Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 6cm Snowfall at base this season 63cm Posted on Thursday 24th November 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here Hello and I have more snowfall to report to you this morning from here in Hirafu. I am measuring 6cm of fresh here outside my place (and by the way, I always measure in exactly the same spot). Unfortunately it has stopped snowing for the moment. It is another very cold morning though and the temperature is currently -7C. Temperatures may rise slightly later on today but remain well under freezing and hopefully there will be more snow to report tomorrow morning. The snow eased off just before but it's back to coming down again and that might be the pattern for today and tomorrow. No further updates yet from Niseko Grand Hirafu who are waiting to open as soon as there is enough snow. If we can get some more base laid down over the next 48 hours, perhaps an opening on Saturday might be possible? That's purely my own guess, by the way. Niseko Annupuri of course has always been planning to open from this Saturday. That sounds just a bit daunting. (But I love it!) --- The planned dates for the four main resorts. Dates may vary depending on snowfall: Niseko Grand Hirafu: as soon as there is enough snow until Sunday 7th May 2017 Niseko Annupuri: Saturday 26th November 2016 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 Thursday 24th November 2016 Total snowfall at base so far 63cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 10 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 18cm (10th November) November 2016 snowfall 63cm reported on 10 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in 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 Zao region of Yamagata New snowfall at base 1cm Snowfall at base this season 3cm Posted on Wednesday 23rd November 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here . Greetings from here in Zao Onsen where we have some snow to report. Not a huge amount, just 1cm here at base and so hopefully a good bit more higher up. You may have noticed on the new yesterday that there was an strong earthquake off the east costs of Fukushima yesterday morning. We felt it pretty strong here as well, a shindo 4 on the Japanese scale. Let's hope that's the last time for a long time, I can do without that feeling! Anyway back to the happy subject of snowfall once again. The forecast for the coming week is looking mixed - there's chances of snowfall on and off but nothing major by the looks. Zao Onsen doesn't tend to give an 'opening date', rather something more like 'early December'. I'm sure that once enough snow does actually fall here, the lifts will start moving. Not long now. Keep your eyes on the forecast, and I'll be back in a few days... Zao Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Wednesday 23rd November 2016 Total snowfall at base 3cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 2 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 2cm (on 10th November) November 2016 snowfall 3cm 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 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 4cm Snowfall at base this season 82cm Posted on Wednesday 23rd November 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . Furano continues to do very well with these early season snow falls with a further 4cm to report this morning. The forecast is still for continuous light snow through until Monday. While this may amount to just a few centimetres each day, the cumulative effect is certainly going to help build up the lower mountain base. On Monday evening heavy snow is predicted at higher elevations, so we will be keeping our eye on that to see how it develops. For today there is a nice new layer of light powder snow on a 70cm base. It is fairly windy and temperatures are pretty cold with -10c recorded this morning at the top of Furano Ropeway. 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 Wednesday 23rd November 2016 Total snowfall at base 82cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 12 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 32cm (8th November) November 2016 snowfall 82cm reported on 12 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Furano. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Shiga Kogen region of Nagano New snowfall at base 1cm Snowfall at base this season 11cm Posted on Wednesday 23rd November 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Shiga Kogen Now report can be found here . Hello from Shiga Kogen and it is a cold morning. Rain last night turned into snow, and this morning it has been snowing here. Not huge amounts, but it is all going to count. As I write this it actually turning quite bright, but the forecast is for snow to continue and perhaps even some decent snowfall tonight into tomorrow. Fingers crossed. Kumanoyu have said that they hope to be able to say when they will be able to open later on today. The section of Route 292 between Yokoteyama and Kusatsu in Gunma Prefecture is now closed for the winter season. Shiga Kogen Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Wednesday 23rd November 2016 Total snowfall at base 11cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 2 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 10cm (10th November) November 2016 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 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 Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 6cm Snowfall at base this season 57cm Posted on Wednesday 23rd November 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here Hello from here in Hirafu and - as expected - Niseko Grand Hirafu is not going to be able to open today and opening has been delayed. The resort announced this yesterday and are saying that they will be starting up the lifts just as soon as there is enough snow to do so. I do have some fresh snow to report this morning with 6cm of snow here at base. And it is really cold as well this morning - proper winter-like, and my thermometer early on is reading -7 degrees. It's not forecast to warm up any from that point either, so all being well we should be in for a day of cold and more snowfall. The forecast is looking promising still over the next few days so fingers crossed. With the official opening of the resorts almost upon us, there's a real buzz around at the moment. Many people who are here in the Niseko region to work for the season are in place and ready to go (with their riding and perhaps with their work too!), owners of businesses are also either waiting or frantically putting plans into place... and of course there are some people who are bravely here in order to enjoy some first turns of the season. Early season is always a gamble of course - wherever you decide to go - so let us hope that this season will be a good one. --- The planned dates for the four main resorts. Dates may vary depending on snowfall: Niseko Grand Hirafu: as soon as there is enough snow until Sunday 7th May 2017 Niseko Annupuri: Saturday 26th November 2016 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 Wednesday 23rd November 2016 Total snowfall at base so far 57cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 9 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 18cm (10th November) November 2016 snowfall 57cm reported on 9 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Kutchan/Niseko. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Furano region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 4cm Snowfall at base this season 78cm Posted on Tuesday 22nd November 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . A few more centimetres of snow have fallen since yesterdays report and we are expecting this light snowfall to continue throughout the week until Saturday. At the moment the snow has stopped but looks like it could start coming down again anytime soon. Temperatures stayed freezing overnight but at village level they will rise just above 0c during the day. 