Niseko Now: Saturday 7th January 2023
- Jan 7, 2023
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 2cm
Snowfall at base this season 444cm
Posted on Saturday 7th January 2023 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning from Niseko and the first day of a long weekend here in Japan. (Monday is Coming of Age Day).
Just a little snowfall since my report yesterday (mostly just after my report).
It's a fine Saturday morning. Just a short while ago, there was some very light snow falling. There is still cloud around, but the sun is making appearances and there is blue sky to enjoy.
Looks like the next cm of snow should be around Monday.
Be sure to check out the Avalanche Report today...
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Mountain base -7C, no snowfall. Moiwa800m: -7.2C, W2.1m/s. Anupuri1000m: -10.6C, W4.7m/s. Mizuno no Sawa: -8.6C, NNW3.2m/s. Hanazono: -10.2℃, NNW0.3m/s. Coastal data: Benkei cape NW6m/s, Kamui cape N5m/s, 1013hPa, 1.1m waves.
Calm weather from coast to mountains. There are no new snowfall and snowdrift development above 800m elevation is minimal. The overall avalanche risk is low today.
Yesterday morning at Annupuri gate #2, while many people were waiting for the gate to open, one guy trespassed the rope just under the gate and started riding down O-sawa as a matter of course. The ski patrol tried to halt him, but he ignored and rode all the way down to Moiwa. The poacher’s escape didn’t stop there, and kept going, riding down the road, until he miserably fell when he almost got hit and killed by an upcoming bus. He got yelled at by the driver, but his escape didn’t stop. He unstrapped his board, then started running down the road towards Kanro no Mori hotel as fast as he could. The ski patrol is an ex-national athlete and had no problem following the poacher, but he kept a safe distance to avoid any accidents.
Shame on this poacher. We even feel sorry for him being such a kook. This case will be discussed during the committee's meeting next week. The poacher is identified and if he doesn’t show up for an apology, he will be banned from riding in Niseko. The Niseko Rules is the area's official regulation and nobody is exempt from it, no matter their experience, knowledge, skills, nationality, ethnicity, age or home. Have a nice day.
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Ski area information for Saturday 7th January 2023
The below snow depth and snowfall numbers are manually checked each morning from official sources.
Lift information is the planned operations for the day, weather permitting.
Official snow depth numbers in brackets show the change since previous report.
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: 285cm (-15cm since yesterday)
- Base: 110cm (-10cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Ace Family quad [* open until for 7:00pm for night skiing]
- Ace Number 2 quad (Center Four) [* open until for 7:00pm for night skiing]
- Ace Number 3 pair
- Ace Number 4 pair
- Hirafu Gondola
- Holiday Number 1 pair
- 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: 10cm
- Base: 10cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 220cm (-5cm since yesterday)
- Base: 177cm (-3cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Hanazono Number 1
- Hanazono Number 2 quad
- Hanazono Number 3 quad
- Hanazono Symphony Gondola [* open until 7:00pm for night skiing]
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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: 150cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 125cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Annupuri Gondola
- Dream Number 1 quad
- Jumbo Number 1 quad [* open until 7:30pm for night skiing]
- Jumbo Number 2 pair
- Jumbo Number 3 pair [* normally open on weekends and holidays]
- Jumbo Number 4 pair
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Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 0cm
- Base: 0cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 135cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 125cm (no change yesterday)
Lifts:
- Niseko Gondola
- Village Express
- Community Chair [* open until 7:00pm for night skiing]
- Banzai Chair [* open until 7:00pm for night skiing]
- Wonderland Chair
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Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort
Lifts:
- Number 1 pair lift
- Number 2 pair lift
- Quad lift
Niseko Now 2022-2023 season |
Data as of Saturday 7th January 2023 Total snowfall at base so far 444cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 39 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 22cm (2nd January) November 2022 snowfall 17cm reported on 5 days December 2022 snowfall 336cm reported on 27 days January 2023 snowfall 91cm reported on 7 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.