Niseko Now: Saturday 17th December 2022
- Dec 17, 2022
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 8, 2025
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 21cm
Snowfall at base this season 226cm
Posted on Saturday 17th December 2022 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning from Niseko.
I'm a bit later than usual this morning. No, I haven't been chomping on toast. Instead, there is much to check this morning and lots of information to update.
More ski lifts and runs are open from this morning across the mountain. Basically, most areas are now open - apart from those top lifts and associated runs. I won't go through the details here; please check the lists below to see those.
Floodlit night skiing also starts today, and I have noted which lifts operate below. It's called 'night skiing', but the lifts close at a relatively early 7:00pm or 7:30pm. I remember the days (quite a while ago) when night skiing was until 9:30pm. I'm pretty sure I remember that correctly. I am curious as to the reasons for such a change.
Silly me, I almost forgot! I have measured another 20+ cm of lovely snowfall since yesterday.
There should be some fine conditions to enjoy this morning.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain base 6am: -8℃, light winds, 30cm snow in last 12hrs, good visibility. Moiwa 700m: -9℃, light winds, 40cm snow in last 12hrs, some snowdrift development. Annupuri 1000m: -13℃, heavy snowfall, poor visibility, 40cm snow in last 12hrs, snowdrift development. Coastal data: Benkei Cape: WNW 10 m/s. Kamui Cape: WSW 11m/s, 1018 hPa, wave 2.5m.
The isobars have started to move apart and snowdrift development has slowed. Snowfall has increased, changing from heavy wind crushed crystals to light crystals. Snowdrifts have started to stabilise near the treeline at 800m, however stabilisation at 1000m on SE slopes is delayed and the avalanche risk will continue. Stay off steep slopes at 1000m and creek sidewalls this morning. Beware large scale surface avalanches triggered by rider stimulation. The snow in the trees is good, be careful hitting trees though. Do not duck ropes. One set of tracks will lead others to follow, increasing the chance of an accident. Watch for sudden weather changes. Have a good day.
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Individual ski area information for Saturday 17th December 2022
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.
Official snow depth numbers in brackets show the change since previous report.
Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 15cm
- Base: 15cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 160cm (-15cm since yesterday)
- Base: 80cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Ace Family quad (8:40am-4:00pm)
- Ace Number 2 quad (Center Four) (8:30am-7:00pm) [* open for night skiing]
- Hirafu Gondola (8:25am-3:30pm)
- Holiday Number 1 pair (8:30am-3:30pm)
- King Number 3 quad (8:35am-3:15pm)
Courses:
- All courses are now open except Onsenzawa, Large, Konayuki, Miharashi and Dynamic
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 10cm
- Base: 18cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 128cm (+4cm change since yesterday)
- Base: 95cm (+3cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Hanazono Number 1 (8:30am-3:00pm)
- Hanazono Number 2 quad (8:30am-3:00pm)
- Hanazono Number 3 quad (8:30am-3:00pm)
- Hanazono Symphony Gondola (8:30am-7:00pm) [* open for night skiing]
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Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 15cm
- Base: 15cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 130cm (+5cm since yesterday)
- Base: 100cm (+10cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Annupuri Gondola (8:30am-3:15pm)
- Dream Number 1 quad (9:00am-4:30pm)
- Jumbo Number 1 quad (8:30am-7:30pm) [* open for night skiing]
- Jumbo Number 2 pair (9:00am-3:14pm)
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Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 10cm
- Base: 15cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 100cm (+10cm since yesterday)
- Base: 90cm (+15cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Niseko Gondola (8:30am-3:00pm)
- Upper Village Gondola (9:00am-4:00pm)
- Village Express (8:30am-4:00pm)
- Community Chair (8:30am-7:00pm) [* open for night skiing]
- Banzai Chair (8:30am-7:00pm) [* open for night skiing]
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Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort
Lifts:
- Number 1 pair lift (8:30am-3:30pm)
- Number 2 pair lift (8:30am-3:30pm)
- Quad lift (9:00am-3:00pm)
Niseko Now 2022-2023 season |
Data as of Saturday 17th December 2022 Total snowfall at base so far 226cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 21 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 21cm (17th December) November 2022 snowfall 17cm reported on 5 days December 2022 snowfall 209cm reported on 16 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.