# Ride Hokkaido

> Every resort, run, backcountry zone, onsen and town in Hokkaido, with 3D maps and an AI trip planner that builds your powder trip day by day. It covers 6 regions, 28 towns and neighbourhoods, 64 places to stay, 45 tours, guides and rentals, 38 ski resorts, 2 resort groups, 25 backcountry zones, 10 lift passes, 36 hot springs and 13 camper van rentals.

Every entry lists the sources its facts come from and the month they were checked. Prices are in Japanese yen, each with the year it applies to. The site earns affiliate commission on some bookings; paid links are marked, and https://ridehokkaido.com/disclosures explains how.

## Regions
- [Niseko & Yotei](https://ridehokkaido.com/regions/niseko): Sea of Japan storms hit the Niseko range first and keep coming through January. Four linked resorts share one mountain here, and Rusutsu's tree runs sit half an hour down the road with Yotei watching over all of it.
- [Sapporo, Otaru & Kiroro](https://ridehokkaido.com/regions/sapporo): Hokkaido's capital has six ski hills inside an hour's drive, and a few of them run lifts until nine at night. Kiroro sits in the snow belt behind Otaru and often holds the deepest base on the island.
- [Furano, Asahikawa & Daisetsuzan](https://ridehokkaido.com/regions/central): Inland Hokkaido gets colder and drier the further you drive from the coast. Furano and Kamui run proper lift-served mountains, while the volcanoes of Daisetsuzan carry the island's biggest touring lines.
- [Tomamu, Sahoro & Tokachi](https://ridehokkaido.com/regions/tokachi): The Tokachi side sees fewer storms and colder nights, so whatever falls stays light for days. Tomamu and Sahoro face each other across the Karikachi Pass with long bluebird groomers and powder you sign a bib for.
- [Lakes, volcanoes & the south](https://ridehokkaido.com/regions/south): Caldera lakes, steaming valleys and the old port of Hakodate fill the south. It makes the best rest-day country on the island and an easy drive from New Chitose.
- [Rishiri, Akan & the far edges](https://ridehokkaido.com/regions/far-north-east): Rishiri rises straight out of the sea off Wakkanai and skis to the shoreline. Out east the Akan volcanoes and the drift-ice coast wait for riders who will drive a full day for them.

## Towns
- [Akaigawa](https://ridehokkaido.com/towns/akaigawa): Akaigawa is a farming village in an old volcanic caldera, and Kiroro sits in the snowy hills on its rim.
- [Akan](https://ridehokkaido.com/towns/akan): Lake Akan freezes solid in winter, and the onsen village on its shore is home to one of Hokkaido's largest Ainu kotan.
- [Asahikawa](https://ridehokkaido.com/towns/asahikawa): Hokkaido's second city sits in a cold inland basin within easy reach of most of the central region's hills, and it pours the island's best shoyu ramen.
- [Biei](https://ridehokkaido.com/towns/biei): Biei's rolling farm hills sit between Asahikawa and Furano, and the town makes a calm base for Shirogane Onsen and the Tokachidake volcanoes.
- [Chitose](https://ridehokkaido.com/towns/chitose): Chitose wraps around New Chitose Airport, and it works well for a first or last night or as the way in to Lake Shikotsu.
- [Furano](https://ridehokkaido.com/towns/furano): A farm town in the middle of Hokkaido with a World Cup ski hill on its edge and a food scene built on its own vegetables.
- [Hakodate](https://ridehokkaido.com/towns/hakodate): Hakodate grew up as a treaty port on a narrow isthmus below its mountain, and it eats better than almost anywhere in Hokkaido.
- [Higashikawa](https://ridehokkaido.com/towns/higashikawa): Higashikawa is a small, growing town of cafés and photographers that leads up the valley to the Asahidake ropeway.
- [Hirafu](https://ridehokkaido.com/towns/hirafu): Niseko's biggest resort village sits at the base of Grand Hirafu, with night riding under lights and the bars that made Niseko famous.
- [Iwanai](https://ridehokkaido.com/towns/iwanai): Iwanai is an old herring port at the western end of the Niseko range, where cat-skiing runs above the town and seafood stays cheap by the harbour.
- [Jozankei](https://ridehokkaido.com/towns/jozankei): Sapporo's own onsen town sits in a steaming river gorge about twenty minutes below Sapporo Kokusai, with free foot baths on the main street.
- [Kamifurano](https://ridehokkaido.com/towns/kamifurano): Kamifurano is a quiet farm town on the road up to Tokachidake Onsen, where the volcano tours start.
- [Kutchan](https://ridehokkaido.com/towns/kutchan): The working town at the foot of the Niseko resorts gets over twelve metres of snow in an average winter and has the best local food in the valley.
- [Lake Shikotsu](https://ridehokkaido.com/towns/lake-shikotsu): Lake Shikotsu fills a deep caldera forty minutes from the airport, and it never freezes, even in the coldest weeks of winter.
- [Lake Toya](https://ridehokkaido.com/towns/lake-toya): Toyako Onsen lines the south shore of a round caldera lake under the active Usu volcano, about an hour from Rusutsu.
- [Nayoro](https://ridehokkaido.com/towns/nayoro): Nayoro sits at the far north of the Kamikawa basin, and its Piyashiri hill gets some of the coldest, lightest snow in Hokkaido.
- [Niseko Town](https://ridehokkaido.com/towns/niseko-town): The quiet farm town on the south side of Annupuri has the Annupuri and Niseko Village slopes and some of the best farm food in the valley.
- [Noboribetsu](https://ridehokkaido.com/towns/noboribetsu): Hokkaido's best-known onsen town sits at the mouth of a steaming volcanic valley, with nine kinds of spring water and demon statues on every corner.
- [Obihiro](https://ridehokkaido.com/towns/obihiro): The farming capital of the Tokachi plain is sunny and bitterly cold in winter, and it serves butadon and the world's only draft-horse racing.
- [Otaru](https://ridehokkaido.com/towns/otaru): Otaru made its fortune on herring, and its stone warehouses now house sushi counters forty minutes from Kiroro.
- [Rishiri](https://ridehokkaido.com/towns/rishiri): Rishiri-zan rises straight out of the Sea of Japan off Hokkaido's northern tip, and riders take the ferry from Wakkanai to tour it in spring.
- [Rusutsu](https://ridehokkaido.com/towns/rusutsu-village): Rusutsu is a farm village of two thousand people that has wrapped itself around one of Hokkaido's best tree-riding resorts.
- [Sapporo](https://ridehokkaido.com/towns/sapporo): Hokkaido's capital has five ski hills inside its own city limits and the island's deepest bench of ramen and soup curry.
- [Shintoku](https://ridehokkaido.com/towns/shintoku): Shintoku grows soba on the western edge of the Tokachi plain and serves as the station for Sahoro and the Karifuri-dake backcountry.
- [Sounkyo](https://ridehokkaido.com/towns/sounkyo): Sounkyo's onsen village sits inside a basalt gorge at the foot of Kurodake, where a ropeway climbs into the Daisetsuzan.
- [Tomamu](https://ridehokkaido.com/towns/tomamu-village): Hoshino Resorts runs Tomamu as a self-contained resort in the forests of Shimukappu, with its own station on the Sapporo–Obihiro line.
- [Yoichi](https://ridehokkaido.com/towns/yoichi): Nikka built its first distillery in this fishing and orchard town on the Shakotan coast in 1934, and Kiroro is half an hour inland.
- [Yubari](https://ridehokkaido.com/towns/yubari): Yubari dug coal for a century and now grows melons, with the Mount Racey ski area rising from the top of the old town.

