Source: Pexels
Hokkaido's resorts open on 28 November 2026, Nagano's between 28 November and 1 December, and the shinkansen day trip from Tokyo waits until 19 December. A peak adult day pass runs from ¥7,800 to ¥16,700, and the cheapest way to buy it is rarely at the window.
1The 2026-27 season at a glance
Every date below comes from the resort's own 2026-27 page. Hokkaido starts in the last days of November, Nagano in the first days of December, and Niigata in the third week.
| Resort | Region | 2026-27 season |
|---|---|---|
| Niseko Annupuri | Hokkaido | 28 November 2026 – 5 May 2027 |
| Niseko Village | Hokkaido | 28 November 2026 – 4 April 2027 |
| Niseko Tokyu Grand HIRAFU | Hokkaido | 28 November 2026 – 5 May 2027 |
| Niseko Hanazono | Hokkaido | 28 November 2026 – 11 April 2027 |
| Rusutsu | Hokkaido | 28 November 2026 – 31 March 2027, with the regular season from 19 December |
| Tomamu | Hokkaido | 1 December 2026 – 5 April 2027; the 2026-27 dates are the ticket periods, because the lift dates aren't published yet |
| Hakuba Happo-one | Nagano | 1 December 2026 – 5 May 2027, in three price periods |
| Nozawa Onsen | Nagano | 28 November 2026 – 5 May 2027 |
| GALA Yuzawa | Niigata | 19 December 2026 – 5 May 2027, with the gondola alone from 12 December |
Niseko United runs night skiing from 12 December 2026 to 22 March 2027 under one pass across its four areas. Nozawa sells a night ticket for ¥2,850, good from 17:00 to 20:00 on the day you buy it. GALA runs no night skiing at all.
A date on a resort page is a plan, not a promise. Warm weather moves an opening day, and the same page that prints 28 November prints a warning underneath it.
Source: Pexels
2What an adult day pass costs
These are the published adult one-day rates for the 2026-27 season: the window price, the online price where a resort sells one, and the two-day rate in peak season.
| Resort | 1 day, window | 1 day, online | 2 days, peak |
|---|---|---|---|
| Niseko United All Mountain (peak) | ¥13,500 | ¥12,800 | ¥26,500 |
| Grand HIRAFU & Hanazono only (peak) | ¥12,500 | ¥11,800 | ¥24,500 |
| Rusutsu (regular season) | ¥16,700 | ¥13,200 | ¥26,000 |
| Tomamu (regular) | ¥9,200–9,500 | Same | Two day tickets |
| Hakuba Happo-one (peak) | ¥9,800 | ¥9,800 | ¥19,600 |
| Nozawa Onsen (regular) | ¥7,800 | — | ¥14,500 |
| GALA Yuzawa | ¥8,000 | ¥7,500 | — |
Tomamu prints two adult tables on one page: ¥9,200 for ages 12 and over, ¥9,500 for the 12–59 band. That page also says there's no change in the website price, so its row carries the range and no online saving.
Rusutsu is the most expensive day of the seven resorts on this page at ¥16,700, and the same ticket bought online is ¥13,200. Tomamu, an hour further along the same Hokkaido line, lists ¥9,200–9,500. Nozawa and GALA sit under ¥8,000 at the window, and both are a shorter trip from a city.
Niseko has its own arithmetic. At Grand HIRAFU a one-day All Mountain pass costs ¥13,500 and covers Annupuri, Niseko Village, Hirafu and Hanazono. The Hirafu-and-Hanazono pass costs ¥12,500. The ¥1,000 difference buys two more mountains for the day, which makes the narrow ticket the one that needs a reason.
Tomamu's peak-day price aside, most resorts publish a season structure rather than one rate all winter. Niseko opens with an early-season day at ¥8,800 that's sold at the window only, then charges ¥12,600 from 12 December and ¥13,500 from 24 December. Happo-one charges ¥6,400 before 18 December and ¥9,800 from 19 December. Nozawa's regular rate runs 19 December to 28 March.
Source: Pexels
3The snow, region by region
Hokkaido: Niseko, Rusutsu and Tomamu
Niseko is four areas on one mountain under one pass, and it's the busiest of the three. The village at the foot of Grand HIRAFU has the beds, the bars and the rental shops, and the lift queue at the Hirafu gondola on a January morning is the price of that.
Rusutsu sells a 25-hour ticket instead of days: ¥39,000 at the window, ¥36,000 online, and the hours come off the card one gate pass at a time. For a four-day trip that's more flexible than four day passes, and the tree runs between the trails are why people come.
Tomamu is the family one. Twenty-nine trails, 585 metres of vertical, one gondola and five chairs, and the resort sits in the cold inland belt that keeps powder dry through February. Children aged 6 and under ride free, and the IC card carries no deposit, so it goes home with you.
