Skiing in Asia

Hokkaido has the most reliable powder in Asia. Niseko is four linked resorts on Mount Annupuri facing the cone of Mount Yotei, with tree runs and gated backcountry, and the most international village in Japan. The Niseko United All Mountain Pass costs about 12,000 yen (80 USD) a day in the 2025-26 regular season. Rusutsu and Kiroro nearby get as much snow with fewer people, and Furano, near Asahikawa, is colder, drier and more Japanese in feel.

On Honshu, Hakuba Valley strings ten resorts below the Northern Alps, steeper and more alpine than Hokkaido, an hour by bus from Nagano and its shinkansen station. Shiga Kogen is Japan’s largest linked ski area, close to the snow monkeys of Jigokudani, and Nozawa Onsen pairs good tree skiing with free village bathhouses. In Tohoku, Zao Onsen is famous for its frost-covered “snow monster” trees and Appi Kogen for long groomed runs.

Most Japanese passes cost about 6,000 to 10,000 yen (40 to 70 USD) a day, cheap by North American standards. Our Skiing in East Asia guide has the resort-by-resort detail, and Best Onsen in Japan covers the après.

Korea’s resorts sit in Gangwon, two to three hours from Seoul. Yongpyong in PyeongChang is the largest and oldest, with the 2018 Olympic slalom courses, and High1 in Jeongseon has long runs off a high ridge. Snow is mostly machine-made, runs are short, and floodlit night skiing is a Korean speciality.

China’s boom centres on Chongli in Zhangjiakou, where the 2022 Olympic resorts are about an hour from Beijing by high-speed train. In the northeast, Yabuli in Heilongjiang is the long-established big resort, easily combined with the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival in January. Expect groomed artificial snow and temperatures of minus 20 C (minus 4 F) or lower.

Gulmarg is a meadow town about an hour and a half from Srinagar. Its two-stage gondola rises from about 2,650 m to the shoulder of Mount Apharwat at about 3,980 m, and the bowls and tree runs below are ungroomed, uncontrolled and largely empty. Phase 1 and Phase 2 tickets cost about 810 and 1,010 rupees (10 and 12 USD). Hire a local guide, carry avalanche gear and check the bulletin. Several Western governments advise against travel to Jammu and Kashmir, so check your advisory and insurance first.

Shymbulak, 25 km above Almaty, is Central Asia’s biggest resort: a cable car from the Medeu ice rink climbs to the base at about 2,260 m, and lifts continue to about 3,200 m. A regular-season adult day pass costs roughly 12,000 to 15,500 tenge (25 to 30 USD), with higher prices over New Year. In Uzbekistan, Amirsoy, about 100 km from Tashkent in the mountains near Chimgan, is a modern resort with gondolas and snowmaking that opened in 2019. Karakol, above Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan, is cheap and uncrowded with good tree skiing. Our Skiing in Central Asia guide covers them.

Japanese resorts open in late November or December, and mid-January to mid-February brings the most powder along with the biggest crowds, especially around Chinese New Year. March is sunnier, quieter and still good in Hokkaido and the high Nagano resorts. Korea runs from about early December to mid-March, China’s northern resorts from November into early April thanks to snowmaking and cold, and Gulmarg and Shymbulak are best from January to March.

Niseko and Hakuba lodging for January and February sells out many months ahead, so book early. In Japan, send skis between the airport and the resort with luggage forwarding (takkyubin). In Korea, Seoul agencies sell packages with bus, lift pass and rental for less than walk-up prices.

Avalanches kill skiers in Hokkaido, Nagano and Kashmir most winters. Leave resort boundaries only through official gates, carry a transceiver, probe and shovel off-piste, and hire a certified guide for Gulmarg’s Apharwat bowls or Japanese backcountry. Get insurance that covers off-piste skiing and mountain rescue, and check it is valid where you are going. For more resorts worldwide, see Best Ski Resorts in the World.