Independent snow and weather reporting from the Furano region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 3cm Snowfall at base this season 550cm Posted on Friday 29th January 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . With the dump we had yesterday powder seekers were well catered for all over the mountain. The winds did eventually come through but have long passed leaving us with calm weather for now. Wind speeds are 3km/h at base and 5km/h on the upper mountain, which equates to nothing in the way of wind today. The village has received yet more snow, and while only 3cm was measured in the village I would expect 7-10cm on the upper mountain...very nice on top of what we had yesterday. The skies are broken cloud with blue visible. There is some low cloud stuck on the peaks at both sides, but not low enough to interfere with the ski runs. There is further light snow forecast for today. Saturday looks to be fantastic with sun, calm weather, but not much in the way of fresh snow. Furano Now 2015-2016 season Data as of Friday 29th January 2016 Total snowfall at base 550cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 48 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (5th December) November 2015 snowfall 77cm reported on 6 days December 2015 snowfall 286cm reported on 20 days January 2016 snowfall 187cm reported on 22 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Furano. 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. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Furano region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 5cm Snowfall at base this season 226cm Posted on Monday 21st December 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . Furano is humming along, keen to see what tonight delivers. The forecast is really encouraging tonight but being the weather and all, we have to see what eventuates. Could be good snow and by good I mean outrageous and deep. Let us see. Still -2C at the Sorachi River today. I was called to Kitanomine for most of the day and just returned. I've seen for myself now that the Kitanomine Zone being open is really just a convenience for people staying in Furano Town or in Kitanomine Village. That side of the resort is hardly open for skiing, but the lifts will take you over to the Furano Zone which is in good shape and completely open now. So it's still a good thing, a very good thing in fact, but more in terms of easy access to skiing than a great deal more terrain. It was foggy down below the resort for much of today. No wind. Base is 90cm at the top, 45 at the bottom, there is 5cm of fresh on the piste and my kids reported shin deep powder in the side country today. Furano Now 2015-2016 season Data as of Monday 21st December 2015 Total snowfall at base 226cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 18 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (5th December) November 2015 snowfall 77cm reported on 6 days December 2015 snowfall 149cm reported on 12 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Furano. 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. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Furano region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 20cm Snowfall at base this season 221cm Posted on Sunday 20th December 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . Kitanomine zone open and it's snowing heavily. So that's good. Two chairs plus the link which means if you are staying on Furano Zone, you have to get yourself back there before the link closes and vice versa, but that's no big deal. Very fun. Ski hosts should start providing their voluntary services very soon which is great if you want somebody to show you how to recognise the linking run and chairs. But if you get stuck on the wrong side at the wrong time, Prince hotels run a shuttle and taxis are no big deal. But anyway, at 10.30am it was -4 at the Sorachi River crossing into town. It was -2C on my verandah in Kitanomine at 10am. Snowing nice and heavy with no wind. Perfect in Central Hokkaido where the snow is (dare we say it) almost too light and wind can make off with it if you're unlucky. Furano is lucky today. Furano Now 2015-2016 season Data as of Sunday 20th December 2015 Total snowfall at base 221cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 17 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (5th December) November 2015 snowfall 77cm reported on 6 days December 2015 snowfall 144cm reported on 11 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Furano. 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. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Furano region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 10cm Snowfall at base this season 201cm Posted on Saturday 19th December 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . Still snowing and a bit blowy. Still snowing in Furano although at this very minute it is falling at an angle. The resort has revised the base up to 85cm and conditions are very good on the Furano Zone. No announcement yet on Kitanomine Zone but we all wait eagerly for word. We had heavy winds in the night and at least two sections of Kitanomine Zone can be wind affected, particularly early in the season when the base is forming. Still four lifts operating on the open part of the resort with a top to bottom 1000 metre vertical drop. Bright and sunny in town right now (and snowing moderately to heavily). Serious clouds over the resort so here is to hoping. And to hoping the winds don't carry too much snow away. Furano Now 2015-2016 season Data as of Saturday 19th December 2015 Total snowfall at base 201cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 16 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (5th December) November 2015 snowfall 77cm reported on 6 days December 2015 snowfall 124cm reported on 10 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Furano. 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. