Niseko Now: Wednesday 6th May 2026
- May 6
- 8 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 0cm
Snowfall at base this season 878cm
Good morning from Niseko.
The official snow season ends today, with Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu and Niseko Annupuri Ski Resort finishing up this afternoon. After another long season, it is time for me to wrap things up for another year.
Firstly, the important words about my snowfall numbers.
The snowfall numbers I report in my reports are all measurements I observe near the base of the Niseko Grand Tokyu Hirafu ski area. The monthly and annual statistics in these reports are comparable because they come to you from the same location and are being observed by the same person (me!) for well over a decade. While consistent and comparable (and of course honest), it is important to note that my 'observed snowfall at base' is by no means the whole story of a season. For example, the data does not account for the fact that there is often more snowfall at higher elevations than at lower elevations.
While SnowJapan does not encourage readers to directly compare the different 'Now' reports from various regions of Japan (for all sorts of jolly good reasons), each report section adheres to the same concept and rules. For example, the snowfall reported in Myoko Now is observed at the base of the Myoko ski areas.
None of the reporters live at the top of the mountain, so it would be nearly impossible for us to provide you with consistent upper-elevation snowfall data, even if we wanted to.
And of course, very importantly, the quantity of snow does not tell us about the quality or skiing conditions.
Please keep those things in mind when reading all the reports.
You can find my monthly recaps here:
The peak of the season feels like such a long time ago now - and I suppose it actually was – and I enjoyed reading back and reliving the last five plus months.
Here's my final observed snowfall numbers for the 2025-2026 season:
November 2025: 29cm reported on 7 days
December 2025: 189cm (22% of total) reported on 23 days
January 2025: 451cm (51% of total) reported on 28 days
February 2026: 154cm (18% of total) reported on 19 days
March 2026: 50cm (6% of total) reported on 13 days
April 2026: 5cm reported on 2 days
Last season (2024-2025), December was the standout month.
January was clearly and easily the standout month of the 2025-2026 season, providing us with over 50% of the total snowfall observed at base for the whole season.
The fact that two ski areas have managed to remain open until today, despite the less-than-average snowfall in all the other months, is largely thanks to January. So, yes, thanks January! The lack of a dramatic warm up in the later season has also been a big help.
January 2026 was actually close to being a record-breaker. Only in 2014 did we get more snowfall:
January 2026: 451cm
January 2025: 161cm
January 2024: 298cm
January 2023: 332cm
January 2022: 325cm
January 2021: 387cm
January 2020: 224cm
January 2019: 285cm
January 2018: 305cm
January 2017: 152cm
January 2016: 303cm
January 2015: 257cm
January 2014: 461cm
January 2013: 443cm
Very nice.
Snowfall data isn't everything; of course, it's the actual conditions out there that matter to anyone here, and I definitely had my share of excellent conditions in December, February, and March, too. (I admit to being fortunate to be able to pick and choose regarding timing and acknowledge that is not a luxury that short-term visitors have.)
In the end, though, I don't think anyone would declare 2025-2026 as a top-tier classic season. Providing they were being honest, of course.
I must say, it was somewhat disappointing that we were not treated to new and exciting retail opportunities such as the ones we enjoyed in the previous two seasons at the Louis Vuitton Niseko Winter Resort Pop-up Store and Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ice Chalet Pop-Up Store & Bar. Unfortunately, this season, skiers had to make alternative arrangements to procure their posh bags and expensive accessories, and bags for bottles of whiskey that 'push boundaries', on their way back to base after a gnarly day on the slopes. (Sorry couldn't help that). Obviously, my own idea for a facility called Toast didn't happen.
We did get the Fast Pass + First Track Premium Lift Ticket at Hirafu, though, which seemed a real bargain at 150,000 yen per adult (and 150,000 yen for children). It was basically a one day ticket with some bonus stuff.
I wonder how many people bought that thing? It still sounds as outrageous as it did back in January.
'Spring season' vibes crept in earlier than any of us would have liked and lasted a long time. But I feel like it hasn't warmed up too much or too quickly this year, and like I said that has helped prolong the season.
