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

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Furano region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 6cm Snowfall at base this season 83cm Posted on Tuesday 1st December 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . We have been to the mountain and can give you an update. Had a few runs, did a few turns. Excruciating of course but we do it all for you, heh heh. So that clear visibility thing I told you.... Yeah not so much. Up top it ranged from good to fair to poor. You're welcome. I left at midday precisely, I know because the town's horn sounded as the gondola left the top dock. Blue sky was evident. I mention this because with all my good intentions, it is just possible that even as I upload this, it is inaccurate. Such highly changeable conditions. Perhaps I should go and do a few more turns... Ps keeping the base at 60cm because it's compacting new snow all the time. Furano Now 2015-2016 season Data as of Tuesday 1st December 2015 Total snowfall at base 83cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 7 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 30cm (25th and 28th November) November 2015 snowfall 77cm reported on 6 days December 2015 snowfall 6cm 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 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 77cm Posted on Saturday 28th November 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . Furano resort up and running today Furano opened the resort this morning on the side accessible from the New Furano Prince Hotel. They always have a staged opening, and more lifts and gondolas will start operating gradually until the full mountain is humming in about two weeks. There is about 60cm of snow up top which is a good base. We had considerable fluffy snow yesterday afternoon (following the morning's gluggy snowfall). Between natural melt, gluggy compression, and the fresh snow on top, 60cm is about right. There was a very light breeze this morning at the base of the Kitanomine Zone, but up top just now, I didn't notice any wind. Photo 1 is my usual 7am shot of the resort from Kitanomine Village. Photo 2 was taken at about midday today. It's fresh tracks (and first tracks of the season) at Furano Resort. The Gondola near New Prince Hotel is operating and one chair lift midway down the upper section of the resort is operating. Possibly more, but that's what we just saw. We are checking. Furano Now 2015-2016 season Data as of Saturday 28th November 2015 Total snowfall at base 77cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 6 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 30cm (25th and 28th November) November 2015 snowfall 77cm 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 1cm Snowfall at base this season 1cm Posted on Wednesday 11th November 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . Welcome back! Furano town had rain most of the night, turning to snow at around 6am. Seems to have fallen as snow on the higher peaks of the resort. My mercury thermometre on the veranda in Kitanomine read 2C at 6.40am, but I think I need to try a few locations. It isn't matching up with the town's digital thermometre only about 500m away. Although that one is near the Sorachi River so it could simply be cooler. During my 8am school run, the above-mentioned digital thermometre read zero degrees Celcius. It read the same at my 9am office dash. It's very wet snow (fast becoming sleet) falling in Furano town now. No wind thank goodness. The Furano resort mountains were obscured by clouds and fog this morning, but it looks like it's been snowing up high over night which could be good for a base. The snow in Furano is light therefore it needs a wettish base to stick properly. Without a wettish base, it can blow away. There are cold fronts forecast next week which will probably be the start of winter proper. Around town, you see a lot of snow shovels ready, snow blowers being moved around, road barriers being erected for winter, garden shrubs and trees being cosseted for the snowfall to come. Town is busy. The school children were marching through the falling snow today like nothing was different. And it wouldn't be for people who grow up here. The forecast high for today is 3C at 3pm. Rain is forecast for 6pm in town. By 6am it's forecast to be minus 3 Celcius. Planned opening day November 28 (on the New Prince side of the resort, with the Kitanomine Village and Furano Town side opening two weeks later). Furano Now 2015-2016 season Data as of Wednesday 11th November 2015 Total snowfall at base 1cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 1 day Most snowfall observed in 1 day 1cm (11th November) November 2015 snowfall 1cm reported on 1 day 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 1cm Snowfall at base this season 5cm Posted on Monday 23rd November 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . Snow flakes are falling on my head... Furano does seem to have flicked the winter weather switch to on, and the sun is out so hopefully the base will get a bit wet and melty and form just what is needed for long term resort coverage. Indications are good but Mother Nature is a minx. The gravel trucks were out at some point because the roads were treated by 7am when we took these photos. The snow flurries have abated right now, but there should be on-off snow showers for the next two days according to the forecast. Oops, actually, flakes now falling again. Furano Now 2015-2016 season Data as of Monday 23rd November 2015 Total snowfall at base 5cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 2 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 4cm (23rd November) November 2015 snowfall 5cm 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

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Furano region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 7cm Snowfall at base this season 12cm Posted on Tuesday 24th November 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . Snowy old day today. Very white outside right now with about 7cm of snow has fallen since our last report. Earlier small flakes were falling but as it's turned to fuller daylight they've become fatter and more plentiful. Not a breath of wind. Weather system seems set in for a few days. NA but might hit opening target of Nov 28 Furano Now 2015-2016 season Data as of Tuesday 24th November 2015 Total snowfall at base 12cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 3 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 7cm (24th November) November 2015 snowfall 12cm 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 30cm Snowfall at base this season 42cm Posted on Wednesday 25th November 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . Winter has certainly arrived in Furano. And it's as if she never left. If you have come to ski Furano in the past, I can tell you that today it looks like it always looks. The snow clearers have been out, the footpaths already have stacked snow along them, the parking lots around town are cleared, and life is going on as normal, as if nothing even happened. Furano locals are clearly very good at this. On the mountain, the resort would have benefited from the 30 or so centimetres that fell at the base in Kitanomine Village. We are seeking updated numbers from the resort, but the beauty of Japan is they really don't worry about measuring such things. At least in Furano they don't. A lot of snow is a lot of snow. Once the ski season gets going, what really matters in Furano, because the snow is dry here in the centre of Hokkaido, is whether or not there is any fresh to play in off piste or in the nearby back country. Today there most certainly is fresh snow. My family went up to Tokachi Dake this morning for some turns. At about 7am it was -5 degrees at Kitanomine Village, so about -9 or -10 atop the resort. NA but we are hoping they might be ready on November 28, the arbitrary date set at the end of last season. Furano Now 2015-2016 season Data as of Wednesday 25th November 2015 Total snowfall at base 42cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 4 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 30cm (25th November) November 2015 snowfall 42cm 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