Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 10cm Snowfall at base this season 180cm Posted on Saturday 19th December 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here Another 10cm of fresh snow to report this morning which is good - conditions are certainly improving and we'd like to see more! Something else this morning. Yes, just when we were hoping that more terrain might be able to open for the weekend, strong winds on the mountain are affecting operations early on. As far as I can tell here's what is being affected at the time of writing: Niseko Grand Hirafu: Ace Number 2 Quad Center Four, Ace Number 3 pair, King Number 3 triple, Swinging Monkey lifts on hold at time of writing due to strong winds Niseko Hanazono: Number 3 lift on hold at time of writing due to strong winds Niseko Village: Gondola on hold at time of writing due to strong winds Niseko Annupuri: All lifts on hold at time of writing due to strong winds So it's all a bit limited at the moment this morning I'm afraid. Never mind, the bigger picture is positive with the fresh snowfall and it's good and cold. Hopefully we might get a bit more today though I wouldn't expect too much - the forecast is for clearing conditions later on, but there's even hints of blue sky and sun in places now so perhaps the clearing is starting already. Fingers crossed that the wind will calm down too. Then we are likely due some sunshine tomorrow and back to the fresh snowfall around Monday. Looking ahead to Christmas it would seem there's snow on the way around that period too. --- Niseko Avalanche Report: Niseko base 6am: -5℃, 15cm of new snow in 12hours with moderate development of snowdrifts. 600m elevation: W15m/s, 15cm of new snow with notable development of snowdrifts. 1000m elevation: NW15m/s. Coastal data: Benkei cape NNW19m/s, Kamui cape NW11m/s, 1021hPa, 3.4m waves. Cornices and snowdrifts are slowly developing under the winter weather pattern and are forming soft slabs of unstable snow in cliffs and steep slopes, likely to slide from Dec 18th layer. 50cm surface slab avalanches are likely to occur in 800m upper SE aspects and knolls. Better stay away from those aspects until the wind calms down and the snowpack stabilize. Avalanche accidents are most likely to occur in developing sniwdrifts. Out of bounds areas are still closed due to lack of snow. Please remain patient and respect the Niseko Rules. This information is released for the safety of all resort users. The snow is good but visibility gets bad sometimes. --- Planned resort operations (subject to change due to weather conditions during the day) The lifts market with an asterix (*) below are planned to be open for night skiing Niseko Grand Hirafu Lifts planned to be running: - Ace Family pair* - Ace Number 2 Quad Center Four (for transport) - Ace Number 3 pair - Hirafu Gondola (for transport) - King Number 3 triple - Holiday Number 1 pair - Swinging Monkey Courses planned to be open: - Family - Beginners access - Center - Shirakaba - Green - Kokutai (upper part) - Alpen - Sennoki - Kogen - Boyo - Holiday - Rinkan (part) - Jumbo Niseko HANAZONO Resort Lifts planned to be running: - Hanazono Number 1 quad - Hanazono Number 2 quad - Hanazono Number 3 quad Courses planned to be open: - Connecting - Parallel - Silver Dream - Stairway to Heaven - Setsuzoku course - Crystal Garden - Yotei Sunset (ungroomed) Niseko Village Lifts planned to be operating: - Niseko Gondola - Community Chair* - Banzai Chair* Niseko Annupuri Lifts planned to be operating: - Annupuri Gondola - Jumbo Number 1 quad* - Jumbo Number 2 pair - Jumbo Number 3 pair Courses planned to be open: - Utopia - Shirakaba - Paradise - Junior - Family - Dynamic - Silver --- Official resort snow depths as of 19th December 2015: Grand Hirafu / Hanazono: Top - 175cm Base - 60cm Niseko Village: Top - 80cm Base - 50cm Niseko Annupuri: Top - 70cm Base - 60cm Niseko Now 2015-2016 season Data as of Saturday 19th December 2015 Total snowfall at base so far 180cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 13 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 20cm (30th November) November 2015 snowfall 61cm reported on 4 days December 2015 snowfall 119cm 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 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. 