Niseko Now: Tuesday 5th March 2024
- Mar 5, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 8, 2025
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 6cm
Snowfall at base this season 841cm
Posted on Tuesday 5th March 2024 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning from Niseko.
It's a mostly overcast kind of morning, but it is quite bright. It might snow lightly; it might get to be a bit sunny.
There doesn't seem to be much forecast snow on the weekly outlook just now (significant amounts, anyway).
Keeping cold will be good!
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain base 6am: -6℃, 5cm snowfall in 12h, calm. Moiwa 800m: -8.7℃, NNW8.5m/s, 1cm snowfall with snowdrifts. Mikaeri 764m: -8.9℃, NW3.1m/s. Annupuri 1100m: -12.2℃, WNW9.9m/s. Village 1000m: -10.7℃, NW5.3m/s. Hirafu Hanazono: -11.4℃, NNW3.7m/s. Coastal data: Benkei cape NNW13m/s, Kamui cape WNW9m/s, 1020hPa, 1.3m waves.
The isobars have spread out, however the wind remains strong in higher elevations. Cold air is keeps flowing in. The new snowdrift slabs are starting to stabilise, however are still unstable in slopes around 1000m elevation. Peak gates are scheduled to open. Follow the ski patrol’s instructions. Kozan no Sawa (Backbowl) and O-sawa (Annupuri Bowl) should be avoided all day today. The avalanche risk remains high in those areas. Avalanches are natural phenomena and are not an accident unless somebody gets caught in one. Do not stay put at the bottom of a slope. Do not carelessly stimulate knolls. You might trigger a slide and somebody may be caught in it. A snowpack generated by a storm (strong wind) is structurally denser and less stable than one by a calm snowfall. And those snowpacks are generally the cause of an avalanche accident in Niseko. This is the reasoning behind the gates opening/closing in Niseko. Winter mountains are inherently dangerous. Avalanches do not occur from new snow piled up on frozen snow. It is more important to pay attention to “how” the snow fell. Many accidents are being reported throughout Japan. Unfortunately, the deceased will never return. We would like to send our warmest condolences.
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Individual ski area information for Tuesday 5th March 2024
The below snow depth and snowfall numbers are manually checked each morning from official sources.
Lift information is the planned operations for the day at the time of writing and subject to change.
Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 15cm
- Base: 15cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 320cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 110cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts (scheduled):
- All lifts apart from King Number 1 pair and King Number 2 quad (normal operations)
- The Ace Family quad, Ace Number 2 quad (Center Four), Hirafu Gondola and Holiday Number 1 pair lifts are scheduled to be open until 7:00pm
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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: 265cm (+10cm since yesterday)
- Base: 183cm (+8cm since yesterday)
Lifts (scheduled):
- All lifts
- The Hanazono Symphony Gondola is scheduled to be open until 7:00pm
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Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 220cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 140cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts (scheduled):
- All lifts
- The Jumbo Number 1 quad lift is scheduled to be open until 7:30pm
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Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 225cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 137cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts (scheduled):
- All lifts apart from Country Road
- The Upper Village Gondola, Village Express and Banzai Chair are scheduled to be open until 7:00pm
Niseko Now 2023-2024 season |
Data as of Tuesday 5th March 2024 Total snowfall at base so far 841cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 83 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 62cm (8th January) November 2023 snowfall 120cm reported on 11 days December 2023 snowfall 247cm reported on 24 days January 2024 snowfall 298cm reported on 24 days February 2024 snowfall 144cm reported on 20 days March 2024 snowfall 32cm reported on 4 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.