Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 0cm Snowfall at base this season 30cm Posted on Friday 28th November 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here So here we are, near the end of November and basically sitting here waiting for the snow to fall, everything on standby now! Obviously we won't be seeing an opening this weekend, so all eyes over to the forecast. Things are still looking encouraging for snowfall from late Monday onwards. It will probably remain rather mild until Monday when it may well start off as rain but come Tuesday we can hope for a cover of white once again. --- Yesterday, Sapporo City officially announced it's intention to bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Sapporo has of course been the host city for the Winter Olympics before in 1972. At that time as well as hosting some of the events in the city, like the ski jump and other events at Teine, they also actually created the downhill ski courses and facilities from scratch on the west slopes of Mt Eniwa to the south of the city - including a two-stage ropeway, ski lift, press centre, heliport and no doubt also somewhere where you could find some curry rice! All of those facilities were made specifically for the Olympics with the agreement that once the Olympics were over, the mountain would be restored to nature. Indeed, if you go there now there is hardly any trace at all to be found. The man-made stuff was all taken down and nature has once again reclaimed the area. You can just about see traces of where the two downhill courses were if you look at Mt Eniwa on the satellite images. Apparently the Mens course was 2626m in length with an average gradient of 17 degrees and steepest slope of 37 degrees with a starting point at 1126m. The Womens course was 2108m in length with an average gradient of 14 degrees and a steepest slope of 35 degrees; starting point at 870m. There are of course no details yet as to where events would be held in the event of another Sapporo Olympics but it will be very interesting to hear what the plans might be. I heard a report on the news last night that suggested that they would be looking at facilities in Hokkaido outside of Sapporo - and even maybe further afield in other areas of Japan; one report even seemed to be suggesting using some of the facilities used in the Nagano Olympics. Whatever, it seems that cost will (obviously) be a big factor, so I doubt we'll be seeing a rebuilding of the facilities at Mt Eniwa! Anyway I have heard that there's already one or two decent ski places in Hokkaido... It's all very interesting stuff and no doubt we will hear more about that in time. I will of course let you know when I hear any more details in the future. OK so back to the present... Planned opening dates for the different resort areas on the mountain: Niseko Grand Hirafu - will open as soon as there's enough snow Niseko Annupuri Kokusai - will open as soon as there's enough snow Niseko Village - Monday 1st December Niseko Hanazono - Saturday 6th December Niseko Now 2014-2015 season Data as of Friday 28th November 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 30cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 5 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 15cm (15th November) November 2014 snowfall 30cm 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 0cm Snowfall at base this season 30cm Posted on Saturday 29th November 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here Not a whole lot to report today as we continue waiting. (And planning our own Olympic courses down Mt Annupuri, of course! If you don't know what I'm talking about there, please see yesterdays Niseko Now report.) Temperatures up to around +6 degrees today in town and there was a nice bit of sun shining on the upper part of Mt Yotei just before. Inevitably of course Niseko Grand Hirafu and Niseko Annupuri resorts announced that further delay to opening due to lack of snow and promise to do so as soon as there is enough snow. A sunny start tomorrow maybe with rain later on, followed by snow on Tuesday when it should suddenly get real cold as well. Lots please! A few people have asked some questions about the Niseko Now reports and I thought I would answer them. With stuff like the 'Olympic news' yesterday, it basically seemed like an interesting thing to mention. So stuff like that might get mentioned. But we're don't do any kind of business promotions, and you won't see any marketing or advertising-like content on the Niseko Now reports (or any of the other Now reports on SnowJapan). In fact, no-one has any influence whatsoever over what is in our reports - and we'll say when conditions are bad, it's mad windy, it's raining and all that kind of stuff. Sadly, it's not always perfect so we might have to do that from time to time. It's bottom-line important to SnowJapan that what we post is correct, true, honest and hype-free. Of course, I am human and so there's a capacity for mistakes, as well as being perhaps a bit over-excited when things are going heavenly (!), but myself and my sometimes colleague will do our very best to keep things on track. A lot of people read these reports every day, so we do take them very seriously. Gambarimasu. And