## Places to stay
- [adex inn](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/adex-inn-noboribetsu): The old Takimoto Inn reopened in 2024 as a casual base with a drying room and free round-the-clock entry to Dai-ichi Takimotokan's baths.
- [Akan Tsuruga Besso Hinanoza](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/akan-tsuruga-besso-hinanoza): Every suite at this drinks-inclusive ryokan at Lake Akan has its own open-air onsen.
- [Akan Yuku no Sato Tsuruga](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/akan-yuku-no-sato-tsuruga): The Tsuruga group's large lakefront hotel at Akan has a rooftop bath over the lake and rooms that draw on Ainu design.
- [Always Niseko](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/always-niseko): Always Niseko is a 104-room apart-hotel in the Kabayama woods below Hirafu, and a free shuttle runs guests up to the lifts.
- [Aonobi Yuyu](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/aonobi-yuyu): Shirogane Onsen's old Yumoto Shirogane Onsen Hotel now trades as Aonobi Yuyu and pours its spring into the baths without heating or dilution.
- [AYA Niseko](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/aya-niseko): AYA sits on the Ace Family run below the quad chair, so you ski from the door to the lift and come home to a natural onsen.
- [Bōrō Noguchi Noboribetsu](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/bourou-noguchi-noboribetsu): Every suite at this adults-only ryokan in Noboribetsu has its own milky sulphur onsen with a view.
- [Club Med Kiroro Grand](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/club-med-kiroro-grand): Club Med reopened the old Tribute Portfolio hotel at Kiroro as a family resort in 2023, and it keeps an outdoor onsen and kids' clubs from age four.
- [Club Med Kiroro Peak](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/club-med-kiroro-peak): Club Med runs this ski-in, ski-out resort at the Kiroro base in the old Sheraton building and puts the lift pass, lessons, meals and drinks into one price.
- [Club Med Sahoro Hokkaido](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/club-med-sahoro): Club Med's resort at the base of Sahoro wraps the lift pass, lessons, meals and an open bar into one price.
- [Cross Hotel Sapporo](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/cross-hotel-sapporo): Cross Hotel sits five minutes on foot from Sapporo Station and keeps a rooftop bath for guests and rooms hung with work by Hokkaido artists.
- [Dai-ichi Takimotokan](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/dai-ichi-takimotokan): Noboribetsu's founding inn has kept the springs beside Jigokudani since 1858, and its bathhouse holds 35 baths fed by five different springs.
- [Freeride Lodge Niseko](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/freeride-lodge-niseko): Freeride Lodge rents dorm beds and twin rooms in the Higashiyama woods, and the Banzai lift at Niseko Village is an eight-minute walk.
- [Furano Natulux Hotel](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/furano-natulux-hotel): Natulux is a calm design hotel one minute from JR Furano Station, and it has a condominium annex for longer stays.
- [Ginrinsou](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/ginrinsou): A herring baron built this mansion in Yoichi in 1900, and since 1938 it has stood on Cape Hiraiso above Ishikari Bay as an inn.
- [Grand Hostel LDK Sapporo](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/grand-hostel-ldk-sapporo): This social hostel near Susukino offers dorms and private rooms for up to six, and it traded as The Stay Sapporo until April 2025.
- [Higashiyama Niseko Village, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/higashiyama-niseko-village): Ritz-Carlton keeps just 50 rooms at Higashiyama, and every one looks out at Mount Yotei or Niseko Annupuri through floor-to-ceiling glass.
- [Hilton Niseko Village](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/hilton-niseko-village): Hilton's big ski hotel stands next to the Niseko Gondola, and its outdoor onsen sits beside a carp pond with Mount Yotei across the fields.
- [Asahidake Onsen Hotel Bear Monte](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/hotel-bear-monte): Bear Monte is a 56-room onsen hotel three minutes on foot from the Asahidake ropeway, and it has an outdoor sauna beside the main bath.
- [Hotel Kanronomori](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/hotel-kanronomori): Kanronomori is a Konbu Onsen hotel at the foot of Moiwa with a rooftop rotenburo in the forest and three rooms that come with their own hot spring bath.
- [Hotel Three M](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/hotel-three-m): Hotel Three M is a 26-room business hotel a minute's walk from JR Kutchan Station with twins from about ¥16,500.
- [Jozankei Onsen Yurakusoan](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/jozankei-yurakusoan): Every room at this Kyoritsu Resort ryokan in Jozankei has its own hiba-wood onsen tub, and four private baths are free around the clock.
- [JR Inn Asahikawa](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/jr-inn-asahikawa): JR Inn Asahikawa is reached through the AEON Mall from the station's north exit, and its shared bath has a semi-open-air tub.
- [JR Tower Hotel Nikko Sapporo](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/jr-tower-hotel-nikko-sapporo): JR Tower Hotel Nikko stands on top of Sapporo Station and runs a natural onsen spa on its 22nd floor.
- [Kasara Niseko Village Townhouse](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/kasara-niseko-village-townhouse): Kasara's eight three-bedroom townhouses borrow the look of late Edo merchant houses and sit a two-minute walk from the Niseko Village lifts.
- [Ki Niseko](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/ki-niseko): Ki Niseko sits next to the King Gondola base and opens its onsen at 4 a.m. for riders who want a soak before first chair.
- [La Vista Daisetsuzan](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/la-vista-daisetsuzan): Kyoritsu built this mountain lodge at Asahidake Onsen around a lobby fireplace, and dinner is a French course.
- [La Vista Hakodate Bay](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/la-vista-hakodate-bay): This big Kyoritsu onsen hotel on Hakodate's bay front is known for its seafood breakfast and rooftop baths facing Mount Hakodate.
- [Lodge Moiwa 834](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/lodge-moiwa-834): Lodge Moiwa 834 rents oversized capsules across from the Moiwa base so budget riders can walk to the first lift.
- [Marukoma Onsen Ryokan](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/marukoma-onsen-ryokan): Marukoma's rock-walled natural pool on the north shore of Lake Shikotsu rises and falls with the lake itself.
- [Shirogane Onsen Morino Ryotei Biei](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/morino-ryotei-biei): Most of the 17 rooms at this sukiya-style inn at Shirogane Onsen have their own open-air bath on free-flowing spring water.
- [Muwa Niseko](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/muwa-niseko): Muwa is a ski-in, ski-out hotel in upper Hirafu whose best suites put an open-air bath on the balcony.
- [Nikko Style Niseko HANAZONO](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/nikko-style-niseko-hanazono): Nikko Style opened beside the Hanazono gondola in December 2024 and gives you a natural hot spring and a club lounge for much less than the Park Hyatt next door.
- [Niseko Northern Resort An'nupuri](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/niseko-northern-resort-annupuri): Northern Resort sits on the Annupuri slopes with 151 rooms and a natural hot spring whose saunas were rebuilt in December 2025.
- [OMO7 Asahikawa by Hoshino Resorts](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/omo7-asahikawa): Hoshino Resorts' 237-room city hotel in Asahikawa pairs a proper sauna with an OMO Base desk full of local tips.
- [Park Hyatt Niseko Hanazono](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/park-hyatt-niseko-hanazono): The Park Hyatt stands at the base of Hanazono with a ski valet on the snow and enough restaurants under its roof to eat somewhere new every night of a week.
- [Pension Lavender](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/pension-lavender): This family-run pension in Kitanomine village sits two minutes' walk from the lifts and serves breakfasts built on vegetables and herbs.
- [Queens Hotel Chitose](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/queens-hotel-chitose): Queens is a budget business hotel five minutes on foot from JR Chitose Station, and its free ground-floor bath is made for the night you land.
- [Hoshino Resorts RISONARE Tomamu](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/risonare-tomamu): Every room in Hoshino Resorts' all-suite tower at Tomamu covers at least 100 square metres and has its own sauna and a jet bath at the window.
- [Rusutsu Lodges Pension Lilla Huset](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/rusutsu-lodges-pension-lilla-huset): Lilla Huset is a ten-room pension in Rusutsu village that opens only in winter and sits a three-minute walk from the resort.
- [Rusutsu Pension Clydesdale](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/rusutsu-pension-clydesdale): Clydesdale is a family-run pension a kilometre past the Rusutsu resort that cooks an Italian dinner with Rusutsu pork and bakes its own bagels for breakfast.
- [Rusutsu Resort Hotel & Convention](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/rusutsu-resort-hotel-and-convention): Rusutsu's main hotel stands at the foot of West Mountain, and its sixth-floor onsen has an outdoor bath 20 metres wide.
- [Tokachidake Onsen Yumoto Ryounkaku](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/ryounkaku): At 1,280 metres on the flank of Tokachidake, Ryounkaku is Hokkaido's highest onsen inn and the classic base for touring the volcano.
- [Sahoro Resort Hotel](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/sahoro-resort-hotel): The resort hotel at Sahoro's base runs a Hokkaido buffet and a sauna where you pour your own löyly.
- [Setsu Niseko](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/setsu-niseko): Setsu gives Hirafu a full-service hotel of 190 kitchen-equipped suites built around a 750-square-metre wellness centre with natural onsen baths.
- [Lake Shikotsu Tsuruga Resort Spa Mizu no Uta](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/shikotsu-tsuruga-mizu-no-uta): Mizu no Uta is a 49-room Tsuruga resort in the Shikotsuko Onsen village, and its top rooms have their own open-air onsen.
- [Shikotsuko Daiichi Hotel Suizantei](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/shikotsuko-daiichi-suizantei): Many rooms at this small, polished inn in the Shikotsuko Onsen village carry their own onsen, and the best suites have garden rotenburo.
- [Shin Furano Prince Hotel](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/shin-furano-prince-hotel): Furano's ski-in, ski-out hotel at the foot of the Furano Zone ropeway has its own onsen and the Ningle Terrace craft village in the forest behind it.
- [Skye Niseko](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/skye-niseko): Skye sits at the top of Hirafu village, and from its ski valet doors you can slide straight to the King Gondola.
- [Sounkyo Choyotei](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/sounkyo-choyotei): Noguchi Kanko's big onsen hotel in the Sounkyo gorge has a seventh-floor rotenburo facing Mount Choyo and the columnar cliffs.
- [Tabist Kaihorow Otaru](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/tabist-kaihorow-otaru): Kaihorow is a simple, well-priced hotel in Otaru's Shinonome district, and it puts Kiroro 40 minutes up the hill and the canal a short walk down.
- [The Forest Akan Tsuruga Resort](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/the-forest-akan): Akan's former Hanayuuka now trades as The Forest Akan and keeps free-flowing onsen and a barrel sauna by the lake.
- [The Green Leaf Niseko Village, Tapestry Collection by Hilton](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/the-green-leaf-niseko-village): The Green Leaf reopens on 1 December 2026 with ski-in, ski-out access at Niseko Village and the outdoor rotenburo it's known for.
- [The Vale Niseko](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/the-vale-niseko): The Vale puts you on the Ace Family run a minute from the quad, and its best suites have an onsen tub on the balcony facing the piste.
- [The Westin Rusutsu Resort](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/the-westin-rusutsu-resort): Every room at the Westin Rusutsu is a two-level maisonette, and the hotel's own Tower Pair lift carries you from the building onto East Mountain.
- [Tokachigawa Onsen Daiichi Hotel](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/tokachigawa-onsen-daiichi-hotel): The Daiichi Hotel is the big name at Tokachigawa Onsen outside Obihiro, and it's known for its amber moor onsen.
- [Tokachigawa Onsen Sanyoan](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/tokachigawa-onsen-sanyoan): Sanyoan keeps only 11 rooms at the top of the Tokachigawa Onsen Daiichi Hotel, and each one has its own moor onsen bath.
- [Hoshino Resorts Tomamu The Tower](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/tomamu-the-tower): Tomamu's twin towers hold the resort's practical rooms, and guests get free entry to the Kirin-no-Yu outdoor bath.
- [The Lake View Toya Nonokaze Resort](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/toya-nonokaze-resort): Every room at this Noguchi Kanko resort on Lake Toya faces the water, and the TENQOO open-air bath seems to pour straight into the lake.
- [Niseko Konbu Onsen Tsuruga Besso Moku no Sho](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/tsuruga-besso-moku-no-sho): Moku no Sho is a 24-room ryokan at Konbu Onsen where most suites have an open-air bath on the deck and a free ski shuttle reaches Moiwa, Annupuri, Niseko Village and Hirafu.
- [The Windsor Hotel Toya Resort & Spa](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/windsor-hotel-toya): The G8-summit hotel on the ridge above Lake Toya runs its own ski slope in winter and a sukiya-style onsen looking toward Yotei.
- [Yu Kiroro](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/yu-kiroro): Kiroro's condominium hotel has units from studios to a penthouse and a gondola leaving from outside the door.
- [Niseko Annupuri Onsen Yugokorotei](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/yugokorotei): Yugokorotei is a 17-room onsen inn a few minutes below Annupuri, and its overnight guests can use the outdoor bath at any hour.
- [Zaborin](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/zaborin): Zaborin sets fifteen villas in the Hanazono forest, and its own hot spring fills an indoor bath and a covered outdoor tub in every one.

