Niseko Now: Thursday 18th December 2025
- Dec 18, 2025
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 8cm
Snowfall at base this season 170cm
Good morning to you all from Niseko.
I have another nice layer of lovely snow to report to you on this cold morning. I measured slightly over 8cm of it. (I'll keep the extra mm in hand for a future rounding up!)
At just past 8am it is snowing lightly outside my place, but moderate seems to be the more appropriate word for how it is coming down in some places.
Conditions should be pretty good and I feel the need to go out and investigate.
Hopefully lifts will be opening as planned.
After a cold day today, temps are going to be getting much milder from tomorrow with Saturday being the peak; dropping again from Sunday.
(I'm a bit too early this morning for updated data from Hirafu).
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Moiwa base 6am: -7℃, 10cm new snow, no snowdrifts. Mikaeri 800m: -9℃, WNW4.7m/s, snowing and snowdrifts developments. Hirafu Hanazono 1000m: -13.4℃. Hanazono 800m: -10.5℃, N4.8m/s, snowdrifts development. Sea of Japan Benkei cape NW14m/s, Kamui cape WSW11m/s, 1019hPa, 2.6m waves.
The wind remains strong up high and cold air is flowing in. 10-20cm snowfall and cornices and snowdrifts are slowly growing above 800m elevation. Cornices are still fragile, however the snowdrifts are stabilizing. Assessing all data, the avalanche risk is low in slopes below 1000m elevation. The snow in the trees is good, however you might end up bush crawling at the bottom if you miss the right path. Accessing the out of bounds from the resort is still closed. Please be patient. Do not cross boundary ropes. The groomer conditions are amazing. The lift lines are getting crowded, please don’t cut in lines. Westerly wind remains strong, beware of frostbites on your left cheek. Have a nice day.
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 7cm
Base: 12cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 150cm (+10cm change since yesterday)
Base: 90cm (+10cm 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: ?cm
Base: ?cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 200cm
Base: 40cm
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: 125cm (+10cm change since yesterday)
Base: 65cm (+10cm 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 (no 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 Thursday 18th December 2025 Total snowfall at base so far 170cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 22 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 24cm (on 12th December) November 2025 snowfall 29cm reported on 7 days December 2025 snowfall 141cm reported on 15 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.