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

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 3cm Snowfall at base this season 47cm Posted on Wednesday 16th November 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here Good afternoon from the Niseko area and this morning I have some fresh snowfall to report. There was 3cm of fresh to add to the total this morning, and while it is nice to see a return to colder conditions after some slightly warmer conditions, as I write this report it's borderline with wet snow falling. Temperatures are hovering around the zero mark and we should see some more cm of snow over the next few days, though nothing major is forecast. Unfortunately, it does look like things are going to warm up again from Friday and through the weekend... hopefully by not too much. The first lifts are scheduled to start moving from Wednesday next week - just one week away now - and so we could do with more cold and decent snow before then. --- 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 Wednesday 16th November 2016 Total snowfall at base so far 47cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 6 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 18cm (10th November) November 2016 snowfall 47cm reported on 6 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Kutchan/Niseko. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Furano region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 3cm Snowfall at base this season 62cm Posted on Monday 14th November 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . We are currently experiencing a blip in the wintery weather here in Furano. On Saturday morning there was 3cm of new snow but temperatures rose well above zero during the day and the snow around the village receded significantly. Sunday was also very warm with raining falling for the whole day which continued to melt the snow on the roads and gardens. Today started with a hard frost but temperatures quickly rose with the rising of the sun and temperatures are forecast to hit +8c later in the day. From evening until tomorrow morning heavy rain is forecast. The good news is that from Tuesday afternoon continuous snow is predicted through until Friday. Hopefully this will allow the resort to open on 19th November as planned. Furano Now 2016-2017 season Data as of Monday 14th November 2016 Total snowfall at base 62cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 6 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 32cm (8th November) November 2016 snowfall 62cm reported on 6 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Furano. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 20cm Snowfall at base this season 879cm Posted on Saturday 1st February 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here Lots of snow falling yesterday - as well as wind blowing - and this morning I have an additional 20cm of fresh to report from the Hirafu village area. At the time of writing, resorts aren't open as planned with strong winds especially over at Annupuri where upper area winds of up to 23m/s reported keeping all of the lifts there from operating. At Niseko Village just the bottom three lifts are moving. At Hirafu here the top Ace 3 and 4 lifts as well as the King 3 and 4 lifts are not moving due to strong winds, and the top two lifts at Hanazono are similarly affected. And here we were thinking we might catch a break with the wind this morning! If they can't get those opening up unfortunately it's inevitably going to create some congestion this morning. And there's lots of people around as well. The current snow is forecast to ease off during the day and leave us with just cloud. Should be cold overnight again but warm up tomorrow and we might see temperature rise to around 0 or possibly even slightly above. Hopefully there will be less wind. We should be getting back to the cold we expect though early in the week. --- OK as promised here's a quick look back at January and the numbers. And a good January it was of course. We logged (observed) 461cm of snowfall here at base in the month. The same observed number from the same spot in January last year (2013) was 443cm. Observed snowfall since the beginning of the season (2012-2013, last season): 979cm Observed snowfall since the beginning of the season (2013-2014, this season): 869cm Interesting. The main difference so far being more snowfall in December 2012 than December 2013. Both pretty amazing numbers, and of course we have over three months left of the season. Let's take a quick look at the JMA numbers recorded in Kutchan town... January 2013: 268cm January 2014: 317cm As always remember that the JMA numbers are from Kutchan town and our numbers are observed close to the base of Hirafu - so there's more falling on them there mountains. And also worth pointing out that this is not a science project, just presenting them to you because we find them to be interesting. JMA statistic for February last season (2013): 228cm SnowJapan Niseko Now statistic from February last season (2013): 406cm Long may the impressive snowfall numbers continue. (Oh yes... and light, dry and powdery please!) --- Niseko Avalanche Report Niseko base 6am: -7, 20cm new snow in last 12 hrs. Moiwa 800m: -12C, wind NW15m/s, poor visibility, blizzard conditions, highly unstable snowdrift and cornice development. Annupuri 1150m: -11C, wind W15-20m/s, major snowdrift development. Hirafu 1000m: -12C, 50cm snow drift growth. Annupuri peak 1308m: -16.4C, wind NW20.9m/s. Cape Benkei: NW16m/s, Cape Kamui: W12m/s, wave 2.7m, pressure 1017hPa. The cold air flow bringing us strong northwest wind (>15m/s) and snow continues both on the coast and mountains. From current observation and snowfall trends the avalanche risk in Niseko and surrounding mountains remains HIGH. The storm is expected to calm down this morning however open steep slopes and cornice slopes above 800m should be considered dangerous and avoided. Peak gates will be closed. Please respect and follow the patrols decisions. Do not duck ropes to enter Osawa, Kozen no sawa, Hanazono cornice area or Mizuno no sawa. Any avalanche will be large. The snow is good in the trees. Dont be overconfident or rely too much on your equipment. Beware falling into cracks, dont stop at the bottom or in gullies. --- Official snow depth numbers and lift news at time of writing: Grand Hirafu / Hanazono: Top - 400cm Base - 195cm Niseko Village: Top - 345cm Base - 230cm Annupuri: Top - 280cm Base - 210cm Niseko Now 2013-2014 season Data as of Saturday 1st February 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 879cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 61 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 40cm (14th January) November 2013 snowfall 123cm reported on 9 days December 2013 snowfall 275cm reported on 22 days January 2014 snowfall 461cm reported on 29 days February 2014 snowfall 20cm 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 Kutchan/Niseko. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Furano region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 5cm Snowfall at base this season 20cm Posted on Sunday 7th December 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here . WE ARE OPEN! Yep, congratulations resort guys - they worked some magic with the machines and the bottom lift is now open for winter fun. Just a bit more of a sprinkling overnight but it is now falling steadily giving us great confidence going into the week that more lifts will open soon. Weather has changed a bit too now that snow is here and its gone from being bitter cold to quite nice out there. Maybe its just great feeling the snow on the face again. Furano Now 2014-2015 season Data as of Sunday 7th December 2014 Total snowfall at base 20cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 2 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 15cm (4th November) November 2014 snowfall 15cm reported on 1 day December 2014 snowfall 5cm reported on 1 day Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Furano. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Madarao region of Nagano New snowfall at base 5cm Snowfall at base this season 574cm Weather overview Light snow Wind Light Temperature - Visibility Variable Posted at 9:54am on Tuesday 29th January 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Madarao Now report can be found here . Light snow falling in Madarao this morning and a few cm or so on the ground with the resort saying 5cm on the slopes. In the last half hour or so the cloud seems to have lifted a bit from the lower area of the resort but the top half of the mountain is still covered in cloud. Variable visibility out there this morning. Clearer conditions likely over the next few days. Lifts planned to be operating: Number 1 Number 2 Number 3 Super quad Number 5 Number 11 Number 12 Number 15 Kids Park --- FreeRide Park Powder Wave I Powder Wave II Usagi Riverline Powder Theater Adventure Madarao Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Tuesday 29th January 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 574cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 33 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 25cm (19th December) November 2012 snowfall 0cm December 2012 snowfall 223cm reported on 14 days January 2013 snowfall 351cm reported on 19 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 Madarao. 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