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Furano region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 5cm Snowfall at base this season 191cm Posted on Friday 18th December 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . Nice snows today in Furano. But it hasn't accumulated enough to open the Kitanomine Zone today, which is a bugger. Mother Nature is a minx. The Furano Zone is lovely though, with about 5cm fresh on top. Forecast is for snow tonight and tomorrow so hopefully it will be enough to open the lifts and gondola in Kitanomine Zone and give access to the full resort to snow riders. We shall see. I've been trying to publish this all day (keep getting distracted) so can reliably report it snowed most of the morning, sunny break in town about midday, and now (2pm) is cloudy and cold. Judging by the clouds over the resort, is snowing up top right now. Yesterday the resort downgraded their base to 65cm and I have estimated it at 70cm after this snowfall. Now if you would please indulge me I think it is my duty to try and help readers manage their expectations of their Japanese snow holiday. I am meeting a lot of visitors in recent days who cancelled their trips to coastal or southern resorts in Japan to ski and board here in Furano. Mostly they are loving it, but some are frustrated and that's a real pity. Mainly it's because they have booked accommodation that isn't ski-in to the Furano Zone and the local busses don't run in that direction until 11am. This frustration seems to snowball into a bit of grief for the trip they cancelled. Not good. I would never talk anyone out of coming to Furano because I love it. And truthfully, the majority of last minute plan changers I have met are loving it, too. Some might become converts in fact, especially if they discover the backcountry. But if you make new plans please consider what will make you happy on your holiday. And if ski-in matters to you, the only ski-in at the moment is near the Furano Zone which is near the New Furano Prince Hotel. That is 7km from Furano train station for reference and probably about 4km from Kitanomine Village by roadway. When the Kitanomine Zone opens, very soon we hope, then anywhere in Kitanomine will be within about a 15 minute walk to the resort. Furano Now 2015-2016 season Data as of Friday 18th December 2015 Total snowfall at base 191cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 15 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (5th December) November 2015 snowfall 77cm reported on 6 days December 2015 snowfall 114cm reported on 9 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Furano. 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. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Furano region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 10cm Snowfall at base this season 186cm Posted on Thursday 17th December 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . Fat flakes, skinny flakes, fast flakes, slow flakes. Nice morning in Furano. The snow started some time very early. It did get very blustery in the wee hours when the weather system arrived. At 8.30am about 3cm had fallen in Kitanomine Village and about 10cm up the top of the resort. There have been flurries, heavy snows and bright patches ever since. Currently a flurry in Furano town. For the next five days the forecast calls for off and on snow, but yesterday it called for rain that never arrived so our forecast is really only indicative. The best way to tell the weather is, has always been, and will always be to look outside. So we did that for you today and in a word, outside is snowy. Furano Now 2015-2016 season Data as of Thursday 17th December 2015 Total snowfall at base 186cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 14 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (5th December) November 2015 snowfall 77cm reported on 6 days December 2015 snowfall 109cm reported on 8 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Furano. 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. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Furano region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 3cm Snowfall at base this season 176cm Posted on Tuesday 8th December 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . Base of 105 centimetres reported, at least half a meter on the sides of the runs. -5 Celsius at the top, around -1 in Kitanomine Village. No wind. Sunny. Bit fabulous. We could have a week without snow now. Could be interesting but as long as it stays cold it'll be ok. Very few people on the mountain and its central Hokkaido dry fluff. Furano Now 2015-2016 season Data as of Tuesday 8th December 2015 Total snowfall at base 176cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 13 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (5th December) November 2015 snowfall 77cm reported on 6 days December 2015 snowfall 99cm reported on 7 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Furano. 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. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Furano region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 5cm Snowfall at base this season 173cm Posted on Monday 7th December 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . It's white, white, white, white, white out there. Over night, we had a dusting of about 3 centimetres at Kitanomine Village but it wasn't snowing at 8.30am when we did our photos. Now it is snowing heavily, and has been since around 9.30am in Furano Town. The resort still lists their base as 105cm at the top of the mountain, which is open top to bottom now on the New Prince Hotel side (called Furano Zone). Kitanomine zone is at least partially groomed and we believe it opens December 18. Certainly no later than that. I think that base estimate is likely to be low, but it would be compacting and really once it's over a metre with fresh on top, it's pretty irrelevant anyway. No wind today, just very nice and quiet. You know how snow absorbs sound and coddles you in a white buffer blanket? Well, it's like that. So peaceful. It was -2C on my balcony at Kitanomine Village at 8.45am, but when I crossed the Sorachi River a few minutes later, it was -5 there. Brrr. Photo 1 is the Kitanomine side of the resort this morning before the snow set in. Photo 2 is a map of the runs and lifts currently open on the resort. About a 980m descent, and lift tickets are still half price. Furano Now 2015-2016 season Data as of Monday 7th December 2015 Total snowfall at base 173cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 12 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (5th December) November 2015 snowfall 77cm reported on 6 days December 2015 snowfall 96cm reported on 6 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Furano. 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. