Independent snow and weather reporting from the Furano region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 11cm Snowfall at base this season 218cm Posted on Friday 8th December 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . The sun is out on this very chilly -11c morning. Overnight there has been 11cm of new snow. It seems not only was November a huge snow month, but December is tracking to be a big one as well. The resort has now opened Sailer and Spies courses from the top to base of the mountain, so that is good progress. Kitanomine looks to be in great condition and it has been groomed and shows good snow cover, but at the moment there is no word from the resort when it will open. Temperatures will remain chilly with a high of -5c and it will cloud over later in the day. Light snow is on the forecast for tonight and tomorrow evening. Furano Zone partially open. Kitanomine Zone closed. Furano Now 2017-2018 season Data as of Friday 8th December 2017 Total snowfall at base 218cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 21 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 28cm (5th December) November 2017 snowfall 125cm reported on 13 days December 2017 snowfall 93cm 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 Hakuba region of Nagano New snowfall at base 7cm Snowfall at base this season 87cm Posted on Friday 8th December 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Hakuba Now report can be found here . Yesterday was a really beautiful day to be outside and on the mountain. Increasing clouds moved in later in the day and this morning the snow clouds are back over Hakuba and there's some fresh snow on the ground. Some really nice snow flakes were coming down when I got up earlier on, and while the flakes are smaller it is still snowing and should be (at least on and off) through the day today. Expecting more cm into early tomorrow but finer skies again over the weekend... to be followed by some potentially heavy snow early in the week. Looking good! Hakuba 47 is reporting 10cm of fresh snow this morning, and there is 5-10cm on the ground around base areas. In complete contrast to the fine lovely blue skies of yesterday, this morning visibility on the slopes looks set to be limited - early on at least. Should be a fine upcoming weekend if you can get here. Apologies in advance if my report is a little later tomorrow. It's my local community 'end of year party' tonight! Hakuba Happo-one Operating lifts: - Gondola Adam - Panorama pair lift - Alpen quad lift - Kurobishi Number 2 quad lift - Skyline Number 2 pair lift Courses open: - Panorama area - Usagidaira area - Kurobishi area - Skyline area Official snow depth: - Usagidaira: 130cm - Kurobishi: 165cm Hakuba Goryu Operating lifts: - Goryu Telecabin (gondola) - Alps Number 1 pair lift - Alps Number 3 pair lift Courses open: - Panorama - Grand Prix - Technical - Super Official snow depth: - Top: 135cm - Toomi: 50cm Hakuba 47 Operating lifts: - Line 8 Gondola - Line AB pair lift - Line C quad lift - Line E high speed pair lift Courses open: - Route 1 (* upper area only) - Route 2 - Route 3 - Route 5 - Route 6 - Route 8 Official snow depth: - Top: 140cm - Base: 30cm Tsugaike Kogen Operating lifts - EVE Gondola - Tsuga Number 2 pair lift - Han-no-ki high speed pair lift Courses open: - Tsuga-no-mori - Han-kou Official snow depth: - Top: 120cm Hakuba Now 2017-2018 season Data as of Friday 8th December 2017 Total snowfall at base so far 87cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 9 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 23cm (21st November) November 2017 snowfall 47cm reported on 5 days December 2017 snowfall 40cm 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 Hakuba. 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 266cm Posted on Thursday 7th December 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here It is another very cold early December morning. -7C outside and I see Niseko Village are reporting a temperature of -11C on their upper area. Not much of a wind at all, so resorts should be open as normal. I have 5cm of lovely fresh snowfall to add to my report this morning and it is currently coming down at quite a pace (8:10am), so expect some more in my report tomorrow too. The forecast seems to be indicating that snowfall should be easing off sometime during the day today and we might even see a day of no snow tomorrow. Objection! I spent a good three hours at Hirafu yesterday and shared the lifts with some lovely folk from Brazil... they were understandably rather happy at their choice of 'early season' after worrying about it for the past ten months. Phew! Conditions were really nice and it is still not particularly busy. I have a few friends based in the Tokyo region though who have heard about the conditions and have decided to make an extra early season trip up here. I am pretty sure that they will not be the only ones thinking those thoughts. Heavy snowfall looks due around Monday and into