Plan a trip · 旅の計画

Eighty resorts. One honest matcher.

No resort pays to be here and none can opt out. We compare the snow country on the four axes that decide a trip — skill fit, snowfall, scale, and how hard it is to reach — then hand you three itineraries we’d book ourselves.

Skill

First weeks belong in Hakuba or Nozawa. Confident riders go north; experts chase Madarao's trees and Kiroro's depth.

Snowfall

The index runs from one-metre snowmaking hills to seventeen-metre coastal dumps. Hokkaido snow is drier; Niigata's is heavier and relentless.

Scale

Hakuba is ten areas on one pass; Zao is one village and one mountain. Decide whether a whiteout day needs alternatives.

Access

Shinkansen resorts (Nagano, Niigata) beat flights for a week or less. Hokkaido earns the flight at ten days.

The resort index

Every resort we cover, one table.

ResortRegionLiftsRunsSnowVertNightForeign presence
Niseko UnitedHokkaido 北海道296015 m940 m☾HighRusutsuHokkaido 北海道183714 m594 m☾HighKiroroHokkaido 北海道102317 m610 m—HighFuranoHokkaido 北海道9289 m964 m☾HighTomamuHokkaido 北海道6298 m585 m☾HighSahoroHokkaido 北海道8217 m590 m—ModerateSapporo TeineHokkaido 北海道91510 m683 m☾GrowingSapporo KokusaiHokkaido 北海道5715 m470 m—ModerateKamui Ski LinksHokkaido 北海道6258 m601 m—GrowingNiseko MoiwaHokkaido 北海道3814 m470 m—GrowingAsahidakeHokkaido 北海道1414 m500 m—GrowingKurodakeHokkaido 北海道2210 m850 m—MinimalOtaru TenguyamaHokkaido 北海道487 m400 m☾ModerateSapporo BankeiHokkaido 北海道6176 m200 m☾MinimalPippuHokkaido 北海道3109 m308 m☾MinimalNakayama TogeHokkaido 北海道1313 m130 m—MinimalHakuba ValleyNagano 長野13520011 m1071 m☾HighNozawa OnsenNagano 長野213610 m1085 m☾HighShiga KogenNagano 長野498412 m937 m☾GrowingMadarao KogenNagano 長野163213 m440 m—GrowingTangram Ski CircusNagano 長野51512 m520 m☾ModerateRyuoo Ski ParkNagano 長野101810 m1080 m☾ModerateSugadaira KogenNagano 長野19604 m400 m☾MinimalKaruizawa PrinceNagano 長野9161 m215 m—ModerateTogakushiNagano 長野7198 m548 m—ModerateAsama 2000 ParkNagano 長野463 m170 m—MinimalPilatus TateshinaNagano 長野373 m469 m—MinimalFujimi PanoramaNagano 長野772 m730 m—MinimalOntake 2240Nagano 長野577 m867 m—MinimalMt Norikura Snow ResortNagano 長野8208 m510 m—ModerateNomugi TogeNagano 長野496 m730 m—MinimalYabuhara KogenNagano 長野7116 m589 m—MinimalKijimadairaNagano 長野71011 m796 m—MinimalNaebaNiigata 新潟132210 m889 m☾GrowingKaguraNiigata 新潟203212 m1225 m—GrowingGALA YuzawaNiigata 新潟11179 m381 m—HighIshiuchi MaruyamaNiigata 新潟13239 m664 m☾GrowingJoetsu KokusaiNiigata 新潟252210 m817 m☾ModerateMaiko Snow ResortNiigata 新潟10269 m660 m☾ModerateIwapparaNiigata 新潟9208 m585 m☾GrowingLotte AraiNiigata 新潟51415 m951 m☾HighAkakura OnsenNiigata 新潟141713 m550 m☾HighAkakura KankoNiigata 新潟71013 m760 m—HighMyoko SuginoharaNiigata 新潟51613 m1124 m—GrowingIkenotaira OnsenNiigata 新潟51013 m740 m—GrowingKandatsu Snow ResortNiigata 新潟6169 m540 m☾GrowingYuzawa KogenNiigata 新潟588 m210 m—ModerateNASPA Ski GardenNiigata 新潟587 m260 m—ModerateMuikamachi HakkaisanNiigata 新潟41110 m792 m—MinimalMuika Snow ResortNiigata 新潟4208 m400 m—MinimalCharmant HiuchiNiigata 新潟31613 m619 m—ModerateSeki OnsenNiigata 新潟2516 m250 m—GrowingMatsunoyama OnsenNiigata 新潟2511 m340 m—MinimalNinox Snow ParkNiigata 新潟226 m216 m☾MinimalZao OnsenYamagata 山形322612 m881 m☾HighGassanYamagata 山形3420 m484 m—MinimalTengendai KogenYamagata 山形4612 m470 m—ModerateJangle JungleYamagata 山形3910 m323 m☾MinimalZao Liza WorldYamagata 山形31010 m380 m—MinimalYonezawa Snow WorldYamagata 山形488 m325 m—MinimalYamagata Akakura OnsenYamagata 山形279 m350 m☾MinimalYudonosanYamagata 山形2413 m274 m—MinimalAsahi ShizenkanYamagata 山形4511 m225 m—MinimalTazawakoAkita 秋田6139 m608 m—GrowingAniAkita 秋田3512 m663 m—GrowingJeunesse KurikomaAkita 秋田31211 m375 m—MinimalTaiheizan OpasAkita 秋田366 m280 m☾MinimalHanawa (Alpas)Akita 秋田367 m230 m☾MinimalAkita HachimantaiAkita 秋田2412 m160 m—MinimalTenkamoriAkita 秋田228 m190 m☾MinimalTakasu Snow ParkGifu 岐阜5137 m610 m—ModerateDynalandGifu 岐阜6187 m447 m☾ModerateMeihoGifu 岐阜5146 m700 m—ModerateWashigatakeGifu 岐阜5136 m440 m☾MinimalWhitepia TakasuGifu 岐阜5136 m355 m—MinimalHirugano KogenGifu 岐阜3125 m150 m—MinimalSnow Wave Park ShirotoriGifu 岐阜386 m346 m—MinimalHirayu OnsenGifu 岐阜248 m470 m—MinimalHonokidairaGifu 岐阜4167 m350 m—MinimalMont Deus Hida KuraiyamaGifu 岐阜344 m300 m—Minimal

