Wakamatsu Shimin Ski Area is a ski area in Hokkaido, Japan, on slopes between roughly 131 and 253 m. Its mapped area is about 1.1 km across, with 3 marked runs and 2 lifts (about 2.6 km of piste in all).
Over the last twelve winters the ERA5 weather model gives it 149 cm of snowfall a season, 319th of the 397 ski areas we measure in Japan. It swings a lot from year to year: the biggest winter, 2014/15 (270 cm), brought more than twice as much as the leanest, 2018/19 (108 cm). March still brings 36 cm on average, close to January, its snowiest month. Weather models read low in the mountains: a Japan Meteorological Agency station 7 km away measured 220 cm a winter over the last three seasons, against 149 cm from the model. Snowfall days average −3.6 °C at mid-mountain, and its snow-quality score ranks 259th of 397 in Japan.
Snow depth and the seven-day outlook appear here once snow starts to fall. Until then, the long-run record comes first.
Elevation range is estimated by sampling points across the ski area.
How much snow it gets
Measured by us across 3,069 ski areas by one identical method. These are not the resort’s own published figures.
The tick marks the median across every Japanese ski area we measure. All four bars run the same way — longer is better.
The quality score deliberately excludes how much snow falls — it uses temperature, frequency, rain and wind. Snowing a lot and snowing well are different things.
Compared with what is nearby
Within 50 km straight line. Measured the same way, so the ranks compare directly. Ski areas a few kilometres apart share a weather grid cell and can return the same figure.
| Ski area | Distance | Seasonal snowfall | World rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Arc Resort | 13 km | 148 cm | 1686 |
| Bihoro Lily Yama Ski Area | 17 km | 143 cm | 1761 |
| Rubeshibe-cho Happodai | 25 km | 166 cm | 1457 |
| Oketocho Minamigaoka | 27 km | 162 cm | 1517 |
| Saroma Choei | 32 km | 171 cm | 1407 |
When it falls, and how winters differ
Month by month
Month by month, the most snow falls in January. March brings 88% of January’s snowfall. That is a gentler fall than the median for ski areas in Japan (52%). For skiing, though, the amount matters more than the share: March brings 36 cm, less than the median of 46 cm.
Winter by winter
Across the 12 winters measured, the average is 149 cm, and 9 of them fell short of it. The leanest was 2018/19 with 108 cm; the biggest was 2014/15 with 270 cm (2.5 times as much).
Snowfall each winter (December–March total). The dashed line is the average; the numbers mark the leanest and the biggest winter.
Runs and lifts
Counted from the runs and lifts drawn on OpenStreetMap, within the boundary of the ski area. These are not the resort’s own published figures.
Run map
The shape of the mountain
Which way the slopes face
86% of the vertical on the runs descends to the north or east. Those slopes get the least sun, so the snow lasts longer.
By difficulty
Lift types
- Rope tow1
- Chairlift1
See past trail maps on Skimap.org ↗
Source: OpenSkiMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0). How finely ski areas are drawn varies by region, so treat the counts as indicative. Vertical is the difference between the highest and lowest points of the mapped runs and lifts.
What was actually measured nearby
Total snowfall from December to March recorded at the 北見 weather station — 7 km from this ski area, 88 m below its mid-slope.
| Three-season average | 220 cm |
| 2023/24 | 212 cm |
| 2024/25 | 222 cm |
| 2025/26 | 227 cm |
The figure calculated on this page is 149 cm.
A weather station is not a ski slope. We picked one at a similar elevation, but it stands in a valley or a village. More snow falls on the mountain above it. We have not tried to guess how much more.
Source: Japan Meteorological Agency historical records
Worth seeing nearby
Places within 20 km of this ski area, for a day off the slopes or an evening. Chosen from those most read about on Wikipedia, favouring places with an English Wikipedia article, and listed nearest first.
| Place | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Kitami Mint Memorial Museum北見ハッカ記念館 | Museum | 5.8 km |
| Lake Chimikeppuチミケップ湖 | Nature | 13.3 km |
Based on the Japanese Wikipedia lists of sights in each prefecture, as compiled in travel-log-data (CC BY-SA 4.0). English names from Wikidata (CC0). The content of this section is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Map
Where it sits relative to nearby resorts. For a piste map, see the official site.
Official piste map ↗Places to stay nearby
22 properties on Rakuten Travel lie within 3 km of this ski area, listed cheapest first.
