Independent snow and weather reporting from the Madarao region of Nagano New snowfall at base 2cm Snowfall at base this season 32cm Weather overview - Wind - Temperature - Visibility - Posted at 10:15am on Monday 10th December 2012 This is an archived report. The latest Madarao Now report can be found here . Snow is falling, though Madarao will be closed from today and then re-opening for the proper official opening of the season on Saturday 15th December. Hopefully we will see more runs and lifts open with the snowfall we are getting now. I'll bring you more news later on in the week nearer the time. Madarao Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Monday 10th December 2012 Total snowfall at base so far 32cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 3 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 20cm (1st December) November 2012 snowfall 0cm December 2012 snowfall 32cm reported on 3 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in 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

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Madarao region of Nagano New snowfall at base 15cm Snowfall at base this season 98cm Weather overview Cloud Wind Calm Temperature - Visibility Variable Posted at 8:42am on Sunday 23rd December 2012 This is an archived report. The latest Madarao Now report can be found here . Lets be honest - yesterday was not good. It was misty, slushy, rainy and any other word you want to use ending with 'y' and having some slightly unpleasant undertones. Thankfully though, sometime during the night the rain turned to snow and this morning it is decidedly more crunchy under foot. I still wouldn't be using the word 'powder', but also won't be using the word slush. At the moment the conditions are improved, but the really good news is that big snow front that is still due tonight. So tomorrow promises the possibility of a real powder day, just in time to celebrate the Emperor's birthday and Christmas. So if you've only got one days skiing in you for this long weekend, I would be doing it tomorrow! There is 15-20cm of new snow at the moment and all lifts, except the Number 3 & 13 lifts will be open. Lifts operating: Number 1 Number 2 Super quad Number 5 Number 11 Number 12 Number 15 Kids Park The Powder Wave, Usagi, River Line and Powder Theater courses at not yet open. Madarao Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Sunday 23rd December 2012 Total snowfall at base so far 98cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 9 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 25cm (19th December) November 2012 snowfall 0cm December 2012 snowfall 98cm 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 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

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Madarao region of Nagano New snowfall at base 10cm Snowfall at base this season 83cm Weather overview Cloud Wind - Temperature - Visibility - Posted at 9:50am on Friday 21st December 2012 This is an archived report. The latest Madarao Now report can be found here . Snow clouds moved in yesterday and this morning we have 10-15cm of fresh snow on the ground in Madarao. It's -4C this morning and a thick layer of cloud covers the upper half of the mountain. The snow has eased off for the moment but might be back later on. Tomorrow we're due milder temperatures and quite possibly rain falling at base. Fingers crossed that doesn't happen and if it does it is snow. Decent snowfall still due later in the weekend. Madarao plans to have the following lifts moving from Saturday: Number 1 Number 2 quad Super quad Number 5 Number 11 Number 12 Number 15 The connection with Tangram Ski Circus will also be open from Saturday. Still looking good for heavy snowfall late weekend, though hopefully the snow will be with us from Saturday. Lifts operating: Number 1 Number 2 Quad Kids Park moving walkway Madarao Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Friday 21st December 2012 Total snowfall at base so far 83cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 8 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 25cm (19th December) November 2012 snowfall 0cm December 2012 snowfall 83cm 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 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

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Madarao region of Nagano New snowfall at base 0cm Snowfall at base this season 83cm Weather overview Cloud, light rain Wind - Temperature - Visibility - Posted at 8:18am on Saturday 22nd December 2012 This is an archived report. The latest Madarao Now report can be found here . Happy Saturday from Madarao! We have been greeted this morning by light rain and cloud. Not the greatest start to the weekend, but there is a promise from the weather bureau that snow is coming. We are hoping that the rain will turn to snow around lunch time and the next few days will see the return of some good powder days. There was that decent dump through the week though, so there is a good base for the start of the season. The backside of the mountain is open from today, so Madarao Now are now connected to Tangram Resort for those people who want to make use of the Mountain Pass. More of the mountain is open from today with the following lifts operating: Lifts operating: Number 1 Number 2 quad Super quad Number 5 Number 11 Number 12 Number 15 Kids Park Madarao Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Saturday 22nd December 2012 Total snowfall at base so far 83cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 8 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 25cm (19th December) November 2012 snowfall 0cm December 2012 snowfall 83cm 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 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

