Niseko Now: Friday 2nd January 2026
- Jan 2
- 5 min read
Updated: Apr 13
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 24cm
Snowfall at base this season 261cm
Good morning from Niseko.
I am very pleased to report that the new year has continued to start really well.
I'm also pleased that I can start being more excited about snowfall in my reports (if you missed my monthly recap yesterday, you can find it here). I have complicated feelings when I am compelled to bring less-than-excite information and find myself really searching for the right words. I find myself suitably vexed.
Anyway, I have another 24cm of snowfall to report this morning, so that's over 40cm over the my last two reports. That sounds more like what we expect! I'm a bit surprised again this morning seeing another 40cm on the Avalanche Report, but seeing that just makes me want to get out there all the more and jolly well check it out.
All good.
Conditions should be really very good this morning.
We've even got some blue sky and sun to help us see it all.
Be sure to read the Avalanche Report today (below) -- gates from tomorrow?
OK, I have things to do! ;)
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Yesterday I noticed some very exciting news from Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu ski area - the 'Fast Pass + First Track Premium Lift Ticket' .
Hirafu apparently looked on enviously at that 30-minute, 20,000+ yen ticket that Hanazono was offering last season and thought, 'hmmm, we can do better than that!
This special ticket, limited to just 20 on the days that it is available (New Year and weekends/holidays from 10th January through 15th February), can be yours for just 150,000 yen.
At first, I thought that meant that it was 150,000 yen for a group of 20 people.
Silly me! (I should have known better).
I went to the official website to confirm. I put 3 of these tickets in the cart, and it showed it would cost 450,000 yen.
So, it's 150,000 yen per person, adult or child.
So, what does one person get for their hard-earned 150,000 yen?
• A 'premium' Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu 1 Day Pass
• Access to the Ace Gondola between 8:00am and 8:30am
• Fast pass / priority lift boarding for the day
• A 5,000 yen restaurant voucher
• Consumption tax included!
A standard 1-day ticket valid at Hirafu (and Hanazono) costs 10,400 yen when bought online.
Putting my mathematical skills to work, it seems to me that if you buy one of these tickets, you are paying 134,600 yen (150,000 yen – 10,400 yen – 5,000 yen for the restaurant voucher) for the early morning 30 minutes on the gondola (3 rides?) and priority lift boarding for that one day.
That's just wild.
The blurb says you can 'spend a refined and unforgettable time on the grand scale unique to Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu'.
I'd love to know how they came to the 150,000 yen charge.
Why not go all out and ask, say, 250,000 yen or something even more ridiculous? Might as well, right?
In the smaller print, it notes that if you buy this ticket, you do not need to buy a regular ticket to use the lifts at the ski area. And that if you want to ski at the other ski areas on the mountain, you'll need to buy an extra ticket for those.
I found that quite amusing.
Having said that, in the bigger picture, I don't really find any of this stuff amusing at all.
It's that Earth 2.0 feeling again.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Moiwa Base: -7℃, light wind, 40cm snowfall. Moiwa Mikaeri 800m: -6.6℃, NNW11.9m/s (20m/s @ 6am), major snowdrift development. Annupuri 1100mm: -8.4℃, NW4.9(15m/s @ 6am)m/s, major cornice and snowdrift development. Niseko Village 1000m: -7.2℃, N2.9m/s. Hirafu Hanazono 1000m: -7.9℃, N10.3m/s(20m/s @ 6am). Hirafu Hanazono 800m: -13℃, NNE3.9m/s Coastal data: Benkei Cape NNW10m/s, Kamui Cape N13m/s, 1007hPa, 3.5m waves.
The typical winter pressure pattern continues, with strong winds and snow from the west. Significant wind-driven snowdrift development at 1000m and observations indicate a tendency to fracture on weak layers. The fracture caused by structural weakness in the snowdrift, not a fracture from a known weak layer. This type of avalanche occurs from wind and snow accompanied by heavy snowfall. Today, the avalanche risk is HIGH above 1,000 meters, including Osawa cornice slope, the entire Back Bowl, and the East Ridge. Harutaki is extremely dangerous due to the surface slabbing from the sun. Remember the 1998 accident?
The peak gate is scheduled to open on the 3rd. Below is a comment from Hirafu Team Leader Kanazawa: “The snow depth is half of the usual amount and trees, holes and rocks are not covered in. The track toward the East Ridge is untouched and difficult to walk on. Snowshoes and skins are essential. Do not leave the resort without them. You will not be able to get back. Going without them is insane. Be careful of injuries, accidents, and getting lost. The snow is very good but deep. Patrols are concerned about accidents.” Have a nice day.
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 15cm
Base: 15cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 160cm (+5cm change since yesterday)
Base: 90cm (+5cm change since yesterday)
Planned lift operations:
4 of 4 lifts
Gondola until 7:00pm
Planned open courses:
All main runs
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Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 30cm
Base: 30cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 235cm (+25cm change since yesterday)
Base: 65cm (+25cm change since yesterday)
Planned lift operations:
7 of 9 lifts
Ace Gondola (until 7:00pm)
Ace Family quad (until 7:00pm)
Ace Number 3 pair
King Gondola (until 7:00pm)
King Holiday pair (until 7:00pm)
King Number 3 six
Swinging Monkey
Planned open courses:
Most runs apart from the top are now open
Courses yet to open are Furiko, Large, Konayuki, Miharashi and Dynamic
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Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 150cm (+21cm change since yesterday)
Base: 72cm (+17cm change since yesterday)
Planned lift operations:
7 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
Country Road Chair
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Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 25cm
Base: 25cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 140cm (no change since yesterday)
Base: 90cm (+10cm change since yesterday)
Planned lift operations:
5 of 6 lifts
Annupuri gondola
Dream Number 1 quad
Jumbo Number 1 quad (until 7:30pm)
Jumbo Number 2 pair
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Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort
Planned lift operations:
3 of 3 lifts
Niseko Now2025-2026 season |
Data as of Friday 2nd January 2026 Total snowfall at base so far 261cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 32 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 24cm (on 12th December and 2nd January) November 2025 snowfall 29cm reported on 7 days December 2025 snowfall 189cm reported on 23 days January 2026 snowfall 43cm reported on 2 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.