Niseko Now: Monday 20th April 2026
- Apr 20
- 3 min read
Updated: May 2
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 0cm
Snowfall at base this season 878cm
Morning from Niseko.
Bright and sunny early on with a noticeable wind. There's blue looking up beyond our mountain with a more hazy scene looking back towards Mt Yotei.
It was warm over the weekend, but it looks like temps will be cooler this week. While we have rain forecast for base some forecasts even show the chance of some snow at higher elevations. I would hold on any undue excitement about that, though.
The Hirafu official website does show what runs are open every day... but during closed hours, all runs are shown as closed. I can understand a certain logic in that (after all, the runs are closed as I write this report), but it's unhelpful to anyone wondering what runs might be available each day. We basically have to wait until a run opens each morning. And this morning I am off to Sapporo and so I cannot wait until 8:30am when all will be revealed. In my opinion, the logic applied seems... flawed.
------------------------------------
Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 235cm (-5cm change since yesterday)
Base: 0cm
Lifts planned to operate (subject to weather):
Ace Gondola
King Number 3 six
King Number 4 single
* You need to get the Ace Gondola back down to base
Courses open (according to official website as of yesterday):
Beginners access
Shirakaba
Large
Rinkan
Jumbo
Dynamic
* Center course is closed until 24th April
Planned last day of the season:
Wednesday 6th May
------------------
Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 235cm (no change since yesterday)
Base: 20cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts planned to operate (subject to weather):
Annupuri Gondola
Jumbo Number 1 quad
Jumbo Number 4 pair
Planned last day of the season:
Wednesday 6th May
------------------------------------
Asahigaoka ski area (near Kutchan Station) closed on 8th March.
Niseko Moiwa closed on 5th April.
Niseko Village and Niseko Hanazono closed on 12th April.
Niseko Now2025-2026 season |
Data as of Monday 20th April 2026 Total snowfall at base so far 878cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 92 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 36cm (on 12th January) November 2025 snowfall 29cm reported on 7 days December 2025 snowfall 189cm reported on 23 days January 2026 snowfall 451cm reported on 28 days February 2026 snowfall 154cm reported on 19 days March 2026 snowfall 50cm reported on 13 days April 2026 snowfall 5cm reported on 2 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.