Niseko Now: Wednesday 5th May 2021
- May 5, 2021
- 6 min read
Updated: Dec 6, 2025
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 0cm
Snowfall at base this season 1210cm
Posted on Wednesday 5th May 2021 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
This is my last report of the 2020-2021 season.
We end the season with cloudy skies, mild conditions and a southerly wind.
I was going to do another recap of the season, but when I started to look back I realised that it was going to be pretty much what I wrote at the beginning of April and March:
- April wrap-up: 2nd April 2021 report
- March wrap-up: 2nd March 2021 report
There’s not really much to add to that along with all of the individual reports I have posted across the season, and SnowJapan have a nice general message that covers various issues too. You can find that below my message.
Here are the total snowfall numbers over the last nine seasons:
2020/2021 season: 1201cm
2019/2020 season: 728cm
2018/2019 season: 951cm
2017/2018 season: 1260cm
2016/2017 season: 688cm
2015/2016 season: 992cm
2014/2015 season: 1144cm
2013/2014 season: 1163cm
2012/2013 season: 1493cm
All of those numbers are from close to Niseko Hirafu base, observed by me. You can find these numbers and more on the Snowfall Analysis section of this report.
It has been something of an odd season; one unlike any in recent years. There has been excellent snow to report for a good part, and some excite conditions available to lucky folk who were able to be here. Many wanted to be here but sadly couldn’t make it, and they were certainly missed. I missed seeing friends. I have missed visiting family outside of Japan too. And businesses have missed their custom.
I think lots of us are now just yearning for a ‘normal’ season next year. I recall saying something similar to that at the end of last season. Just great snow and no news to be bothered with hanging over us. I wonder how close to that we might be able to get. I choose to remain positive, and look forward to large doses of boring normality!
It is now time for me to have my fill of toast before going into hibernation for about six months. When I wake up, I am really hoping to hear lots of good stuff happening.
Thank you for reading the Niseko Now reports. I enjoy writing them.
Well, on most days! ;)
It is a pleasure to be able to be in the position to be able to tell so many people about this place that I love. And I hope that you have enjoyed reading them.
Best wishes from me here in Niseko, and see you sometime in late autumn.
Bai-bai!
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End of season general message from SnowJapan
This message is being posted on all of the Now daily reports
First of all, we hope that you and yours are keeping well.
What another strange season 2020-2021 has been.
In terms of snow and conditions, the story of the season can be found in the respective reports. Each region had its own story, of course, but it was certainly great to be able to get back to reporting some heavy snowfall this time round. Spring did once again seem to arrive earlier than we would like, but those fortunate enough to be able to enjoy the snow were able to experience some very fine conditions.
Challenges
Ski areas around Japan made various efforts to deal with the covid-19 situation and while there were some changes to operations here and there, most were able to open for the season. Some ski areas and regions have been affected more than others, but it’s probably safe to say that is has been a challenging period for pretty much everyone involved. In particular, destinations that have enjoyed a lot of foreign visitors in recent years have probably felt a big shock.
Perhaps inevitably, there has been a generally more subdued atmosphere and feel to the season.
Decisions
We made a few decisions before the winter started.
Unfortunately, it was getting obvious that international travel restrictions would be preventing people from entering Japan over the 2020-2021 season. And it was clearly going to be a great disappointment to many.
Even so, we wanted to keep SnowJapan updated as close to normal as possible. We asked our reporters to mention ‘the news’ when it seemed appropriate, but not to dwell on it too much. After all, people are not coming to SnowJapan to read about covid every day. We hope we got that difficult balance right.
Daily reports and updates are an important part of the site. They are popular with people while they are visiting Japan, but people also read our archive reports to see how previous seasons turned out and to make comparisons. Indeed, this last season we have noticed that a lot of you have been following from overseas – even if you weren’t able to come and enjoy the snow in person.
We would like to say a big public thank you to the reporters who did another fine job covering the 2020-2021 winter season on SnowJapan, in some challenging circumstances. Thanks to those efforts, we have another full season of data to add to our records.
Hopefully that information will continue to be of value to people making plans for a future visit to Japan.
Questions
The world knows much more about covid-19 in May 2021 than it did in April 2020, but in some ways we end this season with some of the same questions we were asking last year…
Everyone wants to know what the situation will be in six months’ time. There’s definitely brighter wider news and reasons to be positive, but big questions remain on how ‘open’ Japan might be for overseas visitors by the time the snow starts falling again.
No-one knows, of course.
Like last year, all we can do is try to keep a positive mindset and hope that progress will be made, and that overseas friends will be able to visit once again.
Looking Ahead
Whatever happens regarding the international travel situation, SnowJapan plans to be here reporting the 2021-2022 winter season.
2020-2021 might now be over, but as usual we are busy working on various stuff for the future. We’ll let you know what we’re up to later in the year.
In the meantime, if you are interested in old ski areas from the past around Japan, the SnowJapanHistory (www.snowjapanhistory.com) website will continue to be updated regularly. Over there you can find details on over 160 ski areas, including at least one that closed back in the 1960s (!)
Anyway, that’s it for now. Thanks for reading and your support. If you want to get in touch, as always you can contact us using this form.
Wherever you are in the world, stay safe… and we’ll see you later in the year.
(Hopefully with good news!)
Niseko Now 2020-2021 season |
Data as of Wednesday 5th May 2021 Total snowfall at base so far 1210cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 94 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 48cm (17th February) November 2020 snowfall 62cm reported on 6 days December 2020 snowfall 348cm reported on 25 days January 2021 snowfall 387cm reported on 27 days February 2021 snowfall 325cm reported on 24 days March 2021 snowfall 79cm reported on 11 days April 2021 snowfall 9cm reported on 1 day May 2021 snowfall 0cm |
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.