| Property | From | Rating | Distance | Getting there |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| きたぐちホテル | ¥2,750 | 3.78 492 reviews | 6.3 km | 【オホーツク】中心都市北見市に位置し観光、ビジネスに便利なロケーション。 |
| ホテル 大地 | ¥3,167 | 4.23 173 reviews | 6.8 km | JR北見駅から徒歩約10分 |
| ホテルパコジュニア北見 | ¥3,400 | 3.94 798 reviews | 6.4 km | ＪＲ 北見駅より徒歩３分 |
| コンフォートホテル北見 | ¥3,500 | 4.07 2586 reviews | 6.2 km | ＪＲ石北本線「北見駅」徒歩3分◆国道39号線沿い大通西2丁目交差点付近◆女満別空港より車で約42分 |
| スーパーホテル北見 | ¥3,670 | 4.37 1349 reviews | 6.4 km | ＪＲ北見駅より徒歩５分・女満別空港より車40分 |
| 北見セントラルホテル | ¥4,000 | 2.67 198 reviews | 6.4 km | 石北本線「ＪＲ北見駅」より徒歩１４分、車で４分。北見バスターミナルより徒歩１３分。女満別空港より車で４０分ほど。 |
| ホテルロイヤル北見 | ¥4,180 | 3.11 11 reviews | 6.6 km | 北見駅から徒歩で約7分、北見西ICから車で約36分、北見東ICから車で約10分 |
| 北見第一ホテル | ¥4,200 | 3.85 125 reviews | 6.4 km | 北見駅より徒歩約２分 |
| ホテルクラウンヒルズ北見別館（ＢＢＨホテルグループ） | ¥4,250 | 3.71 238 reviews | 6.5 km | 北見駅より徒歩にて約８分／女満別空港よりお車にて約４０分 |
| 北見東和ホテル | ¥4,455 | 4.01 654 reviews | 6.2 km | ＪＲ石北線「北見駅」より徒歩１２分位。女満別空港より車で４０分位。 |
| ホテルクラウンヒルズ北見 ５条通り（ＢＢＨホテルグループ） | ¥4,500 | 3.73 1515 reviews | 6.4 km | ＪＲ北見駅より徒歩８分 女満別空港よりバス５０分 |
| ホテル黒部 | ¥4,600 | 4.21 92 reviews | 6.7 km | ＪＲ石北線「北見駅」より徒歩5分位 女満別空港より車で４０分位 |
Show the other 10
| Property | From | Rating | Distance | Getting there |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ホテル バルコン | ¥4,900 | 2.90 149 reviews | 6.3 km | JR石北本線 北見駅より約8分 |
| Ｔａｂｉｓｔ ＭＥＮ‘ＴＥＬ Ｋｉｔａｍｉ | ¥5,250 | 4.17 45 reviews | 6.6 km | ＪＲ 北見駅より徒歩約８分／女満別空港よりバスにて約４０分 |
| 東横ＩＮＮ北見駅前 | ¥5,370 | 4.03 593 reviews | 6.3 km | ＪＲ北見駅より徒歩１分 バスターミナルより徒歩１分 |
| ＮＹビル４階 ゲストハウス一番街 ＾ | ¥5,800 | 4.33 14 reviews | 6.3 km | 北見駅より徒歩にて約６分 |
| 北見ピアソンホテル | ¥5,950 | 4.39 1517 reviews | 6.3 km | 石北本線 北見駅 から徒歩5分。女満別空港から車で45分。 |
| 北見天然温泉「旅人の湯」ホテルルートイン北見大通西 | ¥6,650 | 4.21 1290 reviews | 6.1 km | ＪＲ北見駅より徒歩約４分/女満別空港から国道３９号線を北見方面に車で約40分 |
| ホテルベルクラシック北見 | ¥6,700 | 4.31 315 reviews | 6.6 km | ＪＲ北見駅より徒歩約7分／女満別空港よりバスにて約40分 |
| 北見天然温泉 「旅人の湯」ホテルルートインＧｒａｎｄ北見駅前 | ¥7,200 | 4.32 628 reviews | 6.3 km | 石北線 北見駅より徒歩にて約１分 |
| 天然温泉 常呂川の湯 ドーミーイン北見 | ¥7,700 | 4.38 3369 reviews | 6.4 km | ＪＲ 北見駅より徒歩約5分 |
| パークヒルズ | — | — | 7.9 km | 北見駅よりお車にて５分♪北見工大向かい（夕日丘通り沿い）です。 |
Contains advertising · Property data by Rakuten Travel (Supported by Rakuten Developers)
Stay nearby
30 places within 12 km of the slopes. Most of them do not take online bookings — open the map for contact details.
Accommodation data: OpenStreetMap
More places to look
Guides covering Hokkaido
- A Historic El Niño Is Forecast. Here Is What the Last Big One Did to Japan's Snow. NOAA gives a very strong El Niño better than a 90% chance this winter. We measured every Japanese ski area across the last 12 winters: El Niño winters ran 88% of normal, and the strongest of the twelve left Japan at 63%. But Hakuba held 92% of its average that winter while Niseko fell to 57%.
- Which Famous Ski Resorts Actually Get the Most Snow? 24 Names, Measured Niseko is 526th in the world for snowfall. Zermatt is 554th, Jackson Hole 924th, Aspen 1,201st. Measured identically across 3,069 ski areas, the names everyone books and the places it actually snows turn out to be two different lists.
- Australia Just Had Its Worst Season in Twenty Years. Here Is What Japan's 12-Winter Record Says About Booking It Instead. Snow depth at Spencers Creek peaked at 94.5 cm, the third lowest since 1954, and resorts closed in August. Our own measure — snowfall, not depth — puts Australia at 50% of its 12-year average. The gap between those two numbers is the story: it was the warmth, not only the lack of snow. New Zealand, meanwhile, finished at 108% of normal.
Updated: 8 Oct 2026, 00:52