How to Ski Niseko, Japan on a Budget
Niseko is one of Japan’s most well-known ski resorts for good reason—huge powder, vast terrain, and world-class facilities. However that fame has come with increasingly high prices, from accommodation to food. Here is how you can still visit Japan’s powder heaven on a budget!
This is my second winter I have spent in Niseko as a snowboard instructor, so I know the town, ski resort and surrounding area inside out. It is one of my favourite mountains I have ever skied/snowboarded – the snow here is incomparable to anything I’ve experienced before.
Working here as an instructor means finding all the best ways to save money, especially in a place as expensive as Niseko. So, here are all my top tips on skiing Niseko on a budget, including accommodation, food, rentals and more.
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How to get to Niseko on a budget:
The closest airport to Niseko is New Chitose Airport (CTS) in Sapporo. From there it takes about 3 hours to Niseko Ski Resort. Check out my full guide for more detailed information on the journey: 👉 How to Get From New Chitose Airport to Niseko on a Budget.
There are three options to get to the resort – private shuttle, bus or train, with train being the cheapest:
🚅 Train is budget-friendly and does not need to be pre-booked, but you will need to change trains 1-2 times so not ideal if you have a lot of luggage (though I have done it with a suitcase and board bag before and it was fine). You can search for your journey here. Costs about $20.
🚍 Bus is the happy medium. It is a little more expensive (around $35) and you need to pre-book in advance, but your luggage is taken care of. I would recommend the Hokkaido Resort Liner which you can book here, but there are also the Hokkaido Chūō Bus and the White Liner.
There are also a bunch of direct shuttle buses which are more expensive but will often even drop you right by your hotel. Some hotels even have their own private ones. Options are NDS, Sky Express and NGS, or check out Get Your Guide here.
How to visit Niseko on a budget?
Niseko has certainly skyrocketed in popularity recently, and the prices in the ski resort with it. While this isn’t a budget resort, it is certainly possible to visit within a certain budget.
Here are my top tips and tricks to save money when skiing in Niseko:
Where to stay in Niseko on a budget?
I have actually written a whole guide on where to stay on a budget in Niseko, you can find it here.
The overall rule is that you will find cheaper hotels and home stays if you are slightly outside the main ski resort towns. The nearby town of Kutchan is a great example and actually where a ton of those working in Niseko have their accommodation. There are buses that go to the ski resort for about 600yen and a free night bus, or you could rent a car (can be cheap if split between a few people).
If you do have a car, staying about a 20 minute drive away from Niseko will mean you can find accommodation at a fraction of the price.
Here are some good properties with public transport options to Niseko that are pretty affordable:
Midtown Niseko – located just outside Hirafu, this hotel offers decent rooms at a fair price, especially during peak season. It is also located along the free resort shuttle line and around 25 minutes walk from the ski lifts.
Pensione Uno – this pension offers super affordable and clean rooms with great transport links to all resorts. Annupuri is the closest and reached by bus in only 10 minutes.
Yellow House – this hotel is located in Kutchan, where you will also find a lot of staff accommodation for those working in resorts. It has hence got several public transport links (paid and free shuttles). They offer affordable dorms beds and rooms.
Bistare Kana – this hotel is along the free shuttle line and close to Annupuri with reviews mentioning that the host will even drop you off at the gondola in the mornign for first chair. If that isn’t service, I don’t know what is!
👉 Related article: Where to Stay in Niseko? A Breakdown of the 4 Villages
Where to eat in Niseko on a budget?
Restaurants in Niseko (especially Hirafu) are very expensive and often fully booked during peak dates. If your accommodation has a kitchen, the absolute cheapest way would be to cook your own food.
Seicomart is right in Niseko Hirafu and has a bunch of options, but there are also several supermarkets like MaxValu and Lucky in Kutchan. I personally tend to cook almost every single night. You can e.g. find pre-made Ramen in the fridge section and then get a bunch of veggies for super cheap and have an amazing meal.
If you are on a very tight budget and don’t have a car, the convenience stores like Seicomart and Lawson that are right on Niseko Highstreet are a good option:
- Seicomart’s Hot Chef has some delicious options for $3-4
- So many instant noodle options
- Their sushi and Onigiri section is also delicious and cheap.
If you still want to eat out, I would recommend heading outside the city centre. Restaurants in e.g. Kutchan are much cheaper already, with meals around $5-7.
There are also plenty of food trucks all around Hirafu that have meal options for around $10.
For cheap restaurants within Niseko Hirafu city centre, I can recommend:
- Tsubara Tsubara
- Bar Moon (my favourite)
- Tozanken Ramen
- Teuchi-Soba Ichimura
👉 Related article: The Best Places to Eat in Niseko, Japan
When to visit Niseko to keep it budget-friendly?