of course if you ever do find anything in the reports that you feel the need to comment on, feel free to contact SnowJapan at the main contact address and they will almost instantly be talking with me. :) Planned opening dates for the different resort areas on the mountain: Niseko Grand Hirafu - will open as soon as there's enough snow Niseko Annupuri Kokusai - will open as soon as there's enough snow Niseko Village - Monday 1st December Niseko Hanazono - Saturday 6th December Niseko Now 2014-2015 season Data as of Saturday 29th November 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 30cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 5 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 15cm (15th November) November 2014 snowfall 30cm reported on 5 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Kutchan/Niseko. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 5cm Snowfall at base this season 36cm Posted on Wednesday 3rd December 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here Morning from Hirafu, and not as much snowfall as I would like to report. (Though coming to think of it, is there ever as much as we want?!) I'm going to log just over 5cm or so here in the base area. It was snowing nicely earlier on but as I write this now there's actually a bit of blue sky on show in places and the sun has been shining through as well. The forecast is for continued snowfall though so hopefully that is just a short-lived thing. Peak season we might be all for a bit of sun but what we need right now is large amounts of snow to get things going... obviously! As of last night Hirafu were reporting 25cm on upper slopes and 10cm on lower slopes of the resort. The forecasts are giving us snowy days through into next week, though it doesn't look like it's massive dumpage. I hope I am wrong and by writing that I am provoking the dudes in charge of snowfall to show me I'm wrong. ;) So anyway Niseko Village now joins Grand Hirafu and Annupuri on the 'will open as soon as there's enough snow' list. Hanazono of course has always been aiming for opening on Saturday 6th December. That might have been the most realistic of the lot this time round and prove very good timing. Planned opening dates for the different resort areas on the mountain: Niseko Grand Hirafu - will open as soon as there's enough snow Niseko Annupuri Kokusai - will open as soon as there's enough snow Niseko Village - will open as soon as there's enough snow Niseko Hanazono - Saturday 6th December Niseko Now 2014-2015 season Data as of Wednesday 3rd December 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 36cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 7 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 15cm (15th November) November 2014 snowfall 30cm reported on 5 days December 2014 snowfall 6cm reported on 2 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in 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 30cm Posted on Wednesday 19th November 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here Good morning from Hirafu and just another slight dusting of snowfall to report, about another 1cm, and the thermometer hanging around that familiar 0 degrees temperature early this morning but it's just into positive numbers again now. There's lots of cloud around but some breaks in the cloud too at times and I was treated to a nice dramatic partly cloud-covered view of Yotei just before when I was out and about. A few days back I mentioned that we might see warmer conditions towards the end of the week. Well, that still seems likely to be happening. Sun is due tomorrow and then unfortunately rain seems likely on Friday as the forecast stands at the moment, fingers crossed it might be cold enough for snow higher up. Planned opening dates for the different resort areas on the mountain: Niseko Grand Hirafu - Saturday 22nd November Niseko Annupuri Kokusai - Saturday 22nd November Niseko Village - Monday 1st December Niseko Hanazono - Saturday 6th December Subject to snow! Niseko Now 2014-2015 season Data as of Wednesday 19th November 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 30cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 5 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 15cm (15th November) November 2014 snowfall 30cm 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 10cm Snowfall at base this season 61cm Posted on Friday 5th December 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here It's snowing this morning still - nice snow for sure, but still not quite as much as we would all like. But... movement has been detected! Today will see the first ski lift of the season in action... just the one, over at Niseko Village. Yes, the Community Chair will be opening at 8:30am for the first official turns of the season with Final Fling, Shaky Knees and Next Stage (part) courses open. They are mentioning about the fact that there's still not much snow out there so lots of bushes and sasa sticking up. Caution needed. The lift will be open until 4pm today with a special 8 hour lift ticket which costs 2600 yen for adults and 2200 yen for children. It seems that Niseko Village is the only one of the resorts that will be opening anything today, so