Japan Cat Skiing
Snowcat skiing is one of the finest adventures for avid powder hounds and Japan cat skiing provides fresh powder galore, there’s no competition to get to the untracked snow, and you don’t have to hike to get to the goods. Cat skiing in Japan offers the ultimate scenario due to the superb quality and quantity of the powder, especially with Hokkaido cat skiing where the powder is particularly delicious!
Style of Cat Skiing in Japan
Most Japan cat skiing differs significantly to that in British Columbia Canada, the home of snowcat skiing. Firstly many of the Japanese cat ski operations are situated at old ski resorts that were built during the lavish bubble era when money grew on trees. Now with the economic downturn, enterprising snowcat operators utilise some of the abandoned ski resorts (e.g.
Chisenupuri Snowcats, Hachimantai Cat Skiing, or
Iwanai Cat Skiing at a partially operational resort), so some of the runs are on the ungroomed “piste” and there’s also plenty of tree skiing.
And synonymous with many of the ski resorts, the Japan cat skiing terrain isn’t particularly steep, especially relative to many
Canada cat skiing outfits. Much of the Japanese cat skiing is ideal for strong intermediate to advanced riders and those relatively new to powder skiing (e.g.
Hachimantai Cat Skiing,
Chisenupuri Cat Skiing,
Niseko Weiss Powder Cats).
Other common characteristics of Japanese snowcat skiing relative to
BC cat skiing is that there are no multi-day trips staying in backcountry lodges, the vertical drop per run and the vertical covered each day is not substantial, and the terrain size is generally rather small. However powder resets are very common so fresh tracks are generally not a problem, and Japan is ichiban for the quality, quantity and consistency of the snow.
A few Japan cat skiing outfits just offer single runs, and a few of them are incredibly lame whereby you just ski or snowboard down a groomed run!
One operation that breaks the Japanese cat skiing stereotype is
Shimamaki Snowcat Adventures.
Niseko Cat Skiing Hokkaido
Niseko is the most popular Japanese ski resort for international travellers hunting for powder, so it’s no surprise that the greatest concentration of Hokkaido cat skiing operations is found around Niseko. See the
Niseko cat skiing page for more comparisons of the different operators.
At the former ski resort of Weisshorn next to Hanazono, is the Niseko cat skiing operation of
Niseko Weiss Powder Cats. The Weiss Cat Skiing terrain has some nicely spaced trees and old “piste” runs that are the equivalent of easy blue runs where there’s plenty of room to manoeuvre, so it’s particularly well suited to up and coming powder hounds (strong intermediates), or those looking for a relaxed day of powder skiing.
Rising Sun Niseko Cat Skiing is about 30 minutes from Niseko (transport provided). Instead of being at an old ski resort, this Hokkaido cat skiing outfit has terrain that is located in the true backcountry and it has some steeper terrain, a range of tree spacings, and mushrooms and big pillows for expert riders.
Hokkaido Backcountry Club is running a snowcat operation at the former ski resort of
Chisenupuri, which is the next ski area over from Moiwa (adjacent to Niseko). It’s about a 30 minute drive from Niseko Hirafu to Chisenupuri. The cat skiing is unguided so
Chisenupuri Snowcats is well suited to first time cat skiers and those learning to ride powder who want to go at their own pace, or advanced riders who want the freedom to explore the area by themselves.
Northwest of Niseko near the coast is the outfit that operates from the Iwanai Resort (pronounced “ee-an-eye”), offering unique views across the Sea of Japan on those rare clear days. Only one lift operates at the base of Iwanai Resort whilst the
Iwanai cat skiing occurs in the terrain above this, which was previously serviced by chair lifts.
Stay tuned for a new snowcat skiing outfit in Niseko that's likely to start operations in 2025.
Shimamaki Snowcat Adventures (see below) operates about 2 hours southwest of Niseko, and they provide transfers to and from your Niseko accommodation.
Other Hokkaido Cat Skiing
Hokkaido Backcountry Club offers "real" cat skiing with
Shimamaki Snowcat Adventures. Unlike most cat skiing in Japan that operates out of abandoned ski resorts on small and mellow terrain, Shimamaki is more akin to a Canadian cat skiing experience whereby the trips are multi-day and include accommodation, the terrain is large and has some steeps (trees and above the tree-line), and there are qualified backcountry guides. The main difference compared to Canada cat skiing is that you score the powder that Hokkaido is famous for as well as a traditional Japanese experience. You can feast on powder up to your eye balls, feast on Japanese food, and stay in a traditional Japanese pension and soak in the onsen.
Tomamu Cat Skiing is a relatively long standing outfit in the Japan cat skiing market. Run by the
Tomamu Resort in a backcountry area nearby, a tour comprises about 5 runs a day (only about 2,000 metres of vertical in total). The snowcat tours are only offered on weekends and book up quickly, and they also tend to primarily cater to Japanese speaking guests, although it's possible to be guided by
Whiteroom for a couple of days a season.
Further north in the Daisetsuzan National Park at the former Kitataisetsu Ski Resort is Tengu Snowcats. Like other Japanese cat skiing, the tenure is rather small, the slopes very mellow, and the vertical per run is about 500 metres. A major plus is the quality of the snow with super cold temperatures and north facing slopes. Delectable powder!
Honshu SnowCat Skiing
Honshu cat skiing (i.e. on the main island of Japan) is growing in popularity.
Hikarigahara in the Niigata Prefecture near Jōetsu and Myoko Kogen offers 5-6 runs per day but good luck getting them to respond to an email.
Another snowcat skiing outfit in the vicinity of Myoko is likely to open for 2025, so stay tuned on that one.
Gassan in Yamagata is an incredibly snowy resort that can't open in winter because it has too much snow, but there are
snowcat shuttles in winter for private groups that you can do as part of a backcountry tour in the area.
Alts Bandai/Nekoma offer cat tours in a former part of the resort.
Cat skiing is becoming popular up in northern Tohoku, even though it’s really easy to find fresh powder by just skiing at the ski resorts. Single run (800m vertical)
Shizukuishi cat skiing operates on some days on the old piste on Mt Ko-Takakura which is adjacent to
Shizukuishi Ski Resort or you can do multi-run trips as part of a
Shizukuishi Cat Powder Adventure.
Tazawako Ski Resort offers snowcat rides for backcountry skiing but there’s no guarantee your guide will speak English and it hasn't been operational of late.
Hachimantai Cat Skiing offers full day tours in an area near the
Hachimantai Shimokura Ski Resort. And
Geto Kogen, a powder magnet, sometimes offers snowcat rides up into the backcountry.