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 Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 18cm Snowfall at base this season 152cm Posted on Thursday 17th December 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here Now this is much better! This morning I have a nice 18cm of fresh snowfall to report from here around my base in Hirafu and no doubt there will be more of it up there on them there mountains. My friend up there just gave me a call and put it at 25+cm. Snow is forecast for the day today, but what's this... sun?! Yes, there's a fair bit of blue sky to be seen and the sun shining down on us as I write this report. Hmmm. Hopefully it's a break in the snow clouds rather than a clearing up situation. I believe the forecast! Which tells us to expect snow clouds to be over the region over the next few days. It doesn't feel windy here now but hear that there's stronger winds at higher altitudes. There are no significant changes in lift operations this morning as far as I can tell. But it is definitely a big improvement on yesterday in terms of snow. Still, we need lots and lots more... --- Niseko Avalanche Report Niseko base 6am: -2℃, light breeze and 20cm of crystal snow. NE8m/s wind, 20cm snowfall at 600m altitude. Coastal data: Benkei cape NNE11m/s, Kamui cape N11m/s, 1003hPa, 3.6m waves. NNW10-15m/s at 1000m elevation. Cornices and snowdrifts have drastically developed under the strong 20+m/s wind overnight and are unstable in leeward south facing slopes above 800m. Surface slab slides of 30-40cm thickness from Dec 12th layer are very likely to occur in those slopes. Snow is still shallow, beware of hidden stumps and bamboo grass when skiing off-piste. Gates are still closed, please respect the Niseko Rules. --- Resort specific news as of 8:20am - subject to change during the day The lifts market with an asterix (*) below are planned to be open for night skiing Niseko Grand Hirafu Lifts planned to be running: - Ace Family pair* - Ace Number 2 Quad Center Four (for transport) - Ace Number 3 pair - Hirafu Gondola (for transport) - King Number 3 triple (on hold due to strong winds and fog) - Holiday Number 1 pair - Swinging Monkey Courses planned to be open: - Family - Beginners access - Center - Shirakaba - Kogen - Boyo - Holiday - Rinkan (lower part) - Jumbo - Connecting Course Niseko HANAZONO Resort Lifts planned to be running: - Hanazono Number 1 quad - Hanazono Number 2 quad - Hanazono Number 3 quad Courses planned to be open: - Parallel - Silver Dream - Stairway to Heaven - Setsuzoku course - Crystal Garden - Yotei Sunset (ungroomed) Niseko Village Lifts planned to be operating: - Niseko Gondola - Community Chair* - Banzai Chair* Niseko Annupuri Lifts planned to be operating: - Annupuri Gondola - Jumbo Number 1 quad* - Jumbo Number 2 pair - Jumbo Number 3 pair Courses planned to be open: - Utopia - Shirakaba - Paradise - Junior - Family - Silver --- Official resort snow depths as of 17th December 2015: Grand Hirafu / Hanazono: Top - 145cm Base - 45cm Niseko Village: Top - 65cm Base - 30cm Niseko Annupuri: Top - 60cm Base - 40cm Niseko Now 2015-2016 season Data as of Thursday 17th December 2015 Total snowfall at base so far 152cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 11 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 20cm (30th November) November 2015 snowfall 61cm reported on 4 days December 2015 snowfall 91cm 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 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. 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 Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 0cm Snowfall at base this season 134cm Posted on Saturday 12th December 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here Hopefully we can move on quite quickly from the really poor weather conditions the last few days. It would seem that rain has done damage and snow conditions have suffered - some runs that have been open are now closed again. Do check the updated information below. And I of course advise checking with the resorts if you are here as decisions may be made during the day as well. I can't wait for 'everywhere' to be open. And not just because it will make checking information every morning much easier either... it will mean full access to lots of fluffy powder (hopefully) on the mountain. We should really be there already. Anyway, back to this morning! Snow conditions may be far from perfect but the weather is thankfully much improved this morning. It is colder for a start and it is not raining (hurray!). It's actually a very fine morning with lots of clear blue sky and the sun shining down on us. It should be a fine day today; and we can probably expect similar conditions as well during the day tomorrow... perhaps Monday too. Time to enjoy practicing on some well-groomed courses in the fine weather I think. But what about fresh snow, you ask. Well, look to perhaps Tuesday and then Wednesday onwards for some of that. And hopefully lots of that! I will of course keep you up to date with that each morning. 