Fukiware Falls closed in February ?

Could anyone please confirm Fukiware Falls is closed in February as I saw some photos on the web with snow and ice at the falls but no ENGLISH narrative to say the falls close in Winter.
On another note, is the road from Numata up to Tanbara ( 玉原スキーパーク ) ski park difficult or dangerous (icey) and roughly how long from Numata-shi centre. I ask because I read Tanbara is more than 1200m high so the road is uphill but steep ? I have driven before to Naeba and other ski resorts in Yuzawa area and have snow tyres. Are there any webcams on the road conditions up to Tanbara ? We have a choice to either stay in pensions at Tanbara (no hotels I could find) or stay in a nicer hotel (this is preferred) in Numata but this would entail a daily commute over 2 days. This was what we did before in Yuzawa--stay in one hotel as base then drive to different ski resorts but the roads were fine allover Yuzawa. Would appreciate any feedback.

Could anyone please confirm Fukiware Falls is closed in February as I saw some photos on the web with snow and ice at the falls but no ENGLISH narrative to say the falls close in Winter.

The Numata City page (where the falls are located) says that the falls are closed in winter, but they don't give exact dates. I've driven by on my way to go snowboarding in the winter and the entire area pretty much completely shuts down. There is often snow on the ground and I would assume that the trail to the falls gets completely covered in snow.

http://www1.ocn.ne.jp/~tonesyok/chiiki/t3/t3.htm

On another note, is the road from Numata up to Tanbara ( 玉原スキーパーク ) ski park difficult or dangerous (icey) and roughly how long from Numata-shi centre. I ask because I read Tanbara is more than 1200m high so the road is uphill but steep ?

Depending on the year it can get pretty badly covered in snow. Its also steep enough that I have had trouble even with snow tires and a packed van. Its roughly 22 km from the Numata IC to the ski resort, and the last few km get relatively steep.

I have driven before to Naeba and other ski resorts in Yuzawa area and have snow tyres. Are there any webcams on the road conditions up to Tanbara ? We have a choice to either stay in pensions at Tanbara (no hotels I could find) or stay in a nicer hotel (this is preferred) in Numata but this would entail a daily commute over 2 days. This was what we did before in Yuzawa--stay in one hotel as base then drive to different ski resorts but the roads were fine allover Yuzawa. Would appreciate any feedback.

I think either would be fine. The roads are generally no problem as long as it isn't snowing hard.

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