The 2026/27 season is planned to open on 28 Nov (the resort’s announcement; it moves with the snow). The snowfall below is a model figure and does not mean the slopes are skiable.
This season is planned to run until 31 Mar (the resort’s announcement).
A weather-model figure, worked out the same way for every ski area, and lower than what actually falls. Use it to compare ski areas, not against the resort’s own totals. How we measure →
This season so far (1 Nov to 9 Nov): 17 cm. The average for these dates is under 10 cm, so we do not give a percentage yet. The average is over twelve winters on the same weather model. Across Japan →
Updated: 10 Nov 2026, 12:15
| Date | Weather | Snow (cm) | Low / high (°C) | Wind (km/h) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 10 Nov | Snow | 0 | −14 to −5 | 12 |
| Wed 11 Nov | Cloudy | 0 | −13 to 0 | 6 |
| Thu 12 Nov | Drizzle | 0 | −2 to 6 | 8 |
| Fri 13 Nov | Drizzle | 0 | −1 to 7 | 9 |
| Sat 14 Nov | Fog | 0 | −2 to 7 | 10 |
| Sun 15 Nov | Drizzle | 0 | 0 to 6 | 4 |
| Mon 16 Nov | Snow showers | 0 | −4 to 1 | 20 |
The five add up to the 100-point Powder Score: more fresh snow, more on the way and colder air all push it up. How we measure
West Mountain sits on one side of Route 230, with East Mountain and Mount Isola on the other, and gondolas and lifts tie the three together. Night skiing runs on West Mountain only. A monorail runs from The Westin Rusutsu to West Mountain and the amusement park at its foot. Mount Isola looks out over Lake Toya. Sources: rusutsu.com, visit-hokkaido.jp (sources read 11 Oct 2026; reviewed by the editor)
Counted from the runs and lifts drawn on OpenStreetMap, within the boundary of the ski area. These are not the resort’s own published figures.
86% of the vertical on the runs descends to the north or east. Those slopes get the least sun, so the snow lasts longer.
See past trail maps on Skimap.org ↗
Source: OpenSkiMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0). How finely ski areas are drawn varies by region, so treat the counts as indicative. Vertical is the difference between the highest and lowest points of the mapped runs and lifts.
Footage remains the copyright of each operator. JAPANSNOWLINE neither stores nor redistributes it.
Rusutsu and Toya webcams & snow report — all 4 ski areas →
More than we show here.
Modelled from weather data the same way at all 3,069 ski areas we cover. These are not the resort’s own published figures.
The tick marks the median across every Japanese ski area we measure. All four bars run the same way — longer is better.
The quality score leaves out how much snow falls (it uses temperature, frequency, rain and wind).
Within 50 km in a straight line. Ski areas in the same weather-model cell (about 30 km across) get the same figure.
| Ski area | Distance | Seasonal snowfall | World rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orofure Ski Area | 19.0 km | 157 cm | 1578 |
| Nakayama-toge Ski Resort | 22.0 km | 264 cm | 655 |
| Niseko Grand Hirafu | 24.0 km | 289 cm | 526 |
| Asahigaoka Ski Resort | 25.0 km | 288 cm | 532 |
| Sanlaiva | 26.0 km | 163 cm | 1503 |
Compare side by side with Orofure Ski Area and Nakayama-toge Ski Resort →
The most snow falls in January. March brings 80% of January’s snowfall. That is a gentler fall than the median for ski areas in Japan (52%). In amount, March brings 48 cm, about the same as the median of 46 cm.
Across the 12 winters measured, the average is 212 cm, and 8 of them fell short of it. The leanest was 2015/16 with 155 cm; the biggest was 2021/22 with 291 cm (1.9 times as much).
Snowfall each winter (December–March total). The dashed line is the average; the numbers mark the leanest and the biggest winter.
Total snowfall from December to March recorded at the 喜茂別 weather station — 9.4 km from this ski area, 324 m below its mid-slope.
| Three-season average | 583 cm |
| 2023/24 | 543 cm |
| 2024/25 | 606 cm |
| 2025/26 | 599 cm |
The figure calculated on this page is 199 cm.
A weather station is not a ski slope. We picked one at a similar elevation, but it stands in a valley or a village. More snow falls on the mountain above it. We have not tried to guess how much more.
Source: Japan Meteorological Agency historical records
1 hot spring sources with published analyses lie within 5 km of this ski area, nearest first (the hottest is 44.5 °C).
| Source | Distance | Temperature | pH |
|---|---|---|---|
| 留寿都加森観光5号 | 4 km | 44.5℃ hot | 6.4 neutral |
These are analyses of hot spring sources, not a list of baths you can visit. They date from 1910 to 2005, many from decades ago, so today’s temperature and chemistry may differ. Names are as recorded in Japanese. Temperature and pH bands follow Japan’s standard for analysing hot springs.