'Nighta' (night skiing) starts from this evening at the Niseko Grand Hirafu, Niseko Village and Niseko Annupuri resort areas. Note that there is no nighta at the Niseko Hanazono area. --- Niseko Avalanche Report Niseko base: -1℃, no snowfall and calm morning. Coastal data: Benkei cape NNE7m/s, Kamui cape calm, 1020hPa, 1.8m waves. Northerly 10m/s wind at 1000m altitude. Thaw is continuing. 40cm snowpack at 600m. Some dirt patches are starting to appear in the courses. The surface is frozen this morning due to radiation cooling in a mild wintry pressure pattern. The groomers are in a good condition for technique practicing. The ungroomed snow around the courses is crusty (Dec 12th layer) and tricky to ski. Do not duck ropes to access the out of bounds areas. Avalanche occurrence does not depend on the amount of snow. The Niseko Rules exist in order to prevent out of bounds accidents and are mandatory rules that all resort users must obey. A free debate is scheduled at the Niseko Avalanche Forum today (held at Niseko Townspeople Hall), anyone is welcome to participate. Have a nice weekend. --- Resort specific news as of 8:40am - subject to change during the day The lifts market with an asterix (*) below are planned to be open for night skiing Niseko Grand Hirafu Lifts planned to be running: - Ace Family pair* - Ace Number 2 Quad Center Four (for transport) - Ace Number 3 pair - Hirafu Gondola (for transport) - King Number 3 triple - Swinging Monkey Courses planned to be open: - Family - Beginners access - Center - Shirakaba - Kogen - Boyo - Holiday - Rinkan (lower part) - Jumbo - Connecting Course Niseko HANAZONO Resort Lifts planned to be running: - Hanazono Number 1 quad (for transport) - Hanazono Number 2 quad - Hanazono Number 3 quad Courses planned to be open: - Parallel - Silver Dream - Stairway to Heaven - Setsuzoku course - Crystal Garden - Yotei Sunset (ungroomed) Niseko Village Lifts planned to be operating: - Niseko Gondola - Community Chair* - Banzai Chair* Niseko Annupuri Lifts planned to be operating: - Annupuri Gondola - Jumbo Number 1 quad* - Jumbo Number 2 pair - Jumbo Number 3 pair Courses planned to be open: - Utopia - Shirakaba - Paradise - Junior - Family - Silver --- Official resort snow depths: Grand Hirafu / Hanazono: Top - 145cm Base - 35cm Niseko Village: Top - 60cm Base - 20cm Niseko Annupuri: Top - 60cm Base - 30cm Niseko Now 2015-2016 season Data as of Saturday 12th December 2015 Total snowfall at base so far 134cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 10 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 20cm (30th November) November 2015 snowfall 61cm reported on 4 days December 2015 snowfall 73cm 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 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. 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 Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 7cm Snowfall at base this season 134cm Posted on Tuesday 8th December 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here Hello everyone and this morning there is less cloud than there has been the last few snowy days - better visibility and more views to enjoy. There has been another 7cm of snowfall since my last report here at base and no doubt more on the mountain. We are expecting today to be fine weather-wise. The clouds should clear somewhat, the sun might well make an appearance (perhaps an extended appearance) and wind shouldn't be an issue. A very fine morning to enjoy some riding. Milder temperatures are forecast for the rest of this week and it would seem we are going to have to make do with the snow that we have as there's not much promise of snow on the forecast through until at least the end of the weekend. Today more of the courses at the resorts are open. It's not easy keeping track of exactly what is open early season! I've tried to keep a track on that information below - and will be very happy when it's an 'all open' situation. Note that the skiable connection between the Niseko Grand Hirafu, Niseko Village and Niseko Annupuri resorts is not yet open. --- Resort specific news as of 8:30am - subject to change during the day Niseko Grand Hirafu Lifts planned to be running: - Ace Family pair - Ace Number 2 Quad Center Four - Ace Number 3 pair - Hirafu Gondola (for transport) - King Number 3 triple - Swinging Monkey Courses planned to be open: - Family Course - Kogen Course - Boyo Course - Alpen Course - Beginners access - Center Course - Shirakaba Course - Green Course - Rinkan Course (lower part) - Jumbo Course - Kokutai Course - Holiday Course - Connecting Course Niseko HANAZONO Resort Lifts planned to be running: - Hanazono Number 1 quad (for transport) - Hanazono Number 2 quad - Hanazono Number 3 quad Courses planned to be open: - Parallel Course - Silver Dream (upper part) - Stairway to