Let's comparing the total snowfall data for 2025-2026 with other seasons:
2025-2026 season: 878cm
2024-2025 season: 783cm
2023-2024 season: 884cm
2022-2023 season: 1006cm
2021-2022 season: 1137cm
2020-2021 season: 1210cm
2019-2020 season: 728cm
2018-2019 season: 951cm
2017-2018 season: 1260cm
2016-2017 season: 686cm
2015-2016 season: 989cm
2014-2015 season: 1144cm
2013-2014 season: 1163cm
2012-2013 season: 1491cm
In a tradition dating back to the Edo period, here's that list sorted in order of the most snowfall:
2012-2013 season: 1491cm
2017-2018 season: 1260cm
2020-2021 season: 1210cm
2013-2014 season: 1163cm
2014-2015 season: 1144cm
2021-2022 season: 1137cm
2022-2023 season: 1006cm
2015-2016 season: 989cm
2018-2019 season: 951cm
2023-2024 season: 884cm
2025-2026 season: 878cm
2024-2025 season: 783cm
2019-2020 season: 728cm
2016-2017 season: 686cm
The last bit
A few days ago, I took a look back at the season recap I wrote at the end of last year. On reading it I noticed that much of what I would have to say this time is largely covered in my 'Some final thoughts' section. The main points I made were:
• Niseko is posh and expensive – and does not hide it
• Be aware of social media bombast
• Being nice
• Thanks for your support
I still feel largely the same about those things, as they all remain relevant in May 2026. It seems largely redundant for me to try to rewrite those thoughts, so please do take a look. Here they are:
Perhaps I would add a new section after the ‘Being nice’ section called 'Don't be a knucklehead'. More on my knucklehead thoughts from January this year here:
One more thing
Thank you to everyone who has been in contact again this season. Your feedback and (often very kind) comments are always appreciated. I'm sorry that I can't reply to each and every one of them. But I do read them.
One person wrote in during one of the less-than-stellar periods of the season, in what I took as a rather accusatory manner, boldly telling me that I was 'not doing a good job at selling Niseko'.
That person was clearly not a long-term reader and perhaps a newcomer to the concept of SnowJapan, but yes... that is absolutely true!
I took it as a sort of compliment and encouragement to retain my integrity.
I've said it before, of course, but for the newcomers:
I'm not here posting these reports to encourage you to come to Niseko. Nor am I here to discourage you from coming to Niseko. I'm here to write about, in my non-expert capacity, what is happening snow/weather-wise here every day through the season. It's that simple. Some find the lack of hype refreshing. Others seem addicted to the hype (may I suggest that's really weird!)
Until November!
OK, that's all I’ve got for the 2025-2026 winter season. I hope you enjoyed the reports and found them helpful and interesting. Even the silly bits. It has once again been my pleasure. Well, most of the time, anyway!
I’m now looking forward to a long rest. It is that time of the year when I have my fill of toast and prepare for a prolonged summer hibernation. I plan to return in November, when I should be refreshed and ready to get going with my commentary on the 2026-2027 Niseko winter season.
Hopefully the world might feel a bit saner and less stupid, too. Though unfortunately that doesn’t feel very likely, does it.
Oh well, let’s positive thoughts!
Thank you, take care, be good, and peace to all.
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A message from SnowJapan
This message is being published on each of our daily report pages and is not specific to Niseko
The season is now over for all but a few ski areas, and the last of our daily reporting for 2025-2026 has been posted. I hope that our independent reporting has once again helped many people this past ski season. With our large and wide-reaching readership from every part of the world, we feel a real sense of responsibility for the information we publish.
A sincere thank you to the wonderful reporters who contribute to our daily reporting.
It has been another long season with more unique stories from around the country. A general Japan season wrap-up seems inappropriate, given the vast differences across the country's many mountainous regions. Still, I think it's fair to say that in most regions, 2025-2026 was not a top-tier classic for Japan in terms of snowfall.
But... that is comparing Japan with Japan – and, as we all know, that is a very high bar!
All being well, later this year, a from-the-ground-up new version of SnowJapan will replace the current site (which has been online since February 2022).
Work started on the new project over a year ago. I don't want to reveal details just yet, as there is still a lot of work to do and some things may change. The main goal of this renewal is to simplify and refine the site, keep things 'light', with a focus on improving core content and usability. It's a lot of work, but with all the foundations now largely in place, it is exciting to start seeing it all come together. Hopefully, the end result will work out as imagined.
It might be a shock to the system when the changeover happens, but not to worry - the basic concept and values that have guided SnowJapan since 1999 are still very much firmly in place.
The new site is expected to be ready by November 2026, and more information will be shared in late summer.
Niseko Now2025-2026 season |
Data as of Wednesday 6th May 2026 Total snowfall at base so far 878cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 92 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 154cm reported on 19 days March 2026 snowfall 50cm reported on 13 days April 2026 snowfall 5cm reported on 2 days May 2026 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.