next week. What more can I say! --- I'm keeping an eye on early morning resort operation info and updated the data below each morning; this morning the only change I can see is that Konayuki course at Niseko Grand Hirafu is now open. --- Thursday 7th December 2017 What's planned to be open today in Niseko (subject to change): Niseko Grand Hirafu Lifts operating: - Ace Number 3 Pair lift - Ace Number 2 Center Four quad lift - Ace Family quad lift - King Number 3 quad lift - Hirafu Gondola - Holiday Number 1 pair lift - Swinging Monkey * All courses are open apart from Large, Miharashi and Dynamic. Konayuki now open. Niseko HANAZONO Resort Lifts operating: - Hanazono Number 1 quad lift - Hanazono Number 2 quad lift - Hanazono Number 3 quad lift * All lifts are operating Niseko Annupuri Kokusai Lifts operating: - Annupuri Gondola - Jumbo Number 1 quad lift - Dream Number 1 quad lift * Top of Gondola to base is skiable. And, indeed, snowboard-able (!?) too. Niseko Village Lifts operating: - Niseko Gondola - Banzai Chair - Community Chair * Utopia, Shirakaba, Silver, Paradise, Family, Dynamic and Junior courses are open. --- Official resort snow depths on Thursday 7th December 2017: Niseko Grand Hirafu & Hanazono Top - 210cm Base - 85cm Niseko Annupuri Kokusai Top - 140cm Base - 70cm Niseko Village Top - 135cm Base - 70cm --- Floodlit 'nighta' skiing schedule: Saturday 9th December 2017 until Sunday 18th March 2018 Niseko Now 2017-2018 season Data as of Thursday 7th December 2017 Total snowfall at base so far 266cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 18 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 29cm (20th November) November 2017 snowfall 188cm reported on 11 days December 2017 snowfall 78cm 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 Furano region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 5cm Snowfall at base this season 207cm Posted on Thursday 7th December 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . The sun is out today and sitting inside in the light of the sun sure feels warm. Outside it is a different story with the temperature a nice round -10c in the village. This should rise to a high of -6c around lunch time and the sun is expected to give way to cloud. After the report was posted yesterday we received a further 5cm of snow mainly late in the afternoon. Skiing is no longer restricted to only the upper part of the Furano Zone with Sailer Course now open back to the base of the mountain. Furano Zone partially open. Kitanomine Zone closed. Furano Now 2017-2018 season Data as of Thursday 7th December 2017 Total snowfall at base 207cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 20 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 28cm (5th December) November 2017 snowfall 125cm reported on 13 days December 2017 snowfall 82cm 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 Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 17cm Snowfall at base this season 261cm Posted on Wednesday 6th December 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here Good morning from my base here in Hirafu. I went outside earlier on to measure the snow for the morning... and very quickly came back in! Very cold. Good job I had already had my toast. I couldn't help smile though when I measured 17cm of fresh snowfall. Thank you very much, Nature. So yes, the good news from Niseko continues, with that new 17cm bringing my observations for December up to 73cm. And it's good quality snow too. And of course please remember that is at base. (I do not live at the top of the mountain). So you can expect a fair bit more than that on the slopes. It's fair to say that conditions today should be excellent. It's not snowing just now and there is even a little blue sky to see in places. It's generally just cloudy though with a chance of more snow during the day. I am going to now go and check them for myself. As I prepare to post the report it looks like the Annupuri Gondola is on hold as well as the Ace Number 3 lift at Hirafu. Not sure why, and hopefully just temporary. --- The mountain is not yet fully open just yet - I'm keeping my accusatory eye particularly on you, top lifts at Hirafu, Village and Annupuri; and gates of course - but with continued fresh snow coming in and more on the forecast I don't think we should be far off. The official list of runs at Hirafu shows that only Large, Konayuki, Miharashi, Dynamic course areas still need to open. Really good show for early December. Hurray, all round! --- Wednesday 6th December 2017 What's planned to be open today in Niseko (subject to change): Niseko Grand Hirafu Lifts operating: - Ace Number 3 Pair lift - Ace Number 2 Center Four quad lift - Ace Family quad lift - King Number 3 quad lift - Hirafu Gondola - Holiday Number 1 pair lift - Swinging Monkey * All courses are open apart from Large, Konayuki, Miharashi and Dynamic. Niseko HANAZONO Resort Lifts operating: - Hanazono Number 1 quad lift - Hanazono Number 2 quad lift - Hanazono Number 3 quad lift * All lifts are operating Niseko Annupuri Kokusai Lifts operating: - Annupuri Gondola - Jumbo Number 1 quad lift - Dream Number 1 quad lift * Top of Gondola to base is skiable. And, indeed, snowboard-able (!?) too. Niseko Village Lifts operating: - Niseko Gondola - Banzai Chair - Community Chair * Utopia, Shirakaba, Silver, Paradise, Family, Dynamic and Junior courses are open. --- Official resort snow depths on Wednesday 6th December 2017: Niseko Grand Hirafu & Hanazono Top - 210cm Base - 85cm Niseko Annupuri Kokusai Top - 140cm Base - 70cm Niseko Village Top - 135cm Base - 70cm --- Floodlit 'nighta' skiing schedule: Saturday 9th December 2017 until Sunday 18th March 2018 Niseko Now 2017-2018 season Data as of Wednesday 6th December 2017 Total snowfall at base so far 261cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 17 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 29cm (20th November) November 2017 snowfall 188cm reported on 11 days December 2017 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 Furano region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 9cm Snowfall at base this season 202cm Posted on Wednesday 6th December 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . There has been another good amount of snow overnight, this time amounting to 9cm. It is a nice morning with some cloud and sun in the mix and no wind. Later in the day light snow is expected, but this shouldn't affect visibility. Temperatures will remain around the level that they are now throughout the day. Furano Zone partially open. Kitanomine Zone closed. Furano Now 2017-2018 season Data as of Wednesday 6th December 2017 Total snowfall at base 202cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 19 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 28cm (5th December) November 2017 snowfall 125cm reported on 13 days December 2017 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 Myoko region of Niigata New snowfall at base 26cm Snowfall at base this season 92cm Posted on Wednesday 6th December 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Myoko Now report can be found here . 26cm of nice fresh out there this morning! It's also a lot lighter than last month's pretty wet first falls... very encouraging. We're getting very close now; that freezing line (the altitude where it's 0°C) will be mostly staying below 1000 meters, and there's a chance for some heavy snow toward the end of the week, so Akakura Onsen might just make its planned Saturday opening. If not, it's not far off. And you have to remember, too, that we often wonder weather or not we'll have a white Christmas (sometimes right up to about the 23rd-24th) and then it turns around right away. I'd say things are looking pretty positive. Official planned season ski resort opening dates: Saturday 9th December 2017: Akakura Onsen Friday 15th December 2017: Akakura Kanko Saturday 16th December 2017: Ikenotaira Onsen Kyukamura RunRun Lotte Arai Resort Tangram Ski Circus Madarao Kogen Sunday 17th December 2017: Myoko Ski Park Saturday 23rd December 2017: Myoko Suginohara Seki Onsen Kurohime Kogen Snow Park Myoko Now 2017-2018 season Data as of Wednesday 6th December 2017 Total snowfall at base so far 92cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 5 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 26cm (6th December) November 2017 snowfall 61cm reported on 3 days December 2017 snowfall 31cm 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 Myoko. 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 Nozawa Onsen region of Nagano New snowfall at base 5cm Snowfall at base this season 27cm Posted on Wednesday 6th December 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Nozawa Now report can be found here . Morning from Nozawa and yes, we have some fresh snow on the ground. I am measuring 5cm of fresh here near base, and the resort is reporting up to 25cm of fresh snow up on the open Yamabiko area. So it should be very nice up there early this morning. The forecast shows some more snow today on and off, followed by clearer skies tomorrow, more snow on Friday and then some really decent looking snowfall due at the end of the weekend into next week. It all looks very promising. Expect the resort to open up more lifts and terrain as soon as they can - if the forecast comes off, perhaps next week? Exciting times. Nozawa Now 2017-2018 season Data as of Wednesday 6th December 2017 Total snowfall at base 27cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 4 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 14cm (21st November) November 2017 snowfall 21cm reported on 2 days December 2017 snowfall 6cm 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 Nozawa Onsen. 