Niseko Now: Tuesday 10th March 2026
- Mar 10
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 5cm
Snowfall at base this season 861cm
Good morning from Niseko.
It's a lovely morning. Nice and chilly, the sun is out, some friendly cloud hanging around. And not windy.
We have received some more snowfall, with ski areas reporting anywhere between 4cm and 13cm across the mountain. (I'm showing you the Niseko Village gondola building webcam image, below, to show you that snow).
Talking of Niseko Village, I can't help not mention this. This morning they are suddenly reporting 10cm of fresh snowfall at base and 13cm of snowfall at peak. I almost wish I had kept records*, but they have probably now reported about 50cm across the entire season, on about 5 days. Or something like that. It's really very odd.
Anyway, I have some important fun things to do!
(* Thankfully, I do still have something of a life and did not go that far).
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain base -5°C, light winds, 3cm snowfall. Moiwa 800m: -7.5°C, N 2.5m/s. Annupuri 1100m: -10.1°C, NNW 2.1m/s. Niseko Village 1000m: -8.6°C, N 4.5m/s. Hirafu Hanazono 1000m: -9.4°C, N 4.5m/s. Hanazono 800m: -7.0°C, N 1.1m/s. Sea of Japan Benkei Cape N 4m/s. Kamui Cape light winds, 1020hPa, wave height unknown.
The pressure gradient is weak; both sea and mountain are calm. Cold air has flowed in, bringing 3-5cm of snowfall until dawn. Based on observations, data evaluation, and patrol reports, there is no significant avalanche risk. Gates 2, 3, 4, and 5 above 1000m will be opened. Follow the instructions of the ski patrol. Beyond the gates is not a ski resort. Be fully prepared before heading out-of-bounds. As temperatures rise, the risk of full-depth avalanches will increase in valleys below 800m. In particular, danger from sidewalls and cliff faces is high in strictly prohibited areas such as Haru-no-taki, Yunosawa, and Ambetsu around 700m elevation. Gate 11 at Mizuno-no-sawa has already been closed for this reason. Moiwa Gate 6 will be closed due to the high risk of avalanches from the 700m level of Moiwa Bowl and Mikaeri Bowl. With the changing demographic of visitors, there is an increasing number of people who ignore or disregard the rules, leaving us no choice but to close the gates. Gate opening/closing have been conducted for 20 years based on daily risk assessments. Gates are installed by the ski resorts through applications to the local council and are managed by stationed ski patrols. Their locations and opening/closing status are determined by council standards including administrative oversight; they are not for the purpose of attracting customers or tourism. There is no such thing as absolute safety in this sport. Always use caution.
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 4cm
Base: 8cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 310cm (+10cm change since yesterday)
Base: 185cm (+5cm change since yesterday)
Planned lift operations:
4 of 4 lifts
Gondola until 7:00pm
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Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 10cm
Base: 10cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 380cm (+5cm change since yesterday)
Base: 105cm (no change since yesterday)
Planned lift operations:
9 of 9 lifts
Ace Gondola, Ace Family quad, King Gondola and King Holiday pair until 7:00pm
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Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 268cm (+13cm change since yesterday)
Base: 160cm (+10cm change since yesterday)
Planned lift operations:
8 of 8 lifts
Upper Village Gondola, Village Express and Banzai Chair until 7:00pm
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Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 5cm
Base: 5cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 270cm (-60cm change since yesterday) (!!!)
Base: 150cm (no change since yesterday) (makes sense)
Planned lift operations:
6 of 6 lifts
Jumbo Number 1 quad until 7:30pm
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Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort
Planned lift operations:
3 of 3 lifts
Niseko Now2025-2026 season |
Data as of Tuesday 10th March 2026 Total snowfall at base so far 861cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 85 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 36cm (on 12th January) November 2025 snowfall 29cm reported on 7 days December 2025 snowfall 189cm reported on 23 days January 2026 snowfall 451cm reported on 28 days February 2026 snowfall 154cm reported on 19 days March 2026 snowfall 38cm reported on 8 days |
All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Kutchan/Niseko. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report.