Niseko Now: Tuesday 1st December 2015
- Dec 1, 2015
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 2, 2025
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 14cm
Snowfall at base this season 75cm
Posted on Tuesday 1st December 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning from Niseko on what is to be the first day of the season.
First of all, new snowfall. After some more rain yesterday, thankfully it turned into snow once again around evening time and this morning I have 14cm of snow round the back of my place. And all of a sudden, Niseko Grand Hirafu are reporting 110cm up top! Which brings me to the big news of the day of course...
And so, today is the first day of the season here in Niseko with a few lifts starting their season at the Niseko Grand Hirafu, Niseko Village and Niseko Annupuri areas. It's a limited opening due to the amount of snow we have at the moment, but of course great to get the season going.
At Niseko Grand Hirafu the Ace Number 2 Quad Center Four will be starting from 8:30am, taking people up to the Ace Number 3 lift with the Center Course up there open.
At Niseko Annupuri, from 9:15am they plan to get the Jumbo Number 3 lift started with the Utopia Course scheduled to be open. The Annupuri Gondola will be starting from 9am to take people up there.
At Niseko Village, the Community Chair and Banzai Chair lifts should be operating from 8:30am. Courses planned to be open are the Banzai Course, Next Stage, Final Fling and Shaky Knees.
The start of the season this year may be 9 days later than originally planned and hoped for, but I'm sure we will all soon forget that -- and here's to hopefully a very snowy December.
To finish off with a quick look at the forecast which says that the early morning light snow will ease and the rest of the day should be cloudy with similar conditions expected tomorrow as well. There might be a bit more rain before snow due later Thursday. Looks like there's potential there!
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Resort specific news as of 8:00am - subject to change during the day
Niseko Grand Hirafu:
Lifts planned to be running - Ace Number 2 Quad Center Four (transport), Ace Number 3
Niseko Village:
Lifts planned to be operating - Community Chair and Banzai Chair
Niseko Annupuri:
Lifts planned to be operating - Annupuri Gondola (transport) and Jumbo Number 3 lift
Niseko HANAZONO Resort:
The Hanazono area plans to open from Saturday 5th December
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Official resort snow depths:
Grand Hirafu / Hanazono:
Top - 110cm
Base - 40cm
Niseko Village:
Top - 50cm
Base - 20cm
Niseko Annupuri:
Top - -cm
Base - 20cm
Niseko Now 2015-2016 season |
Data as of Tuesday 1st December 2015 Total snowfall at base so far 75cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 5 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 20cm (30th November) November 2015 snowfall 61cm reported on 4 days December 2015 snowfall 14cm reported on 1 day |
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.