Skiing in Hokkaido Japan

Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido offers some of the country’s best snow and has been unaffected by the recent earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan.

Hokkaido’s winter season is November to early April with some ski resorts still having snow until early May. Sapporo is the cosmopolitan main city on Hokkaido, but does not get a lot of snow until early December. The best places are ski resorts like Niseko, Furano, Rusutsu and Kiroro.


Niseko has three resorts which are Grand Hirafu, Niseko village and Annupuri that offer fantastic powder snow, outdoor hot springs (rotenburo) and great night life. In Niseko you can ski on four mountains with just the one pass.

Furano has tree-lined runs, light dry snow and a friendly atmosphere.

Rusutsu is an all in one resort with various activities for families.

Kiroro is the closet resort to Sapporo and has a family focus.

Whatever it is you are after, you can find it on Hokkaido.

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