Four ski areas on one mountain, facing Yōtei
Come in January for the deepest powder or in March for fewer crowds on the lifts, and buy the all-mountain pass online a couple of weeks before you fly, because daily numbers can be capped.
Runs and lifts from OpenStreetMap, which maps about 105 km of run centre lines here against a published 50.8 km of slopes. Lift heights come from a 30 m terrain model: the highest lift top reads about 1,180 m against a published 1,188, and the 1,308 m summit of Annupuri stands above the lifts. The bar is the share of mapped length at each level, not the resort's own count.
The snow. Cold air crossing the Sea of Japan drops light, dry powder on this range through the winter, a few metres of it in January alone, and most of the runs lie below the tree line.
One mountain, four resorts. Grand Hirafu, Hanazono, Niseko Village and Annupuri meet near the summit of Niseko Annupuri, and one all-mountain pass covers the lot.
Yōtei. The volcano across the valley, a cone as clean as Fuji's, is in view from most of the runs.
Buy the all-mountain pass online a couple of weeks before you fly: daily numbers can be capped, early-season passes are not sold online at all, and a multi-day ticket runs on consecutive days only.
Come in January for the deepest powder, with the cold that makes it, often below minus ten. March brings light top-ups, warmer days and far fewer visitors, and the upper slopes stay open into early May.
Beginners start on the wide slopes at the foot of Grand Hirafu. Stronger skiers take the gondola and the Ace lifts to the tree runs and the gates, and go through only with a helmet and a beacon: ducking a rope can cost you your pass.
Stay in Hirafu for lift access and nightlife, and near a base lift or the gondola if you can, because in the peak weeks that is what gets you onto the slopes quickly. Annupuri and Niseko Village are quieter.
Book a rental fitting for the evening you arrive, so you are on the lifts next morning. The restaurants on the slopes are for lunch; for dinner between late December and February, book a table early.
All four areas open in late November. Hanazono and Niseko Village close in April; Grand Hirafu and Annupuri run into early May. The peak weeks are Christmas to the end of February, and the powder is at its best from late December to mid-February.
Where to base yourself, and what to do off the slopes
