About 15cm of fresh snow has accumulated in Niseko since yesterday.
24-hour snowfall recorded by 360niseko.com
Conditions at Hirafu midway station (820m)
Snowfall estimated: 15cm
Temperature: -11 °C
Wind: W 8m/s
Conditions observed in Niseko Town (139m)
Snowfall observed: 10cm
Temperature: -7 °C
For the second day in a row a good top up of snow to keep things moving towards a proper opening day.
The temperatures are very cold at village level so the snow that has fallen is just beautiful. For those that are frothing you can always hike, although it might still be a bit sketchy with branches and bumps just beneath the thin layer.
There are restaurant and bar opening parties galore at the moment as the season starts to kick in. Not too many tourists in town yet but seasonal workers are here in force and getting acquainted with the local scene. Give it another week and the tourists should start to arrive in force – hopefully along with a fresh load of snow.
Still more snow forecast for the next few days, then it’s looking a little sketchy. Definitely not a good start to the season – but no doubt it will kick in eventually.
– Yogi :)