Independent snow and weather reporting from the Furano region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 1cm Snowfall at base this season 97cm Posted on Monday 28th November 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . The snow outlook is good for today and tomorrow with heavy snow predicted on the ski area from this evening. At the moment it is snow lightly with just a dusting to report right at the moment. The warm temperatures of yesterday have passed but have left roads and footpaths extremely slippery under the light layer of fresh snow. Furano Zone is partially open with Furano Ropeway operating to upload and download skiers to and from the upper mountain. It is not possible to ski from the top to bottom of the mountain yet. The skiable lift is Downhill Romance no.2 chair and the skiable courses are the upper part of Sailer and Spies Course, and Shirakaba Course. Restaurant Downhill is open. Furano Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Monday 28th November 2016 Total snowfall at base 97cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 17 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 32cm (8th November) November 2016 snowfall 97cm reported on 17 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 Shiga Kogen region of Nagano New snowfall at base 1cm Snowfall at base this season 23cm Posted on Monday 28th November 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Shiga Kogen Now report can be found here . Morning from Shiga Kogen and while it is still raining down below, it is snowing here. We had to suffer the rain up here as well yesterday and it remained quite mild but happily it is colder this morning and hopefully will remain that way. Blowy winds too. The forecast shows a bit of snow and quite strong winds at times today but not that much after that over the coming week. It looks like we might need to wait a little longer for winter to properly arrive. In the meantime... Areas of Shiga Kogen currently open: A 600m long run at Kumanoyu area, serviced by one pair lift. Shiga Kogen Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Monday 28th November 2016 Total snowfall at base 23cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 4 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 11cm (24th November) November 2016 snowfall 23cm 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 Shiga Kogen. 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 96cm Posted on Sunday 27th November 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . It has turned out to be a warm Sunday here in Furano. The temperature in town is +3c and this has turned the roads into rivers as the snow on the roads melts back to the tar seal. There is a light layer of cloud, so the sun is breaking through and hitting the slopes as well. The good news is there was another dusting if snow overnight and the top of the mountain is sitting just below freezing so the snow up there is safe from the warm temperatures. Furano Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Sunday 27th November 2016 Total snowfall at base 96cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 16 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 32cm (8th November) November 2016 snowfall 96cm reported on 16 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 11cm Snowfall at base this season 95cm Posted on Saturday 26th November 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . With 11cm of new snow in the village this morning conditions on the mountain are absolutely superb with light powder snow in abundance. The mountain itself received around 20cm. It feels much warmer today and will continue to warm up during the day. Tomorrow will also be mild and the mild temperatures will bring some light rain at village level but the upper mountain should see snow instead. Furano Zone is partially open with Furano Ropeway operating to upload and download skiers to and from the upper mountain. It is not possible to ski from the top to bottom of the mountain yet. The skiable lift is Downhill Romance no.2 chair and the skiable courses are the upper part of Sailer and Spies Course, and Shirakaba Course. Restaurant Downhill is open. Kitanomine Zone is closed. Furano Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Saturday 26th November 2016 Total snowfall at base 95cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 15 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 32cm (8th November) November 2016 snowfall 95cm reported on 15 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 3cm Snowfall at base this season 91cm Posted on Saturday 26th November 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here The day is here! Yes, today is officially the first day of the ski and snowboard season here in Niseko with Niseko Grand Hirafu and Niseko Annupuri resort areas opening for the first time. It is a limited opening, with just a few lifts moving. Here’s the details (weather stuff below): Niseko Grand Hirafu is open from 8:30am this morning with the Ace Number 2 Center Four quad lift taking folk up to the Ace Number 3 pair lift and the open Center Course. The last lift servicing the open run will be at 3:30pm and the last quad lift coming back down to base at 4pm. Just in time for tea! Lift tickets for the privileged are 2,000 yen for adults and 1,000 yen for children and seniors, and those charges are valid until 30th November. Niseko Annupuri is also opening this morning. The Annupuri Gondola will also start moving at 8:30am, taking people up to the Jumbo Number 3 pair lift which is open from 8:45am until 3:15pm. The last Gondola down will be at 3:30pm. Lift tickets for this limited Niseko Annupuri opening are 2,100 yen for adults and seniors, and 1,300 yen for elementary school age children. So there you have it... 2016-2017 is a go! --- Oh yes, small detail - the weather. Yesterday we got another 3cm of snowfall and a further slight dusting overnight, leaving us with a cloudy and kind of overcast start to the day today. It is currently -2C and the forecast is for temps to hover around the freezing mark for the day. Next snow is due around Monday. Hopefully we will get to fairly quickly see more lifts and terrain open. I am putting this report together and nearly ready to post it at just after 8am, and already I can see a few people starting to wait for the lift at Niseko Grand Hirafu. Come on, give us a wave! If you are already out there this morning for those first tracks of the season, have fun. --- For the record, I measured 90cm of snowfall up until my report yesterday. That is in contrast with the 29cm that I recorded up until my 25th November report last year. So, all in all it seems to be a pretty good start. What’s more important of course is how things go from now, so fingers crossed for lots of regular and heavy - but dry and light! - snowfall. By the way, you check out the archive report for 25th November 2015 here. Take a look lower down the page at the ‘Monthly and annual accumulation’ data table, and notice that it shows you the “snowfall up until that day”. You can do that for any of the reports over the last few seasons. Pretty nifty, hey?! --- The planned dates for the four main Niseko United ski resorts. Dates may vary depending on snowfall: Niseko Grand Hirafu: from today (limited opening) until Sunday 7th May 2017 Niseko Annupuri: from today (limited opening) until Sunday 7th May 2017 Niseko Hanazono: Saturday 3rd December 2016 until Sunday 2nd April 2017 Niseko Village: Thursday 1st December 2016 until Sunday 2nd April 2017 Night skiing is planned from Saturday 10th December until Monday 20th March 2017 at the Annupuri, Grand Hirafu and Village resort areas. Niseko Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Saturday 26th November 2016 Total snowfall at base so far 91cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 12 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 25cm (25th November) November 2016 snowfall 91cm reported on 12 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in 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 1cm Snowfall at base this season 84cm Posted on Friday 25th November 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . It is a nice day in Furano with mostly clear skies and the sun coming down onto the slopes. The temperatures continue to be very cold for this time of year with -10c recorded at the top of the resort and the village only a couple of degrees warmer. Although we are getting light snow it is not accumulating to much at village level as it is more of a snow flurry. On the mountain itself where the skiing is there is a few centimetres of accumulation. Furano Zone is partially open with Furano Ropeway operating to upload and download skiers to and from the upper mountain. It is not possible to ski from the top to bottom of the mountain yet. The skiable lift is Downhill Romance no.2 chair and the skiable courses are the upper part of Sailer and Spies Course, and Shirakaba Course. Restaurant Downhill is open. Furano Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Friday 25th November 2016 Total snowfall at base 84cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 14 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 32cm (8th November) November 2016 snowfall 84cm reported on 14 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 1cm Snowfall at base this season 6cm Posted on Friday 25th November 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Myoko Now report can be found here . Just a quick note here, as a light dusting of snow is melting under a good strong late-fall sun (not calling it winter until we're covered!). We had a good hard frost overnight as well, so things are all moving in the right direction. I got an interesting note from our editor about the out-of-date information from local ski areas - some even two years old. Here is my official request that they get things going in English! But, I guess when you have world-class snow, you don't have to worry about people coming (and they are doing some good things on the slopes to make things better for all sliders). End of rant. Back when there's more snow to report! Myoko Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Friday 25th November 2016 Total snowfall at base so far 6cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 2 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 5cm (9th November) November 2016 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 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 Naeba region of Niigata New snowfall at base 5cm Snowfall at base this season 11cm Posted on Thursday 24th November 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Naeba Now report can be found here . Good morning from Naeba everyone. Well this pre-season couldn't get much better at this point. Over the last two days the snow has been falling moderately hard and now a decent amount has accumulated. We still have a ways to go until opening day but with this much snow on the ground already I am cautiously predicting an amazing start to the season. The snow has arrived in Naeba and it looks like it's here to stay! Opening, lift & other notes Naeba Ski Resort is planning to open on the 10th December 2016. Naeba Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Thursday 24th November 2016 Total snowfall at base so far 11cm Number of days snowfall observed 2 days Most snowfall observed on 1 day 6cm (9th November) November 2016 snowfall 11cm observed 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 Naeba. 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 Zao region of Yamagata New snowfall at base 2cm Snowfall at base this season 5cm Posted on Thursday 24th November 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here . There has been more snow, so another quick update report. 