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Madarao region of Nagano New snowfall at base 5cm Snowfall at base this season 73cm Weather overview Sun Wind - Temperature - Visibility - Posted at 9:14am on Thursday 20th December 2012 This is an archived report. The latest Madarao Now report can be found here . Add a bit more fresh snow, some blue skies above and you get a very nice day to be out on the mountain. It's a shame that the resort still only has the two lifts open at the moment. The good news on that front is that from Saturday much more of the mountain will be open. Madarao plans to have the following lifts moving: Number 1 Number 2 quad Super quad Number 5 Number 11 Number 12 Number 15 The connection with Tangram Ski Circus will also be open from Saturday. Still looking good for heavy snowfall late weekend, though hopefully the snow will be with us from Saturday. Lifts operating: Number 1 Number 2 Quad Kids Park moving walkway Madarao Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Thursday 20th December 2012 Total snowfall at base so far 73cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 7 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 25cm (19th December) November 2012 snowfall 0cm December 2012 snowfall 73cm 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 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

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Madarao region of Nagano New snowfall at base 25cm Snowfall at base this season 68cm Weather overview Snow clearing up Wind - Temperature - Visibility - Posted at 9:41am on Wednesday 19th December 2012 This is an archived report. The latest Madarao Now report can be found here . Some decent snowfall to report this morning from Madarao with 25-30cm or so of fresh snow on the slopes. There's a lot of cloud out there still but right now there is some sun casting shadows on part of the mountain as well. Changeable conditions though the snow is forecast to ease off today and we will have a few more days of clearer conditions. It's a cold morning too... -8C out there early this morning and about -5C now. The next winter storm looks set to be with us late weekend. Lifts operating: Number 1 Number 2 Quad Kids Park moving walkway Madarao Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Wednesday 19th December 2012 Total snowfall at base so far 68cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 6 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 25cm (19th December) November 2012 snowfall 0cm December 2012 snowfall 68cm 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 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

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 20cm Snowfall at base this season 41cm Weather overview Cloud, light snow Wind Light to moderate Temperature -1C base / -4C top Visibility Fair Posted at 8:58am on Wednesday 21st November 2012 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here . Things started off well yesterday with the snow falling and it continued throughout the day with some decent snowfall to report this morning. There has been over 20cm here in Hirafu, up to 30cm in places and no doubt more as you get higher up on the mountain. It's a nice and cold -1 degrees at the moment on the old thermometer and I can't see much of the mountain. Looking at the forecast, we can likely expect snow on and off - hopefully more on than off - into the weekend. It would seem that winter has properly arrived in Niseko and there's no going back. I'd say we were all going to be good for a Friday opening. Not long now! Niseko Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Wednesday 21st November 2012 Total snowfall at base so far 41cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 3 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 20cm (19th and 21st November) November 2012 snowfall 41cm 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 0cm Snowfall at base this season 155cm Weather overview Rain Wind Strong Temperature 6C base / 1C top Visibility Fair Posted at 9:38am on Tuesday 4th December 2012 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here . Well, after that lovely day out in Niseko yesterday, it's another contrast this morning. It's a warm (+6C) and very wet morning, I'm afraid. Not only have we not managed to escape the rain that was on the forecast, but it's heavy rain doing some damage this morning. Take a look at the snow depths at the resorts - all of them reflecting this. Here's to a quick change back into snow, which is happily forecast for later on today. Strong winds are also with us today and affecting the lift operations at the resorts that are open, as noted below. It's another of those days perhaps best doing other things as we wait for our next installment of powder to arrive. Tomorrow should see colder temperatures return, hopefully along with the snow and then there's some heavy snow and strong winds lined up on the forecast again Thursday into Friday. At Niseko Grand Hirafu, just the Ace Family Pair lift and the Ace Number 1 Pair lifts (which has been called into special service!) are moving at the time of writing. The other planned lifts for the day are not moving due to the winds. At Niseko Annupuri, the Gondola and Jumbo No3 pair lifts are on standby. At Niseko Village, the Community Chair, Morino Chair and Banzai Chair are operating. Niseko Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Tuesday 4th December 2012 Total snowfall at base so far 155cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 14 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 25cm (2nd December) November 2012 snowfall 118cm reported on 11 days December 2012 snowfall 37cm reported on 3 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in 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