--- title: Tsugaike Adds 18 Snow Guns And Sets A 1st December Opening date: 2026-10-28T10:30:00+09:00 author: Chris Pickering canonical_url: "https://uchijapan.com/news/tsugaike-18-snow-guns-december-opening" section: News --- [Resort News](https://uchijapan.com/news/resorts)# Tsugaike Adds 18 Snow Guns And Sets A 1st December Opening Oct 28, 2026 - [ ](mailto:?subject=Tsugaike%20Adds%2018%20Snow%20Guns%20And%20Sets%20A%201st%20December%20Opening%20on%20Uchi%20Japan&body=https%3A%2F%2Fuchijapan.com%2Fnews%2Ftsugaike-18-snow-guns-december-opening "Share by Email") - [ ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fuchijapan.com%2Fnews%2Ftsugaike-18-snow-guns-december-opening&title=Tsugaike%20Adds%2018%20Snow%20Guns%20And%20Sets%20A%201st%20December%20Opening&description=Tsugaike%20adds%2018%20snow%20guns%2C%20taking%20its%20fleet%20to%2092%2C%20as%20it%20targets%20a%201%20December%20opening%20and%20prepares%20its%20new%20T3%20six-person%20chairlift.&caption=Uchi%20Japan) ![Tsugaike](https://d1g90p0r985xbs.cloudfront.net/properties/_480x270_crop_center-center_60_line/Tsugaike.jpg)Tsugaike has expanded its snowmaking fleet to 92 units, with new equipment supporting the route to T3 and a targeted 1 December opening. Tsugaike Mountain Resort has added 18 snow guns for winter 2026/27, taking its total fleet from 74 to 92 as it targets an opening on 1 December. The operator says seven of the additions are DemacLenko Titan 5.0 units, the manufacturer’s latest fan model for 2026. Weather and snow conditions can still change the opening date, but the announcement gives visitors and local businesses a clearer timetable than a simple promise to begin when conditions allow. The placement of the new equipment matters as much as the headline number. Tsugaike says it has concentrated snowmaking on the connection from the Han-no-ki area to the new T3 chairlift, as well as the routes around Yuki-no-Hiroba. These are links within the mountain rather than isolated patches of terrain. If they can be maintained reliably, they should help people move between lifts and key areas when natural coverage is uneven. The resort has not published the capacity of the expanded system or the proportion of its terrain that it can cover, so it would be premature to treat 1 December as a promise of full operation. The snowmaking programme also changes the context for T3, the six-person chairlift now replacing the Han-no-ki No. 3 quad. Uchi reported on the lift in September, when late December was the target for opening. Tsugaike’s latest update keeps that timing and says the final date remains subject to construction progress, official checks and weather. Once operating, T3 is expected to reduce the journey from seven minutes and six seconds to five minutes and 12 seconds. The new snow guns have been positioned partly to support the route leading to it, bringing the lift and snow programme together as one operating project. That combination is more useful than a lift upgrade considered on its own. A faster chair improves the time spent moving uphill, but only when visitors can reach it and continue through the surrounding terrain. Likewise, manufactured snow has limited value if important connections remain unreliable. Tsugaike’s investment appears to address both capacity and circulation, although the first winter will show how well the components work together during cold, busy and changeable periods. Tsugaike sits in Otari Village at the northern end of Hakuba Valley. Hakuba Valley’s official guide lists ten courses at the resort and a longest descent of about five kilometres, reached in part by a four-kilometre gondola. The mountain is known for extensive beginner and intermediate areas, while the wider valley pass connects it with nine other resorts across Otari, Hakuba and Omachi. For anyone choosing a base, that geography makes the reliability of internal routes particularly important: a day spent at Tsugaike should not depend on driving elsewhere simply because one connection is thin. A firmer early-season plan can also help accommodation operators decide when to open rooms, recruit staff and begin transport services. Owners arranging a December stay gain a date around which to plan, but should still follow the resort’s daily operating notices. The 1 December target concerns the start of the season, currently scheduled to run until 5 May 2027; it does not specify which lifts or courses will operate on the first day. T3 is separately targeted for late December. There is an environmental and cost question behind the expansion. Tsugaike says the newer equipment uses less electricity and water, and it is combining the snow guns with a boiler replacement and rebuilt grooming vehicles. Those statements indicate the direction of the programme, but the operator has not disclosed expected power use, water consumption, capital cost or a comparison with the previous system. The practical test will be whether the resort can secure key routes more consistently without allowing operating costs to run ahead of the additional revenue that a longer, more predictable season can support. For returning visitors, the points to watch are straightforward: how much terrain opens on 1 December, whether the connections around Han-no-ki remain usable through early winter, and when T3 clears its remaining approvals. Those results will say more than the equipment count alone about what the investment changes on the mountain and for the accommodation streets below it. [ Explore Hakuba and properties for sale ](https://uchijapan.com/resorts/hakuba)