Source: Pexels
Niseko Tokyu Grand HIRAFU ニセコ東急 グラン・ヒラフ
- Address
- 9-1 Niseko Hirafu 1-jo 2-chome, Kutchan-cho, Abuta-gun, Hokkaido 044-0080 · Map
- Phone
- +81 136-22-0109
- Hours
- Day lifts through the season; night skiing 12 December 2026 – 22 March 2027
- Website
- en.grand-hirafu.jp
Rusutsu Resort ルスツリゾート
- Address
- 13 Izumikawa, Rusutsu-mura, Abuta-gun, Hokkaido 048-1711 · Map
- Phone
- +81 136-46-3331
- Hours
- Regular season 19 December 2026 – 14 March 2027
- Website
- rusutsu.com
Hoshino Resorts Tomamu 星野リゾート トマム
- Address
- Naka-Tomamu, Shimukappu, Yufutsu, Hokkaido 079-2204 · Map
- Hours
- Early-season rate 1–20 December 2026; spring rate 29 March – 5 April 2027
- Website
- snowtomamu.jp
Nagano: Hakuba and Nozawa Onsen
Happo-one sells a Happo Debut day ticket at ¥4,900 that works on seven lifts: Nakiyama 2 and 3, Shirakaba 1 and 2, Sakka 2 and 3, and the Kitaone Quad. All seven sit at the base of the mountain, so a first day doesn't pay for the top. The full peak day ticket costs ¥9,800, or ¥8,100 for a morning or an afternoon.
Nozawa is the village resort. The slopes come down to the inns, the public bathhouses sit in the lanes behind them, and the day pass at ¥7,800 is the cheapest on this page. Trains reach it through Iiyama, and the last stretch is a bus.
Source: Pexels
Source: Pexels
Hakuba Happo-one 白馬八方尾根スキー場
- Phone
- +81 261-72-3066 (Happo Information Center)
- Hours
- Peak season 19 December 2026 – 22 March 2027; spring to 5 May 2027
- Website
- happo-one.jp
Nozawa Onsen Snow Resort 野沢温泉スキー場
- Hours
- Season 28 November 2026 – 5 May 2027; regular rates 19 December – 28 March; night skiing 17:00–20:00 on the nights the resort schedules it
- Website
- en.nozawaski.com
Niigata: GALA Yuzawa and the Yuzawa link
GALA is the one resort in Japan with a shinkansen station inside it, and that single fact decides who should go. Yuzawa Kogen and Ishiuchi Maruyama sit on the same valley and are joined to GALA by ropeway, lifts and shuttle buses on one three-mountain pass, 48 courses between them. The operator has not published the 2026-27 pass price yet; the page still carries last season's sheet.
Source: Pexels
GALA Yuzawa ガーラ湯沢スキー場
- Address
- 1039-2 Yuzawa, Yuzawa-machi, Minamiuonuma-gun, Niigata 949-6101 · Map
- Phone
- +81 25-785-6543
- Hours
- Slopes open 19 December 2026 – 5 May 2027; gondola only 12–18 December
- Website
- gala.co.jp
4Getting to the slopes
GALA's own access line is the fastest number on this page: 71 minutes from Tokyo Station on the Joetsu Shinkansen, and the platform is inside the resort. From Echigo-Yuzawa, one stop short, a free shuttle covers the 10 minutes to the same ski centre.
The other two Yuzawa resorts are reached from Echigo-Yuzawa station instead: Yuzawa Kogen by ropeway from the town, Ishiuchi Maruyama by shuttle. That's why the three-mountain pass exists.
Nagano is the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Nagano or Iiyama, then a bus up the valley to Hakuba or Nozawa. Each resort's access page carries the current timetable and the bus operators, and the valley buses are the part of the trip that fills on a powder morning.
Hokkaido means New Chitose, then a bus or the train. Rusutsu's Sapporo service stops being free this winter: the resort announced on 17 September 2026 that the Sapporo–Rusutsu bus becomes a paid service from 28 November 2026, with the fares and the booking on its RUSUTSU EXPRESS page.
Source: Pexels
5A ski day from Tokyo
The day trip works for one reason: the station is the resort. You ride 71 minutes, walk out of the gate, and the rental counter, the lockers and the lifts are in the same building. No car, no bus, no town in between.
The 2026-27 season has a wrinkle at the front. From 12 to 18 December the gondola and the sightseeing lift run but the slopes are closed to skiers and snowboarders whatever the snow does; the ski area opens on 19 December. A December day trip booked for the week before that's a gondola ride, not a ski day.
The pass to buy is the web ticket at ¥7,500 rather than the ¥8,000 window rate, and the four-hour ticket at ¥7,000 suits a day that starts with a 71-minute train and ends with the same ride back. A child aged 6 or under rides free with a paying adult, up to two of them.