Heaven - Setsuzoku course - Legend of Shinya - Crystal Garden - Yotei Sunset (ungroomed) Niseko Village Lifts planned to be operating: - Niseko Gondola - Community Chair - Banzai Chair Niseko Annupuri Lifts planned to be operating: - Annupuri Gondola - Jumbo Number 1 quad - Jumbo Number 2 pair - Jumbo Number 3 pair Courses planned to be open: - Utopia - Shirakaba - Paradise - Junior - Family - Dynamic --- 'Nighta' should be starting on Saturday 12th December 2015. Nighta is available at Niseko Grand Hirafu, Niseko Village and Niseko Annupuri (none in the Niseko Hanazono area) --- Official resort snow depths: Grand Hirafu / Hanazono: Top - 160cm Base - 70cm Niseko Village: Top - 80cm Base - 40cm Niseko Annupuri: Top - 70cm Base - 70cm Niseko Now 2015-2016 season Data as of Tuesday 8th December 2015 Total snowfall at base so far 134cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 10 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 20cm (30th November) November 2015 snowfall 61cm reported on 4 days December 2015 snowfall 73cm 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 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. 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 Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 15cm Snowfall at base this season 127cm Posted on Monday 7th December 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here The snowfall has been continuing here in Niseko with another 15cm of snow on the ground by my base in Hirafu. Good to see it gradually increasing these last few days. Light snow falling early on this morning but it is probably going to be clearing up today. There's some break in the clouds now even and some sunshine making it through in places. Expect more of that. Winds affected the operations of the Hanazono lift yesterday from the early afternoon - I just made it before that happened. That shouldn't be happening today. There were some fine conditions to be found yesterday and I would expect this morning to be very good too. It looks like we have some more terrain planned to be open from this morning at Niseko Grand Hirafu and Niseko Hanazono, updated below. Calmer conditions are expected over the next few days at least. Not only in terms of wind but clearer skies as well. There's not much in terms of potential snowfall on the weekly forecast as it stands now, rather quite a lot of sun and slightly warmer temperatures... of course hopefully it won't warm up too much. --- Resort specific news as of 8:30am - subject to change during the day Niseko Grand Hirafu Lifts planned to be running: - Ace Family Pair - Ace Number 2 Quad Center Four (for transport) - Ace Number 3 - Hirafu Gondola (for transport) - King Number 3 triple - Swinging Monkey - Hanazono Number 1 quad - Hanazono Number 2 quad - Hanazono Number 3 quad Courses planned to be open: - Family Course - Alpen Course - Beginners access - Center Course - Shirakaba Course - Green Course - Rinkan Course (lower part) - Jumbo Course - Kokutai Course Niseko HANAZONO Resort Lifts planned to be running: - Hanazono Number 1 quad (for transport) - Hanazono Number 2 quad - Hanazono Number 3 quad Courses planned to be open: - Parallel Course - Silver Dream (upper part) - Stairway to Heaven - Setsuzoku course - Legend of Shinya - Crystal Garden - Yotei Sunset - Yotei Sunset (ungroomed) Niseko Village Lifts planned to be operating: - Niseko Gondola - Community Chair - Banzai Chair Courses planned to be open: - Dabesa Course - Junkyard - Banzai Course - Next Stage - Final Fling - Shaky Knees Niseko Annupuri Lifts planned to be operating: - Annupuri Gondola - Jumbo Number 1 quad - Jumbo Number 2 pair - Jumbo Number 3 pair Courses planned to be open: - Utopia - Shirakaba - Paradise - Junior - Family --- 'Nighta' should be starting on Saturday 12th December 2015. Nighta is available at Niseko Grand Hirafu, Niseko Village and Niseko Annupuri (none in the Niseko Hanazono area) --- Official resort snow depths: Grand Hirafu / Hanazono: Top - 160cm Base - 70cm Niseko Village: Top - 80cm Base - 40cm Niseko Annupuri: Top - 70cm Base - 50cm Niseko Now 2015-2016 season Data as of Monday 7th December 2015 Total snowfall at base so far 127cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 9 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 20cm (30th November) November 2015 snowfall 61cm reported on 4 days December 2015 snowfall 66cm 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 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. 