Photo= Snowmaking guns are diffusing snow on a slope to prepare for the opening (2:00 p.m., December 3, Hakodateyama Ski Resort, Takashima City, Shiga Prefecture)

Preparing for the December 13 opening, snowmaking guns are diffusing snow at a fast pace at Hakodateyama Ski Resort in Hiokimae, Imazu-cho, Takashima City, Shiga Prefecture.

Of the ten trails in total, artificial snow is being spread on the second slope, which is 310-meters long and 30-meters wide, and on Kids Park, where children can enjoy sledding and other activities on a gentle slope.

Snowmaking started on November 17. Three snowmaking guns have been in 24-hour full operation to make 300 tons of snow per day by freezing and crushing water pumped up from the mountain, which is then piled up on the slopes.

At present, approximately 60 percent of the slopes have been completed. There is a series of roughly three-meter-high snow piles on the slopes covered with dried grass, up to the top of the 690-meter-high mountain, which commands a panoramic view of Lake Biwa. These piles will be leveled out to a thickness of about 30 centimeters with snow vehicles before the opening.

It was warm on December 3, even at the top of the mountain, where the temperature is two to three degrees lower than at the base. Under sunny skies, workers were diffusing artificial snow from hoses. The ski resort expects more than 90,000 visitors this winter. Lift and Gondola fares are free on the first day.