## Guides and outfitters
- [Alpine Backcountry Guides](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/alpine-backcountry-guides): Alpine Backcountry Guides packages week-long guided touring trips to Tomamu and Rishiri for small groups.
- [Big Runs buses (Kamori Kanko)](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/big-runs): Kamori Kanko's Big Runs buses link New Chitose with Rusutsu and Sapporo's hotels with Teine.
- [Black Diamond Tours](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/black-diamond-tours): Black Diamond Tours guides touring and lift-assisted days around Niseko and sells seats on the Shimamaki and Chisenupuri cats.
- [Budget Rent a Car (Japan)](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/budget-rent-a-car): Budget rents 4WD cars on studless tires from New Chitose and sells the Hokkaido Expressway Pass at the counter.
- [Chisenupuri Snowcats (Hokkaido Backcountry Club)](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/chisenupuri-snowcats): Hokkaido Backcountry Club runs snowcats over the closed Chisenupuri ski area about 30 minutes from Niseko Village.
- [Hokkaido Chuo Bus ski buses](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/chuo-bus-ski-bus): Hokkaido Chuo Bus runs reservation-only ski buses from Sapporo and New Chitose to Niseko and from Sapporo to Kokusai.
- [Furano Snow School (Sportpia)](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/furano-snow-school): Furano Snow School teaches English-language ski and snowboard lessons from the Kitanomine gondola base.
- [GoSnow Niseko](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/gosnow-niseko): GoSnow runs Grand Hirafu's English-language ski and snowboard school from the King Gondola base.
- [Hanazono Powder Guides](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/hanazono-powder-guides): Hanazono runs its own resort guiding desk for private lift-assisted days through the Niseko gates.
- [Hokkaido Backcountry Club](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/hokkaido-backcountry-club): Hokkaido Backcountry Club guides touring days around the Niseko range and runs the snowcats at Chisenupuri.
- [Hokkaido Backcountry Guys](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/hokkaido-backcountry-guys): Satoshi Tsukahara's Akaigawa club runs low-cost Japanese-language backcountry tours around Kiroro and Yoichi-dake.
- [Hokkaido Powder Guides](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/hokkaido-powder-guides): Hokkaido Powder Guides runs private powder days and week-long Daisetsuzan trips from an office in Kitanomine.
- [Hokkaido Resort Liner (Hokkaido Access Network)](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/hokkaido-resort-liner): Hokkaido Access Network's Resort Liner coaches run from New Chitose to Niseko, Rusutsu, Furano and Tomamu all winter.
- [Hoshino Resorts Tomamu (Karifuri snowcat and guided tours)](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/hoshino-resorts-tomamu): Hoshino Resorts Tomamu runs the weekend Karifuri snowcat and a menu of guided backcountry sessions from the hotel towers.
- [Iwanai Resort Cat Skiing](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/iwanai-resort-cat-skiing): Iwanai Resort runs snowcat days on Mt. Iwanai with long runs facing the Sea of Japan.
- [Japan C.R.C. Hokkaido Powder Belt camper plan](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/japan-crc-powder-belt-camper): Japan C.R.C. rents 4WD campers from New Chitose on a Hoshino Resorts plan that bundles Tomamu lift tickets and baths.
- [JR Hokkaido](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/jr-hokkaido): JR Hokkaido trains link New Chitose with Sapporo and run limited expresses into the Tokachi and Furano ski country.
- [Mountain Flow (Hokkaido Mountain Guide Office)](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/mountain-flow): Michiko Aoki guides small Daisetsuzan backcountry groups from Aibetsu in Japanese or English.
- [Nippon Rent-A-Car](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/nippon-rent-a-car): Nippon Rent-A-Car rents winter-shod cars from an office about ten minutes from the New Chitose terminal.
- [Niseko Backcountry Tours](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/niseko-backcountry-tours): Niseko Backcountry Tours sells private touring and lift-access days around Niseko at one flat group price.
- [Niseko Photography & Guiding](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/niseko-photography-guiding): Niseko Photography & Guiding pairs a guide with a photographer for powder days around Niseko.
- [Niseko Sports](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/niseko-sports): Niseko Sports rents boards and walk-in avalanche sets from four counters around Hanazono and Hirafu.
- [Niseko United Shuttle Bus](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/niseko-united-shuttle): The Niseko United shuttle carries All Mountain pass holders free between Hirafu, Hanazono, Niseko Village and Annupuri.
- [Niseko Weiss Powder CATS](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/niseko-weiss-powder-cats): Hanazono runs the Weiss snowcats for twelve riders a day on mellow powder near Niseko.
- [Niseko Zen](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/niseko-zen): Niseko Zen guides private groups of up to four on backcountry days around Niseko and longer trips into central Hokkaido.
- [Hanazono Snowsports School (NISS)](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/niss-hanazono): Hanazono's NISS school teaches English-language ski and snowboard lessons in adult groups of four or fewer.
- [ORIX Rent-A-Car](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/orix-rent-a-car): ORIX Rent-A-Car sells a discounted Hokkaido autumn-winter plan with ETC and navigation in every car.
- [Powder Company Guides](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/powder-company-guides): Powder Company is a Japanese guiding crew that has led Niseko backcountry and carving days since 1999.
- [Rera Mosir (Rishiri Nature Guide Service)](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/rera-mosir): Toshiya Watanabe guides Rishiri's volcano by snowmobile and skins from his family's pension in Oshidomari.
- [Rhythm Japan](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/rhythm-japan): Rhythm rents premium boards and splitboards in Hirafu and Furano and sells guided touring days.
- [Rising Sun Backcountry Rentals](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/rising-sun-backcountry-rentals): Rising Sun rents splitboards and avalanche kits to the public from its Niseko office.
- [Rising Sun Guides](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/rising-sun-guides): Rising Sun guides ski and splitboard touring days from Niseko and Higashikawa with ACMG and AMGA-certified leads.
- [Rusutsu Resort Ski & Snowboard School](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/rusutsu-ski-snowboard-school): Rusutsu Resort's Japanese-language school teaches snowboarding and sells expert mountain guiding at the resort.
- [SkyExpress private transfers](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/skyexpress-niseko): SkyExpress drives private transfers between New Chitose or Sapporo and Niseko in vehicles for three to fifteen people.
- [Sportpia Furano Rental](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/sportpia-furano-rental): Sportpia rents standard and premium snowboard packages at the Kitanomine gondola base in Furano.
- [TAKT (Yasuko Kikuchi)](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/takt): Yasuko Kikuchi guides small groups from Sapporo to Asahidake and the Niseko range under the TAKT name.
- [TENGU Cat-Ski Guides](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/tengu-cat-ski): TENGU Cat-Ski Guides runs small guided cat groups over the abandoned Kita-Taisetsu race hill near Engaru.
- [Times Car Rental](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/times-car-rental): Times Car Rental books in English online and closed its Obihiro Airport and Hakodate Station stores in September 2026.
- [ToCoo! Car Rental](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/tocoo): ToCoo! compares Japanese rental companies in English and sells its own Hokkaido expressway pass with the booking.
- [Tokachi Adventure Club (TAC)](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/tokachi-adventure-club): Tokachi Adventure Club leads low-cost snowshoe-and-ride backcountry tours in the hills around Shintoku and Sahoro.
- [Tokachi Sahoro Snow School](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/tokachi-sahoro-snow-school): Sahoro's resort school teaches level-based snowboard groups and offers English-language privates.
- [Toyota Rent a Car](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/toyota-rent-a-car): Toyota Rent a Car takes English bookings for compacts and 4WDs across Hokkaido.
- [Whiteroom Backcountry Rentals](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/whiteroom-backcountry-rentals): Whiteroom rents Weston splitboards and Mammut airbag packs from its Niseko and Furano bases.
- [Whiteroom Tours](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/whiteroom-tours): Whiteroom sells private guiding days from Niseko and Furano with transport included and splitboards for hire.
- [Yamato Transport Ski TA-Q-BIN](https://ridehokkaido.com/operators/yamato-ski-ta-q-bin): Yamato's Ski TA-Q-BIN forwards board bags to and from your resort hotel so you can travel light.