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 Hakuba region of Nagano New snowfall at base 21cm Snowfall at base this season 80cm Posted on Wednesday 6th December 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Hakuba Now report can be found here . Excellent news to report this morning with decent snowfall down to the village. Hakuba 47 is reporting 20cm of fresh snow up top and at base too; and if you look at the official snow depths this morning (below) they have all had a decent 'up'. I can also report 21cm of snow measured myself that I can add to the report. It was snowing really quite heavily just a bit earlier on, but has eased off since then and I can actually see some sun coming through the remaining clouds. Snow is on the forecast for the day though so maybe that will be short lived and won't be the start of a clear up. Sun does look likely tomorrow to be followed by more snow Friday and then late weekend into next week. Actually the forecast is looking very exciting indeed and I encourage you to keep an eye on them. See the top tab or the links on the right hand side column of this page. Looking good. Conditions on the mountain should be great this morning. I'm just unhappy that I can't make it out myself. Hope you can! Hakuba Happo-one Operating lifts: - Gondola Adam - Panorama pair lift - Alpen quad lift - Kurobishi Number 2 quad lift - Skyline Number 2 pair lift Courses open: - Panorama area - Usagidaira area - Kurobishi area - Skyline area Official snow depth: - Usagidaira: 130cm - Kurobishi: 165cm Hakuba Goryu Operating lifts: - Goryu Telecabin (gondola) - Alps Number 1 pair lift - Alps Number 3 pair lift Courses open: - Panorama - Grand Prix - Technical - Super Official snow depth: - Top: 140cm - Toomi: 20cm Hakuba 47 Operating lifts: - Line 8 Gondola - Line AB pair lift - Line C quad lift - Line E high speed pair lift Courses open: - Route 1 (* upper area only) - Route 2 - Route 3 - Route 4 - Route 5 - Route 6 - Route 8 Official snow depth: - Top: 130cm - Base: 30cm Tsugaike Kogen Operating lifts - EVE Gondola - Tsuga Number 2 pair lift - Han-no-ki high speed pair lift Courses open: - Tsuga-no-mori - Han-kou Official snow depth: - Top: 135cm Hakuba Now 2017-2018 season Data as of Wednesday 6th December 2017 Total snowfall at base so far 80cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 8 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 23cm (21st November) November 2017 snowfall 47cm reported on 5 days December 2017 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 Hakuba. 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 244cm Posted on Tuesday 5th December 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here If you are one of the naughty people who didn't get to read my report yesterday, which included a bit of a recap of the season so far, please do check it out. 7cm more fresh snowfall measured this morning (since my last report of course, as always). More snow is expected through today - when I started writing my report it wasn't snowing and there were some patches of blue sky to be seen, but it has now once again started snowing lightly. So 'light snow at times' is probably the best way to describe this early morning. The top half of Mt Yotei is covered in thick dark grey cloud. The forecast remains good and suitably snowy over the coming week. Good and cold too. With regular snow on the horizon, night skiing should get off to a good start from this Saturday. I don't actually get out for nighta that often myself, but when it's good... it's really good! Definitely recommended if you are visiting Niseko. --- Niseko Avalanche Report: Niseko base 6.00am: -4°, 5cm new snow. Moiwa 800m 8m/s, -8°, 10cm new snow, snowdrift development from northerly wind. Annupuri 1000m snowpack 135cm. Hirafu 1000m, -8°, snow drifting from Northerly wind, light snow. Coastal data: Benkei Cape:N11m/s. Kamui Cape N7m/s, 1007hPa, wave 0.8m. From around midnight to early morning a northerly wind blew above 600m on the West side of the mountain, producing some snowdrift and cornice growth in a short time. Although not a great deal of growth, they are unstable and break easily. Around 700m snowdrift growth has been uneven along east facing ridge lines due to the strong winds. Groomed runs are in good condition today, take care of snowdrifts off the groomers. Above 800m this morning the avalanche risk on south facing slopes is elevated. It is predicted to fracture on Dec 3-4 layer, when the warm low pressure system passed through the area. Around 800m there is a frost layer evident in snowpack. All peak gates are still closed. Do not duck ropes looking for fresh tracks. Tonight is the 21st Niseko Avalanche meeting at 6.30pm, Old Stone Warehouse in front of Niseko Station. Yamaguchi San of National Disaster Mitigation Research Institute will be speaking about the latest avalanche research, the future of avalanche research and accident prevention in Japan. The next avalanche report will be issued when gates are ready to be opened. The snow in the forest is good. --- Tuesday 5th December 2017 What's planned to be open today in Niseko (subject to change): Niseko Grand Hirafu Lifts operating: - Ace Number 3 Pair lift - Ace Number 2 Center Four quad