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

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 10cm Snowfall at base this season 165cm Weather overview Snow, wind Wind Strong Temperature -3C base / -7C top Visibility Generally poor Posted at 9:13am on Wednesday 5th December 2012 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here . Yesterday was certainly not one that people will want to remember. Persistent and heavy rain was falling through the morning and that wiped some smiles off faces, as we all knew that it would be doing it's damage to the snow out there. You can see how the snow depth numbers at Hirafu in particular have been affected. OK now on to the good news - it is snowing again this morning. Over 5cm of snow, more like 10cm in places, has fallen overnight and is currently being blown around by some strong winds this morning - and continuing to snow. It is much colder as well and currently around -3C. The new snow is of course good news but until more falls and covers up those icy conditions left over from the rain and cold yesterday, conditions out there will be... interesting. Take care out there. One good thing to take out of this moving forward into the season is that the snowpack will hopefully have been compacted and consolidated. Looking at the forecast, things are looking pretty wild again Thursday into Friday with strong winds and it should bring snow higher up, but again with warmer temperatures it looks like the village and lower areas will be seeing more rainfall. Back to colder and snowy conditions after that and into the weekend. Strong winds on the mountain this morning which could affect lift operations. At Niseko Grand Hirafu, the King No3 lift is not operating at the time of writing due to winds but they hope to have that moving later. At Niseko Village the Gondola is not moving early on due to strong winds. Niseko Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Wednesday 5th December 2012 Total snowfall at base so far 165cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 15 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 25cm (2nd December) November 2012 snowfall 118cm reported on 11 days December 2012 snowfall 47cm reported on 4 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in 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