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 Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 18cm Snowfall at base this season 112cm Posted on Sunday 6th December 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here Good morning to you from the Niseko area where I have another 18cm of snow to report since yesterday morning. Snow was falling for pretty much the whole day yesterday and has continuing overnight. It's cold and the snow looks and feels very nice... and I have no doubt it feels pretty good if you're sliding down a slope on it too this morning. A friend just gave me a call from the mountain and he's getting very excited about '30cm of fresh powder' up there. That sounds good to me. So more snow expected today before probably easing off tomorrow. After that, we're due for a run of days of clearer skies according to the forecast so hopefully it just won't warm up so conditions keep us through that. This morning the Niseko Gondola at the Niseko Village resort is moving and there is more of Niseko Grand Hirafu open as well. I have updated the resort-specific information below so do take a look at that. (Once every area is open I won't be listing them all - rather noting any exceptions to what is open). Note that there is not yet a skiable connection between Niseko Grand Hirafu, Niseko Village and Niseko Annupuri - use the shuttle bus to get between them if needed. Until tomorrow morning! --- Resort specific news as of 8:30am - subject to change during the day Niseko Grand Hirafu Niseko HANAZONO Resort Lifts planned to be running: - Ace Family Pair - Ace Number 2 Quad Center Four - Ace Number 3 - Hirafu Gondola (for transport) - King Number 3 triple - Swinging Monkey - Hanazono Number 1 quad (for transport) - Hanazono Number 2 quad - Hanazono Number 3 quad Courses planned to be open: - Family Course - Alpen Course - Beginners access - Center Course - Shirakaba Course - Green Course - Jumbo Course - Kokutai Course - Parallel Course - Silver Dream (upper part) - Yotei Sunset (ungroomed) Niseko Village Lifts planned to be operating: - Niseko Gondola - Community Chair - Banzai Chair Courses planned to be open: - Dabesa Course - Junkyard - Banzai Course - Next Stage - Final Fling - Shaky Knees Niseko Annupuri Lifts planned to be operating: - Annupuri Gondola - Jumbo Number 1 quad - Jumbo Number 2 pair - Jumbo Number 3 pair Courses planned to be open: - Utopia - Shirakaba - Paradise - Junior - Family --- 'Nighta' should be starting on Saturday 12th December 2015 --- Official resort snow depths: Grand Hirafu / Hanazono: Top - 145cm Base - 60cm Niseko Village: Top - 70cm Base - 40cm Niseko Annupuri: Top - 50cm Base - 30cm Niseko Now 2015-2016 season Data as of Sunday 6th December 2015 Total snowfall at base so far 112cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 8 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 20cm (30th November) November 2015 snowfall 61cm reported on 4 days December 2015 snowfall 51cm 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 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. 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 Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 14cm Snowfall at base this season 94cm Posted on Saturday 5th December 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here 14cm of fresh snow to report to you this morning from my base area here in Hirafu and it feels like a cold wintery morning out there. I was hoping for more - the news last night was warning us of up to 80cm of snowfall in parts of Hokkaido by the end of today. I do like those warnings, especially when they are right - and perhaps with more snow falling today we'll get bigger numbers. Anyway, it was very windy overnight and still is and this wind means that the snow has been blowing about and been 're-distributed', so in places there's more than that. Certainly expect more accumulated on the mountain. Niseko Grand Hirafu have adjusted their snow depths this morning to 125cm up top and 50cm at base. From today more of the mountain is going to be open. It is the first day of the season for the Hanazono area, and more lifts and runs at Niseko Grand Hirafu and Niseko Annupuri are going to be open this morning. I have added details, as much as I can get them at the time of writing this report, in the details below. Hopefully wind won't mess around with those plans. We still have snow forecast for today, tomorrow and hopefully into Monday too. --- Resort specific news as of 8:30am - subject to change during the day Niseko Grand Hirafu Niseko HANAZONO Resort Lifts planned to be running: - Ace Family Pair - Ace Number 2 Quad Center Four - Ace Number 3 - Hirafu Gondola (for transport) - King Number 3 triple - Swinging Monkey - Hanazono Number 1 quad (for transport) - Hanazono Number 2 quad - Hanazono Number 3 quad Courses planned to be open: - Family Course - Beginners access - Center Course - Jumbo Course - Parallel Course - Silver