## Mountains
- [Akan Lakeside National Ski Area (Utara)](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/akan-lakeside): Akanko Onsen's town hill runs one chair and two runs above Lake Akan with Mt. O-Akan across the ice.
- [Akan Royal Valley](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/akan-royal-valley)
- [Daisetsuzan Asahidake Ropeway](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/asahidake): A hundred-person tram lifts you to 1,600 m on the flank of Hokkaido's highest volcano, and the gladed bowls on either side of the line hold some of the coldest powder on the island.
- [Otaru Asarigawa Onsen Ski Resort](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/asarigawa): Otaru's onsen-valley ski hill sits five minutes off the expressway, and its long runs look straight out over the Sea of Japan.
- [Canmore Ski Village](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/canmore-ski-village): Fifteen minutes from Asahikawa Airport, this Higashikawa hill runs eight short courses and charges ¥500 for a night session.
- [Chisenupuri Ski Area](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/chisenupuri): Chisenupuri's chairlift stopped years ago, and today snowcats and skinning tourers share the old runs below Chisenupuri's summit.
- [Engaru Rock Valley Ski Area](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/engaru-rock-valley): Engaru Rock Valley runs one chair straight off the back of a roadside station that sits a minute from the expressway.
- [Furano Ski Resort](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/furano): Two linked zones above Furano give you 839 m of fall line in cold, dry inland snow, plus five patrol-managed exits into the forest.
- [Fu's Snow Area](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/fus-snow-area): Fu's charges ¥3,300 for a day on the road to Jozankei, and its Dynamic course averages 28 degrees for 1,200 metres.
- [Hakodate Nanae Snowpark](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/hakodate-nanae): Hakodate's ski hill rides a 3.3-kilometre gondola to 943 metres, where Komagatake fills the view across Lake Onuma.
- [Iwanai Resort](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/iwanai): Iwanai Resort runs snowcats on a coastal volcano west of Niseko, and its bowls and glades hold 30 to 40 degrees above the Sea of Japan.
- [Kamui Ski Links](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/kamui-ski-links): Asahikawa's ski hill catches some of the coldest, driest snow in Hokkaido and leaves about a third of its 26 courses ungroomed for powder and trees.
- [Kiroro Snow World](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/kiroro): Kiroro collects some of the heaviest snowfall in Hokkaido in a basin above Akaigawa, and its 3.3-kilometre gondola feeds long groomers and signed tree-run areas.
- [TENGU Cat-Ski at Kita-Taisetsu](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/kita-taisetsu-cat-ski): A snowcat carries small guided groups over an abandoned championship ski area above Shirataki.
- [Sounkyo Kurodake Ropeway](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/kurodake): A ropeway and one double chair lift you out of Sounkyo gorge to 1,520 m on Kurodake, where a small ski area ends at a single gate onto serious alpine terrain.
- [Memuro](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/memuro)
- [Yubari Mount Racey](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/mount-racey): Yubari's old coal-town ski hill holds 45-degree ungroomed pitches and very few people, and in 2025/26 it ran without its gondola all winter.
- [Nayoro Piyashiri Ski Area](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/nayoro-piyashiri): Nayoro's town hill sits in one of the coldest basins in Hokkaido and opens about 1,400 m of tree runs to riders who sign in for an armband.
- [Niseko Annupuri International Ski Area](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/niseko-annupuri): Annupuri sells the cheapest single-resort ticket in Niseko United and opens four gates into the Osawa valley above wide groomers that look across at Yotei.
- [Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/niseko-grand-hirafu): Niseko's biggest lift network climbs from a village full of bars and ramen counters to the G3 gate under Annupuri's summit, and the lower mountain stays lit until seven most of the winter.
- [Niseko HANAZONO Resort](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/niseko-hanazono): Hanazono runs fast heated lifts out of a polished base beside the Park Hyatt, and its trees and parks keep people busy on the days the peak above stays shut.
- [Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/niseko-moiwa): Moiwa runs three chairs on its own at the western end of the Niseko lifts, and riders pay more than an All Mountain pass costs for birch glades that stay quiet well into the morning.
- [Niseko Village Ski Resort](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/niseko-village): Niseko Village keeps its steepest gladed runs and the controlled valley of Mizuno-no-sawa above a quiet base built around the Hilton and the Ritz-Carlton Reserve.
- [Niseko Weiss Powder CATS](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/niseko-weiss): Hanazono runs a 12-seat PistenBully up the old Weiss ski area on Weisshorn, and the gentle pitches suit riders taking their first real powder days.
- [Northern Arc Resort Ski Area](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/northern-arc-resort): Kitami's main ski hill sits half an hour from Memanbetsu Airport and keeps its lights on until 21:00.
- [Nukabira Gensenkyo Ski Area](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/nukabira-gensenkyo): Nukabira runs its lower slopes only these days, and the onsen village inside Daisetsuzan National Park is a short walk from the lifts.
- [Pippu Ski Area](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/pippu): A town-run hill north of Asahikawa where ¥3,800 buys a day of riding and a soak at the bathhouse next door.
- [Rusutsu Resort](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/rusutsu): Rusutsu spreads spaced birch and long groomers over three mountains southeast of Yotei, and its hotels and amusement park make the base feel like a small town.
- [Tokachi Sahoro Resort](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/sahoro): Sahoro packs steep fall-line runs and a block of ungroomed north-facing powder into 610 m of quiet, cold Tokachi mountain.
- [Asahikawa Santa Present Park](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/santa-present-park): Asahikawa's floodlit hill sits 15 minutes from the station and runs until 21:00 with the city spread out below.
- [Sapporo Bankei Ski Area](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/sapporo-bankei): Sapporo's closest ski hill sits twenty minutes from the station, and its FIS halfpipe hosted the 2026 Snowboard World Cup.
- [Sapporo Kokusai Ski Resort](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/sapporo-kokusai): Sapporo's highest ski area sits above the Jozankei gorge with an eight-seat gondola to 1,100 metres and a natural-snow season that runs from late November into May.
- [Sapporo Moiwayama Ski Area](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/sapporo-moiwayama): Sapporo's school-lesson hill on Mt. Moiwa let snowboarders in for the first time in 2025/26 and lights eight of its ten runs above the city until 21:00.
- [Sapporo Teine](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/sapporo-teine): Sapporo's Olympic mountain looks straight down on the city, and it pairs steep race pistes at Highland with lit after-work slopes at Olympia.
- [Shintoku-yama Ski Area](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/shintoku-yama): Shintoku's town hill runs one double chair a ten-minute walk from the station, for ¥2,000 a day.
- [Snow Cruise ONZE](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/snow-cruise-onze): A small hill on the Sapporo edge of Otaru keeps its quad running until 22:45 with Ishikari Bay and the city lights in front of you.
- [Otaru Tenguyama Ropeway & Ski Resort](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/tenguyama): Otaru's own ski hill drops a steep 40-degree pitch straight toward the harbour, and the ropeway beside it carries sightseers up for one of Hokkaido's famous night views.
- [Hoshino Resorts Tomamu](https://ridehokkaido.com/resorts/tomamu): Tomamu pairs bitter inland cold with free in-bounds powder zones and a weekend snowcat on the Hidaka skyline.

