In tricky conditions, Takanashi recorded a leap of 106 meters, giving the 19-year-old a total of 143.4 points, to edge Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic silver medallist Daniela Iraschko-Stolz of Austria.

The defending overall World Cup champion posted a leap of 94.5m for a score of 127.2 points, some way adrift of the formidable Japanese, while Slovenian Maja Vtic was third with 125.3 following a jump of 96.0m.

Austrian Eva Pinkelnig narrowly missed out on a podium place as she was fourth on 123.1 points having jumped 102m.

The second round of jumps had to be cancelled owing to the strong winds.

“I was glad I was able to give my best shot,” Takanashi said.

“It was a long queuing time but I had good images swirling inside my head.

“I thought the title was hinging on how I keep my concentration - I could do what I had to.”

The result also banished the demons of her performance at the same venue the previous year, where she could only muster seventh place, which saw her fail to claim a spot on the podium for the first time in 28 World Cup competitions.

“The fact that I could switch well mentally is a huge step, I’ve grown a bit,” she added.

“This is an event that has boosted my confidence for the rest of the career.”

Takanashi remains on course to wrestle back the overall crown from Iraschko-Stolz, currently leading the Austrian by 181 points with a total of 580.

Iraschko-Stolz is comfortably in second position on the leaderboard as she is 152 points ahead of team-mate Chiara Hoelzl, who occupies third spot, on a score of 399.

The second individual competition is scheduled to take place tomorrow.