if you want to hit first runs that's where you need to be! This morning Niseko Grand Hirafu are reporting 30cm at base and 60cm at peak with temperatures ranging from -5 to -8 and winds from 1m/s-5m/s. Yesterday evening they were saying that there still was not enough snow to open and that an opening today was unlikely. As for tomorrow? Well, we'll have to see about that. Tomorrow is the date when the Hanazono area also planned to join the party, so all of the resorts should be open. It's going to be 2 weeks since the original planned opening dates for two of the resorts, so they will be aching to get open - as we all are to get out there! UPDATE AT 1:30PM OK some good news! Niseko Grand Hirafu will be starting up the lifts tomorrow morning, Saturday 6th. Lifts that will be moving: -Ace Number 3 Pair lift -Ace Family Pair -Ace Number 2 Center Four (connecting) -Hanazono Number 1 Quad -Hanazono Number 2 Quad -Hanazono Number 3 Quad Courses that will be open: -Center Course -Family Course -Yotei Sunset (Hanazono area) -Silver Dream (Hanazono area) Hirafu and Hanazono won't be linked up yet, not skiable anyway - connection between the two will be by shuttle bus if you so wish. Niseko Annupuri have said that they don't have enough snow to be able to open tomorrow. That's the news for now. I'll do another check and update tomorrow morning. --- Open resorts: Niseko Village: The Community Chair lift is operating from 8:30am on Friday 5th December --- Planned opening dates for the different resort areas on the mountain: Niseko Grand Hirafu - will be part open from tomorrow Niseko Annupuri Kokusai - will open as soon as there's enough snow Niseko Village - Community Chair Niseko Hanazono - Saturday 6th December Niseko Now 2014-2015 season Data as of Friday 5th December 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 61cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 9 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 15cm (15th November and 4th December) November 2014 snowfall 30cm reported on 5 days December 2014 snowfall 31cm 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 30cm Snowfall at base this season 91cm Posted on Saturday 6th December 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here It's a very nice cold morning here in Niseko, and currently -7 degrees. Suitably wintery. And we now have three of the four resorts on the mountain part open. I have added the details of what lifts and courses are open at each area below. Did I mention the snow? The snow is still coming down this morning very nicely to add to the 30+cm of fine Niseko variety that we must have had since my last report (more than I was expecting given the forecasts) and I it doesn't take much to guess there'll be more higher up. The Grand Hirafu resort has posted a snow depth of 110cm on their upper slopes this morning. These are more like the kind of numbers we want to hear! And it's forecast to continue into tomorrow, so things are looking good at the moment. Official open terrain is still limited as you can see below but with more snow to arrive I would imagine that we'll see operations opening up very quickly now. We might be seeing the place open 2 weeks later than we had hoped and planned for, but that's in the past now! Time to enjoy the present. It should be a very fine day out there. --- Here's what's open this morning: Niseko Grand Hirafu Courses: Family Course, Center Course Lifts: Ace Family Lift, Ace Number 2 Center Four lift, Ace Number 3 lift Niseko Hanazono Courses: Silver Course, Yotei Sunset Lifts: All 3 quad lifts operating Niseko Village Courses: Final Fling, Shaky Knees, Next Stage, Banzai Lifts: Community Chair, Banzai Chair Niseko Annupuri Niseko Annupuri is not yet open --- Official snow depth numbers at the time of writing: Grand Hirafu / Hanazono: Top - 110cm Base - 50cm Niseko Village: Top - 50cm Base - 40cm Annupuri: Top - 50cm Base - 35cm Niseko Now 2014-2015 season Data as of Saturday 6th December 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 91cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 10 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 30cm (6th December) November 2014 snowfall 30cm reported on 5 days December 2014 snowfall 61cm 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 15cm Snowfall at base this season 51cm Posted on Thursday 4th December 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here It's a good morning from Hirafu with a good 15-20cm of fresh snow to report. Snowing since yesterday and a nice welcome to the morning with the snow outside the front door. Still, we don't have quite enough to get the ski lifts moving yet. Resorts are of course on standby waiting to open up and will certainly do so as soon as they feel possible, but no confirmed news yet on when lifts might get going. Niseko Village are this morning reporting 30cm of snow at both base and top, while Annupuri just ask us to wait a bit longer. Niseko Grand Hirafu are reporting 10cm at base and 30cm at top and that an announcement will be made tomorrow. All depends on the snow of course. So how's that looking? Snowfall is forecast on and off over the next few days and over the weekend and beyond as well, though quite how much will fall... it looks