Powder and lots of of it! Worth a visit and feels like something everyone should experience if you're seeking deep lines of powder. Things I wish I knew before: Runs are short compared to North America, restaurants are very crowded, rentals are okay, and there is a free shuttle that is available throughout the town. Lunch options on the hill are awesome and much better than most resorts in North America.

Fresh powder, and amazing slopes. The food at the restaurants were pretty good too. Getting rental equipment was easy and the rental shop staff were very nice and helpful!

Very good location and nice setup. This is a great place for those who love skiing and snowboarding. They have areas with all kind of skill levels. Niseko area is known for one of the best ski resorts and this one won’t disappointed you. Parking can be difficult at times but you they have staff that help directing the traffic.

Amazing powder! Hirafu is the largest of the 4 mountains it seemed and the most to explore. Some trees. Still smaller than US mountains in UT, CO. It is fairly easy to navigate despite minimal signage. Often snowing (visibility can be tough momentarily if it's windy). Hirafu is connected to one other mountain in the set of 4, the other 2 are a 15 min drive. Above the tree line is accessed by a single lift with a small back at both Nisseko and Hirafu. It was easy on and off even for the kids (8, 10). Vegetarian food is limited even at Hirafu. Some food can sell out even on low volume days.

Excellent snow on a perfect day. No lines when I went, base camp restaurant has pretty good lunch food too. Rental equipment staff were helpful and friendly. The higher up lifts actually have windshields installed on the chairs which is surprisingly convenient too.

Powder snow and breathtaking sights make this ski resort amazing. Lots of people travel here because it has some of the best snow in the world. A 5 hour pass / full day pass is recommended when you are able to ski well. It can also get particularly crowded on the beginner slope with people sitting around.

Fabulous place for skiing and snowboarding! The gondola is amazing, great food, some shopping but mainly aimed at snowboarding and skiing. One little souvenir shop above a restaurant called Tozanken that was so popular the wait was up to 2 hours but highly recommend the wait! Had Christmas lunch there and it was delicious!

Epic Pow and terrain. Great views on clear days. No ski baskets for powder skis. 3/4 days I visited, half of mountain closed because they can't figure out how to work Gondola (or don't have enough staff?). Increasing price, but not investing in resort infrastructure.

Great tree and off piste skiing particularly when it’s been snowing. You need to get a long gondola to connect west and east sections and the line to it can be very busy. It’d be nice to have a cafe at the top of the runs to better enjoy the views. Despite those things I’ll come again!

35年前から来てますが、当たり前に外国人が増えました。宿泊客に対して外部の飲食店のキャパが少なすぎます。飲食店価格も一部の店では外国人価格になってます。ゲレンデも昼過ぎには滑られまっくってます。いろいろ言いましたが、ニセコより、まだまだ良いです。でも、そろそろ他の混んでないホームゲレンデ見つけようかとも考えてます。 (Translated by Google) I've been coming here for 35 years, and the number of foreigners has naturally increased. The capacity of outside restaurants is too low for guests. In some restaurants, prices are set at foreigner prices. The ski slopes are covered in snow by the afternoon. As I said, it's still better than Niseko. However, I'm thinking about finding another home slope that isn't too crowded.

リフト券はとても高いですが、ニセコほど外国人が少なくて、日本人が多いため、安心して滑ることが出来ます。 また、ゴンドラ下の休憩場がわりと自由に使えるため、昔ながらのスキー場の雰囲気が残っていて良いかと思います。 ゲレンデはとても整備が行き届いており、朝イチのピステンバーンは最高に気持ちが良いです。 高いだけあって、ゲレンデのコンディションは抜群ですし、コースも充実していてすごく満足できるゲレンデです。 (Translated by Google) Lift tickets are very expensive, but there are fewer foreigners than Niseko, and there are many Japanese people, so you can ski with confidence. Also, the rest area under the gondola can be used freely, so I think it's nice that the atmosphere of an old-fashioned ski resort remains. The slopes are very well maintained, and pistenbahn in the morning feels great. Although it is expensive, the conditions of the ski slopes are excellent and there are many courses, making it a very satisfying slope.

Great snow and value compared to Niseko. Many tree skiing options off Mt Isola.

