Sapporo Kokusai Ski Resort
札幌国際スキー場43°04′ N 141°05′ E
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.
Photo Globalism Pictures · Flickr · CC BY 2.0 and others, credited in the gallery
- Beginner4.1 km
- Intermediate5.2 km
- Advanced2.1 km
Kokusai is the high one. Its base sits at 630 metres and the gondola tops out at 1,100 on the north shoulder of Asari-dake. No other ski area inside Sapporo city limits reaches that high. It opened in 1978 under the name Jozankei Kogen. The resort runs on natural snow alone from late November to early May, and in 2018 it was the first area in Hokkaido to open for the season.
The mountain is compact. Seven courses fan out from the SkyCabin8 gondola and three chairs. Strong riders come for Downhill and its 300-metre pitch at 30 degrees. Swing kicks up to 28. Echo drops off the summit, and the resort promotes it as its powder run. Everything between the courses is roped off as no-ski forest.
How it rides
- Powder
- 4 out of 5
- Trees
- 1 out of 5
- Steeps
- 2 out of 5
- Sidecountry
- 2 out of 5
- Park
- 3 out of 5
- Beginners
- 4 out of 5
- Family
- 4 out of 5
- Quiet
- 3 out of 5
- Value
- 4 out of 5
- Après
- 1 out of 5
Most visitors arrive from Jozankei. The onsen town is half an hour down the road, and its hotels sell stays with a day ticket waiting at the front desk plus a ski liner bus in midwinter. From Sapporo the reservation-only bus takes about an hour and a half via Makomanai. For lunch, Rabbit serves the Kokusai curry ramen that the resort's pamphlet ranks as its number one dish. At Owl you can eat your ramen sitting inside a retired gondola cabin out in the snow, weather permitting. The old six-seat gondola station is now Lounge THE 6, and the summit café is known for its soft-serve.
Sapporo skiers have toured Asari-dake since the Taisho era. Locals call its broad summit plateau toward Yoichi-dake the airfield (hikojo), and blizzards up there have disoriented many parties. Kokusai's terms ban riding outside the managed area. Guided groups head out from the gondola top after lodging an entry notice at the resort, and in 2020 seven people on one of those tours had to be brought down by fire crews and patrol at dusk.
Fly the mountain in 3D立体地図
Every run at Sapporo Kokusaiコース
| Avg | Faces | Map | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Märchen TrailメルヘンコースNotes | 2,113 m | 301 m | 13.3° | 8.5° | E | ||
| Forest Trail林間コースNotes | 1,248 m | 172 m | 15° | 7.8° | NE | ||
| Swing TrailスウィングコースNotes | 1,411 m | 286 m | 20° | 11.4° | SE | ||
| Family TrailファミリコースNotes | 1,054 m | 239 m | 19.6° | 12.8° | SE | ||
| Echo TrailエコーコースNotes | 1,011 m | 213 m | 20.1° | 11.9° | E | ||
| Woody TrailウッデイーコースNotes | 1,111 m | 164 m | 15.6° | 8.4° | NE | ||
| DownhillダウンヒルコースNotes | 2,067 m | 461 m | 29.8° | 12.6° | NE |
Lengths, vertical, pitch and aspect are computed from OpenStreetMap run lines and 30 m elevation data. Steepest is the hardest 60 m pitch. Treat them as a guide and trust the signs on the hill.
Peaks, gates and named areas
Know the zones before you goエリア
SkyCabin8スカイキャビン8
lift
The eight-seat gondola climbs 2,000 metres to the 1,100-metre summit station. It replaced the original six-seat gondola that ran from 1984 to 2020. Echo, Forest Trail and Downhill all start from its top.
Good for summit laps, views toward Yoichi-dake
Märchen Quadメルヘンクワッドリフト
lift
The 1,300-metre quad serves the long Märchen Trail and the lower half of the mountain. It costs two points a ride on a point ticket against four for the gondola.
Good for quick laps, lower mountain
Terrain park streets
parkIntermediate
Four short park lines run from a first-jump street up to Challenge Street on the Family Trail. The resort publishes no feature list, and the setup leans toward progression.
Good for small jumps, first park laps
Snow Playgroundスノープレイグラウンド
zoneBeginner
New in 2025/26 near the base, it rents snow racers, bar-equipped snowboards and snowshoes for ¥6,000 a day from 10:00 to 15:00.
