sekiyama 350m23.6 daysDEEP POW 2.8AMeDAS Sekiyama 350m | ||
| 9 | SuharaTochio Family Ski Area, Koshi KogenNiigata · Sumon 222m23.6 daysDEEP POW 2.0AMeDAS Sumon 222m | ||
| 10 | OtoifujiNakagawa Chomin Ski AreaHokkaido · Otoineppu 40m22.6 daysDEEP POW 0.6AMeDAS Otoineppu 40m |
"El Niño" / "La Niña" columns: average over those winters (only with 3+ seasons of data)
Top 10 in La Niña winters (JAPOW days)
JAPOW (15 cm+) daysDEEP POW (50 cm+)
Open a row for all 21 seasons · resorts sharing a station are one row
| # | Resort ／ La Niña avg | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HakkodaAomori · Sukayu 890m39.3 daysDEEP POW 2.2AMeDAS Sukayu 890m | ||
| 2 | YunodaiYamagata · Hijiori 330m35.7 daysDEEP POW 2.7AMeDAS Hijiori 330m | ||
| 3 | YudonosanGassan Ski Resort, Asahi Shizenkan Snow ParkYamagata · Oisawa 440m31.5 daysDEEP POW 0.5AMeDAS Oisawa 440m | ||
| 4 | New Greenpia TsunanMatsunoyama Onsen, Sakae ClubNiigata · Tsunan 452m31.2 daysDEEP POW 2.8AMeDAS Tsunan 452m | ||
| 5 | SuharaTochio Family Ski Area, Koshi KogenNiigata · Sumon 222m29.5 daysDEEP POW 2.3AMeDAS Sumon 222m | ||
| 6 | TadamiFukushima · Tadami 377m29.2 daysDEEP POW 2.0AMeDAS Tadami 377m | ||
| 7 | Shibetsu HinataHokkaido · Shumarinai 255m28.2 daysDEEP POW 0.3AMeDAS Shumarinai 255m | ||
| 8 | Geto KogenJeunesse Kurikoma, ShigaraiIwate · Yuda 250m24.7 daysDEEP POW 0.7AMeDAS Yuda 250m | ||
| 9 | Hanagasa KogenYamagata · Obanazawa 106m24.3 daysDEEP POW 0.8AMeDAS Obanazawa 106m | ||
| 10 | HorotachiHokkaido · Horokanai 159m24.3 daysDEEP POW 0.2AMeDAS Horokanai 159m |
"El Niño" / "La Niña" columns: average over those winters (only with 3+ seasons of data)
How to read these numbers
- Days with JMA AMeDAS daily snowfall (0:00–24:00) of 15 cm+ count as JAPOW, 50 cm+ as DEEP POW (DEEP POW days are included in JAPOW; values over 200 cm are excluded as errors).
- A season is November to April; 21 seasons from 2005-06 to 2025-26. Averages use only seasons with data; stations with fewer than 15 seasons are left out of the average ranking. One season can be lucky or unlucky; a 20-year average shows where it reliably snows.
- The station is the AMeDAS chosen for each resort by distance and elevation difference — the same one behind "24h snow" on the top page and resort pages. Resorts sharing a station have the same numbers, so they share one row.
- Values JMA flags as incomplete (some hourly data missing) are counted as published. Seasons with no snow observation, or with a station move or instrument change (the red lines in JMA's tables), are shown as no data (hatched in the charts). Nothing is estimated.
- Most stations are near the base, so the upper mountain often gets more. Numbers are shown even for years when a resort was not operating.
Source: compiled by Japow Now! from JMA "Past weather data" (AMeDAS daily values). Please link to this page when quoting.