Niseko Now: Tuesday 24th November 2015
- Nov 24, 2015
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 2, 2025
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 8cm
Snowfall at base this season 8cm
Posted on Tuesday 24th November 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Hello and I have good news to report this morning... it's snowing.
Yes, it is feeling suitably winter-like this morning and I have measured 8cm of snow outside my place. There's going to be more than that higher up on the mountain of course, and fingers crossed it will continue snowing through the day today.
The forecast has the snowfall easing off by early tomorrow morning and then just cloudy conditions tomorrow - though it should remain cold with temperatures not rising much if any above zero. Rain is due at lower elevations around Thursday with slightly milder conditions, though it should be snowing higher up and back to snow down to base by Saturday. Hopefully!
The resorts need a decent enough base to open up and get lifts moving of course so we are not there yet...
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As we wait for the snow to arrive and for the season to get going I thought it might be a good time to re-cap on how things went last season.
You can of course read through the reports via the archive links at the bottom of the page (on the main website), but below are the headline numbers for each of the months last season and the season before. 'My observed numbers' is what I actually observe here in the Hirafu base area with my own eyes. 'JMA Kutchan numbers' are the official snowfall numbers reported by Japan Meteorological Agency for the nearby Kutchan town area. As you might expect, more snow falls higher up on the mountain than both of these lower locations - the 'general wisdom' (which seems reasonable to me) estimating about 1.5 times base numbers up top. The numbers in brackets are the monthly numbers added up giving us a total snowfall number.
November 2014
My observed numbers:
November 2014: 30cm
November 2013: 123cm
JMA Kutchan numbers:
November 2014: 41cm
November 2013: 99cm
December 2014
My observed numbers:
December 2014: 519cm (549cm)
December 2013: 275m (398cm)
JMA Kutchan numbers:
December 2014: 387cm (428cm)
December 2013: 258cm (357cm)
January 2015
My observed numbers:
January 2015: 257cm (806cm)
January 2014: 461cm (859cm)
JMA numbers:
January 2015: 230cm (658cm)
January 2014: 317cm (674cm)
February 2015
My observed numbers:
February 2015: 196cm (1002cm)
February 2014: 178cm (1037cm)
JMA Kutchan numbers:
February 2015: 167cm (825cm)
February 2014: 130cm (804cm)
March 2015
My observed numbers:
March 2015: 139cm (1141cm)
March 2014: 113cm (1150cm)
JMA Kutchan numbers:
March 2015: 141cm (966cm)
March 2014: 118cm (922cm)
April 2015
My observed numbers:
April 2015: 3cm (1144cm)
April 2014: 13cm (1163cm)
JMA Kutchan numbers:
April 2015: 3cm (969cm)
April 2014: 24m (946cm)
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Planned opening dates for the Niseko resorts:
Niseko Grand Hirafu: as soon as there's enough snow
Niseko Annupuri: Saturday 28th November
Niseko Village: Tuesday 1st December
Niseko HANAZONO: Saturday 5th December
'Nighta' should be starting on Saturday 12th December
Niseko Now 2015-2016 season |
Data as of Tuesday 24th November 2015 Total snowfall at base so far 8cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 1 day Most snowfall observed in 1 day 8cm (24th November) November 2015 snowfall 8cm 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.