## Resort groups
- [Niseko United](https://ridehokkaido.com/resort-groups/niseko-united)
- [Prince Snow Resorts](https://ridehokkaido.com/resort-groups/prince-snow-resorts)

## Backcountry
- [Asahidake](https://ridehokkaido.com/backcountry/asahidake-bc): A ropeway to 1,600 m on Hokkaido's highest volcano opens gladed bowls on both sides of the line, and the plateau above leads to the 2,291 m summit in spring.
- [Fuppushi-dake](https://ridehokkaido.com/backcountry/fuppushi-dake): Tarumae's steeper neighbour climbs straight off the Lake Shikotsu shore by its north ridge and looks down over the whole caldera lake.
- [Furano Resort Access Points (Furano Nishi-dake)](https://ridehokkaido.com/backcountry/furano-nishidake): Furano's five patrol-designated exits lead onto the forested flanks of Furano Nishi-dake, and every outing needs its own climbing-plan form handed to patrol.
- [Furano-dake](https://ridehokkaido.com/backcountry/furanodake): Furano-dake's Giant Ridge and the bowls around it give the Tokachi range its sheltered storm-day skiing, and its usual trailheads sit inside the 2026 eruption closure.
- [Haruka-yama](https://ridehokkaido.com/backcountry/haruka-yama): A short tour from the Otaru–Sapporo boundary climbs an easy ridge to 907 metres, and the best turns wait on the slope behind a university hut that closed in 2022.
- [Iwanai-dake](https://ridehokkaido.com/backcountry/iwanai-dake): Iwanai-dake rises straight above the fishing town of Iwanai, and tourers climb it from the cat-ski resort or along its northeast ridge for long runs down toward the sea.
- [Karifuri-dake](https://ridehokkaido.com/backcountry/karifuri-dake): Karifuri-dake catches deep east-facing powder southeast of Tomamu, and you reach it either on skins from Kami-Tomamu or aboard the resort's weekend snowcat.
- [Konbu-dake](https://ridehokkaido.com/backcountry/konbu-dake): Konbu-dake stands alone south of Niseko town, and reaching its narrow summit takes a long day up the Northern Ridge or a shorter climb from Nishikonbu-dake on the Toyoura side.
- [Kurodake](https://ridehokkaido.com/backcountry/kurodake-bc): One gate at the top of Kurodake's chair opens onto a 1,984 m alpine peak on the rim of Daisetsuzan, and the operator makes everyone sign in before they leave.
- [Muine-yama](https://ridehokkaido.com/backcountry/mt-muine): Muine-yama rises to 1,464 metres behind Jozankei with a broad summit plateau and the worst avalanche record in the Sapporo region.
- [Mt. Yotei](https://ridehokkaido.com/backcountry/mt-yotei): Yotei stands 1,898 m high on its own above the Niseko valley, and ski routes climb every face of the cone to treeline forest and the summit crater.
- [Niseko Range](https://ridehokkaido.com/backcountry/niseko-range): West of the Niseko lifts a chain of rounded volcanic peaks runs toward the Sea of Japan, and short climbs from plowed road ends reach tree runs and open faces that see a fraction of the resort traffic.
- [Nissho Pass (Pekerebetsu-dake and Nissho Peak)](https://ridehokkaido.com/backcountry/nissho-pass): Three Hidaka peaks start straight from the plowed lots along Route 274 as it climbs to 1,022 m between Sapporo and Obihiro.
- [Okuteine ridge (Kokusai to Teine traverse)](https://ridehokkaido.com/backcountry/okuteine-ridge): A full-day traverse inside Sapporo city links Kokusai to Teine over the Okuteine plateau and the summit of Teine-yama, then skis down toward the city.
- [Piyashiri-yama](https://ridehokkaido.com/backcountry/piyashiri-yama): Nayoro's local summit is a long, cold valley-and-ridge tour from the ski area to a free log hut at 966 m, close to the coldest corner of Hokkaido.
- [Raiden-yama](https://ridehokkaido.com/backcountry/raiden-yama): Raiden-yama anchors the western end of the Niseko Range above the Sea of Japan, and its long climbs from near sea level end on a wide plateau that disappears in coastal cloud.
- [Rishiri-zan (Mt. Rishiri)](https://ridehokkaido.com/backcountry/rishiri-zan): Rishiri is a lone volcanic cone in the Sea of Japan whose gullies run all the way to the coast, and the wind decides whether you get to ride them.
- [Sahoro-dake (Mt. Sahoro) and Karikachi Pass](https://ridehokkaido.com/backcountry/sahoro-dake): A pass-top ridge tour leads to a summit shelter above the Sahoro lifts, and a short, steep neighbour waits across the road.
- [Sapporo-dake](https://ridehokkaido.com/backcountry/sapporo-dake): Sapporo-dake gives a steady tour from Hoheikyo past a university hut to a 1,293-metre summit inside Shikotsu-Toya National Park.
- [Shirai-dake and Asari-dake](https://ridehokkaido.com/backcountry/shirai-dake): The horseshoe of ridges behind Sapporo Kokusai leads up through old birch to Shirai-dake, and Asari-dake's flat summit plateau closes the far end.
- [Shiribetsu-dake](https://ridehokkaido.com/backcountry/shiribetsu-dake): Shiribetsu-dake rises straight out of the Rusutsu car park as a short, steep cone with a reputation for avalanches, and it rewards careful parties with open bowls and Yotei across the valley.
- [Tarumae-zan](https://ridehokkaido.com/backcountry/tarumae-zan): The active volcano above Lake Shikotsu gives a long, mellow tour to its outer rim at 1,023 metres beside a steaming lava dome.
- [Tokachidake & Sandan-yama](https://ridehokkaido.com/backcountry/tokachidake): The volcanic amphitheatre above Hakuginso and Tokachidake Onsen is Hokkaido's best-known touring ground, and since September 2026 a Level 3 eruption alert has closed every approach from Kamifurano.
- [Unabetsu-dake](https://ridehokkaido.com/backcountry/unabetsu-dake): Unabetsu-dake lets you ride broad Shiretoko slopes with the drift-ice-covered Sea of Okhotsk spread out below.
- [Yoichi-dake](https://ridehokkaido.com/backcountry/yoichi-dake): The highest point in Sapporo city rises straight behind Kiroro, and the classic tour climbs 950 metres from the resort base to a wind-blasted summit plateau.

