As if just in time for Christmas, the Japan Avalanche Network (JAN) has started a three-times-weekly avalanche bulletin for Central Hokkaido, in northern Japan. We’ve been told this season is a ‘proof of concept’ of sorts, with bulletins scheduled for Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. For the 2025/2026 season, the bulletins will run during January and February. The local professional avalanche forecasters working on the bulletins this season are generously doing the work voluntarily this season, with the hope that funding will be forthcoming for subsequent seasons.
With burgeoning backcountry access in the high alpine zones of the Daisetsuzan National Park, as well as the more popular zones at the northern end of the Yubari Range, a professional recreational avalanche forecast has been sorely needed. This forecast will fill that need.
This new Central Hokkaido avalanche bulletin joins JAN’s existing SW Hokkaido forecast (covering Niseko, Yotei, and other southwest Hokkaido areas), bringing the number of recreational avalanche bulletins in Hokkaido to two.
Details about all the JAN avalanche forecasting areas, here.
The public can also submit observations, here.