Source: processed from the hot spring analysis data in the Geothermal Information Database (GRES-DB), Geological Survey of Japan, AIST
Video we shot ourselves, with a note from the day (sound removed).
3 December 2020
Heavy snow in early December: I sank to my waist.
The site operator
4 December 2020
Heavy snow in early December: I sank to my waist.
The site operator
Within 20 km in a straight line, nearest first. Some lie over a pass that is closed in winter.
| Place | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Shikotsu-Tōya National Park支笏洞爺国立公園 | Nature | 9.1 km |
| 北湯沢温泉 | Hot spring town | 13.9 km |
| Mount Yōtei羊蹄山 | Mountain | 14.9 km |
| Lake Tōya洞爺湖 | Nature | 15.3 km |
| Shōwa-shinzan昭和新山 | Mountain | 19.4 km |
| Mount Usu有珠山 | Mountain | 19.7 km |
Chosen from the places most read about on Wikipedia, favouring those with an English article. Based on the Japanese Wikipedia lists of sights in each prefecture, as compiled in travel-log-data (CC BY-SA 4.0). English names from Wikidata (CC0). The content of this section is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Getting there
Source: rusutsu.com · checked 7 Nov 2026. Shuttle days and times change with the season; check the official site before you go.
Checked on the official site (19 Oct 2026) · Source. Compare with other ski areas →
Contains advertising. Property names and Rakuten Travel’s booking pages are in Japanese.
18 properties on Rakuten Travel lie within about 3 km of this ski area. The table shows the nearest 12 with a listed price.
| Property (links to Rakuten Travel) | Lowest listed (per person, tax incl.) | Rating | Distance | Getting there |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ウェスティン ルスツリゾート | ¥8,629 | 4.36／5 124 reviews | 3.8 km | 札幌・新千歳空港~車90分(有料送迎有・要予約)。JR洞爺駅・JR倶知安駅~バス60分。 [立地:国道230号線沿い] |
| ルスツリゾートホテル&コンベンション | ¥3,525 | 4.48／5 910 reviews | 4.2 km | 札幌・新千歳空港~車90分(送迎有・要予約)。JR洞爺駅・JR倶知安駅~バス60分。 [立地:国道230号線沿い] |
| ルスツヒルズセントロ | ¥8,100 | — | 4.5 km | 新千歳空港よりお車で90分 |
| 翠葉 Rusutsu | ¥10,290 | 5.00／5 5 reviews | 4.5 km | 新千歳空港から車で約90分。ルスツリゾートから車で約1分 |
| ザ・ヴェール・ルスツ(THE VALE RUSUTSU) | ¥12,600 | 4.67／5 17 reviews | 4.6 km | 新千歳空港よりお車にて約90分 |
| CLOUD9リゾート徒歩5分新築広い LINEID dolry70 ^ | ¥18,560 | — | 4.6 km | 比羅夫駅から車で約32分 |
| ルスツヒルズノーザンリッジ | ¥8,370 | — | 4.7 km | 新千歳空港より車で約90分 |
| ノアルスツ | ¥17,680 | — | 5.0 km | 札幌や新千歳空港からバスや車で90-120分。ルスツリゾートから車で6分 |
| エルサ ルスツ | ¥11,200 | — | 5.1 km | 新千歳空港から車で90分 |
| ジャパビスタ ルスツ | ¥9,800 | — | 5.3 km | 新千歳空港から車で約90分。ルスツリゾートから車で約2分 |
Prices are the lowest Rakuten Travel lists; a property name, or “Pick dates and guests” above, shows prices and rooms for your dates.
Contains advertising. Property names and Rakuten Travel’s booking pages are in Japanese. · Property data by Rakuten Travel (Supported by Rakuten Developers)
13 places within 12 km of the slopes, as mapped on OpenStreetMap, many of them small inns and pensions. Many are not on booking sites — open the name for the website or the map.
Nearest: 3.7 km
Accommodation data: OpenStreetMap
Other booking sites: Booking.com ↗ · Agoda ↗ · Rakuten Travelad ↗
“ad” marks links that pay us a commission if you book. Links without it are not affiliated.
Planning a trip · 15 Sep 2026
Japan Lift Ticket Prices for 2026/27: What a Day Costs at Twelve Big Resorts, and the Weeks It Costs HalfWe checked the 2026/27 adult day ticket on each resort's own site. At the window it runs from ¥7,000 at Akakura Kanko to ¥16,700 at Rusutsu. Buying online saves up to ¥3,500, and the first and last weeks of the season cost up to half. For those cheap spring weeks, we add which way each resort's slopes face.
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