Best Ski Resorts in Hokkaido Japan

Niseko is rated overall best ski resort in Hokkaido

Niseko ranks very well for snow, terrain, restaurants, bars & accommodation options

Furano in Central Hokkaido ranks # 2 for best ski resorts in Hokkaido

Furano has great snow, good lift infrastructure & good all-round facilities & accommodation options

Kiroro in Otaru ranks in the top Hokkaido ski resorts for snow & lifts

Kiroro is very family friendly & gets incredible snow plus great lift infrastructure

Rusutsu (near Niseko) ranks #3 best overall Hokkaido ski resort

Rusutsu has great lifts, great snow & fabulous off-piste tree skiing & is family friendly

Tomamu is in the top 5 Hokkaido ski resorts

Tomamu is the top Hokkaido ski resort for families with great snow & ski-in/out accommodation

Moiwa (next to Niseko) is a popular pick by readers

Moiwa has great snow, off-piste & tree skiing & provides very good value

Sahoro is a top Hokkaido ski resort for family friendliness

Sahoro is very family friendly, has great lift infrastructure, great snow & off-piste skiing & ski-in/out accom

In the top 10 Hokkaido best ski resorts list is Sapporo Teine

Sapporo Teine is renowned for its steep terrain, great tree skiing & great snow

Asahidake is one of the best Hokkaido ski areas for snow

Asahidake has exceptional deep powder skiing & is mostly a backcountry ski area

Kamui Links ranks #10 best resort in Hokkaido

Kamui Links gets fabulous snow & generally low crowds making it a great place to get freshies

Best Ski Resorts in Hokkaido Japan

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Overview

Best Hokkaido Ski Resorts - Powderhounds

Here are our awards for the best ski resorts in Hokkaido as rated by Powderhounds.com. Everyone has different priorities when it comes to a Hokkaido snow trip so we’ve provided our top picks by terrain by ability levels and other categories such as family friendliness and nightlife, which are also outlined in detail on our Japan ski resort ratings. You can also check out the best Hokkaido ski resorts as rated by the readers of Powderhounds.com.

Best Overall Hokkaido Ski Resorts

Other top rated ski resorts in Hokkaido are Tomamu, Kiroro and Sahoro.

Top Hokkaido Ski Areas for Powder Hounds

Based on advanced/expert terrain + snow quality & quantity + lack of people riding off-piste

Tenguyama like a few other little powder gems are only ideal when temps are low. Other top rated Hokkaido ski areas for powder skiing and riding are Furano, Sahoro, Tomamu and Asahidake. Keep in mind that to get the most out of some of these Hokkaido ski areas, you’ll need to head into the sidecountry as well as the backcountry and therefore require expert riding, route-finding and backcountry skills (and/or a guide).

Powderhounds.com Awards for the Best Skiing in Hokkaido

Skiing and Snowboarding

Best overall terrain: Niseko, Sapporo Teine, Furano
Best beginner terrain: Niseko Village, Sahoro, Sapporo Teine
Intermediate terrain: Niseko, Furano
Advanced piste terrain: Furano, Sapporo Teine, Niseko
Off-piste terrain: Rusutsu, Niseko, Kurodake
Uncrowded slopes: Piyashiri, Niyama Kogen, Otaru Tenguyama
Best expert terrain: Kurodake, Sapporo Teine
Best slackcountry (lift accessed backcountry): Niseko, Asahidake
Best backcountry (may be partly lift assisted): Kurodake, Tokachidake
Best tree skiing Hokkaido: Rusutsu, Niseko, Kurodake
Best lift infrastructure: Rusutsu, Kiroro
Best terrain park: Niseko

Hokkaido Snow

Best Hokkaido powder: Kurodake, Piyashiri, Asahidake, Kiroro, Niseko, Rusutsu
Highest likelihood of freshies: Piyashiri, Hakodate Nanae, Otaru Tenguyama, Yubari

Lots of Hokkaido ski resorts score full marks for the snow quality/quantity and likelihood of scoring fresh tracks. See the Japanese ski resort ratings for more information.

Other Awards for the Best Hokkaido Ski Resorts

Hokkaido ski areas with very few gaijin: Yubari, Hakodate Nanae, Piyashiri
Top resorts that cater to international guests: Niseko, Furano, Kiroro
Best family resort / top Hokkaido ski resort for kids: Tomamu, Sahoro, Niseko, Kiroro, Rusutsu, Furano
Best nightlife: Niseko Hirafu, Sapporo, Asahikawa
Best restaurants/dining: Niseko, Furano, Kiroro
Best value for money destination ski resort: Furano

Best Hokkaido Ski Resorts - Readers' Reviews

These awards for the "best ski resorts in Hokkaido" are based on the public reviews on Powderhounds.com. Come and have your say on the top Hokkaido ski resorts by reviewing and rating a ski area. Navigate to the Hokkaido ski resort you want to review and click on the "add review" link in the left-hand-column. Put your vote in!

Best overall Hokkaido ski resort ¹: Rusutsu, Niseko Hirafu, Niseko
Best Hokkaido powder skiing ²: Rusutsu, Moiwa, Tomamu
Best snow: Niseko Hirafu, Moiwa, Rusutsu
Most uncrowded: Tomamu, Kamui, Sahoro
Best lifts: Rusutsu, Kiroro, Sapporo Kokusai
Piste trails: Niseko Hirafu, Furano, Rusutsu
Off-piste: Niseko Hirafu, Rusutsu, Moiwa
Child friendly: Sahoro, Tomamu, Niseko Hirafu
Value for money: Sapporo Kokusai, Kamui, Sapporo Teine
Nightlife: Niseko Hirafu, Niseko, Furano

NB only Hokkaido ski resorts with a minimum of 4 reviews were considered in the awards. Where there are equal scores, the resort with more reviews is selected as the best. 1 The top overall Hokkaido ski resort is based on an average of the other above factors. 2 The best Hokkaido powder skiing is the average of the scores for snow, uncrowded and off-piste.