Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 10cm Snowfall at base this season 10cm Posted on Friday 14th November 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here Welcome back to the Niseko Now reports. Yesterday we saw a new dusting of light snow up on the upper slopes. Temperatures dropped during the day and today things improve further. I'm happy to report a fair bit of snow this morning. There was more than 10cm of fresh snow outside my place in the village area at base this morning but in some places more than that as there has also been strong winds blowing it all around too. (Strong winds are fine before the lifts move, but let's hope that this season will be less marked by wind disruption!) Anyway it is as you might expect cold out there today and temperatures should continue to struggle to get into positive numbers. Can lifts get moving next weekend as planned? There's a chance of further snow over the next few days, though I would expect less than what we have had the last 24 hours. We shall see, and we shall keep you informed. Niseko Now 2014-2015 season Data as of Friday 14th November 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 10cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 1 day Most snowfall observed in 1 day 10cm (14th November) November 2014 snowfall 10cm reported on 1 day 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 25cm Posted on Saturday 15th November 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here There's more snow to report this morning folks with at least 15cm or so to add to what we had yesterday and temperatures remaining cold, starting the day off hovering around the zero mark. It may not be as cold as mid-winter yet of course, but it has certainly felt winter-y with the snow falling very nicely on us. Let's hope the forecasts continue to under-estimate, but realistically it's looking more like just cloudy tomorrow. Trying to not get too excited just yet but with only a week left before the season hopefully kicks off it's getting more difficult by the day! Niseko Now 2014-2015 season Data as of Saturday 15th November 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 25cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 2 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 15cm (15th November) November 2014 snowfall 25cm 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 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 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 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 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 4cm Snowfall at base this season 135cm Posted on Monday 8th December 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here Less than 5cm of fresh snow to report this morning and light snow falling but it has been easing now and again. Is that the sun I just saw through the clouds there just before? Maybe, but gone again now and snow falling again. (Light?) snow showers forecast through the week but the most promising is looking likely to be as we get into the weekend. More of the mountain is gradually opening up now, but we're still probably one dump away from being fully open. Niseko Grand Hirafu have got their Gondola open now as well as the King Number 3 Triple and Swinging Monkey lifts, bringing with them more accessible terrain. This now means that Grand Hirafu and Hanazono are now connected at the top. (Hirafu, Village and Annupuri are not yet connected on the mountain and a shuttle bus is needed if you want to go between them). Niseko Village also now have their Gondola moving and have opened up more courses. I have added those new details to the listings below. --- Here's what's open this morning: Niseko Grand Hirafu Courses: Family Course, Alpen, Detour for Beginners, Green, Center, Kokutai, Kogen, Number 2 Wall, Jumbo, Parallel, 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 - 130cm Base - 75cm Niseko Village: Top - 80cm Base - 50cm Annupuri: Top - 120cm Base - 80cm Niseko Now 2014-2015 season Data as of Monday 8th December 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 135cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 12 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 40cm (7th December) November 2014 snowfall 30cm reported on 5 days December 2014 snowfall 105cm reported on 7 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Kutchan/Niseko. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 40cm Snowfall at base this season 131cm Posted on Sunday 7th December 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here I'm happy to be able to report another big delivery of snow to report this morning. It has been snowing through the day yesterday and overnight as well, the result being 40cm or so of fresh snow down here in the village. Conditions out on the slopes yesterday were really great and it will only be better tomorrow. Better visibility too, for the moment anyway, as right now there's lots of blue sky and sun to enjoy. Snow is forecast on and off for the day so it may well not last long. Niseko Annupuri will be opening up in a short while at 9am this morning - they plan to have the Jumbo Number 1 lift running and the Paradise and Junior Courses should be open. Operations at Niseko Village seem to be remain unchanged this morning, but more courses opening at Grand Hirafu with the lower part of Green Course, Alpen, Kokutai and the Detour for Beginners now officially open up. Over at Hanazono, Stairway to Heaven, Legend of Shinya and Crystal Garden have joined the party. Wrap up well and enjoy! --- Here's what's open this morning: Niseko Grand Hirafu Courses: Family Course, Alpen, Detour for Beginners, Green, Center, Kokutai Lifts: Ace Family Lift, Ace Number 2 Center Four lift, Ace Number 3 lift Niseko Hanazono Courses: Stairway to Heaven, Silver Course, Yotei Sunset, Legend of Shinya, Crystal Garden Lifts: All 3 quad lifts operating Niseko Village Courses: Final Fling, Shaky Knees, Next Stage, Banzai Lifts: Community Chair, Banzai Chair Niseko Annupuri Courses: Paradise Course, Junior Course Lifts: Jumbo Number 1 Quad --- Official snow depth numbers at the time of writing: Grand Hirafu / Hanazono: Top - 145cm Base - 90cm Niseko Village: Top - 70cm Base - 50cm Annupuri: Top - 110cm Base - 80cm Niseko Now 2014-2015 season Data as of Sunday 7th December 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 131cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 11 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 40cm (7th December) November 2014 snowfall 30cm reported on 5 days December 2014 snowfall 101cm reported on 6 days Previous report Next report All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Kutchan/Niseko. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report. SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido New snowfall at base 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