lift - Ace Family quad lift - King Number 3 quad lift - Hirafu Gondola - Holiday Number 1 pair lift - Swinging Monkey Niseko HANAZONO Resort Lifts operating: - Hanazono Number 1 quad lift - Hanazono Number 2 quad lift - Hanazono Number 3 quad lift Niseko Annupuri Kokusai Lifts operating: - Annupuri Gondola - Jumbo Number 1 quad lift - Dream Number 1 quad lift Niseko Village Lifts operating: - Niseko Gondola - Banzai Chair - Community Chair --- Official resort snow depths on Tuesday 5th December 2017: Niseko Grand Hirafu & Hanazono Top - 200cm Base - 70cm Niseko Annupuri Kokusai Top - 140cm Base - 70cm Niseko Village Top - 135cm Base - 70cm --- Floodlit 'nighta' skiing schedule: Saturday 9th December 2017 until Sunday 18th March 2018 Niseko Now 2017-2018 season Data as of Tuesday 5th December 2017 Total snowfall at base so far 244cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 16 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 29cm (20th November) November 2017 snowfall 188cm reported on 11 days December 2017 snowfall 56cm 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 Furano region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 28cm Snowfall at base this season 193cm Posted on Tuesday 5th December 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . It is snowing heavily here in Furano with monstrous snow flakes belting down as I write this. With 28cm of fresh snow on the ground conditions on the mountain will be awesome today. Shoveling the snow this morning I noticed that the quality is far lighter than we have had recently. The rate of precipitation will ease up but continue through today and tomorrow. Temperatures will rise to a relatively warm -4c maximum. There still hasn't been any announcement from the resort about opening up more lifts. Furano Zone partially open. Kitanomine Zone closed. Furano Now 2017-2018 season Data as of Tuesday 5th December 2017 Total snowfall at base 193cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 18 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 28cm (5th December) November 2017 snowfall 125cm reported on 13 days December 2017 snowfall 68cm 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 Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 5cm Snowfall at base this season 237cm Posted on Monday 4th December 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here I have a long report this morning - please do read it all, I don't want it to be a waste of my time! First of all, the snow and weather report. Yesterday was a little warmer than we have been experiencing of late and this morning I have an additional 5cm to add to the reports. It is a really very lovely morning here in Niseko. I know 'lots of fresh fluffy dry snow' is the most lovely kind of morning; but this morning it's the 'sunny blue skies' kind of lovely. We haven't had many of those in recent weeks, so it's good to see everywhere looking all wintery in the sunshine. Beautiful. I want to get out there! Happily, it's colder again this morning. And these clear sunny skies won't last long. Actually, since I started putting this report together I feel there's a bit more cloud starting to gather. More cloud is due to move in during the day and it should be snowing once again by the end of tonight. Yey! --- A look back at the season so far: November 2017 As usual this season I will endeavour to post a recap at the beginning of each month so that I can gather my thoughts and make some comparisons. There’s often more behind simple numbers, of course, but it’s always fun to see how the season is shaping up compared with previous ones. Firstly, let’s look at how much snowfall I have measured myself here near the base of Hirafu over the last six years in November: November 2017: 188cm November 2016: 110cm November 2015: 61cm November 2014: 30cm November 2013: 123cm November 2012: 118cm Early this season is looking very good! Check out November 2014. What the heck was going on there!? Rubbish. BUT... a quick look at my own archives (below) shows how December 2014 came back in style with some very big snowfall numbers – even making the total snow haul up until the end of December that year the most in recent seasons. Omoshiroi ne! Looking a bit deeper at November 2017 - the numbers themselves look great, but what has been really great this year so far is how consistent the snowfall has been since the middle of November. Since November 13th, I have been able to add fresh cm of snowfall on 13 different days. Nice. Here’s how much snowfall I have recorded in the month of December over the last 5 seasons. The numbers in brackets show the total snowfall observed up until the end of December in each season. December 2016: 181cm (293cm) December 2015: 244cm (308cm) December 2014: 519cm (549cm) December 2013: 275cm (398cm) December 2012: 418cm (538cm) That’s a big range – from just under 2m last season to just over 5m in 2014. It’s going to be fun to see how much the total will be come the end of this