Family Ski Holidays Japan
The top family friendly ski resorts in Japan include Tomamu, Sahoro, Niseko, Furano, Lotte Arai, Myoko Kogen and Hakuba. Particularly if you’re a family that wants to ski Japan with young kids, you probably want your snow holiday to be as easy as possible and know that the kids will have the best time!
Factors we’ve taken into consideration when picking the top family ski holidays in Japan destinations include the availability of ski and snowboard lessons for kids in English (group lessons and private lessons), childcare (ideally with English speaking staff), ease of getting to ski school and the slopes, a range of kids’ activities and family activities, and good beginner slopes. You can also check out the
ski school tables regarding which resorts offer kids group snowports lessons in English and childcare, and the minimum age for ski school and child care.
Our best ski Japan with kids destination ratings don’t take into account other factors when choosing a Japan ski holiday destination, but you can check out our
Japanese ski resorts ratings to provide an overview of other factors. Alternatively, we outline the pros and cons of each resort on the specific resort pages. Note that family friendly ski resorts with all the services in English are westernised ski resorts, and most attract a deluxe price tag, especially if you are looking for ski-in ski-out accommodation.
Ski Japan With Kids – Best Ski Resorts
Tomamu
Tomamu is the best family friendly ski resort in Japan, particularly if you stay at
Club Med Tomamu where the kids are well taken care of and slope access is very easy. Packages include group lessons for kids (and adults), kids club, entertainment and child care for ages 4 and up, and child care for ages 2-3 can be added. As Club Med is an all-inclusive snow holiday (including meals and alcohol), it’s not for those on a budget.
Club Med Tomamu is directly opposite the ridiculously big wave pool and spa complex, and Tomamu has an ice village, ice skating, snow rafting, dog sledding and various other family activities. The Tomamu ski resort also has very good beginner slopes. And it’s not as busy as some of the other family oriented Japan ski resorts, so combined with the amazing Central Hokkaido powder, it’s great for powder hounds as well. See the
Tomamu Japan page for reviews and pros and cons of Tomamu.
You can also stay at Tomamu Resort accommodation such as
Tomamu The Tower which is co-located with ski school and child care (5 months to 8 years), and has a kids' play room.
Sahoro
Heading to
Sahoro in Hokkaido to stay at the ski-in ski-out
Club Med Sahoro is also the ultimate family ski holiday, where parents will have a completely stress free time. As with Tomamu, the Sahoro Club Med packages include ski lessons for the kids and kids club (ages 4+) and Petit Club can be provided for ages 2-3. In addition to kids’ entertainment and activities, there is a swimming pool and table tennis. The all-inclusive
Club Med Sahoro packages are not ideal for those wanting a ski Japan family holiday on the cheap.
Sahoro Resort has great novice slopes and very few powder hounds head into the trees (which is somewhat rare for a family friendly ski resort in Japan). See the
Sahoro Hokkaido page for reviews and pros and cons of Sahoro.
Niseko
Niseko Japan seems to have almost everything you’d ever want in a Japan snow holiday, so it’s no surprise that it’s also great for a family ski holiday. Niseko has good options for kids ski and snowboard lessons in English and child care, and evening babysitting is readily available.
Hanazono has a range of kids’ activities and lessons on offer, but accommodation is limited (unless you stay at the Park Hyatt). Niseko Village is very family friendly and has ski-in ski-out hotels. The main village, Hirafu has several options for luxury apartments and hotels that are on or near the slopes. Niseko is mostly targeted to high end families, but moderately priced ski holidays are also possible if you stay in villages that aren’t slopeside and require a shuttle bus to get to the slopes. Some parents find it a little difficult getting small children onto a bus, but it’s a good way to save some yen.
Myoko Kogen
The
Akakura village of
Myoko Kogen offers a family friendly Japan ski holiday, where there is English group snowsports lessons and childcare for 6 months to 4 years old. There aren’t a lot of activities on offer in Myoko besides the skiing and snowboarding, but it’s popular with some families because there are lots of ryokans and other Japanese style hotels with onsens, so it provides a nice balance between westernised family convenience and a Japanese experience. It's also reasonably priced.
Nozawa Onsen
Nozawa Onsen is very popular as a Japan family ski holiday destination because the charming onsen village is still hanging onto its traditional roots, yet it has enough westernisation to provide an easy holiday for English speaking guests. Nozawa has group ski and snowboard lessons, childcare and kids snow park. The only potential limitation of Nozawa is the ease of access to the slopes where ski school is located (despite the Yu Road travellator and the snowmobile shuttles from the Nagasaka gondola), and/or ease of access to restaurants in town. It’s a rather hilly town, so the kids are likely to have to walk up and down hills. Check out the
Nozawa Onsen accommodation page for tips on the pros and cons of different lodging locations. Note that accommodation in January books out well in advance.
Rusutsu
Rusutsu is like the Disneyland of ski resorts for kids, with plenty of fun things to do including a mini wave pool. Rusutsu Resort has a childcare facility for 1 year olds to preschoolers, slopeside accommodation (with the
Rusutsu Resort Hotel being the best for families), and kids’ group ski lessons for ages 4 to 14.
