{"id":806,"date":"2025-09-29T05:51:42","date_gmt":"2025-09-28T20:51:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rusutsu-sustainable.com\/?p=806"},"modified":"2025-09-29T05:51:42","modified_gmt":"2025-09-28T20:51:42","slug":"snow-is-out-of-sync-rethinking-water-and-the-future-of-ski-resorts-from-the-forest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rusutsu-sustainable.com\/?p=806&lang=en","title":{"rendered":"\u201cSnow Is Out of Sync\u201d \u2014 Rethinking Water and the Future of Ski Resorts from the Forest"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Lecture Report: Professor Koichiro Kuraji, The University of Tokyo<\/strong><\/h2><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n

We all know it\u2019s \u201chotter with global warming.\u201d But what startled me most in Professor Kuraji\u2019s talk was the fact that \u201cthe timing of snowfall is shifting.\u201d<\/strong> Snow is increasing in December<\/strong>, but decreasing from January onward<\/strong>. For ski areas, that\u2019s a matter of survival\u2014and it ties directly into the region\u2019s water cycle. That finally clicked for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, check the facts: Hokkaid\u014d has seen \u201ca different level of heat\u201d these three years<\/strong><\/h2><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • A northward shift of the westerlies<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The overlap of the Tibetan High and the Pacific High\n
      \n
    • Exceptionally warm sea-surface temperatures in surrounding waters \u201cjust happening\u201d to coincide this year\n
        \n
      1. Long-term warming met short-term variability this year.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        Trends near Rusutsu (Kimobetsu \/ Kutchan): total amounts similar, but snowfall and melt patterns are different<\/strong><\/h2><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n
          \n
        • Long-term trends show no marked increase or decrease<\/strong> in annual precipitation or in the frequency of short, intense rains (Kutchan\u2019s 80-year statistics).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • However, the intra-seasonal distribution<\/strong> of snowfall and snow cover has changed:\n
            \n
          • December:<\/strong> a tendency toward more<\/strong> snowfall<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • January\u2013February:<\/strong> stronger temperature increases and a tendency toward less<\/strong> snow<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Snow depth:<\/strong> easier to build in early January<\/strong>, but drops sharply into April<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • In other words, it\u2019s less about \u201chow much falls\u201d and more about when it falls<\/strong> and how fast it melts<\/strong>. Warming in February<\/strong> is especially pronounced\u2014analyses suggest roughly +4 \u00b0C over ~50 years<\/strong>.
            \u2192 This affects not only ski operations but also the rhythm of spring snowmelt floods<\/strong> and groundwater recharge<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

            Law and principle: why we build a \u201csound water cycle\u201d locally<\/strong><\/h2><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n
              \n
            • Professor Kuraji also spoke as chair of the follow-up committee for the Basic Act on the Water Cycle<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • The Act is a framework law for handling water holistically, not in silos<\/strong>.\n
                \n
              • When human activities overlap with nature\u2019s original water cycle<\/strong>, the state that balances \u201cbenefits\u201d and \u201crisks\u201d is a sound water cycle<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Forests<\/strong> are pivotal: by intercepting raindrops, suppressing surface runoff, storing water in soils, and promoting infiltration, they slow, store, and soak<\/strong> the flow through layered retention mechanisms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                Global and Japanese practice: the keyword is \u201cslow the flow\u201d<\/strong><\/h2><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n
                  \n
                • Four fundamentals:\n
                    \n
                  • Delay surface runoff<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Store water<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Promote infiltration<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Evaporate\/intercept before it arrives<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • In the UK, leaky dams<\/strong> (permeable check structures) made of logs, etc., deliberately let water leak through<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • In Japan, improvements are underway to give erosion-control dams permeability<\/strong>. A strength here is that low-tech + citizen participation<\/strong> can implement these measures.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                    What we can do in Rusutsu: link forest\u2013ski area\u2013infrastructure through \u201cwater\u201d<\/strong><\/h2><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n
                      \n
                    • Within the resort\u2019s catchment<\/strong> (the red-boxed area), a broad forest belt\u2014including national forest\u2014and ski facilities coexist.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    • On site, we can see detention ponds<\/strong> that aren\u2019t fully concrete-lined, and places where felled timber naturally slows flow\u2014creating a kind of \u201cpseudo leaky dam.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    • By using these existing assets wisely, we can:\n
                        \n
                      • Create chains of small structures<\/strong> that slow downstream flow<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
                      • Build pathways from storage \u2192 infiltration<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
                      • Verify effects with data<\/strong> (visualizing weather, discharge, and groundwater levels)
                        This is a concept to be advanced by government, operators, researchers, and the community<\/strong> together.
                        \u2192 \u201cForest management = water management\u201d can start here with the materials and know-how at hand.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                        In summary: protecting snow is protecting water<\/strong><\/h2><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n
                          \n
                        • Snow increasing in December<\/strong> and decreasing after January<\/strong>\u2014this shift is not only a ski issue; it also changes the face of spring water<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                        • The keys are forest-based designs<\/strong> that slow, store, and soak<\/strong> the flow\u2014and data operations<\/strong> that measure their effects.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                        • As a local embodiment of the Act\u2019s principle of a sound water cycle<\/strong>, Rusutsu<\/strong> has ample potential.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                          Finally
                          <\/strong>\u201cWhen snow arrives<\/strong>, how fast it melts<\/strong>, and how we care for forests<\/strong>\u201d\u2014dots that once felt separate connected into a single story. I left the venue feeling a clear, forward-looking energy: a water cycle that only a ski resort can create<\/strong>, starting here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                          We all know it\u2019s \u201chotter with global warming.\u201d But what startled me most in Professor Kuraji\u2019s talk was the fa […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":787,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jinr_url_youtube":"","_jinr_pip_youtube":false,"_jinr_time_youtube":"","_jinr_thumb_youtube":"","_jinr_media_youtube":"","_jinr_category_edit":false,"_jinr_category":"","_jinr_title_display":false,"_jinr_snsbutton_display":false,"_jinr_ads_display":false,"_jinr_thumbnail_display":false,"_jinr_profile_display":false,"_jinr_representations_display":false,"_jinr_relatedpost_display":false,"_jinr_sidebar1col_display":false,"_jinr_sidebar2col_display":false,"_jinr_seotitle_display":"","_jinr_description_display":"","_jinr_keyword_display":"","_jinr_hastag_display":"","_jinr_canonical_display":"","_jinr_noindex_display":false,"_jinr_paidpost":false,"_jinr_paidpost_product_id":"","_jinr_headtag_article":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-examples-of-cooperation-en"],"views":"8","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rusutsu-sustainable.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rusutsu-sustainable.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rusutsu-sustainable.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rusutsu-sustainable.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rusutsu-sustainable.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=806"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rusutsu-sustainable.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":808,"href":"https:\/\/rusutsu-sustainable.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806\/revisions\/808"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rusutsu-sustainable.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rusutsu-sustainable.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rusutsu-sustainable.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rusutsu-sustainable.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}