Japan’s snow forecast favors another round of Hokkaido base building as the ongoing cold spell reloads Monday and Tuesday before fading Wednesday. Kiroro now leads the remaining accumulation outlook, with Niseko close behind and much smaller additions across central Honshu. Winter skiing has yet to start at the resorts covered here, as reflected in official operating reports and winter opening schedules, so the immediate value is developing mountain cover ahead of the season.
Snow already falling across parts of Hokkaido continues unevenly through Sunday, November 8, with exposed terrain still affected by strong west winds. Around Niseko and Kiroro, forecast temperatures stay roughly -3°C to -6°C, and snow levels remain close to sea level during precipitation. Gusts near 70 km/h can redistribute the fresh snow, although winds ease into Monday. Northern Honshu receives lighter additions, with Sunday gusts around 80 km/h at Appi and potentially above 100 km/h around Zao. The cold pattern has strong support; the intensity and placement of individual snow showers remain less certain.
Monday and Tuesday bring the most useful remaining accumulation, followed by a taper through Wednesday, November 11. Additional snowfall from Sunday through Wednesday favors 20-28 cm at Kiroro and 19-26 cm at Niseko Grand Hirafu. Guidance broadly supports renewed snow, but substantial differences in intensity make these amounts less secure than the timing of the cold spell. Temperatures around these western Hokkaido mountains fall toward -7°C to -8°C on Tuesday, supporting increasingly light snow in sheltered terrain, while another increase in wind limits preservation on exposed slopes. Compared with Friday’s outlook, matching forecast dates are snowier around Kiroro and Sapporo Teine, while central Honshu has generally lost more of its already modest potential. Tuesday offers a small mountain refresh around Nozawa and Okushiga, with snow levels near 1,000 to 1,200 meters during the main precipitation. Near-freezing temperatures favor dense snow around Nozawa, and lower terrain gains little.
A warmer, largely dry break becomes the favored pattern from Thursday, November 12, through the weekend. Broad agreement on that transition gives it more credibility than any substantial follow-on storm. Above-freezing daytime temperatures should encourage settling and melting of thin cover, particularly at lower elevations, although occasional Hokkaido showers remain possible. A renewed colder and wetter pattern has support during the following week, broadly around November 16-19, but its arrival and strength vary considerably. Northern mountains remain the more plausible focus, with the extent of any meaningful Honshu snowfall still uncertain.
Japan Snow Forecast Resort Totals (Sun Nov 08 – Wed Nov 11)
- Kiroro – 20-28 cm
- Niseko Grand Hirafu – 19-26 cm
- Sapporo Teine – 11-16 cm
- Furano – 12-16 cm
- Rusutsu – 8-11 cm
- Hoshino Resort Tomamu – 7-9 cm
- Appi Kogen – 4-6 cm
- Shiga Kogen Okushiga Kogen – 3-4 cm
- Nozawa Onsen – 3-4 cm
- Zao Onsen – 1-2 cm
- Madarao Kogen – 1-2 cm
- Naeba – 1 cm
- Hakuba Happo-one – 0 cm
- Gala Yuzawa – 0 cm
- Akakura Onsen – 0 cm