more like a bit at a time rather than major dumpage. Planned opening dates for the different resort areas on the mountain: Niseko Grand Hirafu - will open as soon as there's enough snow Niseko Annupuri Kokusai - will open as soon as there's enough snow Niseko Village - will open as soon as there's enough snow Niseko Hanazono - Saturday 6th December Niseko Now 2014-2015 season Data as of Thursday 4th December 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 51cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 8 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 15cm (15th November and 4th December) November 2014 snowfall 30cm reported on 5 days December 2014 snowfall 21cm 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 1cm Snowfall at base this season 31cm Posted on Tuesday 2nd December 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here At last, we have some more snow. Not much mind, just a dusting really but it started falling early this morning and hopefully it will continue over the next few days and into next week. Different forecasts seem to differ on what to expect, so I'll just sit back and see what happens I think. Will have to wrap up well, because it has got real cold all of a sudden - well, certainly compared with the last week or so! We obviously need a nice big delivery of snow to get the ski lifts into action. Let's see what I can report to you tomorrow morning! Planned opening dates for the different resort areas on the mountain: Niseko Grand Hirafu - will open as soon as there's enough snow Niseko Annupuri Kokusai - will open as soon as there's enough snow Niseko Village - Monday 1st December Niseko Hanazono - Saturday 6th December Niseko Now 2014-2015 season Data as of Tuesday 2nd December 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 31cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 6 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 15cm (15th November) November 2014 snowfall 30cm reported on 5 days December 2014 snowfall 1cm 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 Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 25cm Snowfall at base this season 211cm Posted on Saturday 13th December 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here Good morning from Niseko, which seems to be - and almost certainly is - getting busier by the day. There's an atmosphere building... and it's a good one! 25cm of fresh snow to report again this morning, and another very cold start to the day. It's well down below zero. Brrr, as they say. Or perhaps we should say 'samui'. Conditions should be excellent, and with snow forecast to continue falling conditions should remain so. Night skiing (nighta) on the mountain starts from today of course, and I have added info on which lifts are planned to be open below. Niseko Grand Hirafu also open their Free Ride Park today, which can be found next to the King Number 1 Pair lift, and also the Hirafu Kids Snow Park. It's still early season of course so all of these things may not be in full swing just yet, but good to see things opening up. Large parts of the mountain are now open so we're nearly there... --- Niseko Avalanche Report Niseko base 6am: -6C, 15cm of crystal snow. Calm morning with no development of snowdrifts. Moiwa 600m: -7C, 20cm and light development of snowdrifts. Coastal data: NW16m/s at Benkei cape. Anupuri 1000m: -10C, 1.2m snowpack, light snow. Peak data not available. Light snowfall and mild wind has continued under moderate winter weather pattern. Out of bounds area is still full of small trees and sasa-bamboo and not ready for riding. Still a few dumps needed. Gates will be kept closed for a while. Slides from Dec 10th layer are to be expected in steep spots under lift-lines. A small avalanche can easily bury a person at the bottom. Please do not ski under the lifts. Beware of hitting trees and ruin the season. Streams are still not fully buried, be careful not to fall in and freeze. This information is made for the safety of all resort users. The snow is excellent today. (Many thanks as always to the Niseko Avalanche folk producing the reports each season; published with permission) --- Here's what is planned to be open today (subject to change): Niseko Grand Hirafu Courses: Family Course, Sen-no-ki, Alpen, Detour for Beginners, Green, Onsenzawa, Center, Shirakaba, Kokutai, Kogen, Ni-Kabe, Jumbo, Parallel, Rinkan, Setsuzoku, Jumbo, Parallel, Holiday Lifts: Ace Family Lift, Ace Number 2 Center Four lift, Ace Number 3 lift, Holiday Number 1 Pair lift, Hirafu Gondola, King Number 3 Triple lift, Swinging Monkey. Night skiing lifts: Ace Family Pair lift, Ace Number 2 Center Four lift, Hirafu Gondola, Holiday Number 1 Pair lift Niseko Hanazono Courses: Stairway to Heaven, Silver Dream, Legend of Shinya, Yotei Sunset, Crystal Garden Lifts: All 3 quad lifts operating Night skiing lifts: No night skiing at Hanazono Niseko Village Courses: Final Fling, Shaky Knees, Next Stage, Banzai, Cruiser, Don't Blink, beginners course from Gondola, Junkyard, Namara (part ungroomed), Jagaimo (ungroomed), Misoshiru (ungroomed) Lifts: Niseko Gondola, Community Chair, Banzai Chair Night skiing lifts: Community Chair and Banzai Chair until 8pm. Niseko Annupuri Courses: Paradise, Family, Challenge, Marchen, Dynamic, Junior, Utopia, Shirakaba, Silver (9 out of 13 courses open) Lifts: Annupuri Gondola, Jumbo Number 1 Quad, Jumbo Number 2 Pair, Jumbo Number 3 Pair --- Official snow depth numbers at the time of writing: Grand Hirafu / Hanazono: Top - 170cm Base - 100cm Niseko Village: Top - 100cm Base - 70cm Annupuri: Top - 130cm Base - 90cm Niseko Now 2014-2015 season Data as of Saturday 13th December 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 211cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 17 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 40cm (7th December) November 2014 snowfall 30cm reported on 5 days December 2014 snowfall 181cm reported on 12 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in 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 186cm Posted on Friday 12th December 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here It feels very cold out there this morning and some very low temperatures being reported by the resorts. Need to go out prepared. For cold as well as fun. Light snow continues to fall as I write this and there's another 15-20cm of fresh snow to report here at base since yesterday. There's more on the way as well with this low pressure system set to deliver large amount of snow to many areas of Japan this weekend. Hopefully we'll be part of the fun there. There may be a slight easing after the weekend but it's generally snowmen all lined up on the weather forecasts. Niseko isn't the place to come for a high chance of clear skies and sun, that's for sure. Some more runs open at Niseko Grand Hirafu now and there's another lift moving at Niseko Annupuri... we're getting there! It surely won't be long now before the resorts are all fully open. So yes, nighta will be starting up for the season from tomorrow night when part of the mountain will be open and floodlit until 8pm. Someone has asked about the snow depth numbers shown on the page here below. Namely the one that today shows Niseko Grand Hirafu with 160cm on upper slopes and the adjoining Niseko Village with just 80cm. Personally I would say just don't read too much into it, though Hirafu always seem to bring in the larger numbers. They are simply the official snow depth numbers that the resorts post each day. The most important number to look at I reckon is how much snow is falling each day - we all like that fresh layer don't we. In my experience, different people will give you different numbers -- even if they are actually looking at exactly the same spot. I try to give you an 'accurate' (honest) number each day as I observe around me each morning. --- Exciting news as well this morning of 10 free Niseko All Mountain lift tickets that will be part of the SnowJapan Prize Draw this season on this here website, coming to you courtesy of the kind people at Hanazono Niseko Japan. Details will be online later in the day on SnowJapan, and I'll post a link as well tomorrow in the report so you can enter if you so wish. --- Here's what is planned to be open this morning: Niseko Grand Hirafu Courses: Family Course, Sen-no-ki, Alpen, Detour for Beginners, Green, Center, Shirakaba, Kokutai, Kogen, Ni-Kabe, Jumbo, Parallel, Rinkan (lowe), Setsuzoku, Jumbo, Parallel Lifts: Ace Family Lift, Ace Number 2 Center Four lift, Ace Number 3 lift, Hirafu Gondola, King Number 3 Triple lift, Swinging Monkey. Niseko Hanazono Courses: Stairway to Heaven, Silver Dream, Legend of Shinya, Yotei Sunset, Crystal Garden Lifts: All 3 quad lifts operating Niseko Village Courses: Final Fling, Shaky Knees, Next Stage, Banzai, Cruiser, Don't Blink, beginners course from Gondola, Junkyard, Namara (part ungroomed), Jagaimo (ungroomed), Misoshiru (ungroomed) Lifts: Niseko Gondola, Community Chair, Banzai Chair Niseko Annupuri Courses: Paradise, Family, Challenge, Marchen, Dynamic, Junior, Utopia, Shirakaba, Silver (9 out of 13 courses open) Lifts: Annupuri Gondola, Jumbo Number 1 Quad, Jumbo Number 2 Pair, Jumbo Number 3 Pair --- Nighta is scheduled to open from Saturday 13th December. Just 2 more nights to go! --- Official snow depth numbers at the time of writing: Grand Hirafu / Hanazono: Top - 160cm Base - 90cm Niseko Village: Top - 80cm Base - 50cm Annupuri: Top - 130cm Base - 90cm Niseko Now 2014-2015 season Data as of Friday 12th December 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 186cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 16 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 40cm (7th December) November 2014 snowfall 30cm reported on 5 days December 2014 snowfall 156cm reported on 11 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Kutchan/Niseko. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 14cm Snowfall at base this season 149cm Posted on Tuesday 9th December 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here Another 10-15cm of fresh snow here at base in Hirafu since my last report as the snow steadily comes down. Just spoken with a patrol guy from Hirafu who said there is at least 20cm of fresh up on the upper slopes there. Still, while certainly there's plenty to play in for now, all of resort areas are still mentioning that the snow isn't that deep just yet with sasa and other things popping up through in places and in some cases narrow courses. The other thing to be careful of is the fact that the snow that we have pretty much came without snow base. Care needed whilst having fun. Always the case of course but early season considerations need to be taken into account. There's still not that many people around at the moment, but things will change quite dramatically over the next few weeks. Once we get into Christmas week that's when Niseko will really come to life in a big way. It will be interesting to see how things might have changed once again this season. One thing's for sure - it will be lively! Let's hope the nature does it's bit with the snow in terms of quality and quantity. Niseko Grand Hirafu and Hanazono are connected and skiable; however the top lifts aren't moving yet and so the connection between Grand Hirafu and Niseko Village and Niseko Village and Annupuri are not open yet... shuttle bus required. --- Here's what's open this morning: Niseko Grand Hirafu Courses: Family Course, Alpen, Detour for Beginners, Green, Center, Kokutai, Kogen, Ni-Kabe, Jumbo, Parallel, Rinkan (lowe), Setsuzoku. Lifts: Ace Family Lift, Ace Number 2 Center Four lift, Ace Number 3 lift, Hirafu Gondola, King Number 3 Triple lift, Swinging Monkey. Niseko Hanazono Courses: Stairway to Heaven, Silver Dream, Legend of Shinya, Yotei Sunset, Crystal Garden Lifts: All 3 quad lifts operating Niseko Village Courses: Final Fling, Shaky Knees, Next Stage, Banzai, Cruiser, Don't Blink, beginners course from Gondola, Junkyard, Namara (part ungroomed), Jagaimo (ungroomed), Misoshiru (ungroomed) Lifts: Gondola, Community Chair, Banzai Chair Niseko Annupuri Courses: Paradise Course, Junior Course Lifts: Jumbo Number 1 Quad --- Nighta is scheduled to open from Saturday 13th December. --- Official snow depth numbers at the time of writing: Grand Hirafu / Hanazono: Top - 145cm Base - 85cm Niseko Village: Top - 80cm Base - 50cm Annupuri: Top - 120cm Base - 80cm Niseko Now 2014-2015 season Data as of Tuesday 9th December 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 149cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 13 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 40cm (7th December) November 2014 snowfall 30cm reported on 5 days December 2014 snowfall 119cm 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 Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 2cm Snowfall at base this season 171cm Posted on Thursday 11th December 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here Not much snow to report early this morning, just a few cm on the ground, but it's snowing quite heavily right now as I write this report just before 9am. It's actually relatively mild this morning (+2) but as the day moves on expect it to get colder and for that to continue tomorrow and Saturday. If the forecast is right, it's going to be a very cold and more importantly very snowy weekend. I'm looking forward to reporting some very nice numbers in the coming days. The Niseko Annupuri resort has more open from today - joining the already open Jumbo Number 1 Quad lift is the Annupuri Gondola and the Jumbo Number 3 Pair lift, opening up more of that resort area of course. More details below. (Bad news with that is it's normal lift prices from today!) Unfortunately at the time of writing strong winds are stopping the King Number 3 lift at Niseko Grand Hirafu and the Hanazono Number 3 lift at Niseko Hanazono from operating. We can only hope that this season there's not too much of the "strong winds stopping lifts" kind of news. I've said it before but if there's one thing about Niseko that I don't like...! Night operations should be starting from Saturday night. Looking forward to that. --- Here's what is planned to be open this morning: Niseko Grand Hirafu Courses: Family Course, Alpen, Detour for Beginners, Green, Center, Kokutai, Kogen, Ni-Kabe, Jumbo, Parallel, Rinkan (lowe), Setsuzoku. Lifts: Ace Family Lift, Ace Number 2 Center Four lift, Ace Number 3 lift, Hirafu Gondola, King Number 3 Triple lift, Swinging Monkey. Niseko Hanazono Courses: Stairway to Heaven, Silver Dream, Legend of Shinya, Yotei Sunset, Crystal Garden Lifts: All 3 quad lifts operating Niseko Village Courses: Final Fling, Shaky Knees, Next Stage, Banzai, Cruiser, Don't Blink, beginners course from Gondola, Junkyard, Namara (part ungroomed), Jagaimo (ungroomed), Misoshiru (ungroomed) Lifts: Niseko Gondola, Community Chair, Banzai Chair Niseko Annupuri Courses: Paradise, Family, Challenge, Marchen, Dynamic, Junior, Utopia, Shirakaba, Silver Lifts: Annupuri Gondola, Jumbo Number 1 Quad, Jumbo Number 3 Pair --- Nighta is scheduled to open from Saturday 13th December. Just 2 more nights to go! --- Official snow depth numbers at the time of writing: Grand Hirafu / Hanazono: Top - 150cm Base - 80cm Niseko Village: Top - 80cm Base - 50cm Annupuri: Top - 130cm Base - 90cm Niseko Now 2014-2015 season Data as of Thursday 11th December 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 171cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 15 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 40cm (7th December) November 2014 snowfall 30cm reported on 5 days December 2014 snowfall 141cm 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