Niseko Now: Tuesday 30th December 2025
- Dec 30, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 13
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 1cm
Snowfall at base this season 212cm
Hello from Niseko.
It has been snowing from earlier this morning.
Hirafu is reporting 10cm of fresh snow across the mountain (both base and top) this morning.
I can't see evidence of 10cm of fresh snow. What I am able to report as of 8am is 1cm of early morning snow and it is snowing nicely right now. You can take a look at the snow on the top of the Niseko Gondola building to get an idea (second image below). A little earlier, Hanazono was reporting 0cm at base and 5cm higher up, and both Annupuri and the Avalanche Report were reporting 0cm of fresh. That's where we are this morning.
The forecasts do happily tell enticing tales of continued snowfall across the next several days, starting now, so hopefully we're about to sign off on a proper good delivery worthy of some celebratory toast. (I have a special recipe for special snow).
It was truly awful to hear about that horrible accident over at a ski area in Otaru. More on that in the Avalanche Report below.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mowia base 0℃, light wind, no snowfall and icy. Moiwa 800m: -3.1℃, light wind, slight snowfall. Annupuri 1100m: -5.8℃, ESE0m/s. Hirafu Hanazono: -5.7℃, zero wind, good visibility. Hanazono 800m: -2.7℃, S0.0m/s, thick fog, bad visibility. Sea of Japan Benkei cape light wind, Kamui cape N4m/s, 1011hPa, 0.5m waves.
The pressure gradient remains weak within the low-pressure zone, bringing calm conditions to both sea and mountain. A cold air mass is currently replacing the previous warm air. Consequently, fog is present on the eastern slopes below 800m, while visibility remains good above 1000m. Based on our observations and data evaluation, the avalanche risk is low. Course conditions above 800m remain good due to sustained sub-zero temperatures. However, below 600m, where the temperature went above freezing level, the groomed surface has frozen, leaving the terrain rough with ice chunks in places. Please ski with caution.
A tragic accident occurred the day before yesterday, where a child lost his life after being entangled in a machine. Words cannot express the profound sorrow we feel for the family during this heartbreaking time. Accidents are not just someone else’s problem. We are deeply saddened to hear this tragedy and offer our sincerest heartfelt condolences.
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 5cm
Base: 0cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 130cm (no change since yesterday)
Base: 60cm (-14cm change since yesterday)
Planned lift operations:
4 of 4 lifts
Gondola until 7:00pm
Planned open courses:
All main runs apart from Legend of Shinya
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Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 10cm
Base: 10cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 200cm (-10cm change since yesterday)
Base: 30cm (-15cm 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:
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: 115cm (-5cm change since yesterday)
Base: 45cm (-10cm 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: 120cm (no change since yesterday)
Base: 60cm (-10cm 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 Tuesday 30th December 2025 Total snowfall at base so far 212cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 29 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 24cm (on 12th December) November 2025 snowfall 29cm reported on 7 days December 2025 snowfall 183cm reported on 22 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.