Has Niseko just recorded its worst start to winter in 67 years?

A brutal December start, some worrying stats, and a reminder of how fast Japan can turn it on.

What a difference a couple of weeks makes. In our last update on 14 December, Hokkaido resorts Niseko and Furano were tracking relatively well, while Hakuba had been battling some wet weather but had still managed to serve up a few decent early-season days in the weeks prior.

The season was underway, and Japan’s snow machine looked ready to fire up like it always does.

Then … nothing.

Virtually no snow. Extended periods of rain. And a whole lot of disappointed skiers and snowboarders across many of the country’s major resorts. From 15 December through to Christmas Day, Snow Japan’s Hakuba Now report recorded just 13cm of snow, with Niseko faring only marginally better at 25cm.

A Niseko visitor laments the poor start to the season. Image: Instagram

On Christmas Day, the Niseko Now reporter took a look back at how much snowfall had been recorded at base level by 25 December in previous seasons. The result? The 2025 season posted the lowest figure of all reports, dating back to December 2012. It’s well worth a read if you haven’t already.

“There’s no getting around the fact that the data so far this season looks pretty grim,” the report lamented.

Which got us thinking … just how far back do you have to go to find a worse start to a Niseko season?

As is often the case, we couldn’t resist diving into the historical snowfall records for Kutchan town (Niseko Hirafu’s neighbouring town), recorded by the Japan Meteorological Agency. As at 25 December this year – the most recent report – the recorded snow depth sat at just 21cm, down from a season high of 56cm on 12 December.

Kutchan Town snowfall records show a snow depth of 21cm on the 25th of December 2025. Image: Japan Meteorological Agency

To find a lower Christmas Day snow depth, you have to go back a staggering 67 years, to December 1958, when just 15cm was recorded. For those playing along at home, that was the year NASA was founded and Brazil won its first Football World Cup, thanks to 17-year-old star Pele.

Kutchan Town snowfall records show a snow depth of 15cm on the 25th of December 1958. Image: Japan Meteorological Agency

But it’s not all doom and gloom.

Niseko woke up earlier today to 4cm of fresh snow at base level, with colder temperatures and plenty more of the white stuff forecast over the coming week. Hakuba has picked up 15cm this morning and is set to do well again tonight, although temperatures remain a concern through the middle of the week.

And if you ever need proof of just how quickly things can turn in Japan, look no further than that 1958/59 season in Niseko. After a woeful December, Kutchan went on to record an incredible 419cm of cumulative snowfall in January – with just a single day all month without snow.

After a challenging December, it snowed 30 days out of 31 in January (419cm of cumulative snowfall).

It will come!