Niseko Now: Saturday 6th January 2024
- Jan 6, 2024
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 10cm
Snowfall at base this season 401cm
Posted on Saturday 6th January 2024 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning everyone.
It is the first day of the early January long weekend - Monday is Coming of Age Day and a national holiday - and traditionally it is a busy one for Japanese ski areas.
After a few reports with no fresh snowfall to report, this morning I have measured 10cm though we can expect more at higher elevations. Indeed Hirafu and Hanazono are both reporting 20cm and the Avalanche Report is mentioning 25cm.
It hasn't been particularly cold and so the snow condition certainly doesn't look peak Niseko, but it should be keeping colder and the snowfall should be consistent over the coming days and perhaps heavy (as in, lots of it) at times. That sounds good to me.
Have a good weekend.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain Base 6am: -3°, 10cm new snow in last 12hrs, 25cm in last 24hr, calm. Moiwa 800m: -6.1°, NW3.9m/s. Mikaeri 764m: -4°, W5m/s, bad visibility. Hanazono 1000m: -6.2°, NNE2.3m/s. Hanazono 3 : -3.6°, WSW1.0m/s, groomer condition good. Coastal data: Benkei Cape:W7m/s. Kamui Cape light winds, 1011hPa, wave 0.6m.
Following the passage of a low pressure system, the isobar width have opened up and the seas and mountains are calm. 10 cm of crystalline snow fell overnight on the mountain, on top of yesterday's 20 cm low-pressure snowfall. From data and observations, there is no significant snowdrift development and the avalanche risk is low. Groomers are in fantastic shape. Do not duck ropes to go out of bounds. If one person goes through others will follow and its only a matter of time before an accident occurs. This is a ski resort and skiers must follow the rules if they want to ride the lifts. The ski resort and region are grateful to those who respect the Niseko Rules. Peak gates will be open soon. Until then, we strongly demand that you do not duck ropes to enter Osawa and Fujiwara no Sawa. Be careful not to have a season ending accident. Have a nice day.
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Individual ski area information for Saturday 6th January 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: 20cm
- Base: 20cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 210cm (+5cm since yesterday)
- Base: 90cm (+20cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Ace Family quad (until 7:00pm)
- Ace Number 2 quad (Center Four) (until 7:00pm)
- Ace Number 3 pair
- Hirafu Gondola (until 7:00pm)
- Holiday Number 1 pair (until 7:00pm)
- King Number 3 quad
- King Number 4
- Swinging Monkey
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 17cm
- Base: 20cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 167cm (+14cm since yesterday)
- Base: 120cm (+7cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Hanazono Number 1
- Hanazono Number 2 quad
- Hanazono Number 3 quad
- Hanazono Symphony Gondola (until 7:00pm)
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Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 140cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 110cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Annupuri Gondola
- Dream Number 1 quad
- Jumbo Number 1 quad (until 7:30pm)
- Jumbo Number 2 pair
- Jumbo Number 3 pair
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Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 132cm
- Base: 95cm
Lifts:
- Niseko Gondola
- Upper Village Gondola (until 7:00pm)
- Village Express (until 7:00pm)
- Community Chair
- Banzai Chair (until 7:00pm)
- Morino Chair
- Wonderland Chair
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Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort
Lifts:
- Number 1 pair
- Number 2 pair
- Quad
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Floodlit night skiing is planned daily until Wednesday 20th March 2024.
Night skiing is usually until 7:00pm at Hirafu, Hanazono, Village and until 7:30pm at Annupuri.
Niseko Now 2023-2024 season |
Data as of Saturday 6th January 2024 Total snowfall at base so far 401cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 39 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 31cm (18th December) November 2023 snowfall 120cm reported on 11 days December 2023 snowfall 247cm reported on 24 days January 2024 snowfall 34cm 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.