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Japan’s Under-the-Radar Ski Areas

Ski areas that get a lot of snow and almost no attention. We measured all 397 Japanese ski areas on both, separately, and 75 of them landed here.

Under the radar
75
Prefectures
12
Snowy and well known
21

75 ski areas

# Ski area Prefecture Snowiness Wikipedia Snowfall World rank Snow by month (average) Lift ticket
1 Muikamachi Hakkaisan Niigata 93 Japanese only 728cm 5 DecJanFebMar ¥7,000
2 Nakazato Snow Wood Ski Area Niigata 91 Japanese only 712cm 6 —
3 Yuzawa Nakazato Ski Resort Niigata 91 Japanese only 712cm 6 ¥6,400 (last season)
4 Yuzawa Park Ski Resort Niigata 91 none 712cm 6 —
5 Iwappara Niigata 91 Japanese only 712cm 6 —
6 Itoigawa Seaside Valley Ski Resort Niigata 90 Japanese only 703cm 11 —
7 Joetsu International Niigata 89 Japanese only 695cm 12 —
8 Ippon Sugi Ski Resort Niigata 89 none 695cm 12 —
9 Maiko Snow Resort Niigata 89 Japanese only 695cm 12 ¥7,300
10 Charmant Hiuchi Snow Resort Niigata 88 Japanese only 690cm 18 —
11 Seki Onsen Ski Area Niigata 88 Japanese only 689cm 19 —
12 Tateyama Sanroku Ski Area Toyama 87 Japanese only 682cm 20 —
13 Hakuba Cortina Nagano 81 none 635cm 30 ¥6,500
14 Hakuba Norikura Onsen Ski Resort Nagano 81 Japanese only 635cm 30 ¥6,500
15 Tainai Ski and Snowboard area Niigata 80 Japanese only 629cm 34 Official ↗
16 New Greenpia Tsunan Niigata 79 none 618cm 36 —
17 Kandatsu Kogen Ski Resort Niigata 79 Japanese only 618cm 36 Official ↗
18 NASPA Ski Garden Niigata 79 none 618cm 36 ¥7,000
19 Yuzawa Kogen Ski Resort Niigata 79 Japanese only 618cm 36 Official ↗
20 X-JAM Takaifuji Nagano 73 Japanese only 568cm 53 Official ↗
21 Ninox Snow Park Niigata 72 Japanese only 567cm 54 ¥5,200
22 Sakae Club Ski Area Nagano 71 Japanese only 553cm 61 —
23 Cupid Valley Ski Area Niigata 71 Japanese only 553cm 61 —
24 Chateau Shiozawa Ski Area Yoshizato Niigata 70 none 546cm 67 —
25 Muica Snow Resort Niigata 70 Japanese only 546cm 67 Official ↗
26 Suhara Ski Area Niigata 69 Japanese only 538cm 71 Official ↗
27 Yakushi Ski Area Niigata 68 Japanese only 532cm 72 —
28 SAM Hakusan Ichirino Ski Resort Ishikawa 67 Japanese only 526cm 78 Official ↗
29 Hakusan Senjo Onsen Seymour Ski Area Ishikawa 65 Japanese only 507cm 82 Official ↗
30 Tadami Ski Area Fukushima 62 none 482cm 91 —
31 Hagurosan Ski Area Yamagata 62 Japanese only 488cm 86 —
32 Yashima Ski Area Akita 60 Japanese only 467cm 101 —
33 Hakkai Sanroku Ski Area Niigata 58 Japanese only 451cm 107 Official ↗
34 Kyukamura Myoko Niigata 57 none 445cm 117 —
35 Akakura Kanko Ski Resort Niigata 57 Japanese only 445cm 117 ¥7,000
36 Akakura Onsen Ski Area Niigata 57 Japanese only 445cm 117 —
37 Jiigatake Snow Resort Nagano 57 none 449cm 110 —
38 Kashimayari Snow Resort Nagano 57 Japanese only 449cm 110 —
39 Yokone Yamagata 57 Japanese only 446cm 114 —
40 Akita Hachimantai Ski Area Akita 56 none 437cm 122 —
41 Oze Hinoemata Onsen Ski Resort Fukushima 56 none 439cm 120 —
42 Aizu Kogen Takahata Fukushima 56 Japanese only 439cm 120 Official ↗
43 Koshi Kogen Ski Area Niigata 55 Japanese only 433cm 127 —
44 Ikenotaira Onsen Alpen Blick Ski Resort Niigata 55 none 432cm 129 —
