Skiing in Niseko

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
8
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
4
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
9
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
4
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
6
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
8
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
72 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
132nd/454
Top 30%
continent
Asia
country
Japan
Length of time
3-4 days
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$290 ($600-$1,000 in 2020 prices)
Time of year visited
March
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Wow Factor
The wow factor reflects just how much you’re likely to say “wow”. As there’s a lot of experiences in the world, and a lot of wows, i’ve gone with a simple ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️ score, and a separate category for the truly "gash"
⭐⭐⭐
Summary

Niseko has a strong shout for being the world’s best skiing destination. Yes, yes, I know the North American sites have vast slopes and every other room has a hot tub; the Alps are wonderful for their apres and interconnected communities; and I get that Queenstown has bungee jumping, but there are 3 killer reasons for why Niseko has to take the crown:

  1. It is the undisputed King of Powder, with 15m / 50ft of wonderful light powdery stuff on AVERAGE each year
  2. Its Japan.  This means that everything works perfectly, people are 10/10 polite (no fighting over chair lifts), you finish your ski with an Onsen and the food . . . even the most basic of meals demands a quality zat wud mek even ze french jelos!
  3. The views.  Think less endless mountain chains, and more looking at the perfect conical volcano of Yotei-zan, aka Hokkaido’s Mount Fuji
It can be expensive, especially around the holidays, but a must experience if you’re a skier
Highlights
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1. The powder! 15m / 50ft dumped on average each year

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2. The amazing views from the slopes, including the iconic Yotei-zan volcano that can be seen from most runs

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#3 The food!

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#4 Some of the quirky bars, especially ones like Bar Gyu with its famous fridge door entrance

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#5 That it is Japan - every works and is just done perfectly. Especially the Onsens after a long day of skiing

Travel Tips

  • The hotel prices seemed on the high side.  We got 2 AirBnBs right by the Hirafu Gondola, which worked out well as it was a great location.  Came to around USD800 per person (there were 7 of us), which included accommodation for 6 nights, plus cleaning and a 4 day ski pass
  • There are heaps of great restaurants, but I’d particularly recommend Abucha 2 (Izakaya) and Ezo Seafoods
  • There’s also plenty of bars ranging from the just-get-lashed-style of Wild Bill’s to the super cool Bar Gyu with its fridge door entrance
  • Avoid Chinese New Year, sounds a shit show
  • Consider staying for a little longer in Hokkaido.  We headed over to Toya National Park to stay by the volcanic lake in one of the Ryokans.  Worth a trip to see a different side of Hokkaido and Japan and see Staying in a Ryokan by Lake Toya-ko for more ideas and tips
Experiences nearby

The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences

Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences — from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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