2cm here at base and again presumably a fair bit more higher up, or we hope so anyway... Temperatures hovering around zero at the moment and a real chill in the air. More snow please! Zao Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Thursday 24th November 2016 Total snowfall at base 5cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 3 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 2cm (on 10th and 24th November) November 2016 snowfall 5cm observed 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 Zao 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 Furano region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 1cm Snowfall at base this season 83cm Posted on Thursday 24th November 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . It sure has felt cold in Furano the last couple of days, but poking my head outside this morning felt particularly cold and a quick check of the thermometer revealed -13C!!! Today feels more like February than November. There has been just a dusting of new snow overnight. There is lots of blue in the sky and the sun is beaming down on the resort. Light snow is on the forecast all day but to be honest it doesn't look like that will eventuate today...lets just wait and see. Furano Zone is partially open with Furano Ropeway operating to upload and download skiers to and from the upper mountain. It is not possible to ski from the top to bottom of the mountain yet. The skiable lift is Downhill Romance no.2 chair and the skiable courses are the upper part of Sailer and Spies Course, and Shirakaba Course. Restaurant Downhill is open. Kitanomine Zone is closed. Furano Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Thursday 24th November 2016 Total snowfall at base 83cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 13 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 32cm (8th November) November 2016 snowfall 83cm reported on 13 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 1cm Snowfall at base this season 1cm Posted on Thursday 24th November 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Hakuba Now report can be found here . Some snowfall to report this morning - just a bit and depending on where you are in the valley either none on the ground or a slight dusting. The Hakuba 47 resort is reporting 1-2cm at base and about 10cm of snowfall higher up. After gathering some of the sprinkled snow earlier on, I was just about able to make myself a mini-snowman. He was really cute. But now that we have got that tradition out of the way, it's the serious business of decent snowfall and sliding on it that I really want to get to. We're not there yet and with only 10cm or so higher up it's obviously not enough to get going yet. Right now there are some breaks in the clouds over Hakuba and there's even some blue sky on show. Hopefully there will be more snow falling over the next 24 hours. Ski resort news that was originally posted yesterday (in case you didn't see it): Yanaba Snow Park is not going to be opening this season. Yanaba is a smaller ski hill that is actually located by the side of Lake Aoki in Omachi city and just to the south of Hakuba village. Apparently, with the poor snowfall of last season Yanaba only managed to open for a total of about 40 days with less than 8,000 people actually using it. It may not be one of the major ski hills but it is always sad to hear these things. Yanaba has had something of a troubled on-off run of seasons of late and there is no word as to what happens beyond the coming season, but I'll post any further news in a future report. Perhaps a bumper season of heavy and consistent snowfall might help. Yes, please - we'll have some of that! Below are the official planned season opening dates for the ski and snowboard resorts in the Hakuba region. There are all subject to change depending on what happens weather-wise: Hakuba Happo-one: as soon as there is enough snow Hakuba 47: from late November Hakuba Goryu: from late November Tsugaike Kogen: from 28th November Hakuba Cortina: from 10th December Hakuba Iwatake Snow Field: from 16th December Hakuba Norikura Onsen: from mid December Hakuba Sanosaka: from mid December Reports will be posted daily once the lifts get moving. Hakuba Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Thursday 24th November 2016 Total snowfall at base so far 1cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 1 day Most snowfall observed in 1 day 1cm (24th November) November 2016 snowfall 1cm 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 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 Shiga Kogen region of Nagano New snowfall at base 11cm Snowfall at base this season 22cm Posted on Thursday 24th November 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Shiga Kogen Now report can be found here . Today is the first day of the season here in Shiga Kogen. Yes, it may be just a very small part of one area, but a lift is moving and a run open. The Number 2 lift at the Kumanoyu area of Shiga Kogen is now moving with a 20-40m wide and 600m long stretch of course open to skiers and snowboarders. That is all that is open for the time being here. We have had a decent fall of snowfall overnight up here and I measured 11cm, making everywhere nice and white this morning. More snowfall overnight tonight will help things along... Shiga Kogen Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Thursday 24th November 2016 Total snowfall at base 22cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 3 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 11cm (24th November) November 2016 snowfall 22cm 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 Shiga Kogen. 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