the expert japan itinerary, for skiers

Japan ski itinerary written for your party

The Northern Alps above Hakuba, Nagano

Your ski itinerary: From $550the whole itinerary
With you: In seven working daysone revision included
The mountains: Niseko, Hakuba and Myokoand five more, from Rusutsu to Nozawa Onsen

Your ski journey in Japan, written out day by day by the people who run our journeys: the mountain chosen for how each of you skis, the hotel and the room, the instructor, and every train and car between them. You book it, and you travel it yourself.

Begin your ski itinerary From $550, in seven working days

where to ski in japan

Where to ski in Japan

For a skier from abroad, we begin with three mountains, each wholly Japan and each run in English, from the ski school to the mountain guide. Niseko, in Hokkaido, is four linked ski areas on one volcano, with the lightest snow of the three and Mount Yotei across the valley; it took 13.5 metres of snow in the winter of 2025-26. Hakuba, in Nagano, is ten ski areas along one valley beneath the Northern Alps, where the 1998 Olympic downhill was raced on Happo-one. Myoko, in Niigata, has Lotte Arai Resort, a hotel and a mountain run as one, on the railway that continues to Kanazawa and Kyoto.

Five more mountains stand beside them, and we write the same ski itinerary for each: Rusutsu, Kiroro, Furano and Tomamu in Hokkaido, and Nozawa Onsen in Nagano, a village of hot springs beneath its runs. Which is right for you depends on the party: how each of you skis, who is still learning, and the evening you want when the lifts stop.

A first week on snow: Niseko, where a ski school teaches beginners on its own ground at Hanazono and the gentlest runs of Grand Hirafu end at the doors of the village; or Lotte Arai, with lessons on the slopes outside the hotel.
Long, steep runs: Hakuba. The mogul field at Kurobishi averages 27 degrees, and the Skyline course on Happo-one runs for eight kilometres.
Trees and deep snow: The birches of Niseko, well spaced on all four areas, or the ungroomed zones inside the boundary at Lotte Arai, each skied with a mountain guide.
The whole family: Niseko, for its ski schools in English and residences with a kitchen and a drying room for the boots; or Lotte Arai, with the ski school, the onsen and dinner under one roof.

your itinerary

Every day of the ski journey, written out

Your itinerary is written by the team that plans and runs our own journeys through Japan, and every choice in it carries its reason, so you know why this mountain, this room and this train.

The mountain, and why: Chosen for each skier's level and the evenings you want, from Niseko, Hakuba and Myoko or the five mountains beside them, with the reasoning set out.
Where you stay: The places we would choose ourselves for each stop, the room named, each with the link to book it.
On the snow: The instructor, mountain guide or ski school for each of you, matched to how you ski and teaching in English, with the lift pass and the rental shop where you need them.
Every journey between: The flight north or the first-class seats on the shinkansen, the car up the valley, and the day the skis and cases leave by courier, so they are waiting at the hotel when you arrive.
Off the snow: The onsen worth the drive, the days in Tokyo, Kanazawa or Kyoto, and a table for each evening, every one named with the way to reserve it.

ski itineraries

Four ski itineraries to begin from

Each is a shape we often write, and each is lengthened, shortened or turned round for your party.

A Niseko itinerary

Seven nights: Tokyo two, Niseko five

Two nights in Tokyo while the skis travel ahead, then the flight of about an hour and a half to New Chitose and some two hours by car to Niseko. Five days on the snow move between its four linked areas on one pass, the long groomed runs of Grand Hirafu, the quiet of Hanazono and the birches for the strong skier, with one day given to the canal of Otaru and the whisky distillery at Yoichi.

A Hakuba itinerary

Eight nights: Tokyo two, Hakuba four, Kyoto two

First class from Tokyo Station to Nagano, about ninety minutes, and seventy minutes by car into the valley. A week in Hakuba can move between five or six of its ski areas on one pass without changing hotel, from the Olympic downhill at Happo-one to the trees of Cortina. A day off the snow reaches Matsumoto Castle or the cedar avenue of Togakushi Shrine, and the journey ends in Kyoto.

