Niseko Now: Friday 6th February 2026
- Feb 6
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 7cm
Snowfall at base this season 725cm
I was woken up by the sound of wind in the middle of the night. Very rude, I thought.
At the start of the day a lot of lifts are on hold due to the continued pesky winds with only a few lower lifts starting the day. It looks like the gondolas at Hirafu and Hanazono are warming up, though the gondolas at Village and Annpuri are not operating.
As gnarly as I am, of course, not for me these conditions. I might actually catch up on the sleep I lost! If you do decide to venture out in this weather, extra care required.
More snow is due over the next few days; hopefully with less wind.
I have been a bit busy the last few days and just noticed that I haven't yet mentioned the 76th Sapporo Snow Festival, which is now ongoing over in... Sapporo. I am not going this year but it has always been interesting when I have been in the past, especially the large snow sculptures. I believe this year some of the sculptures include ones of characters from Star Wars and the Aizuwakamatsu castle in Fukushima. The festival runs through Wednesday 11th February at three 'sites' (Odori, Tsudome and Susukino). I read that last year 2.3 million people attended the festive. Sounds busier than Niseko!
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Moiwa base 6am: -5℃, strong wind, 15cm snowfall, snowdrift development. Moiwa 800m: -8.7℃, WNE14.8m/s, rapid snowdrift development. Annupuri 1100m: -10.7℃, W15.8m/s. Village 1000m: -9.5℃, WSW11.1m/s. Hirafu Hanazono 1000m: -8.8℃, N7.5m/s. Coastal data: Kamui Cape SW26m/s, 999hPa, 2.2m waves.
Westerly winds strengthened at 3:00 AM, bringing a fierce snowstorm to the mountains. Snowdrifts are rapidly developing. The avalanche risk on leeward slopes is increasing at all elevations. Ocean wave heights are expected to exceed 4m. It is recommended to cancel today’s tour. It is also recommended to stay off the slopes today. If new snowdrifts exceed 100cm in thickness, the increased weight of the snow plates (snowdrifts and wind snow slabs)will make them susceptible to weak line fractures due to structural weaknesses. Currently, research and experiments are being conducted by the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention at Moiwa Ski Resort @ 800m. We are grateful to Moiwa Ski Resort for their cooperation, and we respect the efforts of the researchers in such a harsh environment. Main gates will be closed to prevent accidents. Do not sneak past patrol and duck ropes to ski off the course. It might be a good idea to go to a hot spring today. Be careful of traffic accidents and snow falling from roofs.
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 10cm
Base: 15cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 285cm (+5cm change since yesterday)
Base: 200cm (+2cm change since yesterday)
Planned lift operations:
4 of 4 lifts
Gondola until 7:00pm
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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: 360cm (+10cm change since yesterday)
Base: 145cm (+5cm change since yesterday)
Planned lift operations:
9 of 9 lifts
Ace Gondola, Ace Family quad, King Gondola and King Holiday pair until 7:00pm
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Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
Peak: 265cm (no change since yesterday)
Base: 190cm (no change since yesterday)
Planned lift operations:
7 of 8 lifts (not Country Road)
Upper Village Gondola, Village Express and Banzai Chair until 7:00pm
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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: 290cm (no change since yesterday)
Base: 200cm (no change since yesterday)
Planned lift operations:
6 of 6 lifts
Jumbo Number 1 quad until 7:30pm
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Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort
Planned lift operations:
3 of 3 lifts
Niseko Now2025-2026 season |
Data as of Friday 6th February 2026 Total snowfall at base so far 725cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 63 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 36cm (on 12th January) November 2025 snowfall 29cm reported on 7 days December 2025 snowfall 189cm reported on 23 days January 2026 snowfall 451cm reported on 28 days February 2026 snowfall 56cm reported on 5 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.