Niseko Resort

Niseko offers unparalleled snow and ski conditions, ski in – ski out accommodation, easy access to and from airport, International standard accommodation. Combined with friendly Japanese culture and stunning natural surroundings, Niseko sets the stage for what will be a truly unforgettable World Airline Ski Championships event.

Many powder hunters flock to the northern island of Hokkaido each winter in search of spectacular deep powder, off-piste runs and challenging terrain. Hokkaido is the coldest and most northern Japanese island and receives some of the best snow there is. Probably the most popular resort in Hokkaido is Niseko, a resort that is fast becoming well-known with skiers and snowboarders throughout the world.

The Mountain

Niseko United consists of four tightly interlinked ski resorts: Niseko Village, Niseko Annupuri, Niseko Grand Hirafu and Hanazono. Each area offers its own facilities, Gondola system (suprisngly no lines) and easy access to fantastic off piste skiing. The Niseko United All Mountain ski pass offers unlimited skiing between the 4 resort areas, free shuttle buses between the village bases well into the evening.

 

The Villages

Niseko Village is the home of the Hilton Resort which will be the base for the 2012 WASC events. The Hilton Niseko Village is a self-contained resort with true ski-in, ski-out (the Gondola leaves virtually from the lobby of the hotel). A regular free shuttle bus provides access to the other villages that make up the Niseko United resort.

Niseko Hirafu is the main village and offers a huge variety of restaurants, bars, clubs and shops that will appeal to all tastes and budgets.

Niseko Hanazono is primarily a family-oriented village with self-catering homes, apartments and condos.

Niseko Annupuri is one of the most popular on-mountain areas in Niseko offering fantastic off-piste skiing easily accessible off either the Niseko Village Gondola or the Niseko Annupuri Gondola. The base of Annupuri consists basically of the Hotel Northern Resort Annupuri and a couple of quite nice restaurants.

Niseko’s world class powder skiing

Over 1,000 ha of back-country terrain welcomes those looking for bottomless turns in champagne powder.

Unlike many other resorts, on a powder day it is easy to find great untracked powder, run after run in Niseko. There are several very high quality off-piste areas which are readily accessible from the lift system and those who are willing to take a short 20 minute hike to the top of Mt Annupuri will be rewarded with a massive back-country area – most of which has return runs to the Hanazono lift system.

Special back-country tours will be organised as part of the WASC event week.

Niseko United Trail Map - click map to display PDF version

 

 

“Niseko United” (included in all mountain pass)	Niseko Grand Hirafu Niseko Hanazono Niseko Village Niseko Annupuri
Resorts in Area	Niseko Moiwa Niseko Weiss Rusutsu Kiroro
Mt Annupuri Mountain Statistics	Peak 1,309m Base 300m Vertical 1,009m
Season	December – April
Annual Snowfall	14 m / 45 feet (average annual)
Piste Information	61 runs / 48 km of groomed piste
Longest run	5.6 km
Terrain	Beginner 30% Intermediate 40% Expert 30%
Snowboarding	4 terrain parks, 1 half pipe
Off Piste	1,000 ha
Lifts	3 Gondolas 27 Chair lifts
Facilities	17 Mountain restaurants
Hours of operation	All mountain: 8.30am – 4.30pm Night skiing: 4.30pm – 8.30pm