Source: Pexels
Keep reading How to buy Shinkansen tickets in Japan in 2026
6Rent your gear or bring it
Every resort on this page rents skis, boards and boots on site, and GALA's rental counter sits in the station building, so a day trip needs nothing but a train ticket and warm clothes. Each resort publishes its own rental rates on its rental page; the range between a basic set and a performance set is wider than the range between resorts.
Boots are the item worth bringing if you own them. Rental boots fit by size and not by foot shape, and a bad fit is what ends a ski day early.
A ski bag is a checked bag, and its weight and length are the airline's rules, not the resort's. Send the suitcase ahead instead of carrying it up the mountain, which also solves the locker problem on arrival day.
Source: Pexels
Keep reading Luggage forwarding in Japan 2026: the cut-off decides the day
7The last mile: buses and mountain roads
A car is optional on this list. GALA has a station, Nozawa and Hakuba have valley buses, and the Hokkaido resorts run shuttles from the airports and the cities. What a car buys is timing: the first lift on a powder morning, before the bus arrives.
If you do drive, the mountain road is the part that decides the day, and the resorts' own access pages say which route they recommend and where the car park fills. Winter equipment isn't a preference on these roads.
Source: Pexels
8Booking early: what the discount is worth
Buying before you travel saves real money at two of these resorts and almost nothing at the rest.
Rusutsu is the big one: ¥13,200 online against ¥16,700 at the window, and ¥36,000 against ¥39,000 on the 25-hour card. GALA takes ¥500 off a day pass and ¥500 off the four-hour.
Tomamu takes nothing off for buying early — the same page says there's no change in the website price. The ¥300 between its two adult tables is a difference between tables, not channels. Guests staying at Tomamu The Tower or RISONARE Tomamu do get ¥500 off at the counter.
Niseko's saving is in the calendar rather than the channel: ¥8,800 a day in the early season and in spring against ¥13,500 at peak. The early-season pass isn't sold online, so that price means buying at the window. Happo-one runs early-bird tickets until 30 November 2026, and its web ticket costs the same as the window one but lets you collect at a self-service machine.
The dates that decide a booking: Niseko's peak starts 24 December, Happo-one's and Rusutsu's and Nozawa's on 19 December. Rooms for late December and January go before the passes do, and a peak-week pass bought on the day costs the most of any week in the season.
| For a ski trip | Why before you go | Check tickets |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel near the lifts | Peak weeks at Niseko, Hakuba and Nozawa fill months ahead, and the beds by the gondola go first | Trip.com KKday |
| Airport transfer | New Chitose to the Hokkaido resorts is a bus ride, and the Sapporo–Rusutsu service is paid from this winter | Kiwitaxi |
| Luggage storage or forwarding | A ski bag and a suitcase don't fit a locker, and the resort lockers fill on powder mornings | Radical Storage |
| Japan eSIM | Lift status, bus times and a resort's snow report all live on a phone | Trip.com Airalo eSIMania |
9Questions and answers
The dates, the prices, the beginner question and the car question, in the order a ski trip gets planned.
When does ski season start in Japan?
Niseko's four areas, Rusutsu and Nozawa Onsen all start on 28 November 2026 — the first two in Hokkaido, Nozawa in Nagano. Tomamu and Hakuba Happo-one start on 1 December. The shinkansen day trip from Tokyo starts later, because GALA Yuzawa runs its gondola only from 12 to 18 December and opens the slopes on 19 December.
How much is a lift pass in Japan?
A peak adult one-day pass runs from ¥7,800 at Nozawa Onsen to ¥16,700 at Rusutsu. In between: GALA Yuzawa at ¥8,000, Tomamu at ¥9,200–9,500, Happo-one at ¥9,800 and the Niseko All Mountain pass at ¥13,500. Buying online cuts Rusutsu to ¥13,200 and Niseko to ¥12,800.
Is Niseko or Hakuba better for beginners?
Hakuba Happo-one sells a Happo Debut day ticket for ¥4,900 that covers seven lifts at the base of the mountain: Nakiyama, Shirakaba, Sakka and the Kitaone Quad. A first day costs half the peak pass and never puts you above the tree line. Niseko's beginner terrain sits at the base of Hanazono and Hirafu, and the All Mountain pass costs ¥13,500 whether you use one area or four.
Can you ski in Japan in December?
Yes, from 28 November at Niseko, Nozawa and Rusutsu, and from 1 December at Happo-one and Tomamu. December is early season: Niseko charges ¥12,600 from 12 December and ¥13,500 from 24 December, and some runs stay closed until the base builds. The exception to watch is GALA, where the slopes are shut until 19 December.
Do you need a car to ski in Japan?
No. GALA Yuzawa has a shinkansen station inside the resort, Nozawa and Hakuba are reached by valley buses from the Hokuriku Shinkansen, and the Hokkaido resorts run shuttles from New Chitose and Sapporo. Rusutsu's Sapporo bus becomes a paid service from 28 November 2026, which is the one transfer that changed this winter.