Great lunch spot, good place to meet people that don't ski/board, or got injured. Free gondola ride to East mountain. Katsu curry for ¥1700

Wonderful experience! Everyone is so nice and welcoming 🙏

2024年３月20日だけど 雪がまた、たくさんありコンディションも良いから　たくさんの外国人の方がおり 活気に満ちてます ジンギスカン定食を食べましたが 自分には合いませんでしたが メニューが豊富なので次回は、パスタにしようと思います (Translated by Google) March 20, 2024 There is also a lot of snow and the conditions are good, so there are many foreigners. It's full of energy I ate Genghis Khan set meal. It didn't suit me though The menu has a wide variety, so next time I'll try pasta.

The best day of skiing in my life! There are multiple runs for all abilities. The runs are well groomed & lots of snow around. The runs weren't crowded. Lifts were quite quick. Friendly staff around the mountain too.

2018年まで数回行ったルスツは、ニセコ程ではなくてもヨーロッパの雰囲気でした。 6年ぶりのルスツは中国になっていました。レストランで子供が走り回り、中級コースやリフトの人口密度は世界人口2位の国で埋めつくされています。 欧米系や韓国系の人達も中国に遊びに来た感覚でしょう。日本ではない。 でも、レストランの従業員はとても働き者で食事も美味しい。 リフト乗り場の方々も感じが良い！ コースも初心者から上級者まで 長いコースがあります。 2月下旬は高校や中学の団体で、 リフトもゲレンデも混んでいます。 (Translated by Google) Rusutsu, which I went to several times up until 2018, had a European atmosphere, although not as much as Niseko. Rusutsu for the first time in 6 years was in China. Kids are running around in the restaurants, and the intermediate courses and lifts are packed to the brim in the world's second most populous country. People of European, American and Korean descent must also feel like they are visiting China. Not Japan. However, the restaurant employees are very hardworking and the food is delicious. The people at the lift station are also very nice! Courses range from beginners to advanced There are long courses. In late February, high school and junior high school groups Both the lifts and the slopes are crowded.

Older lifts and buildings but perfectly groomed and well designed slopes, 5 days in a row no waiting time at the lifts, as known from Hokkaido plenty of snow, most of the time the slopes were deserted ... perfect!!!

Great resort, lots of tree runs, beautiful views on a nice day. Not too large but a lot of tree areas to explore. There are also easy options on all chairs for beginners. Nice break from skiing in Niseko. Lifts were not busy, no wait, during my visit. I prefer this resort over skiing in Niseko. That said, there is no night skiing here. Food options close just before the last lifts close so if you plan to eat you must do it during the day. Food options and bathrooms at each of the 3 main areas.

We had so much fun! Good quality powder snow, trails are mostly very wide so less crowded. Almost all the lifts have covers to keep you warm and dry in the snow. Heavenly area in Mt isola and the tree area in West mountain are gold

This would be considered Atla regarding old lodges and basic food. Fun mid skiing. Nothing real steep. Trees would be fun if powder but not very steep to rip. Almost 2xs the cost of Niseko and not great anything. Really fun terrain. It is a fun resort but not Niseko. They do not have the easy facilities either. Limited food selections.

雪質良い　コース数もあり滑走に関しては、混雑感はなかったのですが... 食事をする所が、店員の対応が悪く段取りが悪すぎる為、激混みで残念。 ラーメン食べるのに1時間半 これさえなければ最高 (Translated by Google) The snow quality was good and there were a number of courses, so it didn't feel crowded when it came to skiing... Unfortunately, the place where we ate was extremely crowded due to the poor service of the staff and poor arrangements. 1 and a half hours to eat ramen It would be best without this

(Visited as a ski resort in February) Awful lift service, completely unable to keep up with demand even in the off season and with several lifts closed for the entire duration of our 2 week visit. Queue for Niseko gondola from the Hilton was in excess of an hour, I shudder to think what it would be like to try and enjoy niseko while staying in village. Cannot comment on food or drink as I did not stay long enough in village to try them. The lifts themselves seemed ancient, I would judge the gondola design to originate from the 1970s and I only hope it holds up to modern safety standards.

