Niseko Now: Thursday 25th December 2025
- Dec 25, 2025
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 0cm
Snowfall at base this season 174cm
Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas!
As noted yesterday, my report is appearing very late today. By that, some of you may suspect that I am actually, in fact, Santa-san and I got a bit merry from all the sherry, mince pies, eggnog, fried chicken, cake and toast last night, but no.
As I have no new snowfall to report, I'll get straight to what I prepared yesterday.
I thought I'd do an update on something I did for the first time back on the first day of the season, 4th December. So I checked how much snowfall I had reported at base level by the report on 25th December in previous seasons.
Here is what I found, sorted in order of ‘most snow’ at that point in time:
2017-2018 season: 489cm
2012-2013 season: 479cm
2014-2015 season: 464cm
2013-2014 season: 342cm
2023-2024 season: 333cm
2020-2021 season: 324cm
2021-2022 season: 318cm
2018-2019 season: 313cm
2022-2023 season: 301cm
2024-2025 season: 289cm
2016-2017 season: 264cm
2019-2020 season: 263cm
2015-2016 season: 201cm
2025-2026 season: 174cm
Yikes, I almost wish I hadn't done it now.
There's no getting round the fact that the data so far this season looks pretty grim.
Other than the obvious thing on the list that doesn't need to be pointed out, I found it interesting how the seasons' sorting has changed quite a bit. The top two are the same as in early December, but the order of quite a few others has been juggled around. Most notable is the impressive showing during the 2014-2015 season, going from a joint-bottom ranking of 58cm to a very handy 464cm over a period of just three weeks. I recall fond memories of that particular December!
Let us hope that over the coming weeks, perhaps starting imminently, the current 2025-2026 season might put on a similarly impressive showing and start looking healthier compared with previous seasons before too long. There's snow lined up on them there forecasts. Bring it on!
Remember, friends. If you have been here having tons of fun this month... fabulous. Posts like today's are just me doing my taking a step back, big-picture, ongoing commentary thing... as I have over the years. I certainly do not intend to spoil anyone's fun or good memories. Please continue enjoying!
I will get suitably excited (and excite) when conditions justify that. And I very much look forward to that.
I’ll do my usual monthly season-to-date roundup in early January.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Moiwa base: 0℃, no new snow. Mowia 800m: -3.7℃, NNW2.2m/s, Mikaeri 800m: -6℃, N1.1m/s, no new snow. Hirafu Hanazono 1000m: -5℃, light wind, no new snow, frozen. Hanazono 800m: -2.8℃, NNW2.1m/s. Sea of Japan Benkei cape NNE6m/s, Kamui cape NE2m/s, 1012hPa, 0.8m waves.
A weak winter-type pressure pattern brought cold air, but no new snowfall. Conditions were calm both at sea and in the mountains. The snow is hard, good for alpine skiing training but the worst conditions for powder ski lovers. The slopes are crowded. Watch out for collisions.
This avalanche information was started 40 years ago to prevent accidents, after being troubled by frequent avalanche incidents. Heavy snowfall from Sea of Japan blizzards and easy lift access to fresh snow on the slopes drew large crowds to Niseko, contributing to the high accident rate at the time. The Niseko Rules were created as a result. These rules aim to prevent accidents among ski resort users and are not for tourism promotion. Snow will fall eventually. Respect the Niseko Rules. Do not duck ropes. Have a good day.
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 0cm
Base: 0cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 110cm (-5cm change since yesterday)
Base: 40cm (-8cm 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: 0cm
Base: 0cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 170cm (no 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: 95cm (-5cm change since yesterday)
Base: 25cm (-5cm 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: 0cm
Base: 0cm
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
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 Thursday 25th 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.