What's New at Japan's Ski Resorts for 2026/27, and How Much Snow Each Place Actually Gets
A new gondola at Niseko Village, a six-seat chair at Tsugaike, Madarao on the Ikon Pass, Asia's first members-only ski area at Togari, new cabins on the Kurodake ropeway and the first nonstop from the US mainland to Sapporo. Each item is checked against the resort's or airline's own announcement and set beside twelve winters of our snowfall data.
Japan’s ski resorts spend the summer building. This is what is new for the 2026/27 season, followed by the bigger projects already announced for the seasons after it.
Every item below comes from the resort’s or the airline’s own announcement, linked where it appears. Next to each one we add what a press release will not tell you: how much snow falls there in a typical winter, and in a bad one, measured the same way at every ski area on this site. We will add to this list as more resorts announce their plans.
At a glance
| What’s new | Where | When | Typical winter | Worst of 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8-seat gondola, first section | Niseko Village, Hokkaido | December 2026 | 289 cm* | 166 cm* |
| Six-seat chairlift “T3” | Tsugaike, Hakuba Valley | December 2026 | 668 cm | 380 cm |
| Joins the Ikon Pass | Madarao, Nagano | 2026/27 season | 432 cm | 230 cm |
| Members-only ski area | Togari Onsen, Nagano | December 2026 | 450 cm | 301 cm |
| New ropeway cabins | Kurodake, Hokkaido | Since June 2026 | 396 cm | 293 cm |
| First US-mainland nonstop | San Francisco to Sapporo | December 2026 to March 2027 | — | — |
*Measured at Grand Hirafu, next door to Niseko Village.
Niseko Village: a new gondola, in two stages
The Shin Mori-no Gondola, with 8-seat cabins, replaces the Forest Chairlift at the base. The first section, from the base to a mid-station at about 670 m, opens in December 2026. The second, to about 930 m, follows in December 2027. Niseko United says it roughly doubles uplift from the base. Of the 86 cabins, four are VIP cabins with a table and two have glass floors (Niseko Village’s announcement).
The snow. Niseko’s case is quality rather than depth. On our Niseko figures, snow falls at −6.2 °C on average, and the snow-quality score ranks 38th of Japan’s 395 ski areas. A typical winter brings 289 cm. The leanest of the last twelve, 2015/16, brought 166 cm.
Tsugaike: a six-seat chair on its longest lift
The Hannoki No. 3 quad, about 35 years old, is being replaced by a six-seat LEITNER-POMA chair named T3, running from December 2026. At about 1,600 m it is the longest lift at Tsugaike, in an area popular with snowboarders (the operator’s announcement, Nikkei).
The snow. Tsugaike is one of the deepest resorts in Japan on our record. It gets 668 cm in a typical winter and kept 380 cm in its worst, which is more than any Australian resort we measure got in its best year (we compared the two countries here). Its snow-quality score ranks 23rd in Japan.
Madarao: on the Ikon Pass, and a three-mountain season pass
Alterra announced on 10 September 2026 that Madarao Mountain Resort joins the Ikon Pass for 2026/27. Holders get seven days on the Ikon Pass and five on the Ikon Base Pass, with no blackout dates. Madarao is not on the Session Pass. In Japan it joins Niseko United, Arai, Shiga Kogen, Myoko Suginohara, Furano, APPI, NEKOMA, Zao Onsen and Mt.T, the destinations Alterra lists, and the pass now covers 14 destinations across Asia. Alterra describes 60% of Madarao’s terrain as ungroomed, with 12 official tree-skiing courses.
Separately, Madarao’s Mt.3 Pass for 2026/27 covers all of Madarao, including Tangram Ski Circus, plus Yakebitaiyama and Okushiga Kogen in Shiga Kogen. According to Madarao, early-bird sales open on 1 October 2026, online only.
The snow. Madarao averages 432 cm and kept 230 cm in its worst winter. Snow there falls at −4.2 °C. Yakebitaiyama and Okushiga, higher up in Shiga Kogen, get less (333 cm) but colder snow (around −8.5 °C), and rank 15th and 18th in Japan for snow quality. The three-mountain pass gives you depth at one end and dry snow at the other.
THE CLUB TOGARI: Asia’s first members-only ski area
At Togari Onsen in Iiyama, northern Nagano, members get a private slope, the White Dragon Field, with its own clubhouse and restaurant, next to the public ski area (official site). Membership requires a qualification review. A report put it at ¥20.4 million at 2025 prices, with operations starting in December 2026 (storm.mg).
The public Togari Onsen Ski Resort stays open to everyone. It reopened in December 2025 after a renewal that included a mogul course more than 300 m long.
The snow: deep, but not the coldest. Togari averages 450 cm and kept 301 cm in its worst winter. But snow falls there at −1.9 °C on average, and its snow-quality score ranks 212th of 395. Expect deep, heavier snow rather than Hokkaido-style powder.
Kurodake: new ropeway cabins, and the coldest snow in Japan
The Daisetsuzan Sounkyo Kurodake Ropeway got new cabins on 27 June 2026, its first replacement in about 40 years, with glass up to the ceiling (the operator’s announcement). The ropeway is how you reach Kurodake’s ski area.
The snow. Kurodake ranks 1st of Japan’s 395 ski areas for snow quality on our measure. Snow falls there at −11 °C on average. It gets 396 cm in a typical winter and kept 293 cm in its worst.
United: San Francisco to Sapporo nonstop
The first nonstop flights between the US mainland and Sapporo’s New Chitose Airport run three times a week on a Boeing 787-9, from December 2026 to 27 March 2027 (United, AeroTime). For Niseko, Rusutsu, Furano and Kurodake, that removes the connection through Tokyo or another hub.
Announced for later seasons
| What | Where | When |
|---|---|---|
| 10-seat gondola replacing the 1983 Adam gondola: 2,180 m long, 652 m vertical, 1,350 to 2,400 people an hour, plus a new base centre and parking | Hakuba Happo-One | December 2027 |
| Second section of the new gondola, to about 930 m | Niseko Village | December 2027 |
| 10-seat gondola replacing the 1985 gondola, 1,440 to 2,800 people an hour | Niseko Annupuri | 2028/29 |
| New gondola to replace the 1987 gondola; no opening date announced yet | APPI, Iwate | To be announced |
| Renewal of the ageing lifts and lodge, under the operator that took over in April 2025; no schedule published yet | Sapporo Moiwayama | To be announced |
How this was measured
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. “Worst” is the leanest of the twelve, and for most ski areas in Japan that was 2015/16.
Niseko Village is not a separate entry in our data. The Niseko figures are measured at Grand Hirafu, next door. Tsugaike shares one cell of the model’s grid, which is 10 to 30 km across, with Hakuba 47 and Hakuba Iwatake, so the three have the same snowfall figures.
The model understates mountain snow. It returns roughly six-tenths of what Japanese weather stations record, and less than that in Hokkaido (details). Use the figures to compare places, not as centimetres to expect on the ground.
The 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).
The announcements were checked against each resort’s or airline’s own announcement on 14 September 2026. Plans can change, so check with the resort before you book.
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