## Lift passes
- [Bankei × Moiwa common day pass](https://ridehokkaido.com/lift-passes/bankei-moiwa-common-day-pass)
- [Epic](https://ridehokkaido.com/lift-passes/epic)
- [Hokkaido Powder Belt](https://ridehokkaido.com/lift-passes/hokkaido-powder-belt)
- [Hokkaido Ski Season Net](https://ridehokkaido.com/lift-passes/hokkaido-ski-season-net)
- [Ikon](https://ridehokkaido.com/lift-passes/ikon)
- [Indy Pass](https://ridehokkaido.com/lift-passes/indy-pass)
- [K-Winter Pass](https://ridehokkaido.com/lift-passes/k-winter-pass)
- [Mountain Collective](https://ridehokkaido.com/lift-passes/mountain-collective)
- [Powder Alliance](https://ridehokkaido.com/lift-passes/powder-alliance)
- [Suzuki G-Pass](https://ridehokkaido.com/lift-passes/suzuki-g-pass)

## Onsen
- [Akanko Onsen](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/akanko-onsen): Akan's lakeside onsen town sits beside the largest Ainu village in Hokkaido, with hotel baths that look over the frozen lake.
- [Asahidake Onsen](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/asahidake-onsen): Asahidake Onsen is the hamlet at the foot of the ropeway on Hokkaido's highest peak, where the inns pour an unusual clear sulphate spring.
- [Dai-ichi Takimotokan](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/dai-ichi-takimotokan): Dai-ichi Takimotokan runs five of Noboribetsu's springs through a vast bath hall at the edge of Hell Valley.
- [Fukiage Roten-no-yu](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/fukiage-roten): Fukiage is the free, mixed rock pool in the woods above Kamifurano where Tokachidake tours end, and it has been closed since September 2026 under a volcanic alert.
- [Niseko Goshiki Onsen Ryokan](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/goshiki-onsen): The highest inn in the Niseko range pours a sour, unheated sulphur spring into wooden baths that look straight at Annupuri.
- [Fukiage Onsen Hakuginso](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/hakuginso): Hakuginso is Kamifurano's town bathhouse and bunk lodge at the foot of the Tokachidake touring terrain, closed since September 2026 under a volcanic evacuation order.
- [Highland Furano](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/highland-furano): Highland Furano is the cheap, late-night Furano bath, with a rotenburo that looks across the valley to the Tokachidake range.
- [Hoheikyo Onsen](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/hoheikyo-onsen): Hoheikyo pours untouched source water into one of Japan's largest outdoor baths, and the restaurant bakes naan in a tandoor.
- [Jozankei Onsen](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/jozankei-onsen): Sapporo's mountain onsen town fills a gorge on the Toyohira River about an hour from the city, with free foot baths and dozens of hotels that sell day entry.
- [Tokachidake Onsen Kamihoroso](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/kamihoroso): Kamihoroso sits at 1,200 metres just below Ryounkaku and pours an acidic sulphate spring into an all-timber bathhouse.
- [Hotel Kanronomori](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/kanronomori): Hotel Kanronomori openly welcomes tattooed bathers and sells cover patches at the desk for anyone who'd rather tape up.
- [Karurusu Onsen (Suzuki Ryokan)](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/karurusu-onsen): Karurusu is a few inns on the river above Noboribetsu, where the clear simple spring costs ¥500 and the village keeps its own small ski hill.
- [Kawayu Onsen](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/kawayu-onsen): Kawayu's acidic water runs down a hot river through the middle of town, and its little public bath lets tattoos in for ¥500.
- [Niseko Ekimae Onsen Kiranoyu](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/kiranoyu): Niseko town's station-front bathhouse is the cheap, easy soak for anyone on the train or staying down in the village.
- [Kirin-no-Yu (Hoshino Resorts Tomamu)](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/kirin-no-yu): Tomamu's forest bath is an outdoor-only pool of heated water, free for resort guests and ¥1,500 for day visitors.
- [Kotan Onsen (Kotan-no-yu)](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/kotan-onsen): Kotan-no-yu is a free rock pool on the beach at Lake Kussharo, split by a boulder into men's and women's halves and open all night.
- [Kurodake no Yu](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/kurodake-no-yu): Kamikawa town's day bath sits in the middle of Sounkyo village, a short walk from the Kurodake ropeway, with a gorge-view rotenburo upstairs.
- [Kyogoku Onsen](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/kyogoku-onsen): Kyogoku's town bathhouse looks straight at Yotei from its outdoor tub, next door to the Fukidashi spring water.
- [Makkari Onsen](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/makkari-onsen): Makkari's village bath puts Yotei square in front of the outdoor tub for ¥600.
- [Marukoma Onsen Ryokan](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/marukoma-onsen): Marukoma's natural rock bath wells up from under your feet on the shore of Lake Shikotsu, and its depth rises and falls with the lake.
- [Niseko Grand Hotel](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/niseko-grand-hotel): Niseko Grand Hotel keeps one of the biggest mixed outdoor baths in Niseko, and it lets fashion tattoos in.
- [Nukabira Gensenkyo](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/nukabira-onsen): Nukabira's inns all run free-flowing source water, and the village keeps its own ski hill with a 4.3 km forest run.
- [Oyunuma River Natural Footbath](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/oyunuma-footbath): A warm grey river runs out of the Oyunuma crater pond, and a wooden deck lets you sit with your feet in it for free.
- [Rishiri Fuji Onsen](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/rishiri-fuji-onsen): Rishiri's town bath sits a ten-minute walk from the Oshidomari ferry, with a rotenburo that looks up at the island's volcano.
- [Tokachidake Onsen Ryounkaku](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/ryounkaku): At 1,280 metres Ryounkaku is the highest onsen inn in Hokkaido, and its rust-brown rotenburo looks straight up at the Tokachidake range.
- [Yumoto Sagiriyu](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/sagiriyu): Noboribetsu's town sento gives you two of the valley's springs for ¥550, a short walk from the big hotels.
- [Sansan-no-yu](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/sansan-no-yu): Iwanai's local bathhouse pours a hot, cloudy, gold salt spring straight from the source for ¥600.
- [Shirogane Onsen](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/shirogane-onsen): Shirogane's handful of hotels pour a brown, iron-rich spring a few minutes from the Blue Pond, on the Biei side of the Tokachidake range.
- [Furano Onsen Shisai-no-yu (New Furano Prince Hotel)](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/shisai-no-yu): The New Furano Prince's onsen sits at the bottom of the Furano Zone, so the soak starts as soon as you click out of your bindings.
- [Tokachigawa Onsen](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/tokachigawa-onsen): Tokachigawa's amber moor water comes up through ancient peat under the Tokachi plain and leaves skin slick and soft.
- [Toyako Onsen](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/toyako-onsen): Toyako Onsen's lakeside hotels sell day baths from ¥500, and free foot baths line the shore promenade.
- [Wakoto Onsen](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/wakoto-onsen): Wakoto's free open-air bath sits at the neck of a small peninsula on Lake Kussharo, with more wild pools along the shore path.
- [Niseko Annupuri Onsen Yugokorotei](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/yugokorotei): Yugokorotei keeps its source-fed rotenburo open to day visitors from six in the morning to midnight, so it fits around any lift schedule.
- [Yukichichibu](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/yukichichibu): Rankoshi's town bathhouse sits on the edge of the Oyunuma steam pond, with seven outdoor tubs of grey sulphur water and a mud tub on the women's side.
- [Yukoro Onsen](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/yukoro-onsen): Hirafu's old village bathhouse reopened in 2025 as a stone-and-timber building with a rotenburo facing Yotei.
- [Yunokawa Onsen](https://ridehokkaido.com/onsen/yunokawa-onsen): Hakodate's old hot-spring quarter sits on the sea at the end of the tram line, and its neighbourhood sento pour real onsen water for about ¥550.

