In spring, they come for cherry blossoms. In autumn, for a leaf tour.
More travelers are currently booking winter trips to Japan. The country’s reputation as a world-class ski destination continues to seduce visitors from the Asia-Pacific.
Foreign visitors to Japan have risen 33% from past pandemic levels this winter. According to the Japan National Tourism Agency, approximately 10.5 million visitors arrived from December 2024 to February 2025, starting from 7.9 million people in the same period in 2018.
A report released by Visa shows that many, along with other ski areas like Yamagata and Yuzawa, flocked to the powdery slopes of Niseko and Hakuba, which received a record number of international tourists last winter.
According to Visa, visitors to Japanese ski destinations were above pre-pandemic levels in the winter of 2023. It didn’t stop – international arrivals rose by another 50% over this past ski season, it said.
According to Visa, about 30% of visitors were from Australia, 20% from the US and 15% from Southeast Asia.
International visitors are also promoting spending, with average daily spending spending more than three times as much as local skiers, according to a report by Visa.
Domestic demand declines
However, many ski towns in Japan are struggling. People without international crowds are tackling a decline in domestic demand, which has fallen 75% since the country’s heyday of skiing in the early 1990s.
According to local media reports citing data from the Japan Productivity Center, the number of skiers and snowboarders in Japan fell from 18.6 million in 1993 to 4.6 million in 2023 as the population and birth rates fell from 18.6 million in 2023, and younger generations found other ways to spend their free time.
The number of ski resorts in Japan has also decreased, according to the Japan Times, the largest English newspaper in the country. This includes once Nigata prefecture, which has long been considered one of Japan’s best skiing spots.
Canada’s Harvey Glick has been on snowboarding trips in Japan for nearly 20 years. He said abandoned ski resorts, and “just wandering around,” can be seen in the country stars and Hokkaido.
“We’ve seen incredible changes over the past 20 years,” he said. Now, “We’re focusing on foreign, international skiing or snowboarding travelers because they spend more than domestic ones and are trying to create this luxury brand of Japan.
On January 20, 2023, he was a skier at Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu Ski Resort in Kutchan, Hokkaido Prefecture. Niseko is seen as an industry success story dealing with decades of decline from skiers across the country.
Hayashi Noriko | Bloomberg | Getty Images
This is nothing more obvious than Niseko and Hakuba, he said. He has English-speaking workers and slopes on his staff that elicit sparkling word-of-mouth reviews.
Singapore resident Aman Narain said that on recommendation from a friend he has led him to book a trip to club Med Tomamu in Hokkaido for his family’s first ski trip.
“Japan and Club Med will create the perfect duo to learn how to ski with soft, generous snow and great set-ups, especially for kids,” Narain said.
Resort rates included lift passes and ski lessons as well as equipment rentals. This was major,” he said.
Narain visited in January during the New Year holidays of the month, and when he left, it estimates that 80% of other hotel guests came from China.
According to a report by Visa, Japan is currently the top ski destination for travelers on mainland China.
Cindy de Aude, South Africa, who first went to Niseko 22 years ago, said she and her family have been ordinary visitors for the past decade.
“A Hong Kong customer has been extinguishing since Covid,” she said.
She said prices have risen, as there are calibers for hotels and restaurants. “The restaurant scene has become quite upscale. These days, you’ll need to advance booking accommodation and restaurants a year ago.”
But one thing hasn’t changed, she said: “The snow remains fantastic.”
Complex emotions
According to Prateek Sanghi, Head of Consulting and Analytics for Asia Pacific, Visa data showed that almost half of all international visitors this winter went to Niseko. Hokkaido’s popular ski resort areas also account for more than half of overseas spending during the peak winter ski season.
However, Nagano’s Tail UBA, sometimes called “Second Niseko,” has achieved its status, Sangi said.
“Hakuba is the fastest growing overseas card spending year-over-year, accounting for around 35% of overseas visits,” he said.
This is part of the reason why Glick says he is now avoiding Niseko and Hakuba completely.
“I don’t like the new character and culture that evolved there,” he said. “Because prices are going through the roof, I think they’re blocking a lot of averages or even high incomes.”
Answer to the Reddit Post complaining about the Niseko crowd as seen on March 31, 2025.
Many online also lamented the popularity of resort towns. A Reddit poster in January complained about Niseko:
In response, another commenter wrote: “There are about 500 ski resorts in Japan, many of which are practically empty.”
This is where Glick said he’s going snowboarding now.
“I’m looking for little mountains that have a Japanese vibe for them,” he said. “There are no other foreigners.”
Investment inflows
The growing international interest in skiing in Japan is to encourage an influx of investment as foreigners scooped up their homes and poured money into resort development.
In 2023, Singapore-based Patience Capital Group announced a $1.42 billion mega resort at Myoko Kogen, a popular ski destination in Niigata prefecture. Reuters reported in late March that the company is in discussions to reopen its funds to new investors.
However, not everyone praises Japan’s “third” Niseko idea.
Locals are worried that the jobs and tourist dollars that resorts produce may not be enough to offset the surge in real estate and food prices, a deterioration in Japan’s long-standing cultural practices, according to Reuters. The current video posted in February shows a Japanese man standing up against Australian tourists about smoking on the bottom of a ski slope.
“Many skiers from Japan struggle a little because they see these towns becoming something other than Japanese ski resorts,” Glick said.
For now, he said he is sticking to an independent resort where English is not spoken so widely.
Plus, “A daily lift pass is like $35.”
– CNBC’s Bella Stoddart contributed to this report.
