Niseko Now: Wednesday 17th December 2025
- Dec 17, 2025
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 2cm
Snowfall at base this season 162cm
It feels cold this morning and snow is coming down, with just a little to report since yesterday.
The Annupuri gondola is on hold at the start of the day due to strong winds. That appears to be the only lift (scheduled to be open) that is affected as of just past 8:30am.
A mild bump is still forecast for around Saturday.
Forecasts currently show a return to snow going into Monday.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Moiwa base 5am: -7℃, 15cm snowfall with snowdrift developments. Moiwa Mikaeri 800m: -10℃, W6.1m/s, cornices and snowdrifts developments. Hirafu Hanazono 800m: -10.2℃, NNW5.9m/s with 20m/s gusts, cornices and snowdrifts developments. Coastal data: Benkei cape WNW18m/s, Kamui capeSW17m/s, 1015hPa, 2.8m waves.
The wind is strong on the edge of the High Pressure system in the west and is making the wave height rise again. Westerly wind remains strong above 1000m and is developing cornices and snowdrifts. Although the average wind speed is around 6m/s, intermittent 20+m/s gusts are blowing. The formation of the slabs aren’t uniform. Wind-drift snow slabs in the leeward slopes above 800m have reached 100cm thickness and are yet to consolidate. They are still structurally unstable and the avalanche risk in leeward slopes under the ridge lines and cornices is high. Slides are likely to occur even if bamboo-grass are visible. Do not ride those slopes carelessly. Surface slab avalanches are highly likely to occur in slopes with heavy deposits of snowdrifts during storms until the snowpack consolidates and stabilizes. Most of the accidents occur in gorges and leeward slopes during storms. Keep this in mind as a common sense and you will avoid most accidents. Wind-affected snow crystals are firm and have a lot of friction. Still fun to ride, but the nose tends to dive down. Ride carefully and avoid ruining your season with a careless injury. The conditions will improve once the wind settles down. Do not push it too hard for now. Have a nice day.
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 0cm
Base: 3cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 140cm (no change since yesterday)
Base: 80cm (-5cm change since yesterday)
Planned lift operations:
All 4 lifts
Gondola until 7:00pm
Planned open courses:
All main runs apart from Legend of Shinya
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Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 5cm
Base: 5cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 200cm (-10cm change since yesterday)
Base: 40cm (no change since yesterday)
Planned lift operations:
Ace Gondola
Ace Family quad (until 7:00pm)
Ace Number 3 pair
King Gondola
King Number 3 six
Swinging Monkey
Planned open courses:
Family
Sennoki
Alpen
Beginners access
Green
Shirakaba
Center
Kogen
Dai-ni no kabe
Kokutai
Holiday
Rinkan
Jumbo
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Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 115cm (no change since yesterday)
Base: 55cm (no change since yesterday)
Planned lift operations:
Niseko Gondola
Upper Village Gondola (until 7:00pm)
Village Express (until 7:00pm)
Community Chair
Banzai Chair (until 7:00pm)
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Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 0cm
Base: 0cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 100cm (no change since yesterday)
Base: 80cm (+30cm change since yesterday)
Planned lift operations:
Annupuri gondola
Dream Number 1 quad (until 7:00pm)
Jumbo Number 1 quad
Jumbo Number 2 pair
Planned open courses:
Utopia
Shirakaba
Paradise
Junior
Family
Junior
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Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort
Planned lift operations:
All 3 lifts
Niseko Now2025-2026 season |
Data as of Wednesday 17th December 2025 Total snowfall at base so far 162cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 21 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 24cm (on 12th December) November 2025 snowfall 29cm reported on 7 days December 2025 snowfall 133cm reported on 14 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.