## Camper van rental
- [Bowken Camper Rental](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/campervans/bowken): Bowken rents two 4WD campers with FF heaters near Odori in Sapporo, with winter priced like the regular season from ¥22,000. Ask about studless tyres, which the site never mentions.
- [Camping Labo](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/campervans/camping-labo): Camping Labo rents 4WD cab-overs in central Sapporo from ¥17,800 plus tax for 24 hours. Every van it rents from December goes out on studless tyres, and the FF heater runs with the engine off.
- [Carstay](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/campervans/carstay): Carstay is a camper-sharing marketplace with Hokkaido listings and paid overnight stations, including a ski-resort car park at Canmore Ski Village, but winter readiness has to be checked listing by listing.
- [FOX Camper](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/campervans/fox-camper): FOX Camper is Hokkaido Nomad's budget brand in Chitose, renting full-time 4WD vans on studless tyres from ¥13,000 a day, with an engine-off FF heater in the ZIL 520, Cordebanks and Gray Hiace.
- [Fuji Cars Japan Chitose](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/campervans/fuji-cars-japan): Fuji Cars Japan rents nine 4WD campers near New Chitose from ¥11,000 a day, the cheapest list we found, and every van wears studless tyres in winter with a Webasto FF heater.
- [Hokkaido Nomad Rental Car](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/campervans/hokkaido-nomad): Hokkaido Nomad rents the largest Hokkaido-based camper fleet from Chitose, with studless tyres and FF heaters on its 4WD cab-overs, though a winter cab-over runs ¥41,800 a day and some foreign customers are barred from December to 20 March.
- [Japan Campingcar Rental Center (Japan C.R.C.)](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/campervans/japan-crc): Japan C.R.C. is the most ski-ready camper company in Hokkaido, renting 4WD vans on studless tyres from New Chitose, and its Hoshino Powder Belt plan adds Tomamu lifts and baths for ¥44,200 a head for two.
- [Kegani Camp](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/campervans/kegani-camp): Kegani Camp rents two 4WD cab-overs in Sapporo on studless tyres with FF heaters from ¥25,000 a weekday, and its ZIL 520 is one of the few rentals here with a flush toilet and shower.
- [Moving Inn](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/campervans/moving-inn): Moving Inn rents 4WD campers near New Chitose, including three Cresson Journeys with an FF heater from ¥30,800 a night including tax. It hasn't published winter rates or a tyre policy.
- [Nomadoya Hakodate Camping Car Rental](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/campervans/nomadoya-hakodate): Nomadoya rents a single Camroad camper from Onuma near Hakodate, which suits a Hakodate Nanae trip, but it carries no vehicle damage cover and publishes no winter details.
- [Oasis Point](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/campervans/oasis-point): Oasis Point rents cab-overs from Higashikawa near Asahikawa Airport from ¥23,000 for 24 hours with free bedding. Every van has an engine-off Webasto FF heater and four of the five are 4WD.
- [QUUM](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/campervans/quum): QUUM rents 4WD cab-overs and kei campers from Sapporo and New Chitose and will deliver to Niseko. It publishes no winter rate or tyre policy, and only the Cordebanks names an FF heater.
- [TOMO Campers](https://ridehokkaido.com/stays/campervans/tomo-campers): TOMO Campers rents FF-heated 4WD vans from Sapporo and New Chitose with a winter rate from ¥18,700 a day, and it parks its unheated kei campers for the winter.

## Practical guides
- [How do you do a Hokkaido ski trip in a camper van?](https://ridehokkaido.com/guides/campervan-hokkaido): Book a 4WD van on studless tyres with a heater that runs after the engine stops, and sleep at RV parks with power. Michi-no-eki are for a nap on the road.
- [How do you plan a first riding trip to Hokkaido?](https://ridehokkaido.com/guides/first-trip): Ten days and two or three bases cover a first trip well. Start around Niseko and finish inland, where the snow runs colder and lighter.
- [How do you stay safe from avalanches in Hokkaido?](https://ridehokkaido.com/guides/avalanche-safety): Avalanches have killed riders on Yotei and caught a guided group on Rishiri in the last few winters. Read the bulletin and file a climbing plan before you leave any gate.
- [How does sidecountry access work at Hokkaido's ski resorts?](https://ridehokkaido.com/guides/gates-and-rules): Niseko opens numbered gates when patrol says so, and Furano wants its own form at the patrol hut every time you head out.
- [What should you pack for a riding trip to Hokkaido?](https://ridehokkaido.com/guides/what-to-pack): Mornings inland drop below −20°C in a cold snap, and the coast gets buried in snow for days at a time. Pack for both, then add your own touring kit and some yen.
- [When is the best time to ride Hokkaido?](https://ridehokkaido.com/guides/snow-season): Mid-January to late February brings the coldest powder. Tickets get cheaper in the shoulder weeks at either end, and touring takes over from March.
- [Which lift passes work at Hokkaido's ski resorts?](https://ridehokkaido.com/guides/lift-passes): The Ikon Pass covers Niseko United and Furano, and Rusutsu takes the Epic Pass. Most other resorts sell their own tickets for less online than at the window.
- [Getting around Hokkaido in winter](https://ridehokkaido.com/guides/getting-around): Riders can reach every big Hokkaido resort by coach or rental car, and this guide sets out the 2026/27 fares and licence rules along with drive times between the hubs.
- [Onsen etiquette and tattoos in Hokkaido](https://ridehokkaido.com/guides/onsen-etiquette)