Which resort is cheapest for a family?
Tomamu: children aged 6 and under ride free, the IC card has no deposit, and a family staying at Tomamu The Tower or RISONARE Tomamu pays ¥500 less per ticket. GALA lets one adult bring two children aged 6 or under free, and Nozawa does the same for one child under 5, though neither resort issues a ticket for them.
Keep reading
Sources
- Niseko United — 2026-27 Niseko United All Mountain Pass: the four areas' opening and closing dates, night skiing 12 December 2026 – 22 March 2027, the five price seasons, and the All Mountain rates from ¥8,800 to ¥13,500 with the 12-point ticket at ¥7,500 and the 50-hour pass at ¥121,200 (niseko.ne.jp/en/lift/)
- Niseko Tokyu Grand HIRAFU — Lift Tickets: online and over-the-counter rates by season, the All Mountain and the Grand HIRAFU & HANAZONO pass at ¥12,800 and ¥11,800 online against ¥13,500 and ¥12,500 at the window in peak season, night skiing 16:00–19:00, and the resort address and phone (en.grand-hirafu.jp/snow/tickets/)
- Hakuba Happo-one — Tickets & Passes 2026-2027: the early, peak and spring periods, the ¥9,800 peak day ticket and ¥19,600 two-day ticket, the ¥8,100 half-day, the ¥4,900 Happo Debut ticket and its seven lifts, free admission for children aged 5 and under, early-bird sales to 30 November 2026, and the web ticket collected at a self-service machine (happo-one.jp/en/ticket/)
- Nozawa Onsen — Ticket Prices 2026-2027: the season from 28 November 2026 to 5 May 2027, regular rates 19 December – 28 March, the ¥7,800 day ticket, ¥14,500 two-day, ¥6,700 four-hour, ¥2,850 night skiing 17:00–20:00, the ¥3,750 sightseeing gondola, the ¥500 IC deposit and the free-under-5 rule (en.nozawaski.com/the-mountain/lift-ticket/ticket-prices/)
- Rusutsu Resort — Winter Lift Tickets 2026-27: the regular season 19 December 2026 – 14 March 2027, the ¥16,700 day ticket against ¥13,200 online, the ¥39,000 25-hour ticket against ¥36,000 online, the ¥4,000 night ticket, and the early-season day tickets at ¥7,900 and ¥10,500 (rusutsu.com/en/winter-lift-tickets/)
- Rusutsu Resort — Notice Regarding Charges for the Winter Bus Service between Sapporo and Rusutsu Resort, 17 September 2026: the Sapporo bus becomes a paid service from 28 November 2026, with fares and booking on the RUSUTSU EXPRESS page (rusutsu.com/en/information/shuttle-bus-sapporo/)
- Hoshino Resorts Tomamu — Lift ticket prices 2026-2027: the two adult day-ticket tables on one page, ¥9,200 for ages 12 and over and ¥9,500 for the 12–59 band, with no change in the website price, the ¥5,000 early-season and spring passes, the ¥500 discount for guests of Tomamu The Tower and RISONARE Tomamu with ¥4,500 during the early season, free admission for children aged 6 and under, and the IC card with no deposit (snowtomamu.jp/winter/en/ski/ticket/)
- Hoshino Resorts Tomamu — Ski slope and mountain information: 29 slopes (4 advanced, 14 intermediate, 10 beginner, 1 for first-timers), 585 metres of vertical skiable, 1 gondola lift and 5 chair lifts, 21.5 km of trails and the season from 1 December 2026 to 5 April 2027 (snowtomamu.jp/winter/en/ski/ski-slope/)
- GALA Yuzawa — Hours and lift prices, 2026-27 season: sightseeing operation 12–18 December 2026 with the gondola and sightseeing lift only and no skiing, the ski area from 19 December 2026 to 5 May 2027, the central area alone from 6 April, the gondola and lift day ticket at ¥8,000 and ¥7,500 on the web, the four-hour ticket at ¥7,500 and ¥7,000, two children aged 6 or under free per adult, the address and the phone (gala.co.jp/winter/charges/)
- GALA Yuzawa — access: the resort is joined to GALA Yuzawa station, 71 minutes from Tokyo Station by shinkansen, with a free shuttle of about 10 minutes from Echigo-Yuzawa station (gala.co.jp/winter/access/)
- YUZAWA SNOW LINK — the three-mountain pass: Yuzawa Kogen, GALA Yuzawa and Ishiuchi Maruyama joined by ropeway, lifts and shuttle bus, 48 courses, Tokyo to Echigo-Yuzawa in 66 minutes and to GALA Yuzawa in 71; the prices on the page are still the 2025-26 season's (yuzawasnowlink.com/winter/)