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Furano region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 30cm Snowfall at base this season 91cm Posted on Sunday 6th December 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . I thought snowfall and sunshine would make a sparkly rainbow... But it didn't. Still very pretty today, though, with an extra 20 centimetres of snow falling overnight. Clearing snow at least once a day, twice is better, is a never-ending challenge now. But it's also a bit zen and enjoyable. So far... ask me in February. Some industrious person had cleared the stairs up to one of the Kitanomine gondola carparks today, so I went up for a look. Very deep snow (duh) and signs that a groomer has come right down the the Kitanomine gondola station, not quite under the quad chair but along the side it. Nice to see. As I stood there, I heard a magnificent hum and thrum of snow grooming machines (which I am sure have a more technical name). I hope, sincerely, they do not wake the bears. All this was about 8am (it's my day off today so I'm running a bit later) but then at about 9.30am there was glorious sunshine. That's when I ran outside, a grown adult, thinking I might see a sparkling rainbow. At 8am it was below zero celsius at Kitanomine Village. I just crossed the Sorachi River into town and it was zero. There is no breeze to speak of. The resort has opened the 'Furano Zone' right down to the bottom, which means the 100 person gondola and the top chair (2 person) are open but now you can ski the full 900 plus metres down. Yay! Furano Now 2015-2016 season Data as of Sunday 6th December 2015 Total snowfall at base 168cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 11 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (5th December) November 2015 snowfall 77cm reported on 6 days December 2015 snowfall 91cm reported on 5 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Furano. 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. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Furano region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 45cm Snowfall at base this season 61cm Posted on Saturday 5th December 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . Very snowy in Furano, At 7.30am we had 29 centimetres of fresh snow in Kitanomine Village and it is still falling. There was a light easterly breeze at that time, also (coming from the Tokachidake region). The resort has updated their snow depth measurement at the top to 95 centimetres and their depth at the bottom of the resort to 50cm. Rings right with me. We should see the sun on Tuesday afternoon but the forecast only has snow until then. Not such a bad thing. Furano Now 2015-2016 season Data as of Saturday 5th December 2015 Total snowfall at base 138cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 10 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (5th December) November 2015 snowfall 77cm reported on 6 days December 2015 snowfall 61cm reported on 4 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Furano. 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. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Furano region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 5cm Snowfall at base this season 93cm Posted on Friday 4th December 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . Temperature was -1C at 8am when I stumbled out to check. There was about a 2 millimitre dusting evident. I bought a new thermometre (having destroyed two so far this season). My new thermometer is very clever and told me at 8am the relative humidity was 80%. At that time it was sunny but since about 10am snow has been falling at a steady clip. It would be bucketing down at the resort. I am keen to head home at lunchtime and check what my hygrometer reads during snowfall. While we are discussing the finer points of accuracy, I am titivating my snow depth to match the resort's. So even though the snow is piling up as I type, I will adjust it down to 50cm now. Yesterday's rains would have knocked some off my estimate anyway. There is no wind today, which makes for very floaty dry Central Hokkaido snow. The forecast for today and the three days following is basically snow with breaks in the snow. Looks like we may not see the sun until Tuesday. But it's the weather so let's all stay tuned. And Furano is pretty good at turning out at least a sunny morning. Furano Now 2015-2016 season Data as of Friday 4th December 2015 Total snowfall at base 93cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 9 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 30cm (25th and 28th November) November 2015 snowfall 77cm reported on 6 days December 2015 snowfall 16cm reported on 3 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Furano. 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. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Furano region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 5cm Snowfall at base this season 88cm Posted on Wednesday 2nd December 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . Good morning from peaceful Furano It's still around -3C at the Sorachi River, so with our light cloud cover, it would be around -6 at the top of the resort. it's a a bit more than 1000 metres higher than the river. We've had about 5 centimetres of snow fall on the mountain since my afternoon update yesterday. I now have a good connection on the grooming team who passed that on. I have asked my groomer buddy to estimate the current base depth up there for us too, but until I hear back we will keep it at 60 centimetres. This is because even with new snowfall (25cm all up in about the last 30 hours) it will be compacting. When I skied yesterday there was light grass showing on one run but on the sides of the piste, the powder was knee deep. It's bright here today but cloudy. I would not be surprised if it cleared and we got some sunshine but we shall see. There is no wind, nor was there any this morning. Really still. Furano Now 2015-2016 season Data as of Wednesday 2nd December 2015 Total snowfall at base 88cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 8 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 30cm (25th and 28th November) November 2015 snowfall 77cm reported on 6 days December 2015 snowfall 11cm reported on 2 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Furano. 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. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com