## Journal
- [How do you ride the Asahidake Ropeway backcountry safely?](https://ridehokkaido.com/journal/asahidake-ropeway-backcountry): The Asahidake Ropeway lifts you to 1,600 m on Hokkaido's highest volcano in about ten minutes, and from the top station nobody patrols anything. We read the town's warnings, the Hokkaido Wilds routes and the police numbers to show where the good snow is and where people get lost.
- [Is Asahikawa the right base for riding central Hokkaido?](https://ridehokkaido.com/journal/asahikawa-base-central-hokkaido): Asahikawa puts five ski areas within about an hour and a quarter of one hotel room, and the city's shoyu ramen is waiting when you get back. Here's how far each hill sits and what the commute costs.
- [Is Kamui Ski Links worth a day from Asahikawa or Furano?](https://ridehokkaido.com/journal/kamui-ski-links-storm-day): Kamui Ski Links charges ¥5,300 for a day and leaves its tree courses to the snow. We worked out who should spend a storm day there and how to fit it around a base in Asahikawa or Furano.
- [Is Kiroro worth a whole week of your Hokkaido trip?](https://ridehokkaido.com/journal/kiroro-for-a-week): Kiroro gets more snow than any other Hokkaido resort that publishes a figure, and most riders only see it on a day trip from Sapporo. We checked whether the basin above Akaigawa can carry a week.
- [Is Nissho Pass worth a stop for roadside touring?](https://ridehokkaido.com/journal/nissho-pass-touring): Route 274 climbs to 1,022 m where it crosses the Hidaka Range between Sapporo and the Tokachi plain, and its plowed lots put three peaks within a short skin of the car. We set them side by side from the Hokkaido Wilds guides and our own reading of their GPS tracks.
- [Is Sahoro worth riding on a trip to Tomamu?](https://ridehokkaido.com/journal/sahoro-next-to-tomamu): Sahoro sits one stop down the line from Tomamu, and most guests on its lifts are still learning. We looked at what that leaves for a stronger rider and how to fit both mountains into one trip.
- [Is Sounkyo worth a night for riding Kurodake?](https://ridehokkaido.com/journal/sounkyo-kurodake-base): Sounkyo's onsen village sits on the floor of a basalt gorge, and the Kurodake Ropeway leaves from the top of its main street. Here's who should sleep there and what Kurodake costs in 2026/27.
- [Should you base a Kiroro trip in Otaru?](https://ridehokkaido.com/journal/otaru-base-for-kiroro): Otaru keeps its herring-era warehouses and sushi counters about fifty minutes by bus below Kiroro. Here's how the commute works in 2026/27 and how to spend the nights.
- [Should you book The Tower or RISONARE at Tomamu?](https://ridehokkaido.com/journal/tomamu-the-tower-or-risonare): Tomamu has no town at the bottom, so the hotel you pick decides how far you walk to the lifts and what you come home to. Both hotels belong to Hoshino Resorts, and they suit two very different trips.
- [What is it like to bathe at Kotan on frozen Lake Kussharo?](https://ridehokkaido.com/journal/kotan-onsen-lake-kussharo): Kotan-no-yu is a free rock pool on the beach of Lake Kussharo, and in winter whooper swans drift a few metres from the bathers. It belongs to an Ainu village at the lake's outlet, and the people who keep it clean ask for a little care in return.
- [Where should Sapporo Kokusai riders soak in Jozankei?](https://ridehokkaido.com/journal/jozankei-onsen-after-kokusai): Jozankei fills a steaming bend of the Toyohira River below Sapporo Kokusai, and every hotel in the gorge draws on the same salty spring. Choose your bath by the clock and by the tattoo rule, and use the free foot baths on the walk between.
- [Where should you sleep for a rest night in Noboribetsu?](https://ridehokkaido.com/journal/rest-night-in-noboribetsu): Noboribetsu pipes nine kinds of spring water into one small town below a steaming crater. Pick the right bed and a single night off the board covers the best bathing in Hokkaido.
- [Which Asahidake Onsen bath should you take after the ropeway?](https://ridehokkaido.com/journal/asahidake-onsen-baths): Asahidake Onsen is a handful of inns where Route 1160 runs out at about 1,100 metres under Hokkaido's highest peak. The ropeway drops you beside them at the end of the day, and they pour an uncommon clear sulphate spring.
- [Which Lake Shikotsu inn should you book for an airport night?](https://ridehokkaido.com/journal/lake-shikotsu-airport-night): Lake Shikotsu sits about 40 minutes from New Chitose, and its water stays open through the coldest weeks of winter. Three inns on its shore turn the night before a flight into a proper soak.
- [Which route up Mt Yotei should you ride first?](https://ridehokkaido.com/journal/mt-yotei-routes): Mt Yotei carries ski routes on almost every side of its 1,898 m cone, and nobody patrols or controls any of them. We worked through the Hokkaido Wilds tracks, trip reports and police records to find where a first visit should start.
- [Can you ride Hokkaido without a car?](https://ridehokkaido.com/journal/hokkaido-without-a-car): Most of Hokkaido's big resorts run winter buses, and two of them sit on a railway line. Here's how each one works without a rental car, from the train to the last bus.
- [Should you ride Niseko or Furano?](https://ridehokkaido.com/journal/niseko-vs-furano): Furano trades Niseko's bigger snow totals and village for colder snow and a cheaper ticket. A volcano alert has also closed its best touring this winter.
- [Should you ride Niseko or Rusutsu?](https://ridehokkaido.com/journal/niseko-vs-rusutsu): Mt Yotei stands between them, and the road around it takes half an hour. We set the trees, tickets, gates and buses side by side so you can pick one for the week.
- [Where should you stay in Niseko?](https://ridehokkaido.com/journal/where-to-stay-in-niseko): Six bases sit around the same mountain, and each one changes what your evenings look like. Here's who each base suits and how you get between them.
- [Which Hokkaido onsen are best after a day on the hill?](https://ridehokkaido.com/journal/best-onsen-after-riding): The bath at the end of the day is half the reason to ride Hokkaido. We matched each hill to the soak worth driving to and put the price and the tattoo rule up front.
- [Which Hokkaido resorts get the best powder?](https://ridehokkaido.com/journal/best-powder-resorts-hokkaido): Few Hokkaido resorts publish a snowfall average, so we judged powder on what the snow lands on and who gets to it first, alongside the figures that do exist.
- [Which Hokkaido resorts have the best tree riding?](https://ridehokkaido.com/journal/best-tree-riding-hokkaido): Each resort here sets its own rules for the forest, from open access at Rusutsu to sign-in armbands at Nayoro. We ranked them on the trees and the rules, and on what a day costs.
- [Which Sapporo ski hill should you ride?](https://ridehokkaido.com/journal/sapporo-city-hills): Five ski areas sit inside Sapporo's city limits, and four of them keep riding after dark. Here's which one to ride, and when to take the bus to Kiroro instead.

## Tools
- [Map](https://ridehokkaido.com/map): Interactive map of every place on the site
- [Plan](https://ridehokkaido.com/plan): Trip planner that builds a day-by-day plan from the places on this site

## Site
- [About and method](https://ridehokkaido.com/about): Who writes Ride Hokkaido and where its facts come from.
- [Disclosures](https://ridehokkaido.com/disclosures): Which links are paid and how the site earns.
- [Credits](https://ridehokkaido.com/credits): Photographers and data sources, with their licences.
- [Full content](https://ridehokkaido.com/llms-full.txt): Every page's text and data in one plain-text file.

## For AI assistants
- [For AI assistants](https://ridehokkaido.com/mcp): How to add the Ride Hokkaido MCP server to Claude, ChatGPT or another client.
- [MCP server](https://ridehokkaido.com/api/mcp): Model Context Protocol endpoint (Streamable HTTP, POST, no authentication) with the tools search_places, get_place, find_nearby, get_resort, get_runs, compare_resorts, find_resorts, get_alerts and get_zone. Every result links back to a page on this site.