Niseko Now: Friday 8th December 2023
- Dec 8, 2023
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 1cm
Snowfall at base this season 152cm
Posted on Friday 8th December 2023 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
I might have typically tried to post an update yesterday but couldn't due to being away. It appears that Hirafu closed due to 'strong winds and insufficient snowfall', and the Village Express (at Niseko Village) closed. Not a pretty picture.
The good news this morning is that it is noticeably colder, and there has actually been some snowfall. Just a little - not much more than a dusting, though perhaps up to 5cm on the mountain. It is rather windy too.
I'm afraid tomorrow will be milder again, but Sunday should be much colder. Hopefully, we can get back to winter mode... and stay there!
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Annupuri is reporting 5cm of fresh snow, as shown in the listing below. That may well be the case, though it might be worth pointing out that sometimes the choice of numbers posted on a report is not 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10... but 0, 5 or 10.
I am not saying that is what is happening in this case, but more than a few ski areas in Japan actually only work in units of 5! It might be worth keeping an eye on that (but I recommend not spending too much time over-analysing these things).
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Individual ski area information for Friday 8th December 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 at the time of writing.
Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 3cm
- Base: 0cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 65cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 10cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Ace Number 2 quad (Center Four) (8:30am-3:10pm)
- Ace Number 3 pair (8:40am-3:20pm)
Courses:
- Center
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 0cm
- Base: 1cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 50cm (-10cm since yesterday)
- Base: 30cm (+5cm since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Hanazono Number 1 (9:00am-2:00pm)
- Hanazono Number 2 quad (9:00am-3:00pm)
- Hanazono Number 3 quad (9:00am-3:00pm)
Courses:
- Yotei Sunset
- Mango Salad
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Niseko Annupuri Kokusai
Official 24 hours snowfall (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 5cm
- Base: 5cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 40cm (-10cm since yesterday)
- Base: 20cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Dream Number 1 quad (8:30am-4:00pm)
Courses:
- Beginner course by the lift
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Niseko Village Ski Resort
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 20cm (no change since yesterday)
- Base: 10cm (no change since yesterday)
Lifts:
- Upper Village Gondola (8:30am-4:00pm)
- Community Chair (8:30am-4:00pm)
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Floodlit night skiing is planned from Saturday 16th December 2023 until Wednesday 20th March 2024.
Niseko Now 2023-2024 season |
Data as of Friday 8th December 2023 Total snowfall at base so far 152cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 15 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 25cm (1st December) November 2023 snowfall 120cm reported on 11 days December 2023 snowfall 32cm 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.