In 2008, Niseko was voted as one of the world’s top 10 ski resorts.

Suddenly Niseko’s winter tourism boomed, with hundreds of thousands of overseas ski and snowboarding enthusiasts making their way to Niseko each year ever since.

It was an exciting time for Hokkaido locals, as well as for Australians escaping from their hot summer!

The ski resort rapidly adapted to the inbound tourism with English-speaking services, including English ski lessons and English speaking staff at the hotels.

This is great for international families as it is so easy to communicate in English!

Niseko is made up of 4 connecting resorts that can be skied on one lift pass.

See the full ski map here 

1. Hanazono
2. Grand Hirafu
3. Niseko Village
4. Annupuri

Below are the key links for each of these 4 resorts. Note that skiers often stay at one resort, and then you have the option to catch a shuttle bus to the other resorts in Niseko. So you can take advantage of all the services and activities that each resort has to offer.

Links:

• Kids ski lesson:
  • Hanazono:
    • Group lessons at different levels available in English for age groups 3-6 and 7-14 years
    • Click here for website
  • Grand Hirafu:
    • Beginner kids group lessons available in English for age group 3-5 years
    • Click here for website
    • For more experienced kids, group lessons available for age group 4-5 and 6-12 years
    • Click here for website
  • Niseko Village:
    • Private ski lessons available for children aged 3-6 years
    • Click here for website
    • Family private ski lessons available for families with children over 3 years <http://www.niseko-village.com/en/white/niseko-village-snow-school.html >
    • Group ski lessons available for kids 6-12 years and snowboarding lessons for 7-12 years < http://www.niseko-village.com/en/white/niseko-village-snow-school.html >
  • Annupuri:
    • Group lessons are available in Japanese, but private ski lessons are available in English for children aged 4-6 years and 7 years and older <http://annupuri.info/winter/english/ >

• Kids activities:
  • Hanazono:
    • Tube park
  • Grand Hirafu:
    • Hirafu kids snow park
    • Family nature hiking trail 
  • Niseko Village:
    • Winter activities include trekking tours, snow rafting, and reindeer sledding 
• Babysitting service:
  • Grand Hirafu: daycare facility for children aged 6 months – 6 years
  • Niseko Village: daycare facility for children aged 1- 6 years
  • There are a range of independent babysitting and daycare services in Niseko. Click here to see the details
• Accommodation – there are many hotels in Niseko. The ski-in ski-out hotels at Niseko Village are great as they are family-friendly and provide free shuttles to all the other resorts in Niseko. If you prefer apartment-style accommodation there are also many options available.
  • Kasara Niseko Village
  • Hilton Niseko Village  – this hotel is particularly family friendly with children’s menu in the restaurant, baby cribs available, high chairs and a playground.
  • The Green Leaf Hotel  – includes kids play area with complimentary sleds and snow tubes
• How to get there: 2.5 hours by bus from New Chitose Airport.
• Address: Kutchan-cho, Abuta-Gun, Hokkaido

Have fun!

Photo: Grand Hirafu website