Ikon, Epic, Indy or Mountain Collective in Japan for 2026/27: Which Resorts, How Many Days, and How Much Snow Each Gets
Ikon covers ten Japanese destinations with 7 days each, Epic gives 5 consecutive days at Hakuba Valley and Rusutsu, Mountain Collective 2 at Niseko, and Indy 2 days at almost thirty smaller resorts. Checked against each pass's own terms and set beside twelve winters of our snowfall data. The deepest floor on any pass belongs to Togakushi, on Indy.
If you already hold a North American or Australian season pass, part of your Japan trip may already be paid for. Four multi-resort passes reach Japan for 2026/27. Each one covers different resorts, and the resorts get very different amounts of snow.
The pass companies list the resorts. This page adds what they do not: how much snow each covered resort gets in a typical winter, how much it kept in the worst of the last twelve, and how its snow ranks for quality, measured the same way at every ski area on this site.
The four passes at a glance
| Pass | Japanese resorts | Days at each | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ikon Pass | 10 destinations | 7 (Ikon Base Pass: 5) | Niseko’s Base Pass days have blackout dates |
| Epic Pass | Hakuba Valley (10 resorts), Rusutsu | 5 consecutive days each | Exchange for a ticket at the window |
| Mountain Collective | Niseko United | 2, then 50% off extra days | No blackout dates |
| Indy Pass | At least 28 smaller resorts | 2 | Indy+ has no blackout dates |
Sources: Alterra, winter 26/27 and winter 25/26, Niseko HANAZONO’s Ikon page, Epic Pass: Hakuba Valley and Rusutsu, Niseko United: Mountain Collective, Indy Pass: Japan.
Ikon Pass: the widest spread
Ikon’s Japanese destinations for 2026/27 are Niseko United, Arai, Shiga Kogen, Myoko Suginohara, Furano, APPI, NEKOMA Mountain, Zao Onsen and Mt.T, joined this season by Madarao. Each gives 7 days on the Ikon Pass and 5 on the Ikon Base Pass. At Shiga Kogen the days are combined across all of its ski areas. At Niseko, the Base Pass days carry blackout dates, and the days are Niseko United All Mountain tickets that cover all four resorts.
| Ikon destination | Typical winter | Worst of 12 | Snow quality (of 395) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arai | 663 cm | 273 cm | 155th |
| Madarao | 432 cm | 230 cm | 63rd |
| APPI | 377 cm | 167 cm | 33rd |
| Mt.T (Tanigawadake Tenjindaira) | 368 cm | 183 cm | 73rd |
| Myoko Suginohara | 356 cm | 230 cm | 48th |
| NEKOMA Mountain | 347 cm | 235 cm | 57th |
| Shiga Kogen (9 ski areas) | 333 cm | 214 cm | 4th–22nd |
| Niseko United | 289 cm | 166 cm | 38th |
| Zao Onsen | 258 cm | 129 cm | 78th |
| Furano | 220 cm | 181 cm | 115th |
Ikon’s two extremes are Arai and Shiga Kogen. Arai gets the most snow of any Ikon resort in Japan, but it is low and close to the sea: snow falls there at −2.2 °C, and 29% of winter days bring rain. Shiga Kogen gets half as much, but three of its ski areas are in Japan’s top eight for snow quality. Shibutoge, at the top of Shiga Kogen, ranks 4th of 395, and snow falls there at −11.3 °C. With seven days on the pass, you can do both.
Epic Pass: all of Hakuba Valley, and Rusutsu
Epic Pass, Epic Local Pass and Epic Australia Pass holders get 5 consecutive days at Hakuba Valley and 5 consecutive days at Rusutsu, with no restricted dates. The mobile pass in the My Epic app cannot be used at the lifts: take your pass and photo ID to a ticket window to collect a lift ticket. The Epic Day Pass does not include Rusutsu.
| Epic destination | Typical winter | Worst of 12 | Snow quality (of 395) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hakuba Valley, 10 resorts | 414–668 cm | 301–385 cm | 19th–152nd |
| Hakuba 47 | 668 cm | 380 cm | 19th |
| Tsugaike | 668 cm | 380 cm | 23rd |
| Hakuba Happo-One | 414 cm | 301 cm | 102nd |
| Rusutsu | 212 cm | 155 cm | 125th |
Hakuba Valley has the highest floor of any pass destination with many resorts: even its leanest resort kept 301 cm in its worst winter. On a 5-day Epic block you can move between all ten resorts. The Hakuba Valley ticket covers them all and includes the valley shuttle bus.
