Niseko Now: Monday 22nd December 2025
- Dec 22, 2025
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 2cm
Snowfall at base this season 174cm
Greetings Niseko-loving friends.
I do have some fresh snow to report this morning. All snow is always welcome of course, but it's just a few cm and I don't believe it will be enough to make much of a difference. I can just about justify my 2cm measurement this morning. Hirafu is reporting 5cm up top.
Still, it definitely feels colder this morning and the general picture is certainly better than rain and warmth of the previous two days.
It's unclear how things might develop over the next few days, but it doesn't look we can expect any more (significant) snow before Christmas. I'll try to have a word with Santa-san.
On a more positive note, Friday is the day when we can expect the chance of a proper reset. That would be nice!
It was snowing lightly earlier on when I started putting this report together, but the sun is now appearing through clouds more and more and I can see an increasing amount of blue sky. Still, there is hope that we might get a bit more during the day today.
At the start of the day there seems to be an issue with the Annupuri Gondola. Not sure what's going on there...
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Moiwa base 6am: -6℃, light wind and slight snowfall. Moiwa 800m: -8.7℃, NW2.7m/s, cornice development, 10m/s wind during the nigh, light snowfall. Mikaeri 800m: -9℃, WSW1.3m/s, light snowfall. Hirafu Hanazono: -10.1℃, N5.1m/s, lightly clouded, good visibility, light snowfall. Hanazono 800m: -8.6℃, wind n/a 2.9m/s. Sea of Japan Benkei cape NW11m/s, Kamui cape NNE9m/s, 1022hPa, 1.4m/s.
After 2 days of +5℃, cold air will finally start to flow in from this afternoon. The temperature dropped to -10℃ at 700m elevation. The slope condition is pretty bad and some trouble is seen in the chairlifts/gondola mechanism due to drastic temperature changes. The general avalanche risk is low, however in steep slopes with significant elevation changes, such as the sidewalls of the Backbowl, thin but hard “wind slabs” are prone to fracturing over wide areas. This increases the risk of high-speed surface avalanches, often referred to as “magic carpets.” Do not approach these areas. The courses are crowded and many beginners are present in the lower areas. Beware of high-speed collisions. Ski schools and groups must not stop in the middle of the trail or obstruct the flow of other skiers and riders. Have a nice day.
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 2cm
Base: 3cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 115cm (no change since yesterday)
Base: 50cm (-3cm change since yesterday)
Planned lift operations:
4 of 4 lifts
Gondola until 7:00pm
Planned open courses:
All main runs apart from Setsuzoku, Legend of Shinya (and Hanazono Park)
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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: 170cm (-15cm change since yesterday)
Base: 25cm (no change since yesterday)
Planned lift operations:
7 of 9 lifts
Ace Gondola
Ace Family quad (until 7:00pm)
Ace Number 3 pair
King Gondola
King Holiday pair
King Number 3 six
Swinging Monkey
Planned open courses:
Family
Sennoki
Alpen
Super
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: 110cm (no change since yesterday)
Base: 30cm (-10cm change since yesterday)
Planned lift operations:
6 of 8 lifts
Niseko Gondola
Upper Village Gondola (until 7:00pm)
Village Express (until 7:00pm)
Community Chair
Banzai Chair (until 7:00pm)
Morino Chair
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Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 3cm
Base: 3cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 90cm (no change since yesterday)
Base: 45cm (no change since yesterday)
Planned lift operations:
5 of 6 lifts
Annupuri gondola ON HOLD EARLY ON
Dream Number 1 quad (until 7:00pm)
Jumbo Number 1 quad
Jumbo Number 2 pair
Jumbo Number 3 pair
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Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort
Planned lift operations:
3 of 3 lifts
Niseko Now2025-2026 season |
Data as of Monday 22nd December 2025 Total snowfall at base so far 174cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 24 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 24cm (on 12th December) November 2025 snowfall 29cm reported on 7 days December 2025 snowfall 145cm reported on 17 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.