It snowed every single day while we were here and it was so powdery! We were not used to how powdery it was and how smooth snowboarding was. When it came to the snow itself 10 out of 10! I will say renting a snowboard was a nightmare! Took about two hours, which was really disappointing. It is also super crowded so getting dinner takes about an hour or two. The snow itself: 5 stars Ski lifts: 3 stars. Took awhile and some of them close early. Rentals: 1 star Food/ village: 3 stars

Not a nice place for a snowboard beginner, green course too flat and had to get off the board all the time, while red course already too hard for me. Spent more time and distance on foot then on board. Again, I am a beginner and I suggest Annupuri instead, actually the rest of the slopes are more beginner snowboarders friendly than this one. Of course skiier are fine here.

Road trip to Niseko yesterday. Arrived at Hanazono at about 9am. A warm weather spell meant the snow was pretty wet and choppy. But the crowds!!! Too many people and not enough lifts! Looks like lifts have been decommissioned on Hirafu as well as a couple weren’t going and the pizza box to the top was out of action I suspect due to high winds. There is a new gondola and a super fancy hooded 6 seater at Hanazono though. But just too crowded to be enjoyable. I get that it’s Chinese New Year and this was probably the busiest time of year, but lift lines were just too long! First skied here in 2002 and had been back a couple of times since then but the secret is now definitely out. It is now getting too overdeveloped for the size of skiable area. Too many people and crowds waiting for lifts. I don’t think I’d need to ski at Niseko again unless there are new lifts put up or replaced.

Rain and plus 15 degrees never in season. This in March and beginning of April. The schools stop advertising end end the desinf. if it’s raining

Breathtaking place with a lot of high quality ski resorts 😎 The powder snow - definitely the best in the world.

Too popular, thus too crowded. Price more than double in February, and powder snow is no guarantee . Prefer less famous site.

Just visited Niseko Village and had a great time! Fantastic skiing, lovely accommodations, and friendly staff. A bit crowded at times, but overall, a wonderful winter getaway. Highly recommended! 🎿⛷️❄️

I have almost completed 4 months working here as a lifty. Amazing terrain, location and snow, but jeez do these people NOT know how to run a resort! Everything from the fake village, to the utterly stupid base area gondolas are just for show, and really serve no purpose and a huge waste of money. Which would have been far better suited upgrading their 50 year old gondolas and chairs instead of making sure hotel guests did't have to walk 10 minutes to their overpriced restaurants. No beginner area infrastructure either. YTL do not care whatsoever about the staff who run this resort day to day and are only focused on having the cheapest labour no matter how mentally taxing the work is on the staff. With no staff benefits or discounts for any of the surrounding area. If you plan to come here for a working holiday, DON'T. I promise you will have a far better experience working at literally any other resort in Japan or overseas. These people only care about being flashy and attracting the rich instagram holidayers and have no love for the snow industry. This place shouldn't exist. YTL if you see this, maybe you should take your management team for a tour of literally any other more modern resort and then you might understand how stupid of an operation this is, and maybe have a little compassion for those that you "employ".

In the quiet town, Life flows gently, under the watchful eye. In simplicity, there's a beauty untold, A story of life, quietly unfolds. Where every breath is a song of the heart. And from this essence, we never part.

Fantastic place for a beginner. High quality services, top notch staff and a mountain suitable for everyone. Fluffiest snow, very comfortable to wipe out. Visit the place around January and February.

One of the many ski area's in Niseko, it's been said that Annupuri Kokusai Ski Area has the slopes that's best for beginners. Indeed we were beginners and the hills were not too much a challenge. There are rental shops located on the side of the opening slope and a food court as well; although the opening hours if the food court were a little unclear. There is a large parking lot so there is almost no trouble with finding a parking spot. Ski lift ticket prices were reasonable. Once done skiing, there are a few restaurants nearby that you may visit, but do note that they'll be a bit more expensive that the restaurants you may find it the neighboring town of Kutchan.

Really nice open runs with very wide run-off areas. Great for snowboarding and practicing skills. Some nice gentle runs with interesting unkept areas if you want to push yourself a little more. The 1,000m point provides some lovely views over the region. Nighttime boarding is limited to the lower runs but still lots to explore.

Family friendly ski slope, but the facility is dated. There’s a lingering stale smoke smell upon entering the building. The mess hall on the second floor provides sufficient food options. It refuels skiers quickly so they can get back out on the slopes.

Annupuri is a great place for beginners to learn skiing or snowboarding. The area is wide which provide alot of room for maneuvering! You can see plenty of kids learning to ski.

