Niseko Now: Thursday 4th December 2025
- Dec 4, 2025
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 21cm
Snowfall at base this season 58cm
'Season in'!
As noted in an update to the report yesterday, today is officially the first day of the ski season here in Niseko, with Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu part opening. Details below. At the time of this report, there's no other operation news from other ski areas... yet.
Time for some celebratory toast, as is the tradition (one dating back to the Edo period).
So we have a respectable amount of fresh snow, with hopefully some more to report tomorrow.
For reasons that will become clear in the coming months, over the last few weeks, I have been reading and reviewing all of my archived Niseko Now reports on SnowJapan. It has been really interesting going back and re-living previous seasons. All the ups and downs and the drama. Lots of memories. And quite a few things I had forgotten too.
One of the many things that struck me as I was doing that was how the early-season period shapes up every year.
On this first day of the season, I wanted to mention a few stats. Below is how much snowfall I had reported at base level by - and including - 4th December in previous seasons. Ranked in order of most snow:
2017-2018 season: 242cm
2012-2013 season: 162cm
2023-2024 season: 151cm
2013-2014 season: 134cm
2019-2020 season: 126cm
2018-2019 season: 120cm
2016-2017 season: 117cm
2021-2022 season: 105cm
2020-2021 season: 104cm
2022-2023 season: 91cm
2015-2016 season: 90cm
2024-2025 season: 62cm
2014-2015 season: 58cm
2025-2026 season: 58cm (doh!)
Check out 2017-2018! Heady days indeed. I was a bit shocked to see some of those numbers. There have been seasons when a fair chunk of the mountain was open by 4th December, along with some impressive snow depths reported by the ski areas.
Today's reported snowfall has saved some blushes, but that list is certainly making this early season look rather lethargic.
But not to worry!
Big picture: our records show that a relatively slow start does not indicate a poor snowfall season. More snow is always better than less, of course. But beyond that, it's just an interesting nerdy statistic at this very early stage of the season. Some seasons have started off relatively slow but have revved up into extremely snowy ones. 2014-2015 in particular. So a slow start is just that - a slow start.
Come on, nature, let's get revving!
Oh yes, before we get going proper, a quick word to newcomers to these reports:
- Hello.
- These reports are totally independent. That basically means no one sponsors them, and no one has any input into the content.
- I'm not here to promote Niseko, hype it up or create sensational soundbites. I’m sure there are plenty of places to find that kind of stuff if that’s what you want. My remit is simple: endeavour to provide good, always honest, up-to-date information throughout the snow season.
- My daily snowfall observation number comes to you from near Hirafu base area (and always has).
- These are not ‘on the slope’ style ski reports (and not meant to be).
- I generally talk about snowfall, weather, ski area operations (and sometimes about toast).
For more information about the reports on this site, please read this.
And once again this year, thanks and good feelings to the fine people who put together the Niseko Avalanche Report.
Thanks!
------------------------------------
Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain base 6am: -7℃, 12h snowfall 20cm, NW5m/s, light snow and wind. Coastal data: Benkei cape NNW17m/s, Kamui cape WSW14m/s, 1005hPa, 1.8m waves.
Wintery pressure distribution with a Low in the East and High in the West is making cold air flowing into Japan. Stormy weather with Northwesterly 10+m/s wind above 800m elevation. Snowdrifts are developing rapidly. The old snow that persisted in south facing slopes above 900m are forming a 15cm layer of granular snow (depth hoar) on top of the ground. Avalanches are likely to occur in 30degree slopes with bamboo-grass with the rapid growth of new snowpack. Glide avalanches can occur even in the heart of Winter.
The snowpack is still very shallow, don’t push it too hard and waste your season. Stay vigilant and do not overestimate your knowledge and skill.
It will take some more time to have all our observation instruments running. The report will be issued irregularly for some time. Have a great season.
------------------------------------
Individual ski area information for Thursday 4th December 2025
The snow depth, snowfall numbers and operation details below are manually checked each morning from official sources at the time of report.
Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Official 24 hours snowfall (as reported by the ski area):
Peak: 30cm
Base: 0cm (really?)
Official snow depth (as reported by the ski area):
Peak: 120cm
Base: 0cm (really?)
Lifts:
Ace Gondola
Ace Number 3 pair
Courses:
Center Course
----------------
Other ski areas are not yet open
Niseko Now2025-2026 season |
Data as of Thursday 4th December 2025 Total snowfall at base so far 58cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 9 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 21cm (4th December) November 2025 snowfall 29cm reported on 7 days December 2025 snowfall 29cm 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.