Niseko Now: Thursday 26th February 2026
- Feb 26
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 0cm
Snowfall at base this season 823cm
Good morning everyone.
It's a fine morning. Bright and sunny with a very thin layer of cloud, giving us a slightly hazy kind of look.
The Avalanche Report is mentioning cold air, though cold isn't what I felt when I was outside just now. Admittedly at a much later point in the morning. (Sorry for being naughty with my late report today).
Proceedings feel increasingly, dare I say it, 'spring-like'... a feeling quite possibly influenced by the very spring conditions that many regions of Japan are currently experiencing and no imminent heavy snow being mentioned on forecasts.
We are still in February, right? I'll no doubt have more thoughts on all that in my monthly review, coming in the first days of March.
Going back to dreaming about fresh snow again, perhaps we will get some on Saturday. Fingers crossed everyone.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain base: -6°C, no snowfall, sunny. Moiwa 800m: -5.7°C, ESE 4.4m/s. Annupuri 1000m: -7.4°C, SSW 2.0m/s. Niseko Village 1000m: -6.8°C, SSW 4.2m/s. Hirafu Hanazono 1000m: -5.7°C, N 14.1m/s. Hanazono 800m: -3.4°C, N 14.3m/s. Sea of Japan Benkei Cape: S 9m/s. Kamui Cape: ENE 3m/s, 1027hPa, 0.7m waves.
Under a high-pressure system, cold air is flowing in; while the wave heights are low, east winds are blowing strong in high elevation. You won’t find much fresh snow even if you look, but it is a good day for a mountain hike. Temperatures will rise during the day, accelerating snowmelt. According to reports from the Hanazono Patrol, a crack has appeared in the “Jackson” area on the East Ridge. Based on the ripples formation below the crack, there is a danger of it developing into a full-depth glide avalanche. Please use caution. From now on, cracks will begin to open in various parts of the mountain. These cracks are often not visible from above; be careful while riding. Winds are strong on the Hirafu side. Gate openings will depend on lift operations; follow the instructions of the ski patrol. Glide avalanches are preceded by cracks on the slope and can therefore be predicted, but sometimes the avalanche occurs the moment the crack forms. Past incidents show that full-depth avalanches in Kozan-no-sawa and Annupuri Osawa occur suddenly, sweeping down trees and scouring the terrain. To prevent accidents, do not stay at the bottom of the gullies. The meticulously groomed runs are fun to ride. Do not enter strictly prohibited areas in search of snow. Niseko respects the freedom of out-of-bounds skiing but is always concerned for your safety. Have a great 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: 280cm (-10cm change since yesterday)
Base: 175cm (-5cm change since yesterday)
Planned lift operations:
4 of 4 lifts
Gondola until 7:00pm
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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: 360cm (-10cm change since yesterday)
Base: 95cm (-5cm change since yesterday)
Planned lift operations:
9 of 9 lifts
Ace Gondola, Ace Family quad, King Gondola and King Holiday pair until 7:00pm
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Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 274cm (no change since yesterday)
Base: 166cm (no change since yesterday)
Planned lift operations:
8 of 8 lifts
Upper Village Gondola, Village Express and Banzai Chair until 7:00pm
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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: 280cm (no change since yesterday)
Base: 160cm (no change since yesterday)
Planned lift operations:
6 of 6 lifts
Jumbo Number 1 quad until 7:30pm
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Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort
Planned lift operations:
3 of 3 lifts
Niseko Now2025-2026 season |
Data as of Thursday 26th February 2026 Total snowfall at base so far 823cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 77 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 |
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.