Right, so it's Thursday 4 June 2026. The season's done. The last lifts closed weeks ago, the snowcats are parked up, and the only people still skiing in Japan right now are the diehards lapping the summer snowfields at Gassan in Tohoku or the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route in Toyama. Everyone else is in planning mode.
Which is exactly where you should be too.
Let's do a quick run around the regions, look at what's worth knowing heading into the off-season, and flag anything that might shape your 2026-27 trip.
Hokkaido: Still the Crown Jewel, Still Getting More Expensive
Niseko, Rusutsu, Kiroro, Furano. You know the names. The 2025-26 season was a good one for Hokkaido overall, with solid mid-season snowfall keeping the powder days coming through February. Niseko United had a strong finish. Furano, as usual, was the quieter, more relaxed option and honestly still one of the best-value big resorts on the island.
Word going around is that Niseko lift pass prices are creeping up again for 2026-27. No official numbers yet, but if the trend holds, a peak-week multi-day pass at Grand Hirafu is going to sting. My honest take: if budget matters, look harder at Furano or Rusutsu. Rusutsu in particular is a ripper option if you want tree skiing without the Niseko crowds.
Worth a mention this week: a popular skiing YouTuber dropped a breakdown of his top ten runs from the 2025-26 season, and Japan featured prominently. No surprise there. Unofficial Networks covered it. The usual suspects got a shoutout, but it's a good reminder that the content cycle is already turning toward next season hype.
Tohoku: The Underrated Region That Keeps Delivering
Zao Onsen in Yamagata is still the standout here, and the juhyo (snow monsters) up on the ridge are genuinely one of the most bizarre and brilliant things you'll see on skis anywhere. The season there runs long, often into late March or early April.
Hakkoda is the one I keep telling people about. No lifts, backcountry access, serious snow. Not for beginners, but if you're comfortable in the trees and want something completely different from the resort experience, Hakkoda delivers.
Gassan is the outlier in Tohoku right now. It's one of the only places in Japan still technically open in June, running on a compressed upper snowfield. It's more of a novelty at this point in the season, but the base depth there through winter was solid in 2025-26, which bodes well for a long opening next year.
Nagano: Hakuba Is Always the Anchor, But Don't Sleep on Nozawa
Hakuba Valley had a decent season. Happo-One held its snow well into March, and Cortina was doing what Cortina does: keeping the gates closed to day trippers and rewarding the people who made the effort to get there. Hakuba 47 and Goryu are the reliable workhorses for families and mixed-ability groups.
Nozawa Onsen is the one I'd push harder for 2026-27. The town is genuinely charming, the onsen are free (the public baths, the sotoyu), and the skiing on Kenashi-yama is underrated. It doesn't get the same Instagram traffic as Hakuba and that's a feature, not a bug.
Shiga Kogen is massive and linked and a bit of a maze, but if you want sheer terrain variety on one pass, nothing in Japan touches it. Worth at least a day or two if you're basing yourself in the Nagano region.
Niigata: Powder, Onsen Towns, and the Shinkansen Factor
Naeba and the Kagura/Mitsumata/Tashiro complex are the big draws here, and the Shinkansen access from Tokyo makes Niigata the easiest powder day trip from the city. Gala Yuzawa literally has a shinkansen station at the base of the lifts. It's not the deepest resort but it's stupidly convenient.
Myoko Kogen is the one I'd be most excited about for 2026-27. Akakura Onsen town has proper character, the skiing across Suginohara and Akakura Kanko is genuinely good, and Lotte Arai Resort next door is developing into something serious. Keep an eye on Lotte Arai's pass deals closer to the season.
Central Honshu: Quieter, But Worth Knowing
Takasu Snow Park and Dynaland in Gifu are solid options if you're routing through Nagoya or doing a broader Japan trip. Not destination skiing, but perfectly good for a day or two. Ski Jam Katsuyama in Fukui is a long drive from anywhere but gets surprisingly good snow thanks to the Sea of Japan weather systems.
Tateyama in Toyama is the spring snowfield experience, and the Murodo plateau is genuinely spectacular. It's not lift-served skiing in the traditional sense, but the snow corridor walls in April and May are worth the trip on their own.
The Big Picture Heading Into 2026-27
Japan's typhoon season is shaping up to be intense this year according to weather experts. That's a summer story, not a ski story, but heavy autumn precipitation can set up a strong early season snowpack. Worth watching.
The yen is still relatively weak against the Australian dollar, which means Japan is still good value for Aussies compared to a few years ago. That could change, but right now it's a reason to lock in bookings sooner rather than later.
My pick for the season? Base yourself in Furano for a week, add a few days at Rusutsu, and avoid Niseko peak weeks unless you've got the budget for it. She'll be right.
