Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 20cm Snowfall at base this season 641cm Weather overview Cloud, light snow Wind Varied Temperature -7C base / -11C top Visibility Fair Posted at 9:03am on Sunday 6th January 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here Good morning from Niseko. The clouds cleared yesterday but returned again overnight and I have another 20cm of snow to report this morning. Always good to be able to share such news in a morning and don't you just love how consistent it is? Seems like very nice dry snow quality too so I think people will be in for another great day out on the slopes today. Wind is affecting some of the top lifts on the mountain this morning. At the time of writing, the Ace Number 4 and King Number 4 lifts are Grand Hirafu; the Wonderland Chair at Niseko Village; and the Jumbo Number 4 top lifts are not operating due to the wind. The three lifts at Hanazono seem to be moving, though the top two at reduced speed. Wind aside it's a familiar story with cloud and light snow falling at the moment and snow forecast for the day. Temperatures are unlikely to rise much during the day from the current -7C my thermometer is at now. Less wind and mostly just cloudy conditions likely tomorrow. Niseko Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Sunday 6th January 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 641cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 44 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 40cm (10th, 11th, 19th December) November 2012 snowfall 118cm reported on 11 days December 2012 snowfall 418cm reported on 27 days January 2013 snowfall 105cm reported on 6 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Kutchan/Niseko. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 20cm Snowfall at base this season 621cm Weather overview Cloud, light snow Wind OK Temperature -7C base / -11C top Visibility Fair Posted at 9:03am on Saturday 5th January 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here It's another cold start to the day, but not quite as cold as yesterday morning. When it's down into near minus double digits though, sometimes it's hard to notice the difference - it's all just... cold! When you are in a place like Niseko though with the snow to compensate, it's all good. 20cm of new snowfall since yesterday, a good chunk of that falling mid-afternoon yesterday. It's a calm morning with some light snow lazily falling from the skies. The sun was out just a short while ago over in Hanazono, but it seems to have disappeared once again behind the clouds. The forecast for the day is mostly just cloudy, snow likely overnight into tomorrow. All resorts and lifts around the mountain look set to be operating as normal. Should be great conditions out on the slopes this morning. Have a great weekend. Niseko Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Saturday 5th January 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 621cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 43 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 40cm (10th, 11th, 19th December) November 2012 snowfall 118cm reported on 11 days December 2012 snowfall 418cm reported on 27 days January 2013 snowfall 85cm reported on 5 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Kutchan/Niseko. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 5cm Snowfall at base this season 81cm Weather overview Cloud Wind Light Temperature 2C base / -1C top Visibility Fair Posted at 9:44am on Monday 26th November 2012 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here . Yesterday was a beauty and actually, on a personal note, my first slide of the season. That first time is just the best isn't it. With the new snow to play in, perhaps 15cm or more higher up, conditions were really good out there and the clear weather that opened up really added to it all, giving us some fine views of the surrounding mountains. On to today... after those few days of very cold conditions, it's somewhat milder this morning. The temperature is above zero, currently around 2 degrees. Overnight around 5cm of snow has fallen, a somewhat wetter variety than we have had until now. It's a much more cloudy and misty start to the day, though it has been lifting even as I write this and I can gradually see more of the slopes now. (Clouds covering the mountain once again a few minutes later!) As I reported yesterday there's a chance of some rainfall today especially in lower areas, though hopefully it will be falling as snow higher up. Fingers crossed. The good news is that we can expect snow overnight and perhaps a decent load to be deposited on the mountains as well. It might be a bit wild with some very strong winds forecast tomorrow morning, so much so that it might well affect lift operations. Looking beyond tomorrow though and the forecast is looking promising with changes of snow pretty much every day through into the weekend. Lifts currently operating in Niseko: Grand Hirafu - Ace No2 Quad (Center Four) and Ace No3 Pair lifts. Annupuri - Gondola and Jumbo No3 pair lift. 8 hour lift tickets are 2000 yen for adults and 1000 yen for children and seniors, these special prices are valid until Friday 30th November. Hirafu now have 7 courses open and 4300m of skiable area. Look for more to open as we get more snow. Word has it that the Ace Family pair should be opening on Saturday. We shall see. Until tomorrow! Niseko Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Monday 26th November 2012 Total snowfall at base so far 81cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 7 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 20cm (19th and 21st November) November 2012 snowfall 81cm Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Kutchan/Niseko. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 1cm Snowfall at base this season 82cm Weather overview Cloud, snow, windy Wind Strong Temperature 1C base / -3C top Visibility Poor Posted at 9:12am on Tuesday 27th November 2012 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here . From yesterday afternoon: I said 'until tomorrow', but I thought I would give you an update. Not very good news since I posted the morning report, I'm afraid. Rain has been falling in Niseko, which has somewhat dampened some spirits after such a fun weekend, and I doubt there are as many people out there on the lifts now. At least it has been trying to turn into sleet and it does seem likely that it will soon be snowing once again. More of that wet snow at first no doubt, but hopefully it will be more like what we expect in Niseko by tomorrow and beyond as things still look set to get colder again, especially once we get to the end of the week. Perhaps the last rain of the year? Would be nice! ----- Today's report: Yesterday was one of those days best forgotten, and we can forgive 'nature' especially as we are still in November. Just a dusting of snowfall since yesterday through until early this morning, and in reality the rain will have done some damage out there though hopefully limited, and will actually have helped compact the snow base out there. This morning I am happy to report that we are back to snow in Niseko along with those strong winds that we were told to expect - Hirafu reporting winds of 15m/s in upper areas and probably stronger. (They have also increased the snow depth numbers to 140cm this morning). Once the winds calm down, fingers crossed the snow is here to stay. At the time of writing, Hirafu only has the lower Ace Number 1 pair lift moving with the two usual lifts on standby due to the blizzard like conditions out there. Annupuri is closed with no lifts moving this morning. Perhaps today is a good time to check out some local hot springs or one of the places opening up for a good meal, I think! Hopefully tomorrow I will have some nice new snowy news to report. Niseko Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Tuesday 27th November 2012 Total snowfall at base so far 82cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 8 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 20cm (19th and 21st November) November 2012 snowfall 82cm Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Kutchan/Niseko. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 10cm Snowfall at base this season 76cm Weather overview Cloud, blue skies opening up Wind Light Temperature -2C base / -6C top Visibility Good Posted at 9:51am on Sunday 25th November 2012 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here . It is a cold cold morning here again. Since my last report we have had about 10cm of new snowfall. Light snow was falling earlier on but it eased off and became somewhat overcast and cloudy. It's quite bright actually with quite a few areas of blue sky increasingly on show as well at the moment. It almost feels like it could really clear up today and it is certainly going to warm up more than it has been over the last few days today, rising into positive C numbers. There's even a chance that we may see rain fall tomorrow in village, but we can probably avoid that on the mountain where it will hopefully be snowing instead. Let's just see what nature brings us. We should be back to 'very cold' mode come Tuesday. So, this morning welcomes some of the Niseko Annupuri lifts to the season, so we now have one gondola and three lifts operating in Niseko: Grand Hirafu - Ace No2 Quad (Center Four) and Ace No3 Pair lifts. Annupuri - Gondola and Jumbo No3 pair lift. 8 hour lift tickets are 2000 yen for adults and 1000 yen for children and seniors, these special prices are valid until Friday 30th November. Hirafu opened up the Furiko course yesterday and so gradually we are seeing more terrain opened up. Did I mention the snow conditions? Very nice... it's very exciting to think that we are still only in November. Niseko Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Sunday 25th November 2012 Total snowfall at base so far 76cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 6 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 20cm (19th and 21st November) November 2012 snowfall 76cm Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Kutchan/Niseko. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 10cm Snowfall at base this season 128cm Weather overview Cloud, snow Wind Varied Temperature -5C base / -10C top Visibility Poor Posted at 9:26am on Saturday 1st December 2012 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here . Welcome to the weekend and guess what... it's snowing. It tends to do that a lot here, for which we are all very thankful! Since my last report around 10cm of fresh snowfall to report here and that's being reflected by Hirafu who now have 185cm up top and 80cm at base. So this morning it is snowing lightly and it's also very cold. Earlier on it was just under -5C and it's almost unchanged a few hours later. Going to be a cold day for sure. Today of course sees Niseko Village open and this morning they have the Community Chair and Banzai Chair lifts operating. I have noted below which lifts are operating at the three open resort areas below. Lifts Operating (at time of writing) Grand Hirafu Ace Family Pair Ace Quad No2 (Center Four) Ace Pair Lift No3 King Hooded Triple Life #3 Niseko Annupuri Annupuri Gondola Jumbo Quad No1 Jumbo Pair #3 Niseko Village Community Chair Banzai Chair Good to see more of the mountain opening up. From today until 14th December, the lift tickets are set to the normal 'off-season' prices. Weather forecast? Cold and snowy today and then things might just clear up somewhat tomorrow and not be quite as cold. Monday night into Tuesday is looking like it might bring us warmer conditions and also rain to the region before cold and snow returns again on Wednesday. Now that we are into December, let's take a look at the JMA (Japan Meteorological Agency) Kutchan town snowfall numbers. If you take a look back over the Niseko Now reports last season, we were comparing the snowfall month by month over recent seasons in the Kutchan town area. Here are the numbers for the month of November over the last five seasons: November 2008: 80cm November 2009: 102cm November 2010: 40cm November 2011: 82cm November 2012: 98cm Please note that these numbers are not the snowfall on the mountains themselves, and we are simply mentioning them out of interest. As you can see in our reports here, a fair amount more falls on the mountains (think around 1.5 times the amount is a good ballpark). We'll keep an eye on these numbers throughout the season and see how things compare. By the way take a look back at December 2011 in the Niseko Now archives - it really was an amazing month for snowfall and December 2012 has a big target! Looking back at our own reports here, around 120cm of snow has fallen in the village area since that first snowfall. Niseko Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Saturday 1st December 2012 Total snowfall at base so far 128cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 12 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 20cm (19th, 21st, 28th November) November 2012 snowfall 118cm December 2012 snowfall 10cm Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Kutchan/Niseko. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 15cm Snowfall at base this season 180cm Weather overview Strong winds, sleet and snow Wind Strong Temperature 2C base / -5C top Visibility Generally poor Posted at 9:47am on Thursday 6th December 2012 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here . Yesterday we had some decent snowfall in Niseko which helped to cover up the damage from that rain, and since my report in the morning a good 15cm. It has been a rather mild morning so far - around +2C - and it will likely stay mild for the day. Earlier things were a bit calmer but in the last few hours some stronger winds have arrived and are again causing problems with lift operations at the open resorts. Hirafu has just the lower Ace Family Pair and Ace Number 1 Pair lifts operating, Niseko Village is operating the Community Chair and Banzai Chair, while Annupuri - at the time of writing - has suspended lift operations. After today when we have the chance of more wet snow, we can expect colder temperatures and consistent snowfall into the next week or so. Those strong winds will probably always not be too far away as well... Other resort news is that the Hirafu Gondola and the Hanazono resort area plan to open from Saturday 8th December. Nighta operations at Hirafu will also commence from 15th December, something that many people will be looking forward to. Niseko Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Thursday 6th December 2012 Total snowfall at base so far 180cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 16 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 25cm (2nd December) November 2012 snowfall 118cm reported on 11 days December 2012 snowfall 62cm reported on 5 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Kutchan/Niseko. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 40cm Snowfall at base this season 260cm Weather overview Cloud cover and snow! Wind Light to moderate Temperature -3C base / -4C top Visibility Fair to poor Posted at 9:23am on Monday 10th December 2012 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here It's going to be deep today. It seems as though many mountainous regions of Japan has been on the receiving end of some decent snowfall the last few days and Niseko isn't disappointing either. There's 40cm or so of new snow to report this morning in village - more and less in places - and there will surely be half a metre fallen in places on mountain. It's not as cold as it was yesterday and around -3C at the moment, but wind is still causing some issues with lifts this morning. At the time of writing, the King Number 3 Triple hooded lift at Hirafu and the Hanazono Number 3 Quad hooded lift at Hanazono are not operating due to wind conditions on the mountain. Hirafu now has the Miharashi course open and a total of 27 of their 30 courses open to slide down. Over at Annupuri, the Jumbo Number 2 and 3 pair lifts and having a late start as the resort move snow. The Annupuri Gondola is also closed for mainatence. Yesterday the Niseko Gondola was running slow in the afternoon, but seems to be moving normally this morning. The resorts seem to be being rather conservative with their snow numbers today, even when considering that 50cm of new snowfall doesn't always mean that those numbers will jump by 50cm for a number of reasons - compacting, etc. The weekend perhaps wasn't as busy as people were expecting, but that probably has something to do with the fact that we have so much terrain open so early in the season. Things should start getting busier each week now, especially at the weekends. We should see the snow clouds remain with us through tomorrow with perhaps an easing up mid-week. Bottom line though is that today should be nice and very deep with some fine conditions out there. Enjoy if you can. Niseko Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Monday 10th December 2012 Total snowfall at base so far 260cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 20 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 40cm (10th December) November 2012 snowfall 118cm reported on 11 days December 2012 snowfall 142cm reported on 9 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Kutchan/Niseko. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 40cm Snowfall at base this season 300cm Weather overview Fine Wind Light to moderate Temperature -1C base / -6C top Visibility Very good Posted at 11:11am on Tuesday 11th December 2012 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here Yesterday was a fine day out there. I had some deep fun anyway. I have heard a few comments from people saying the snow was perhaps slightly heavier than we are used to in optimal conditions here, and that was probably about right... but I think we are very spoilt here in Niseko with snow conditions. It was pretty fantastic by any standards if you ask me! The thought of things getting even better... :) It was snowing as well and we have had another 40cm of fresh snow to add to the tally which has to be around 3m now for the season. Calendar check... December 11th. Oh yes! Blue skies above me this morning as I write the report. There is some cloud here and there but generally clear and everywhere looking great. It is currently about 0C. Some winds are hanging around but we seem to be moving out of the storm now amnd over the next few days we might see more clearer skies and a break in the snowfall. At Hirafu, the Swinging Monkey lift got off to a late start this morning, but opened just before 10am. The Kind Number 3 Triple lift has been operating at slow speed but other than that operations seem to be normal there, while the Hanazono No3 quad lift in the Hanazono area is also operating on slow. At the Niseko Village resort area, the Niseko Gondola has been operating at slow speed, and over at Annupuri their Gondola is still not moving today. Niseko Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Tuesday 11th December 2012 Total snowfall at base so far 300cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 21 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 40cm (10th and 11th December) November 2012 snowfall 118cm reported on 11 days December 2012 snowfall 182cm 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 Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 2cm Snowfall at base this season 302cm Weather overview Fine, blue sky, some cloud Wind Light Temperature -4C base / -8C top Visibility Very good Posted at 9:21am on Wednesday 12th December 2012 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here Good morning from Niseko. Weather conditions are calm this morning and all lifts seem to be operating as they should be at at normal speeds early on. Some white clouds hanging on but lots of blue sky up there to see this morning and the sun is out. Just a springkling of new snowfall since yesterday and it is a colder morning again and at the moment around -5C. Winds are calmer as well so it should be a good day to be out on the mountain. (Having said that, aren't almost all days good days to be out on the mountain?!) It's not often we get two blue sky days on the trot. Quite a few people were out trying to make the most of it yesterday and things got tracked out quicker than they have been on other days. Night operations at Niseko Grand Hirafu and Niseko Annupuri will begin