The cheapest time to visit Niseko is probably March and usually there is still good snow then. The spring lift tickets start from the 23rd of March and prices drop significantly. Snow can be variable this late in March, though last year it was still really nice.
💡Insider tip: Seasonnaires start to sell their gear for cheap in February and March on Facebook Marketplace. So you usually can just buy a cheap ski/board setup instead of renting during those months.
Accommodation prices will also drop significantly during this time. The same applies to early season which is usually up to Mid-December, though the snow is a huge gamble then.
If you want a better chance of powder snow while still having slightly lower accommodation prices, go in the shoulder season of late-Jan/early-Feb. Just avoid Chinese New Year!!
How to keep lift ticket and rental prices down in Niseko?
Niseko has 2 types of lift ticket. One includes only Hirafu and Hanazono mountains and is slightly cheaper, one includes all four resorts. Annupuri and Niseko Village are worth visiting on powder days or if you’re an advanced rider. For beginners, you really won’t need the all mountain pass.
Another way to keep lift prices down during peak season is to get hourly passes instead of day ones. E.g. if you know you only ski 4ish hours a day, a 30 hour pass ( ¥63,600) will be a better deal for a week holiday than the 7 day pass (¥70,300).
There is also a 4-hour pass option that is much cheaper for after 12pm. I love hour tickets because once you start the hour, you can enter a lift at minute 59 and it won’t charge you again, so you can usually get more than an hour out of it.
In general, lift tickets are cheaper to pre-purchase online. And as discussed in the previous point, spring passes from the 23rd March are much cheaper than regular ones. Check the official website for exact prices.
💡Insider tip: In February and March, people will start to sell hourly passes on Facebook for cheap. Hourly passes are officially transferrable. I wouldn’t recommend buying the season pass tickets on Facebook as they aren’t transferrable and will get you banned if caught.
For rentals, it’s often cheaper to rent slightly away from the ski lifts in the town or even in Kutchan. The stores right by the slopes are by far the priciest. Some airlines allow you to bring a ski bag at no extra cost, so that is worth checking out too.
How to get around Niseko on a budget?
There are shuttle buses that go between the four areas of Niseko which are free for those with an All-Mountain lift pass (otherwise charged by distance – 200-600yen). They are the Niseko United Bus and Hanazono Shuttle Bus.
Hirafu itself has several free shuttle buses too, taking you to lower Hirafu or Midtown. Check out routes and prices here.
There is also buses to Kutchan which costs about 500yen during the day, or free at night (check the timetable here).
More information on a ski holiday in Niseko:
When should you come to Niseko for the best snow?
It’s impossible to predict the exact time that you will experience the best snow. It changes slightly every year. In general, mid-December to late February is when Niseko gets consistent snow and lots of powder days.
It’s hard to predict when exactly it will dump. Last year we had an amazing December and no snow in January, this year it was the other way round. I would say that by February you’ll usually have enough snow to be powdery any day.
Other resorts near Niseko to explore:
Other resorts around Niseko can also be super beginner-friendly and are fun to explore. Some of the best resorts near Niseko are:
- Moiwa – really close to Niseko and reachable by bus, this is one of my favourite resorts. The snow here is unbeatable and it is usually a little quieter than Niseko. They have great beginner slopes.
- Rusutsu – This resort is a great day trip from Niseko. The resort is pretty big and varied with great options for any ski/snowboard level.
- Kiroro – another smaller resort with fantastic snow, this is worth keeping an eye on for those powder days.
How many days do you need in Niseko?
How many days to spend in Niseko really depends on what your are looking to do as well as your level of ski/snowboard. I would highly recommend a minimum of 4-5 days for anyone looking to hit the slopes (even beginners as it takes around 3 days to start to feel comfortable outside of the beginner hill), more for those with snow sports experience and looking to explore the full four resorts in Niseko as well as other ski hills in Hokkaido. In that case, you will want at least a week, even two if you have the time.
👉 Related Article: Ultimate Guide to a Ski/Snowboard Holiday in Niseko this Winter
Tours and activities around Niseko:
Niseko has lots of other things to offer outside of skiing/snowboarding. Check out my full guide on the 7 best ones here , including snow shoeing, the incredible Japanese Onsen (hot mineral baths) and nightlife.
Is Sapporo worth visiting?
Yes, if you have the time I recommend planning in one day to see Sapporo. The city has lots to offer. I’d especially recommend visiting during the yearly Sapporo Snow Festival (usually in the beginning of February) – the ice sculptures are incredible.
Hi, I'm Bell
I’m a solo traveller, writer and designer. I created my blog to share the many different ways to travel the world. Learn more about me here!
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