45 Tangram Madarao Ski Circus Nagano 55 Japanese only 432cm 129 ¥7,000
46 Tambara Ski Park Gunma 54 none 423cm 144 —
47 Asahi Shizenkan Snow Park Yamagata 54 Japanese only 419cm 149 —
48 Awasuno Ski Area Toyama 54 Japanese only 425cm 142 —
49 Hakuba Sanosaka Snow Resort Nagano 53 Japanese only 415cm 153 Official ↗
50 Mashike Choei Shokanbetsudake Ski Area Hokkaido 53 none 416cm 151 —
51 Jeunesse Kurikoma Ski Area Akita 52 Japanese only 407cm 165 —
52 Ryuoo Ski Park Nagano 52 Japanese only 405cm 167 —
53 Fairy Land Kaneyama Ski Area Fukushima 51 none 402cm 170 —
54 Daisetsuzan Sounkyo Kurodake Ski Area Hokkaido 51 Japanese only 396cm 178 —
55 Aizukogen Nango Ski Area Fukushima 50 none 394cm 184 Official ↗
56 Sannokura Fukushima 49 none 384cm 201 —
57 Hirayu Onsen Ski Area Gifu 49 Japanese only 384cm 201 —
58 Iwanai Resort Hokkaido 48 none 373cm 219 —
59 Grandeco Snow Resort Fukushima 48 Japanese only 379cm 206 —
60 Tengamori Ski Area Akita 48 Japanese only 377cm 211 —
61 Tengendai Kogen Yamagata 48 Japanese only 379cm 206 —
62 Ani Ski Resort (Mt. Moriyoshi) Akita 47 none 370cm 226 —
63 Hakkoda Kokusai Ski Area Aomori 47 none 371cm 221 —
64 Koide Ski Area Niigata 47 Japanese only 370cm 226 —
65 Norn Minakami Gunma 47 Japanese only 368cm 233 —
66 Tanigawadake Tenjindaira Ski Area Gunma 47 Japanese only 368cm 233 —
67 White Valley Ski Area Gunma 47 Japanese only 368cm 233 —
68 Amihari Onsen Ski Resort Iwate 46 Japanese only 358cm 262 Official ↗
69 IIZUNA HIGASHI KOGEN RESORT Nagano 46 Japanese only 357cm 268 —
70 Mikawa Onsen Niigata 46 Japanese only 363cm 243 Official ↗
71 Shizukuishi Ski Resort Iwate 46 Japanese only 358cm 262 ¥6,500
72 Hida Takayama Municipal Ski Resort Gifu 45 none 354cm 277 —
73 Geto Kogen Iwate 45 none 355cm 275 Official ↗
74 Kijimadaira Ski Resort Nagano 45 Japanese only 349cm 285 Official ↗
75 Honokidaira Ski Area Gifu 45 none 354cm 277 —

Snow and attention are both indices scaled to 100. Neither is a depth in centimetres. Ski areas in the same weather-model cell (about 30 km across) share the same snowfall figure. · Updated: 2026-10-20

Lift ticket prices are adult one-day tickets, checked on each ski area’s own site. “Last season” marks ski areas that have not yet published this season’s price. Where there is no price, the link goes to the official ticket page. Confirm with the ski area before you buy.

How these were chosen

Snowfall and attention are measured separately. A place counts as under the radar when it scores high on snow and low on attention. Rank by obscurity alone and you simply get the ski areas nobody goes to because there is no snow.

Attention combines how much its footage gets watched with how many language editions of Wikipedia carry an article about it. That measures how much has been written, not how good a place is. What has usually kept these off the list is beds and access, not snow.

Snowfall is the twelve-winter mean, measured the same way as all 3,069 ski areas on this site. The model understates mountain snowfall. It understates every one of them equally, so the ordering holds even where the centimetres are low.