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 Tuesday 22nd November 2016 Total snowfall at base 78cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 11 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 32cm (8th November) November 2016 snowfall 78cm reported on 11 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Furano. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Furano region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 3cm Snowfall at base this season 74cm Posted on Monday 21st November 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . Sunday turned out to be really warm with temperatures peaking at +9c and light rain falling for the first half of the day. The temperature plunged in the evening, and late evening light snow started fall which has amounted to a reasonable 3cm on the ground this morning. For the next six days temperatures will remain below freezing in the village and light snow is forecast to fall continuously. While there are no big numbers on the snow radar the constant trickle will add up to a decent amount each day I think. The courses that are open have good coverage and are providing great early season skiing. The lower mountain needs a significant snowfall before any course can be opened down to the base area. 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 Monday 21st November 2016 Total snowfall at base 74cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 10 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 32cm (8th November) November 2016 snowfall 74cm reported on 10 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Furano. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 1cm Snowfall at base this season 51cm Posted on Monday 21st November 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here Good morning from Niseko and here were are in the week when the ski lifts plan to start moving. The big question is... will they be able to? We endured some rain over the weekend which washed away the white on the lower slopes again, but this morning we have some more snowfall. The lower slopes are now looking speckled white. So there is just a bit with 1cm to add to my snowfall tally from down here at base. It's colder again this morning and so hopefully, this time it will now remain cold and we can enter into winter proper. The forecast has snow falling from later on tomorrow and a chance of snowfall every day through into the weekend. It remains to be seen if there will be enough snow for opening as planned - there's not enough yet. --- Thank you to the person who pointed out my mistake regarding the opening dates of Niseko Grand Hirafu and Niseko Annupuri - I had them the wrong way round. It is of course Niseko Grand Hirafu that hopes to open this coming Wednesday (23rd), with Niseko Annupuri planning to open on Saturday (26th). Apologies. --- The planned dates for the four main resorts: Niseko Grand Hirafu: Wednesday 23rd November 2016 until Sunday 7th May 2017 Niseko Annupuri: Saturday 26th November 2016 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 Monday 21st November 2016 Total snowfall at base so far 51cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 8 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 18cm (10th November) November 2016 snowfall 51cm 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 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 2cm Snowfall at base this season 71cm Posted on Friday 18th November 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . We are back into a warm spell with the weather and +4c certainly feels toasty compared to the recent freezing temps that we have been getting used to. The rain that was on the forecast arrived today and it is raining heavily right at the moment at village level. On the upper mountain there is some light snow coming down. The good news is that Furano Ski Area will open tomorrow, commencing the 2016/17 ski season. This is one week ahead of the target opening date of 26 November due to really good early season snowfalls. The information received from the resort for operations tomorrow 19 November are as follows: Furano Zone will be 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 will be the Downhill Romance no.2 chair and the skiable courses will be the upper part of Sailer Course which is approximately 800m in length and Shirakaba Course 740m. If you are feeling like some food on the mountain Restaurant Downhill will be open. Kitanomine Zone - closed. Furano Ropeway 8:30am-15:00pm for uploading/downloading only. Furano Downhill Romance 2 chairlift 8:40am-15:00pm Furano Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Friday 18th November 2016 Total snowfall at base 71cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 9 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 32cm (8th November) November 2016 snowfall 71cm reported on 9 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Furano. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Furano region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 5cm Snowfall at base this season 69cm Posted on Thursday 17th November 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . There has been some light snow on and off during the day and a total of 5cm has accumulated on the ground. Temperatures have been sitting just below freezing throughout the day. It looks like there will be some heavy rain falling tomorrow at village level, but hopefully this will fall as snow on the upper mountain and lead to the resort being able to open on Saturday - fingers crossed. The next significant snow should arrive on Monday with some heavy falls on Tuesday. Furano Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Thursday 17th November 2016 Total snowfall at base 69cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 8 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 32cm (8th November) November 2016 snowfall 69cm 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 Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 3cm Snowfall at base this season 50cm Posted on Thursday 17th November 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here A quick report today with another just about 3cm of fresh snow to report outside my place this morning and light snow falling this morning when I left to come here to Sapporo. It's keeping cold and today the forecast is for light snow and cloud. Perhaps a few bits of blue sky might show through in the afternoon. We're still looking at warmer conditions from tomorrow and over the weekend, and rain forecast too. Hopefully things will return to cold and snowy early week. --- The planned dates for the four main resorts: Niseko Grand Hirafu: Wednesday 23rd November 2016 until Sunday 7th May 2017 Niseko Annupuri: Saturday 26th November 2016 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 Thursday 17th November 2016 Total snowfall at base so far 50cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 7 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 18cm (10th November) November 2016 snowfall 50cm 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 2cm Snowfall at base this season 64cm Posted on Wednesday 16th November 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . The weather has snapped back from a warmish spell that brought with it a fair amount of rain and cleaned up most of the snow lying around the village. Late last evening it started to snow heavily but soon eased up and there has just been a light flurry since. Overnight there has been 2cm of new snow. Today and tomorrow should see continuing light snow and cold temperatures. From Friday through to Sunday temperatures will rise above zero and there is some rain on the forecast, hopefully this will be snow at higher elevations on the mountain. Furano Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Wednesday 16th November 2016 Total snowfall at base 64cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 7 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 32cm (8th November) November 2016 snowfall 64cm 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