from Saturday. Nighta in Niseko is a great experience, well worth a go. Remember that the 'off season' lift ticket prices are valid until Friday... from Saturday we're into the normal season prices. Talking of Niseko lift tickets, might I point you in the direction of the first Giveaway on SnowJapan for this season. The Niseko Hanazono resort have very kindly provided us with 10 eight-hour lift tickets, valid this season, to distribute to SnowJapan members. The tickets are valid at Niseko Hanazono and Niseko Grand Hirafu. More details on how you can win one of those can be found here and hopefully it's a good opportunity to get involved in our Forums. This Giveaway will be running until Thursday next week, and after that each week we have lift tickets for other ski resorts around Japan to give to SnowJapan members (well over 200, in fact). Good luck! Just a quick look at the forecast. In the coming week calmer conditions and clearer skies will likely prevail with just a sprinkling of snow possible from time to time. Niseko Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Wednesday 12th December 2012 Total snowfall at base so far 302cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 22 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 40cm (10th and 11th December) November 2012 snowfall 118cm reported on 11 days December 2012 snowfall 184cm 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 Kutchan/Niseko. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 0cm Snowfall at base this season 302cm Weather overview Blue sky, cloud Wind Light Temperature -5C base / -9C top Visibility Very good Posted at 9:09am on Thursday 13th December 2012 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here Just a dusting overnight and a very cold morning here in Niseko, it was minus double figures earlier on when I got up. It's another fairly clear one actually with some nice blue sky, the sun shining down only to be hidden from time to time by some cloud. The sun should warm things up somewhat today with a high of around -1C likely later on. There is only a slight wind as well this morning which makes a change from some of the stronger winds we have been experiencing over the last week or so in the region, so lifts will be unaffected and running as normal today. There may not be the fresh out there this morning but conditions should be good and definitely one of those feel good days. As you can see from the snow depth information from the resorts below, some of the numbers have been going down the last few days - more snow pack consolidating going on since the snowfall has eased off. We continue to approach fully open status in Niseko with some more lifts moving this morning. At Niseko Grand Hirafu the King Number 4 top lift is now open and with it all official courses in the Hirafu area are now open. This morning the top Wonderland Chair at Niseko Village is also operating. No major snowfall on the short term forecast, perhaps more than a dusting going into Sunday. Niseko Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Thursday 13th December 2012 Total snowfall at base so far 302cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 22 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 40cm (10th and 11th December) November 2012 snowfall 118cm reported on 11 days December 2012 snowfall 184cm 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 Kutchan/Niseko. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 5cm Snowfall at base this season 317cm Weather overview Cloud Wind Light Temperature -1C base / -4C top Visibility Fair Posted at 9:32am on Saturday 15th December 2012 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here Around 5cm or so of new snowfall since my last report in Niseko, though all the snow depth numbers from around the resorts remain unchanged this morning. It is a calm and a cloudy start to the day with just a slight breeze and cloud cover above us. It was cold overnight but it is now around -1 degrees outside and will likely stay around there for the day. We might get some new snowfall tonight into tomorrow and it does look like it should be getting colder over the next few days and then dip further around Tuesday or Wednesday. Decent visibility out there this morning. As I have been mentioning, today is the first day when the lifts will be opening for 'nighta'. It makes for a special expecience and when snow conditions are just right it can be amazing - highly recommended. Lifts at Niseko Annupuri (Jumbo No1 quad), Niseko Village and Niseko Grand Hirafu (Ace Family, Ace No2 Quad Center Four, Kind No3 triple, Hirafu Gondola and Holiday No2 pair lifts) are scheduled to be open. Nighta finishes at 8:30pm. Niseko Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Saturday 15th December 2012 Total snowfall at base so far 317cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 24 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 40cm (10th and 11th December) November 2012 snowfall 118cm reported on 11 days December 2012 snowfall 199cm 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 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