Dream (upper part) - Yotei Sunset (ungroomed) Niseko Village Lifts planned to be operating: - Community Chair - Banzai Chair Courses planned to be open: - Banzai Course - Next Stage - Final Fling - Shaky Knees Niseko Annupuri Lifts planned to be operating: - Annupuri Gondola - Jumbo Number 1 quad - Jumbo Number 2 pair - Jumbo Number 3 pair Courses planned to be open: - Utopia - Shirakaba - Paradise - Junior - Family --- 'Nighta' should be starting on Saturday 12th December 2015 --- Official resort snow depths: Grand Hirafu / Hanazono: Top - 125cm Base - 50cm Niseko Village: Top - 50cm Base - 30cm Niseko Annupuri: Top - 50cm Base - 30cm Niseko Now 2015-2016 season Data as of Saturday 5th December 2015 Total snowfall at base so far 94cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 7 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 20cm (30th November) November 2015 snowfall 61cm reported on 4 days December 2015 snowfall 33cm 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 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. 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 Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 5cm Snowfall at base this season 80cm Posted on Friday 4th December 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here Good morning, and it is definitely a better start to the day today with 5cm of fresh snow to report here at base and snow clouds still with us. Yesterday was best left forgotten. Annupuri soon after 9am did get their Jumbo Quad Number 1 lift operating and Niseko Grand Hirafu gave up on the day early afternoon with rain still falling and strong winds still blowing everything about. All very wet and not at all appealing. Anyway back to today and yes it is colder and snowy. Continued snowfall is expected today, heavier from later on, and also over the weekend into early next week - this is what we have been waiting for and we can of course expect resorts to get lifts and courses open as quickly as possible. It is still rather windy, but apparently not enough it would seem to stop all three of the part open resorts from starting the planned lift operations as noted below. Lots of snow tonight please! --- Resort specific news as of 8:30am - subject to change during the day Niseko Grand Hirafu: Lifts planned to be running - Ace Number 2 Quad Center Four (transport), Ace Number 3 Course planned to be open - Center Course Niseko Village: Lifts planned to be operating - Community Chair and Banzai Chair Courses planned to be open - Banzai, Next Stage, Final Fling, Shaky Knees Niseko Annupuri: Lifts planned to be operating - Annupuri Gondola (transport) and Jumbo Number 3 lift Courses planned to be open - Utopia, Shirakaba, Paradise and Junior courses open Niseko HANAZONO Resort: The Hanazono area plans to open from Saturday 5th December --- 'Nighta' should be starting on Saturday 12th December 2015 --- Official resort snow depths: Grand Hirafu / Hanazono: Top - 95cm Base - 30cm Niseko Village: Top - 30cm Base - 10cm Niseko Annupuri: Top - 50cm Base - 30cm Niseko Now 2015-2016 season Data as of Friday 4th December 2015 Total snowfall at base so far 80cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 6 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 20cm (30th November) November 2015 snowfall 61cm reported on 4 days December 2015 snowfall 19cm 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 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. 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 Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 0cm Snowfall at base this season 75cm Posted on Thursday 3rd December 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here I think today will be the first time that I have to talk about wind. Ah yes, wind. It's that one thing that manages to annoy me most about Niseko, it often messing about with lift operations and what is open on the mountain. And today is one of those days - well, this morning anyway. Strong winds are with us and stopping some lifts from opening at the start of the day. Niseko Grand Hirafu resort at 8am was reporting wind speeds of 20-25m/s at the top of the Center Four lift. They will of course try to get going if the conditions allow, but strong winds are expected for the day today. As of 8:30am, it looks like the two lifts at Niseko Village are actually going to be opening as planned but the planned lifts at Niseko Annupuri as well as Niseko Grand Hirafu are on hold. This morning we also have warmer conditions with rain falling as well. Temperatures may rise to around 10 degrees in town today which is of course too warm. All in all, it's not really a particularly nice day to get up on the mountain even if the winds allowed the