Iya Valley in early december

Hi all, just a quick question for those familiar with the area. I plan on being in Iya valley area around 12/5 ~ 12/6. I will be going by rental car and I was curious if there will be snowfall by early december there? Should I be prepared for snow and rent/buy some snow chains? Also, I've heard mixed reports on the road conditions. Is it worse than say.. driving through the Shirakami Sanchi or Daisetsusan National Park roads?

Thanks in advance!

This is first falling of last year 2011.
http://www.iyaonsen.co.jp/iya-season/2011/12/post_258.html

if snow but a few only mountain tops,
so don't worry on the road no snow.

Thanks! That's comforting to know. Any idea on how the roads are there by chance?

The roads we took (the old route 32 I think it is, plus general non-freeway roads) were fairly narrow and curvy, but even in the snow (nearing the end of January, don't worry) we weren't burdened by their size or shape. They were fun and scenic to drive on. At home those road widths would be a challenge, but with the cute little Japanese cars it was fine.

awesome, that's good to know :) Thanks a bunch!

No problem! Not sure if you've sorted out hiring details yet, but we hired ours from Mazda in Tokushima via TooCoo website, and returned it to the same location the following day to save on the high cost of dropping it off elsewhere in Shikoku.

oh, yeah, I've actually booked for pickup and drop off at KIX, also through Tocoo/Mazda. My buddies and I decided to do a 3-week car trip this time around instead of using the rail pass. Thanks though!