Was late in the season when I went but thoroughly enjoyed this side of the mountain. There is a fantastic gully to ski through skier's right when leaving the gondola— just go through the gate and trees. I dropped over from Hirefu but had to climb up a bit from Annupuri and ski through trees to get back. It was either that or an expensive taxi ride

Older, Gondola build 1985 ... but good beginner area. Bear Caffè about half way down from Gondola drop off has most amazing chocolate brownie!!! enjoy

Truly lovely ski slopes and a very large array of courses to choose from. An amazing place to start one's ski journey! The view from the top of the gondola shows all of Niseko as well on a clear day as well as mount yotei!

Came to Annupuri as part of the Niseko United all mountain pass in late March 2023 (Spring Season). Snow was still fantastic, not much powder, mostly slush but very rideable. Most people are boarding on Annupuri because of the wide open runs, and I would say its a great place for all skill levels. For off piste maybe the other resorts are better but I loved this one as a beginner snowboarder

During the months of December to late April, Niseko comes alive with skiers from all over at the mountains get powdery white snow that's perfect for winter sports. Annapuri is the highest area at Niseko and will have snow until late April. You can access the top via the ski lift or gondola

Great resort for beginners or intermediate skier or boarders that not steep which can be a problem on a powder day not being able to get enough speed. For the advanced there are off piest gates opened and monitored by ski patrol with tree runs which are amazing. Family friendly dinning options with 1400 yen ramen which is the best out of all the the Niseko resorts. Can get hourly passes which is good value.

Great ski experiences! This place is suitable for those who are beginners at snowboarding and skiing. Because it has a large area, fewer people, and moderate slopes, it's much easier to compare with other ski areas with steep slope

Not as crowded as Hirafu. Queues at the gondola but they have a singles line. This is a great innovation, which the other resorts should adopt. Hooded quad lift is never crowded. Dream quad moves very slowly. Good resort for beginners and intermediates. I never venture through the gates, so I can't comment on advanced skiing routes. My favourite eating option so far is the miso ramen at nook annupuri.

My favourite out of the four. Good powdery backcountry and fun wide groomers

The bottom lift are suitable for the beginner but there are so many people from the ski school and snowboard school. Please don't order the curry.. its so salty and only 4 piece of meat as you can see..

Good spot for beginner slopes. Niseko has great snow. Annapuri also has an alpine cafe on top of the longer green slope. Well worth it.

Visited this place in early November 2023, most of the eatery are closed. Curry rice with local vegetable and potato ball are delicious. The vegetable chicken soup also superb.

地本農家さんが朝採りした野菜を並べてます。お値段もお手頃から安いものまであります。です。アスパラや山菜、じゃがいも狙いでいきましたが大満足です。精製商品を売っている別の建物では ダチョウのたまごまでありました。 (Translated by Google) Vegetables picked in the morning by a local farmer are lined up. Prices range from affordable to cheap. is. I went for asparagus, wild vegetables, and potatoes, but I'm very satisfied. In another building that sells refined products There was even an ostrich egg.

Great sleeping spot. There were many others sleeping, and the view was great!

高橋牧場のソフトクリーム¥360が絶品です。 券売機で食券を購入して店員さんへ渡します。 焼きたてのソーセージもヤバいです。 直売所の野菜は種類も豊富で、新鮮かつ安価です。支払いは現金のみです。 (Translated by Google) The soft-serve ice cream ¥360 from Takahashi Farm is excellent. Purchase a meal ticket at the ticket vending machine and hand it to the clerk. Freshly baked sausages are also great. The vegetables at the direct sales store are rich in variety, fresh and inexpensive. Payment is cash only.

Great view of Mount Yotei, with convenient location About 2 hours drive from Sapporo city A very popular resort area for the Winter season activities, skiing Free parking, permitted and popular venue for overnight parking for locals Free toilet open 24 hours We enjoy shopping the local agriculture products, farmers delivered to this place every morning

Always a good place to stop if your in the area. Farmers market with fresh vegetables, breads & grains. There's a specialty shop in the Plaza with products from Niseko. Sells Cheese, Breads, Wines, Sausages & Cold Cuts, Dry goods too! Was here last weekend.. Nicely decorated for Halloween 🎃

You can buy fresh produce from Niseko at affordable prices, have some snacks and get souvenirs.

Popular road station that sells local fresh veges. Soft Cream/tart from the famous Takahashi Farm (milk kobo) is sold here, Niseko Gelato is right next doors, bagles, soba, ramen. During peak July August season the big parking space is packed with camping cars!

