Best Ski Resorts in Japan

Japan has 516 ski areas with 2,460 km of mapped downhill runs and 1,772 lifts. That puts it #2 of 73 skiing countries by number of resorts and #7 by kilometres of slopes, with 4.8% of all mapped slopes in the world. The average ski area has about 5.7 km of runs.

Biggest ski resorts in Japan

The largest ski areas are ニセコユナイテッド (59 km), 野沢温泉スキー場 (42 km), 蔵王温泉スキー場 (39 km), 栂池高原 (34 km) and ルスツリゾートスキー場 (31 km). Together these 5 hold 8% of the country's slopes. By size, 1 resort has 50 km or more of runs, 73 mid-sized areas have 10–50 km and 442 smaller ski hills have under 10 km — most skiing here happens on local hills close to towns.

Slopes and difficulty

Across all resorts, 51% of the slopes are beginner or easy, 34% intermediate and 15% advanced or expert — a friendly mix for beginners and families. Cross-country skiers will find 3 km of nordic trails.

Where to ski in Japan

The highest skiing is at Senjojiki (千畳敷スキー場), up to 2,642 m, followed by 志賀高原 横手山スキー場 (2,303 m). The longest vertical drop — 1,117 m — is at 妙高杉ノ原スキー場. Most slopes are in Nagano Prefecture (79 areas, 603 km), Hokkaido Prefecture (133 areas, 440 km) and Niigata Prefecture (55 areas, 364 km).