Where to buy lift tickets in Japan
Lift tickets in Japan come from three places: the resorts themselves, online ticket shops, and tour operators who bundle them with transport. Each carries different things.
Sellers that work in English
These sellers offer their site in English. Accepted payment methods and what details they ask for vary — check before you buy.
| WAmazing Snow | Built for visitors from abroad, and now one of the largest lift-ticket sellers in Japan, working with more than 150 resorts. Buy in English; the ticket becomes a QR code you scan at the gate. |
| JapanTicket | Digital tickets aimed at overseas visitors, including lift passes. |
| KKday | A Taiwan-based booking site covering Asia, with Japanese lift passes, rental and transfers. Sold in English and Chinese. |
| Klook | A Hong Kong-based booking site covering Asia, with Japanese lift passes and ski packages. Sold in English and Chinese. |
The resorts themselves
Early-bird and web-only rates are often available nowhere else. We link directly to the official ticket page for 0 of the 395 Japanese ski areas on this site — you will find it on each resort's page.
Online ticket shops
| Seller | Language | |
|---|---|---|
| WINTER PLUS | Japanese only | A dedicated lift-ticket shop, including packages with rental or meals. Japanese only. |
| Asoview! | Japanese only | A general leisure booking site. Tickets go to your phone, so you skip the ticket window. Japanese only. |
| Ski Ichiba | Japanese only | Discounted lift tickets, often bundled with rental or a meal. Bookable up to the day before. Japanese only. |
| WAmazing Snow | English | Built for visitors from abroad, and now one of the largest lift-ticket sellers in Japan, working with more than 150 resorts. Buy in English; the ticket becomes a QR code you scan at the gate. |
| JapanTicket | English | Digital tickets aimed at overseas visitors, including lift passes. |
| Rakuten Ticket (Leisure) | Japanese only | Rakuten's leisure ticket arm, which runs a ski section each winter. Japanese only; Rakuten points apply. |
| Lawson Ticket | Japanese only | Early-bird passes and multi-resort season tickets, collectable at Lawson convenience stores. Japanese only. |
| Snow Navi | Japanese only | Early-bird lift tickets by mail order, with no postage or handling fee. Japanese only. |
| KKday | English | A Taiwan-based booking site covering Asia, with Japanese lift passes, rental and transfers. Sold in English and Chinese. |
| Klook | English | A Hong Kong-based booking site covering Asia, with Japanese lift passes and ski packages. Sold in English and Chinese. |
Packages with transport
These bundle the bus or the train with the lift pass. For a day trip out of a city, that is often cheaper than buying the two separately.
| Seller | Language | |
|---|---|---|
| Orion Tour | Japanese only | Part of the H.I.S. group, running budget packages by coach, rail and air. A wide choice of resorts and hotels, and the balance of price and content is what people come back for. Japanese only. |
| JR SKI SKI | Japanese only | JR East's own packages — Shinkansen plus lift pass and lodging. |
| SURF&SNOW | Japanese only | A long-running Japanese ski portal that also sells tours. Wide domestic coverage. Japanese only. |
| Rakuten Travel — lift pass plans | Japanese only | Search lodging plans that come with a lift pass, for booking the room and the ticket together. Japanese only. |
| Travel Inn | Japanese only | Everything from cheap coach tours to drive-yourself lodging packages, most of them including a lift pass. Japanese only. |
| Big Holiday | Japanese only | A large operator with a wide choice of resorts and plans aimed at students and families. Japanese only. |
| VIP Tour | Japanese only | Morning and overnight coaches plus rail options, for day trips or stays. Notable for the range of departure times. Japanese only. |
| JTB | Japanese only | Japan's largest agency, covering everything from budget coaches to high-end resorts. Prices run a little higher, but it holds seats and rooms when everything else is full. Japanese only. |
| View Travel (JR East) | Japanese only | JR East's own tour arm, sold through the Eki-net site. Strong on Shinkansen ski trips, and you collect the ticket from a machine at the station. Day trips can be booked the day before — so you can wait for the forecast. Japanese only. |
| J-TRIP Tour | Japanese only | Mostly budget packages to Hokkaido, sold online but distributed through JTB. Uses JAL flights. Japanese only. |
| Sunshine Tour | Japanese only | A long-running ski tour operator, strongest on budget coach trips. Based in Osaka, so departures from the Kansai region are well covered. Japanese only. |
| JALPAK | Japanese only | Heavy on Hokkaido, with good access to well-timed JAL flights and availability even in peak weeks. Japanese only. |
| ANA Travelers | Japanese only | ANA's own packages, with good access to well-timed ANA flights, including in peak weeks. Japanese only. |
| JAMJAM Tour | Japanese only | Run by the operator of the JAMJAM Liner coaches, with departures from both the Tokyo and Kansai regions. Japanese only. |
| Tobu Top Tours | Japanese only | Part of the Tobu railway group, strongest for the Aizu ski areas, including an overnight-train day trip. Japanese only. |
| KNT | Japanese only | Part of the Kintetsu group, running both its established brands and a growing budget line. Japanese only. |
| Club Tourism | Japanese only | Also Kintetsu-affiliated, strong on budget trips and on tightly themed departures. Japanese only. |
| Nippon Travel Agency | Japanese only | Affiliated with JR West, and correspondingly strong on rail-based packages. Japanese only. |
Using the Japanese-language sellers
Shinkansen bundled with a lift pass, an overnight coach that puts you on the hill at opening, departures from Kansai rather than Tokyo — some of the best options exist only here.
These sites are in Japanese only, though browser translation handles them well enough to read. Check each seller for accepted payment methods and what details they require.
Getting a better price
Buying early is what saves the most. Most resorts put the coming season on sale at a discount between October and early December. If you already know where you are going, that is the cheapest moment to buy.
Weekdays are priced below weekends, and the age bands for children and seniors differ between sellers — worth checking whether one of them applies to you.
A package can cost less than the lift pass alone, once transport or a meal is bundled in. That is especially true for a day trip out of a city.
Check prices with the seller. We receive no commission from any of the sellers on this page, and the order they appear in reflects nothing about our relationship with them.