Rusutsu, one of Hokkaido’s top resorts offers forest runs, snowboarding, dog sledding, and snowmobiling. Sapporo Teine, high above Sapporo, gives amazing views over the city. There’s a fantastic variety of ski locations. Hakuba Valley hosted a number of events during the 1998 Winter Olympics - Shutterstock But over the past few years, the country has seen a slow but steady increase in tourists during December, as people outside the country get wise to its amazing winter sport offerings.īeing part of the Pacific volcanic zone, Japan has a massive amount of hot springs bubbling beneath its surface, so at many of the 500 or so ski resorts, not only can you spend the day on the piste, when you’re done you can relax and take advantage of the various hot spring facilities. Most people would think of going to Japan in the spring or autumn, timing their visits with one of the great festivals, or with the blossoming of the famous cherry trees. But what about heading to another of the world’s great ski centres? Let’s start with a spot of winter sport, shall we? If you’re in Europe or North America, there are many famous places to ski: names like Chamonix, Aspen, Val d’Isere and Whistler might be familiar to you even if you’ve never strapped skis to your feet in your life.