Furano
Furano is a great pick for families and powder hounds. Furano ski resort offers some fantastic powder skiing, but it can also act as a great base to visit nearby ski areas that are highly rated by the Powderhounds as powder skiing destinations. Furano ticks plenty of boxes for families including group lessons, child care that is easily accessible from the Kitanomine village (NB child care at Kitanomine has been suspended whilst renovations are underway), and a good range of activities for the kids.
Lotte Arai
If you want a luxury family Japan ski holiday, then check out
Lotte Arai. In addition to deluxe ski-in ski-out hotel buildings, Lotte Arai has kids lessons in a group and private format, and various kids activities. Unfortunately the child care service is no longer operational.
Kiroro
Club Med Kiroro Grand is one of two Club Med hotels at Kiroro, and Kiroro Grand is the hotel where children are allowed and welcomed with open arms (Kiroro Peak is for ages 12+ only). Like the other Club Med Hokkaido properties, it caters well to children with lessons and kids child care included for ages 4 and above, whilst child care for ages 2 and 3 can be added onto your package.
Hakuba
Hakuba is rather popular for Japan ski holidays for families, although it has some drawbacks.
Hakuba is a reasonably westernised Japanese ski area that has good services for English speaking guests such as group ski and snowboard lessons with a native English speaking instructor (at Happo One, Tsugaike and Goryu/Hakuba 47). There isn’t a lot of accommodation near the ski schools, and as Hakuba is so spread out, it can be challenging to get the kids to ski school if you don’t have a car, especially if the parents want to ski/ride at a different ski area. In terms of deciding which village to stay in, if you’re happy to pay the premium for private lessons, then you can stay in any village and the lessons can occur at any ski area, as the instructors will often provide transport. For group lessons, Evergreen offer these at Happo One, with the meeting place being at the Kokusai slopes which is adjacent to the
Lower Wadano village and close to the
Happo Village, so these two villages are ideal to stay in (keep in mind that January is a busy time for families so accommodation in these zones can book out early). Or you could stay in
Upper Wadano and get a shuttle to ski school, or ride the lifts from the Sakka base and ski down (if not a complete novice).
Child care services are rather limited in Hakuba and paying the premium for babysitting at your accommodation is often the easiest option – see
Hakuba childcare info.
Other Japan Family Ski Holiday Destinations
As a general rule, very family oriented Japanese ski resorts are also rather busy (except Tomamu and Sahoro), so if you’re looking for reasonably untracked powder, here are some other family oriented Japanese ski resorts to consider.
Madarao offers a reasonably inexpensive snow holiday and has a couple of small ski schools that offer group or private lessons. Unfortunately the childcare at Madarao Kogen Hotel has ceased.
Tangram next door is also family friendly. In addition to a kids' snow park at the base, there is childcare at the resort or at
White Tree Lodge, and private ski lessons are available.
Okushiga Kogen (part of the bigger
Shiga Kogen) offers group lessons and is reasonably close to the snow monkeys.
Appi is another option. It used to be incredibly family friendly but has pulled back on offerings in more recent years.
Naeba has also ceased its childcare operations. It continues to be very popular with families due to the slopeside hotel, and there are private snowsports lessons on offer. It also has some great powder skiing options for parents, and because it's mostly frequented by piste skiing types, there isn't much competition for the powder.
Kids Ski Lessons Japan, Child Care, SISO Accommodation
* not at Okushiga Kogen
~ = partially or somewhat
NB some childcare programs were ceased since Covid and have not recommenced
*not Club Med
Other Things to Consider for a Ski Japan With Kids Holiday
Instead of staying in a hotel or pension, some families like to stay in
self-contained accommodation such as an apartment or house, in part so that they can have evening meals at home. The first thing to consider is that self-contained accommodation is a rather westernised concept so it’s only the westernised Japanese ski resorts that have apartments or houses (see the
accommodation table for a list of resorts with self-contained options). Some of these resorts only have a small amount of self-contained lodging, so it’s in hot demand and often comes with a premium price tag. The other factor for consideration is the type of food available in the local supermarket for home cooking, as it definitely won’t be what you’re used to and you’ll potentially be using the google translate app a lot!
The type of
airport transfers you choose may also determine how relaxed you’ll feel when you arrive at your Japan family oriented ski resort of choice. For the Honshu ski resorts, there is the option of initially catching the bullet train which can be incredibly fascinating for children, but you’ll have to lug your bags around train stations. It may be easier to get a
Nagano Snow Shuttle bus which takes you from Narita Airport to your accommodation.
For the main Hokkaido ski resorts there are inexpensive buses from Sapporo Airport to designated points at the resort, from where you may need to get a taxi or ask your lodging to pick you up. An easier but more costly option for Niseko and Furano is to get a private door-to-door transfer (child booster seats available). You can look at
Hokkaido transport options here.
Tokyo Disneyland is a popular side trip for families. There is a train station at Disneyland so you can readily catch the train there or get a taxi from your Tokyo hotel. Or otherwise you can stay at a
Tokyo Disneyland hotel.
Cost of a Ski Japan Family Holiday
If low cost is a major factor in choosing the right Japan ski resort for a family holiday, you may want to look at the
Madarao Ski Resort,
Tangram or
Hakuba.
Niseko is one of the most expensive (accommodation, lift tickets, lessons, rentals, food etc) ski resorts in Japan, but it is possible to find some economical lodging in Niseko away from the lifts.
And as a general rule, you’ll need to forego the convenience of slope-side accommodation if you want to save some money.