lifts to move. It is one of those days when 'other things' are a good choice. My choice is a soak in the onsen hot springs... OK now we have all that lot out of the way, things are looking much better from later on today. Temperatures are set to drop and hopefully by the end of the day it will be snowing. And there's a good chance that the snowfall will continue through tomorrow and over the weekend and into early next week. If this comes off then by the end of the weekend things should be looking very different here. So I'm looking forward to bringing you that news over the coming few days. --- Resort specific news as of 8:30am - subject to change during the day Niseko Grand Hirafu: Lifts planned to be running - Ace Number 2 Quad Center Four (transport), Ace Number 3 Early morning strong winds and poor visibility preventing them from opening as planned Niseko Village: Lifts planned to be operating - Community Chair and Banzai Chair. Niseko Annupuri: Lifts planned to be operating - Annupuri Gondola (transport) and Jumbo Number 3 lift Early morning strong winds and poor visibility preventing them from opening as planned Niseko HANAZONO Resort: The Hanazono area plans to open from Saturday 5th December --- 'Nighta' should be starting on Saturday 12th December 2015 --- Official resort snow depths: Grand Hirafu / Hanazono: Top - 105cm Base - 35cm Niseko Village: Top - 50cm Base - 20cm Niseko Annupuri: Top - 50cm Base - 20cm Niseko Now 2015-2016 season Data as of Thursday 3rd December 2015 Total snowfall at base so far 75cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 5 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 20cm (30th November) November 2015 snowfall 61cm reported on 4 days December 2015 snowfall 14cm reported on 1 day 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 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. 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 Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 0cm Snowfall at base this season 75cm Posted on Wednesday 2nd December 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here Morning from the Niseko area on this second day of the season. I went up there yesterday on the Center Course at Niseko Grand Hirafu, thought I needed to get in my first ski of the season. For research purposes of course! It was fun. Obviously there is not that much snow around yet with lots of things popping up from the ground but generally the snow cover was decent enough. There has been a slight dusting of snow since yesterday, probably just a few mm worth. There is quite a lot of cloud around at the moment, more than there was when I got up earlier on. Forecast for the day is cloud with a high of about 3 degrees, with a chance of some sun as well into the mix. Sadly the mix does not include any snowfall. The planned limited resort operations today look to be unchanged since yesterday. Tomorrow will be warming up somewhat - double figure temps in Kutchan perhaps? - but temperatures are then due to take a drop later in the day. Rain is likely before turning into snowfall. Snow over the weekend? That sounds good, we'll take that please. --- Resort specific news as of 8:00am - subject to change during the day Niseko Grand Hirafu: Lifts planned to be running - Ace Number 2 Quad Center Four (transport), Ace Number 3 Niseko Village: Lifts planned to be operating - Community Chair and Banzai Chair Niseko Annupuri: Lifts planned to be operating - Annupuri Gondola (transport) and Jumbo Number 3 lift Niseko HANAZONO Resort: The Hanazono area plans to open from Saturday 5th December --- 'Nighta' should be starting on Saturday 12th December 2015 --- Official resort snow depths: Grand Hirafu / Hanazono: Top - 110cm Base - 40cm Niseko Village: Top - 50cm Base - 20cm Niseko Annupuri: Top - -cm Base - 20cm Niseko Now 2015-2016 season Data as of Wednesday 2nd December 2015 Total snowfall at base so far 75cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 5 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 20cm (30th November) November 2015 snowfall 61cm reported on 4 days December 2015 snowfall 14cm reported on 1 day 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 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. 