month. I’ve already recorded 49cm of snowfall in these first few days of December, so it’s a good start to the month. Lastly, let’s take a look at the data that the Japan Meteorological Agency report from their observation station in Kutchan town: November 2017: 169cm November 2016: 171cm November 2015: 35cm November 2014: 41cm November 2013: 99cm November 2012: 98cm --- And here's something else I prepared yesterday. One person sent some interesting comments to me via SnowJapan regarding general ‘excitement’ for the season, and how he has observed how some folk (not me, happily) are somewhat conveniently re-writing what happened in previous seasons. Here’s my thoughts on that. If you have been reading my reports over the last few weeks, you’ll know that yes, I’m pretty excited about what is currently being served up this early season here in Niseko. It has undoubtedly been an excellent start to the season. What’s not to be happy about there. It seems though that some people are starting to borderline bad-mouth previous seasons when – at the time - they were hyping them up as being ‘Epic’ etc. Suddenly what was totally 'Epic' has now been degraded to being much less so, to make this season seem all the better. I have heard a few people around town saying things like that, but can’t say that I am really surprised. Excitement is good, but hype and marketing are different things. I think you’ll find that most people who are selling Niseko are going to be pretty much always talking things up at any given time; I suppose it goes with the territory and is understandable. Unfortunately, sometimes it becomes really difficult to know what is hype and what is genuine excitement. Happily, I am totally against the concept of serving up any kind of hype and marketing to you in these reports. If anything, I probably have a tendency to try and kick back against that. And anyway, I don’t have anything to sell to you either (neither does SnowJapan). So basically, if you sense me being excited, you can be pretty sure that I am genuinely excited and have real reason to be. Apart from the issue of misleading people, if everything is relentlessly being reported as ‘Epic’ (insert other Capitalised Adjective) all of the time - even when things aren’t actually really all that 'Epic' - what happens when things really are genuinely ‘Epic’? Well, enough of that for now. Let me just end my rather long report today by saying congratulations to the folk who took a bit of a gamble to be here at the very start of the season. They’re probably the ones with the biggest grins! --- Niseko Avalanche Report: Niseko base 6am: -5℃, light dusts, calm. Moiwa800m: -6℃, light breeze, 15cm snowfall and no notable snowdrift development. Annupuri1000m: 135cm snowpack. Coastal data: Benkei cape NW9m/s, Kamui cape WSW2m/s, 1018hPa, 0.9m waves. The isobars are spread out and the weather is calm. A warm-front snowfall is blanketing the snowpack and will become a potential sliding layer in the future snowpack. The present snowpack above 800m is stable and the avalanche risk is low. The snow is in good shape, but a bit heavy and easy to have skis getting caught. Beware of hitting trees and falling into streams as they’re not fully buried and water flow is still high. Avalanches in Niseko are mostly caused by the collapsing of storm-affected snowdrifts. Hazard level rises also during heavy snowfall caused by passing low-pressure systems. The snow condition is ever changing. Using caution, especially during poor weather, will reduce the risks of accidents. The Niseko Rules are implemented in order to protect the freedom and the safety of out of bounds riding, and all resort users must abide by those rules. Have a nice day. --- Monday 4th December 2017 What's planned to be open today in Niseko (subject to change): Niseko Grand Hirafu Lifts operating: - Ace Number 3 Pair lift - Ace Number 2 Center Four quad lift - Ace Family quad lift - King Number 3 quad lift - Hirafu Gondola - Holiday Number 1 pair lift - Swinging Monkey Niseko HANAZONO Resort Lifts operating: - Hanazono Number 1 quad lift - Hanazono Number 2 quad lift - Hanazono Number 3 quad lift Niseko Annupuri Kokusai Lifts operating: - Annupuri Gondola - Jumbo Number 1 quad lift - Dream Number 1 quad lift Niseko Village Lifts operating: - Niseko Gondola - Banzai Chair - Community Chair --- Official resort snow depths on Monday 4th December 2017: Niseko Grand Hirafu & Hanazono Top - 190cm Base - 90cm Niseko Annupuri Kokusai Top - 140cm Base - 70cm Niseko Village Top - 135cm Base - 70cm --- Floodlit 'nighta' skiing schedule: Saturday 9th December 2017 until Sunday 18th March 2018 Niseko Now 2017-2018 season Data as of Monday 4th December 2017 Total snowfall at base so far 237cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 15 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 29cm (20th November) November 2017 snowfall 188cm reported on 11 days December 2017 snowfall 49cm 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