Niseko Now: Tuesday 4th March 2025
- Mar 4, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 9, 2025
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 6cm
Snowfall at base this season 714cm
Posted on Tuesday 4th March 2025 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
It was great to see some good snow falling again leaving us with a fresh layer this morning.
I have just under 6cm to report. Hanazono is reporting 5-10cm and Hirafu is reporting as much as 20cm. The Avalanche Report is reporting 15cm over at Moiwa.
So it sounds like there will be a nice layer on the mountain and it should be a fun morning out there.
It is snowing lightly at the moment but is not due to last and we may even get some sunshine later. There's more snow due Thursday/Friday.
My recap was posted yesterday; here if you missed it and are interested.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Moiwa Mountain base -8℃, 15cm new snow in last 24hrs, calm, no snowdrift development. Moiwa 800m: -10.9℃, NNW0.1m/s, 30cm snowdrift development. Mikaeri 750m: -10℃, NNW1.9m/s, 15cm new snow, good visibility. Hirafu Hanazono 1000m: -13.1℃, N8.9m/s, occasional gusts to N15m/s. Coastal data: Benkei Cape N7m/s, Kamui Cape N7m/s, 1029hPa, wave 1.0m.
We are under a high pressure system, light winds and calm below 1000m. The seas are falling. Cold air continues to flow in with occasional strong northerly gusts above 1100m. 15-20cm of new snow fell in the last 12 hours at 800m, 50cm ofsnowdrift development at 1200m. There was no rapid development of wind-driven slabs (snowdrifts) and the snowfall was consistent over time, so the overall avalanche risk is low. Snow quality is very good with light crystals. It's March and spring in the valley, but up on the mountain it's back to winter. The new snow has hidden the many cracks. Take care, falling into one head first can lead to fatal accidents. Gate openings are undecided. Please respect the Patrol's judgement. Until 30 years ago Niseko had the most avalanche accidents in Japan because of the easy access to fresh snow from the lifts. The Niseko Rules were made out of necessity. Don't be annoyed, follow the rules and stay alive. More people means more accidents. If everyone takes the risks seriously, the number of accidents can be reduced even more. The rules are applied fairly regardless of race, nationality, knowledge, or experience. I hope that these rules are understood. Have you got your beacon, probe, shovel and short rope? Have a great day.
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Individual ski area information for Tuesday 4th March 2025
The below snow depth and snowfall numbers are manually checked each morning from official sources.
Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 10cm
Base: 5cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 300cm (+10cm change since yesterday)
Base: 215cm (+5cm change since yesterday)
Lifts:
The gondola is scheduled to be open until 7:00pm
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Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 20cm
Base: 20cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 360cm
Base: 130cm
Lifts:
The Ace Gondola, Ace Family quad, King Gondola and King Holiday pair lifts are scheduled to be open until 7:00pm
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Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 230cm (no change since yesterday)
Base: 190cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts:
The Upper Village Gondola, Village Express and Banzai Chair lifts are scheduled to be open until 7:00pm
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Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 5cm same as yesterday (just not updated?)
Base: 3cm same as yesterday (just not updated?)
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 270cm (no change since yesterday)
Base: 180cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts:
The Jumbo Number 1 quad lift is scheduled to be open until 7:30pm
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Night skiing
Floodlit night skiing is planned daily until Wednesday 23rd March 2025
Niseko Now 2024-2025 season |
Data as of Tuesday 4th March 2025 Total snowfall at base so far 714cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 82 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 24cm (6th February) November 2024 snowfall 38cm reported on 8 days December 2024 snowfall 311cm reported on 28 days January 2025 snowfall 161cm reported on 19 days February 2025 snowfall 196cm reported on 24 days March 2025 snowfall 8cm reported on 3 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.