80 operating ski areas, verified against operator publications. Snowfall is a typical-season figure, not a promise. Rows link to the regional brief.

Three classics · 三つの定番

Itineraries we’d book ourselves.

Itinerary 01

The first-timer

Hakuba Valley, Nagano · 7 days
¥180,000–260,000 per person, ex-flights

Shinkansen from Tokyo, English-speaking ski school, a valley big enough that a whiteout day still has options. This is the itinerary we give friends who have never clicked into a binding.

Day 1Tokyo → Nagano by Shinkansen (80 min), bus to Hakuba. Gear rental fitted in the afternoon.
Day 2–3Lessons at Happo-one or Iwatake. Half-day morning lessons, afternoons on greens.
Day 4Rest legs. Snow-monkey day trip to Jigokudani, onsen in the evening.
Day 5–6Cruise Tsugaike's long greens and blues. First powder detour if the window opens.
Day 7Morning ski, afternoon bus + train back to Tokyo.
Itinerary 02

The powder hunter

Hokkaido — Niseko, Rusutsu, Kiroro · 10 days
¥350,000–500,000 per person, ex-flights

Fly into New Chitose, rent a 4WD, and chase the refill cycle across three resorts within 90 minutes of each other. Dry powder every three to five days is the statistical norm, not the marketing line.

Day 1New Chitose → Niseko (2.5 h drive). Storm-tracking apps configured over dinner.
Day 2–4Niseko United. Gate-accessed sidecountry when patrol opens it.
Day 5Transfer day via Lake Toya. Legs recover, cameras work.
Day 6–7Rusutsu — tree runs and untouched lines the morning after Niseko gets skied out.
Day 8–9Kiroro — deepest snowpack of the trip, shortest lift lines.
Day 10Drive back to New Chitose. Sushi at the airport is genuinely good.
Itinerary 03

The family week

Nozawa Onsen, Nagano · 7 days
¥150,000–220,000 per adult, kids far less

A real village, not a purpose-built base. Thirteen free public baths, a kids' park at the gondola base, and dinner options that don't require a reservation app. The trip the kids remember for the fire festival, not the skiing.

Day 1Tokyo → Iiyama by Shinkansen (110 min), 20-minute bus to the village.
Day 2–3Kids in ski school at the Hikage base, parents lap Yamabiko's ridgeline.
Day 4Village day — soba making, the Ogama cooking spring, bath-house stamp rally.
Day 5–6Full-family days on Uenotaira's wide greens. Street food on the walk home.
Day 7Morning onsen, afternoon train. Buy the oyaki before the platform, not on it.
Before you book

The questions everyone asks.

Read the regional briefs →
When is the snow actually reliable?

Mid-January through late February is the safe window everywhere we cover. Hokkaido opens reliably by mid-December; Honshu resorts are a coin-flip before New Year and lovely, quieter, into early April.

Do I need a car?

Not for Nagano or Niigata — the Shinkansen plus resort shuttles cover it. Hokkaido rewards a 4WD if you're resort-hopping; book snow tyres, they are not optional.

Is a Japan Rail Pass worth it?

Only if the trip includes legs beyond the snow country. For a single Tokyo–Nagano or Tokyo–Yuzawa return, point-to-point tickets are cheaper than the pass.

Can I rent everything there?

Yes — skis, boots, wear, even goggles, at every resort with a foreign presence rated Moderate or above in our index. Boot sizes above 30 cm are worth reserving ahead. Minimal-presence resorts: bring your own or size down expectations.

What about tattoos and onsen?

Policies are loosening but uneven. Nozawa's free public baths are tolerant in practice; large hotels post rules at the door. Private (kashikiri) baths are the universal answer.

How much English will there be?

Directly proportional to the foreign-presence column in the index above. Niseko and Hakuba run in English; Zao, Tazawako and the Gifu areas do not. We consider that a feature, but plan accordingly.