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 Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 14cm Snowfall at base this season 75cm Posted on Tuesday 1st December 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here Good morning from Niseko on what is to be the first day of the season. First of all, new snowfall. After some more rain yesterday, thankfully it turned into snow once again around evening time and this morning I have 14cm of snow round the back of my place. And all of a sudden, Niseko Grand Hirafu are reporting 110cm up top! Which brings me to the big news of the day of course... And so, today is the first day of the season here in Niseko with a few lifts starting their season at the Niseko Grand Hirafu, Niseko Village and Niseko Annupuri areas. It's a limited opening due to the amount of snow we have at the moment, but of course great to get the season going. At Niseko Grand Hirafu the Ace Number 2 Quad Center Four will be starting from 8:30am, taking people up to the Ace Number 3 lift with the Center Course up there open. At Niseko Annupuri, from 9:15am they plan to get the Jumbo Number 3 lift started with the Utopia Course scheduled to be open. The Annupuri Gondola will be starting from 9am to take people up there. At Niseko Village, the Community Chair and Banzai Chair lifts should be operating from 8:30am. Courses planned to be open are the Banzai Course, Next Stage, Final Fling and Shaky Knees. The start of the season this year may be 9 days later than originally planned and hoped for, but I'm sure we will all soon forget that -- and here's to hopefully a very snowy December. To finish off with a quick look at the forecast which says that the early morning light snow will ease and the rest of the day should be cloudy with similar conditions expected tomorrow as well. There might be a bit more rain before snow due later Thursday. Looks like there's potential there! --- Resort specific news as of 8:00am - subject to change during the day Niseko Grand Hirafu: Lifts planned to be running - Ace Number 2 Quad Center Four (transport), Ace Number 3 Niseko Village: Lifts planned to be operating - Community Chair and Banzai Chair Niseko Annupuri: Lifts planned to be operating - Annupuri Gondola (transport) and Jumbo Number 3 lift Niseko HANAZONO Resort: The Hanazono area plans to open from Saturday 5th December --- Official resort snow depths: Grand Hirafu / Hanazono: Top - 110cm Base - 40cm Niseko Village: Top - 50cm Base - 20cm Niseko Annupuri: Top - -cm Base - 20cm Niseko Now 2015-2016 season Data as of Tuesday 1st December 2015 Total snowfall at base so far 75cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 5 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 20cm (30th November) November 2015 snowfall 61cm reported on 4 days December 2015 snowfall 14cm reported on 1 day 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 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. 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 Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 20cm Snowfall at base this season 61cm Posted on Monday 30th November 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here 1pm update: A special update here with the news that Niseko Grand Hirafu plan to open from tomorrow, Tuesday 1st December. Hurray! The plan is for the Ace Number 3 pair lift to be servicing the Center Course which is higher up on the resort, with the Ace Number 2 Center Four lift taking people up to that area. 5 hour lift ticket is 2000 yen for adults and 1000 yen for children and seniors. The Center Four lift should get moving at 8:30am. That's the news I have for the moment, there may be more by the time I post my next report tomorrow morning. Photos refreshed as well with this update other information remaining the same. --- Earlier on... Good morning from a sunny Niseko region. Yes, the sun is out and it's a beautiful morning. The snow that we have had since my report yesterday - another 20cm after continuing through the day and until last night - is giving us that feeling of a real need to strap the boots on and get out to enjoy it. But not quite yet... maybe. Oh, the uncertainty of early season! No word yet from Niseko Grand Hirafu and Niseko Annupuri, who are as keen to get started as we are, and I need to get myself over to Sapporo today so posting quite early. It shouldn't be far off now though. Forecast says there might be more snow on the way later on in the day today and then look to the end of the week for more after that. --- Planned opening dates for the Niseko resorts: Niseko Grand Hirafu: as soon as there's enough snow Niseko Annupuri: as soon as there's enough snow Niseko Village: Tuesday 1st December Niseko HANAZONO: Saturday 5th December 'Nighta' should be starting on Saturday 12th December Niseko Now 2015-2016 season Data as of Monday 30th November 2015 Total snowfall at base so far 61cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 4 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 20cm (30th November) November 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 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. 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