Niseko Now: Friday 23rd November 2012
- Nov 23, 2012
- 2 min read
Updated: Aug 16, 2025
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 0cm
Snowfall at base this season 51cm
Weather overview Cloud
Wind
Light
Temperature -2C base / -7C top
Visibility Fair
Posted at 8:56am on Friday 23rd November 2012 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here.
The day has arrived!
Two lifts are moving at Niseko Grand Hirafu this morning and the season in Niseko has officially started. Hirafu are saying that they have 90cm of snow on the upper slopes and 45cm on lower slopes. The Ace No2 Quad (Center 4) and Ace No3 Pair lifts are the ones taking people with wide smiles up the mountain as I write this.
As I mentioned yesterday, Annupuri are not opening today as they wait for more snow to get things going.
No new cm of snowfall to report since yesterday but it's keeping cold and still under zero. It was quite a clear morning earlier on but there are more clouds around now as the lifts open and probably even some more flakes of snow are due to fall, but likely nothing major.
It was fun to see the resort prepare for opening yesterday and last night - having the lights on last night only added to the excitement. The village is certainly suddenly seeming busier but that is mostly with people involved in the local businesses making final preparations for the season. For those clever ones that have already got their preparation in place, I'm sure they will be making up some of the numbers of people out on the slopes in this early season phase.
There's a rather familiar look to the weekly forecast as it stands at the moment... the chance of snowfall on most days. I'm good with that. Looks like it is going to get very cold indeed tonight before perhaps warming up slightly at the end of the weekend and into Monday - though warm is perhaps not the best choice of words!
Have fun.
Niseko Now 2012-2013 season |
Data as of Friday 23rd November 2012 Total snowfall at base so far 51cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 4 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 20cm (19th and 21st November) November 2012 snowfall 51cm |
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.