Rusutsu is the most expensive day in Japan. Its 2026/27 adult day ticket is ¥16,700 at the window in regular season (Rusutsu), so five Epic days there are worth ¥83,500 at window prices. Its snow is dry and it rarely rains (8% of winter days), but by depth it sits below the Hakuba resorts.
Mountain Collective: two days at Niseko
Mountain Collective holders get 2 days at Niseko United with no blackout dates, then 50% off additional days. Pick up the tickets at any of the four Niseko resorts’ ticket counters with your pass confirmation and photo ID (Niseko United).
Niseko’s 2026/27 All Mountain day ticket is ¥13,500 in peak season, 24 December to 28 February (Niseko United). Half price on extra days is worth more here than at almost any other resort in Japan.
Indy Pass: smaller resorts, and some of the deepest snow in Japan
Indy gives 2 days at each partner resort. The Indy+ Pass has no blackout dates. Indy’s Japan page lists at least 28 resorts. Most are local ski areas, but several sit in the heaviest snowfall in the country:
| Indy resort | Typical winter | Worst of 12 | Snow quality (of 395) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yuzawa Nakazato | 712 cm | 328 cm | 205th |
| Maiko | 695 cm | 328 cm | 227th |
| Kandatsu | 618 cm | 328 cm | 138th |
| Togakushi | 553 cm | 385 cm | 6th |
| Togari Onsen | 450 cm | 301 cm | 212th |
| Amihari Onsen | 358 cm | 169 cm | 31st |
| Hachimantai Shimokura | 329 cm | 167 cm | 46th |
Togakushi is the standout on any pass in Japan. Its worst winter of the twelve, 385 cm, is the highest floor of every pass resort on this page, and its snow ranks 6th in Japan for quality. It is a local ski area in the hills above Nagano city, not a famous name, and it comes with two Indy days.
The Yuzawa resorts show the other side. Yuzawa Nakazato, Maiko and Kandatsu get the deepest snow on any pass, but they are low and close to the Sea of Japan, so the snow is heavy: at Maiko it falls at −0.9 °C on average. They are also near Echigo-Yuzawa station, on the shinkansen line from Tokyo.
Which pass suits which trip
For the most snow in a bad winter: Epic, for Hakuba Valley, or Indy, for Togakushi. Both kept more than 300 cm in the leanest of the last twelve winters.
For the lightest snow: Ikon, for Shiga Kogen, or Epic and Mountain Collective, for Hokkaido. Shiga Kogen’s high areas are among the coldest snow in Japan. Hokkaido rarely rains, but in a bad winter it has less depth.
For the most days: Ikon. Seven days at each of ten destinations is more than any other pass offers in Japan.
None of these passes covers Nozawa Onsen or Kiroro. Budget for day tickets there.
How this was measured
Pass terms were checked against each pass company’s or resort’s own pages on 14 September 2026. Ikon’s day counts come from Alterra’s announcements and the resorts’ Ikon pages. Terms can change during a season, so check the pass website before you travel.
The snowfall figures add up each day’s snowfall over each of the last twelve winters, December to March from 2014/15 to 2025/26, using the ERA5 reanalysis. The calculation is the same at all 3,112 ski areas on this site. “Typical” is the twelve-winter average, and “worst” is the leanest of the twelve. For most ski areas in Japan, the worst winter was 2015/16.
Neighbouring resorts can share one cell of the model’s grid, which is 10 to 30 km across, so Hakuba 47, Iwatake and Tsugaike have the same snowfall figures, and so do Shiga Kogen’s ski areas. Niseko is measured at Grand Hirafu.
The model understates mountain snow. It returns roughly six-tenths of what Japanese weather stations record, and less in Hokkaido (details). Use the figures to compare resorts, not as centimetres to expect on the ground.
Snow-quality ranks are among Japan’s 395 ski areas. They are built from the temperature on snow days, how often 5 cm or more falls, how often it rains instead, and the wind (how the score works).
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