A Myoko itinerary

Seven nights: Tokyo two, Myoko three, Kanazawa one, Kyoto one

From Tokyo Station to Joetsumyoko in under two hours, and half an hour by car to Lotte Arai Resort, where the hotel and the mountain are run as one and most of its 214 hectares are left ungroomed. Then the same railway carries you on: Kanazawa an hour west, its garden under ropes of snow, and Kyoto two hours beyond, with no flight inside Japan.

A Hokkaido and Honshu itinerary

Fourteen nights: Niseko five, Tokyo one, Hakuba three, Myoko two, Kanazawa one, Kyoto two

For the party that wants to know Japanese snow in all its kinds: the lightest powder of Niseko first, a night in Tokyo, then the long runs of Hakuba and the deep snow of Lotte Arai, before the shinkansen brings you down to Kanazawa and Kyoto.

begin

Your ski itinerary, from $550

You answer our questions online: who is skiing and how well, the mountains you have in mind, where you would like to stay and the Japan you want around the snow. You pay at the end of the form, and your itinerary is with you in seven working days, by a private link, with one revision included.

You make each booking yourself, from the links we give, and travel it on your own. A ski journey of more than fifteen days, or one you would rather we arranged and ran for you, is a Custom Tour of Japan.

Begin your ski itinerary The Custom Tour of Japan

All prices are in US dollars.

questions

Questions about a Japan ski itinerary

What is the best ski itinerary for Japan?

The one built around your party. For a first week on Japanese snow we usually begin with Niseko: fly into New Chitose, ski its four linked areas for five days, and give a day to Otaru. For strong skiers who want long, steep runs, Hakuba; for a journey by rail that ends in Kanazawa and Kyoto, Myoko and Lotte Arai Resort. The Expert Japan Itinerary writes yours day by day, from $550.

Where should you ski in Japan?

We lead with Niseko in Hokkaido, Hakuba in Nagano and Myoko in Niigata, because each is wholly Japan and each runs in English, from the ski school to the mountain guide. We also write ski itineraries for Rusutsu, Kiroro, Furano and Tomamu in Hokkaido and for Nozawa Onsen in Nagano.

Is Niseko or Hakuba better for a ski holiday?

They suit different parties. Niseko has the lightest snow of the three we lead with, the birch trees and the widest choice of luxury hotels, and suits every party, families above all. Hakuba has the longest, steepest runs, with the 1998 Olympic downhill on Happo-one, and suits strong skiers and friends. Myoko is the third, and the one for a journey by rail.

How many days do you need to ski in Japan?

A week on one mountain is the classic shape: five days on the snow, with a day given to an onsen town or a city. Two weeks allow two mountains, or a mountain with Tokyo and Kyoto either side. Our ski itineraries run up to fifteen days.

How do you get to Niseko and Hakuba from Tokyo?

Niseko is a flight of about an hour and a half from Haneda to New Chitose, then about two to two and a half hours by car. Hakuba is about ninety minutes by shinkansen from Tokyo Station to Nagano, then about seventy minutes by car. Your itinerary sets out every leg, with the skis sent ahead by courier so that you travel light.

Can a Japan ski itinerary include Tokyo and Kyoto?

Yes. Hakuba and Myoko are both reached from the Hokuriku Shinkansen, so Tokyo, the mountain, Kanazawa and Kyoto follow one another by rail with no flight inside Japan. From Niseko, Tokyo is a short flight, and Kyoto follows by air or by train from Tokyo.

Is Japan good for beginners and children on skis?

Yes. Niseko, Hakuba and Myoko each run ski schools in English, from the youngest skiers upwards, with gentle ground close to the door: a school with its own beginners' terrain at Hanazono in Niseko, wide lower slopes at Tsugaike in Hakuba, and lessons on the slopes outside the hotel at Lotte Arai.

Do you book the hotels and the ski instructors?

The Expert Japan Itinerary is written for you to book and travel yourself: each hotel, instructor, train and table comes with the way to reserve it. If you would rather we arranged and ran the whole journey for you, that is the Custom Tour of Japan.

What does a Japan ski itinerary cost?

From $550 for the whole itinerary, delivered in seven working days, with one revision included. A journey of more than fifteen days is a Custom Tour of Japan.

the japan edition

Reading on the snow

Tell us who is skiing.

How well each of you skis, the mountains you have in mind, and the Japan you want around the snow. We write the rest.

Begin your ski itinerary Skiing in Japan