Good for kids, non-riders
Beyond the ropes · closed
Resort rules ban riding outside the managed area and in the roped forest blocks between runs, and hiking up the pistes is prohibited. Guided groups do tour onto Asari-dake and Shirai-dake from the gondola top after lodging an entry notice at the resort, so confirm the current arrangement before you go.
- Entering or riding outside the managed area, or in the marked no-ski forest blocks, is prohibited
- Hiking up the runs for mountaineering is prohibited
- The resort does not run rescues outside the boundary on its own initiative; when authorities request help it bills from ¥50,000 an hour plus staff, snowcat and snowmobile time
- Rescue rates rise 25% from 17:00 and 50% overnight
- The resort can suspend the lift ticket of anyone who breaks these rules
Check the daily avalanche report before you leave the resort. Carry a beacon, shovel and probe and know how to use them.
Worth knowing before you go
Buy online. In 2025/26 the web day ticket was ¥300 under the window price.
Sign up for the free Kurutoku Club if you will ride here more than once. Prices drop from the second visit and every five points earns a free day.
Weekend parking near the base fills by about 08:30.
The Otaru side of Route 1 closes nightly 19:00–07:00 from early November to mid-April, so a dinner run to Otaru means leaving the mountain in good time.
From April the lifts stop at 16:00, and the spring pass costs little enough that Sapporo locals ride into May on it.
Ask for the gondola ramen at Owl on a calm day. You eat it in an old cabin parked in the snow.
Kokusai sells no backcountry access and its terms prohibit out-of-bounds riding. If you want Asari-dake, book a local guide who knows the current arrangement.
4 mapped lifts
The liftsリフト
Getting thereアクセス
From New Chitose Airport
- Drive
- about 1 hr 40 min
- Train
- JR to Sapporo Station, then the Sapporo Kokusai Ski Resort Line bus
From Sapporo
- Drive
- about 1 hr via Jozankei
- Bus
- Sapporo Kokusai Ski Resort Line (booked through Hokkaido Chuo Bus) from Sapporo Station North Exit via Makomanai and Jozankei, 1 hr 37 min, ¥1,800 one way in 2025/26; reservation required, bus-plus-day-ticket pack ¥8,800
- Train
- Namboku subway to Makomanai, then the same ski bus (about 1 hr, ¥1,600)
Free parking for 1,850 cars. Jozankei is about 30 min away, Asari IC on the Sasson Expressway about 20 min and central Otaru about 40 min, though the Otaru side of Route 1 closes 19:00–07:00 in winter. Jozankei hotel guests can ride the Jozankei Ski Liner (late December to late March, ¥2,800 return in 2026/27). A trial Otaru Liner bus ran in 2025/26. Taxi from the resort to Jozankei is about ¥10,500.
Paid links
Line up the trip around Sapporo Kokusai Ski Resort
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Where to stay nearby宿
Soak after温泉
Touring close by山スキー
Towns to base in町
Ride these on the same trip近くの山
Quick answers about Sapporo Kokusai Ski Resortよくある質問
How big is Sapporo Kokusai?
Sapporo Kokusai has 7 runs and 4 lifts over 470 m of vertical, from 630 m at the base to 1,100 m at the top. OpenStreetMap maps 11.6 km of piste there.
How steep is Sapporo Kokusai?
The steepest mapped pitch at Sapporo Kokusai is about 29.8° over 60 m. We measure it from OpenStreetMap's run lines and the elevation model. Its advanced and expert runs add up to 2.1 km of the mapped total.
Can you ride off-piste at Sapporo Kokusai?
At Sapporo Kokusai: Resort rules ban riding outside the managed area and in the roped forest blocks between runs, and hiking up the pistes is prohibited. Guided groups do tour onto Asari-dake and Shirai-dake from the gondola top after lodging an entry notice at the resort, so confirm the current arrangement before you go.
How much is a lift ticket at Sapporo Kokusai?
An adult day ticket at Sapporo Kokusai costs ¥6,000 in the 2025/26 main season and ¥5,500 early or late in the season.
Does Sapporo Kokusai have night riding?
No. Sapporo Kokusai closes its lifts at dusk.
How do you get to Sapporo Kokusai from New Chitose Airport?
Sapporo Kokusai is about 1 hr 40 min by car from New Chitose Airport.
When is the season at Sapporo Kokusai?
Sapporo Kokusai usually opens late November and closes early May. The deepest, most reliable snow comes mid January to early March.