Good place for English speakers to stop. Most vendors and nearly all signs have English translations. Note that none of the vendors accept credit cards.

Large parking lot. More veggies in the summer. Most shop in the area open pretty late, 10:30. Nothing special with the sweets shop inside the building.

Very nice cheese tarte, it melts in your mouth !

It was snowing heavily and very windy when we were there. So the view was obscured. But a beautiful place nonetheless. We were able to see lake Toya on the way down and the winter scenery is beautiful.

The view here is amazing! There are many photo spots for you. They even provided a tripod for tourists to take picture of the Toya sign. You are able to have a great view of Toya without paying a single cent. There is also a shop which sells many tourist items like Hokkaido snacks, key chains, etc.

Excellent views over the lake and caldera.

Good overview of the lake toya with a shop selling some local produce and snacks. Can consider skipping this place unless you have time to spare .

It was a rainy day when we arrived there, I was a bit disappointed but the view of Toya lake still turned out to be breathtakingly beautiful.

Drove from Sapporo The observatory is free of charge Nice view and very windy The main building has souvenir store on the first floor and restaurant on the second floor There is a small outdoor cafe

Beautiful observation centre. Lake Toya is undeniably beautiful and carved from ancient volcanic activities.

Nice pit stop. There’s a convenient shop and toilet here. Can buy some local souvenir food and drinks. A small booth setup by 2 young chap that can drag a small inflated boat on the snow to take u for a ride on snow. Very recommended if u have the time. It drive to a very open field and let u have a great view of the surrounding. Adult 1,300; kids 1,100 for 10 mins right. More for 20mins ride.

Lake Toya is an attractive place as a volcanic caldera lake. Sairo observatory is a great place to see lake toya and Nakajima island.

Lookout point over Lake Toya towards Toya onsen. As you'd expect the view is beautiful and is well worth stopping for. There is free parking for buses and cars, electric car charging, toilets, a cafe, gift shop and resident cat. There is a large white, metal "Toya" sign outside and a free camera/smartphone tripod available to use. The view is very Instagrammable. You can also take a short helicopter ride across the lake. This place can be very busy if your stop coincides with a tour groups' stop.

A free rest stop and observation area of Lake Toya. The souvenir shop attached to it has a fairly large selection of goods. Gets pretty busy as there is a large parking area out front and it appears to be regularly frequented by many tour buses. Nice views, though the various activities such as snowmobiles and rafting I believe are cheaper elsewhere in the vicinity.

This is NOT JUST any observation deck. This is an observation deck with snowmobile ride and snow rafting! My friends and I went to enjoy a breezy ride of snow rafting before admiring the outstanding scenery of the Toya Lake during New Years Day! The staff were kind and friendly. For more details of the snowmobile and the snow rafting, check the 2nd picture.

A decent stop off on the way to other places. It appeared that you could get a helicopter ride there maybe. The views are expansive not just over the lake but also of the mountain behind the road to get there. The shop there sells local produce to Hokkaido. I had a Yubari melon icecream which was great. The melon flavour really came through! There was another icecream dish but serving size minimum was two. I would have tried it if I didn’t travel solo.

Nice view. Cold, windy and sunny. Souvenir ship with outdoor wear. The helicopter is destroying the whole peaceful and lovely scene.

Has a souvenir shop, able to take helicopter ride, and of course a view to boast. They even provide a tripod stand for you to fix ur camera to take pic of yourself at the toya sign. Windy and sunny. No problem with parking. Is a stop for tourist bus as well.

stunning view of the lake, with bathroom and souvenirs to buy , and you can see the mountain view from the parking lot too

It is a very good spot to observe Lake Toya. The place is clean and visitors friendly. I would love to spend more time, and if there is a chance, I would live car camping and overnight at this stop. You can see beautiful Mt Yotei and some other mountains and volcanoes from here.

Come back again after 8 years. The view is still amazing.

The lake is very beautiful but the helicopter is not operating when there's just a little bit of rain already and there is not much to do. I recommend going by car, because else you'll have to wait hours for the next bus, which has to be reserved(!) and there's not much to sit or do. Just a small Cafe and a soba restaurant And or course the souvenir shop The staff of the shop was really nice though and helped us reserving the bus which saved us that day.