Good morning from Yuzawa.

The sun is out at the moment and above Yuzawa there's a mix of cloud and blue sky.

As you can see from the Ishiuchi Maruyama webcam looking north (third image below), there's quite a lot of cloud around the valley but we are expecting clearer skies during the day today and temperatures rising to around 16-17C in town.

Should be a fine day.

It looks like there is a chance of some rain tomorrow and clearer conditions for Sunday, so keep an eye on the forecast if you plan to be around this weekend.

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There is still excellent snow cover at Kagura and GALA Yuzawa as we head into Golden Week. Things are much more patchy at the lower Kandatsu Kogen but it remains open.

The Naeba resort will be re-opening once again from tomorrow, and be open through until 7th May. The snow is patchy on lower slopes but there's decent snow cover up top there too.

Not bad at all for the end of April!

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Tomorrow is the first day of the Golden Week period. My friend up in Niseko wrote it well and I hope they don't mind me copying...

Golden Week

What exactly is Golden Week?

It's basically a bunch of national holidays and here is the line-up for this year:

- Saturday 29th April is Showa Day (the birthday of Emperor Showa)
- Wednesday 3rd May is Constitution Day (Kenpo-kinenbi)
- Thursday 4th May is Greenery Day (Midori-no-hi)
- Friday 5th May is Children's Day (Kodomo-no-hi)

That means that from Wednesday next week until the end of the following weekend, there is a run of five days of holidays for many people. Add in the upcoming weekend and that's your 'Golden Week'. Some lucky folk might take next Monday and Tuesday off work as well, giving them a full 9 days. Nice!

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Resort information as of Friday 28th April 2017

Subject to change depending on snow and weather conditions.

GALA Yuzawa
GALA Yuzawa plans to be open until Sunday 7th May.
All of the Central Area courses and part of the North Area currently remain open.
The sledding area is also open.
The Falcon downhill course is closed - use the Gondola to get back down to base.
Official snow depth: 150cm

Kagura
The Tashiro Area of Kagura plans to be open until Sunday 7th May.
The Kagura Area (via Mitsumata Ropeway) plans to be open until Sunday 28th May.
Almost all Kagura courses remain open.
Closed courses according to official website are the Gondola East Course (at Tashiro) and the downhill course (back to Mitsumata car park).
Official snow depth: Kagura - 280cm; Mitsumata - 200cm; Tashiro - 240cm

Kandatsu Kogen
Kandatsu Kogen plans to be open until Sunday 7th May.
Most courses at Kandatsu Kogen remain open - but snow is getting thin on the ground.
Official snow depth: 120cm

Naeba
Naeba is closed today but plans to re-open from 29th April until 7th May.

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All other ski and snowboard resorts in the Yuzawa and Minamiuonuma region are now closed for the season.