Niseko Now: Saturday 16th December 2023
- Dec 16, 2023
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 1cm
Snowfall at base this season 163cm
Posted on Saturday 16th December 2023 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Slightly over 1cm this morning at my measuring point, so another thin layer. It is snowing now and it should start snowing 'properly' very soon. Normal service (ie. lots of snow) to start imminently? Snow dances, please!
We might be struggling for snow just at the moment, but night skiing is actually starting as originally planned today. Well, at two ski areas anyway. Annupuri will be open until 7:30pm and Village will be open until 7:00pm. There will not be any night skiing just yet at Hirafu and Hanazono. They will get that up and running as quickly as possible.
Hurray! The small ski area behind Kutchan Station (Asahigaoka) has finally announced its 2023-2024 winter plans. It hopes to open on 23rd December. Many ski areas have put up their charges this year, in some cases by quite a lot. However, I have checked this with the SnowJapan guys, and many smaller local ski areas are keeping their low lift ticket prices unchanged this year. A one-day lift ticket at Asahigaoka costs just 1500 yen for adults and 800 yen for children. And I am guessing that, for some people, a bit of time at Asahigaoka would be more than enough. (Perhaps not the reason why they came from overseas to Hokkaido, I suppose!) If you are really a fan of Asahigaoka, a season ticket costs 14,000 yen.
Actually, come to think of it, the lifts are some small ski areas are even free to use. More on that at a later date.
When I am free of the shackles of reporting from Niseko every morning for you lot*, I plan to check out as many little ski areas as possible, starting here in Hokkaido. There's a lot of them! Here you go.
* I'm joking, I totally love posting these reports, as long-timers will know. (I would like to check out those small ski areas, though!)
** I’m interested in some of the old closed locations from the past, too, as introduced on the SnowJapanHistory site.
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Individual ski area information for Saturday 16th December 2023
The below snow depth and snowfall numbers are manually checked each morning from official sources.
Lift information is the planned operations for the day at the time of writing.
Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 0cm
- Base: 0cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 80cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 15cm (+5cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Ace Number 2 quad (Center Four) (8:30am-3:10pm) * used for transport only
- Ace Number 3 pair (8:40am-3:20pm)
Courses:
- Center Course
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 2cm
- Base: 1cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 65cm (-5cm since yesterday)
- Base: 35cm (-5cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Hanazono Number 1 (8:30am-3:00pm)
- Hanazono Number 2 quad (8:30am-3:00pm)
- Hanazono Symphony gondola (8:30am-3:00pm)
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Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 1cm
- Base: 1cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 40cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 10cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Dream Number 1 quad (8:30am-7:30pm)
Courses:
- Beginners run by the lift
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Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 15cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 0cm (-5cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Upper Village Gondola (8:30am-7:00pm)
- Village Express (9:00am-7:00pm) * used for transport only
- Community Chair (8:30am-7:00pm)
- Banzai Chair (8:30am-4:00pm)
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Night skiing
Floodlit night skiing is planned from Saturday 16th December 2023 until Wednesday 20th March 2024. Opening today at Niseko Annupuri and Niseko Village.
Niseko Now 2023-2024 season |
Data as of Saturday 16th December 2023 Total snowfall at base so far 163cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 20 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 25cm (1st December) November 2023 snowfall 120cm reported on 11 days December 2023 snowfall 43cm reported on 9 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.