This resort was my pick of the trip, I was blessed with good dumps before and during my ride two days in a row. The tree runs are magnificent when open, and you can even snick a few in if the powder isn't too deep, there is nothing worse than not riding the right board and no one clearing a pump track for the way out.

The are plenty of signs to indicate the tree run, but be aware I you start - you will be walking out, as I had the pleasure of doing twice.

The on-piste is pretty meh but I could ride the side pow, and the green areas are super slow.
This place has something for everyone, but I came for the trees and deep pow.
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Well first off, Kiroro is still the king of snow, nothing new to report there. 50+ cm up top after a storm had shut the mountain for a day made for awesome riding even if it was a bit heavier and wind affected. There were only a few gaijin (most people I talked to in Niseko hadn't heard of Kiroro), but it was pretty crowded with lots of locals coming up from Sapporo for the day (and any myth that they don't ride powder is quickly busted when you see the skis and boards they bring). Not to worry, plenty of snow to go around. The gondola was about a 15 minute wait, but Asari Express (the famous double bubble) was empty and you could have your fill from the steep trees.

For 2023 however it seems that certain lifts haven't been running. (Maybe staffing issues?) To start, Gateway express that goes between the hotels and base was closed, so if you park in the lower lots you'll have to take a bus. The two double chairs between the Asari and Yoichi areas seem to have been mothballed, which isn't a huge deal, but it means that the only way to the summit and Asari area is via the gondola. Also Center Express was only being run for night skiing and was closed during the day. All in all what would be a 5 star lift fleet has dropped a bit.
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We visited Kiroro as a day trip from Niseko in early February after a no-show Japanuary, but the powder gods were smiling. There was about 15 cm fresh at the base and 35-40 cm near the top. We were there mid-week, so there weren't many crowds to speak of - only a couple minutes' wait at the gondola in the morning. However, it did take some time to purchase tickets in the basement of one of the big hotels near the base.

The best riding in-bounds was from the top of the gondola down to the Asari No. 2 high speed double lift. We spent the majority of the day lapping that lift. (Take note that the bubbles close automatically, and if you're tall like me, you'll need to duck or else get bonked on the head!) The trees were decently spaced with some steep pitches and small cliffs mixed with flat benches. Snowboarders should avoid the trees to skier's right of the lift unless a clear run-out trail has been well-established.

We did a couple sidecountry runs just to skier's left of the ropes from the summit. For the most part you got 10 great turns in wide open trees before traversing back out. There was plenty of great terrain off of Mt. Yoichi, however the visibility was poor, so attempting to summit was not in the cards for that day.

I can't speak much to the on-piste trails, however it doesn't seem like there's much interesting to speak of. The long trail down from the summit snakes and winds around ridges and doesn't have too much sustained pitch.

A 5 hour ticket cost about 5000 yen, so not terrible but not super cheap either. Overall though it was good value considering we ate freshies all day. I couldn't imagine paying hundreds of dollars per night to stay at one of the resort hotels though. Bottom line, it's great for a day trip, or maybe a couple if you hit it right.
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Too expensive and too busy, throughout my day there all I saw were lines carved into every mountain around the resort and ridges dotted with people. Tree runs in the resort were okay but not worldclass. Unless you have a family I would stay away from these horrible prices.
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It’s rather annoying when skiers and snowboarders wax lyrical about what the Japanese ski resorts used to be like many years ago, before they became inundated with powder punters. So we’re going to be annoying because when we last visited in 2011, Kiroro was a phenomenal powder hound destination where the powder was chest (and neck) deep and there was no one to share it with (in part because off-piste skiing was prohibited). On this visit, Kiroro was a completely different beast and we know we’re partly to blame for letting the cat out of the bag on Kiroro.

One day it was absolutely dumping with snow (which it often does) and it felt like the Niseko based guiding groups were there in droves. The low-hanging-fruit powder disappeared incredibly quickly, and one of the limitations of some of the sidecountry was that the steep-ish terrain was only short lived before you end up on a long mellow track out. Here we witnessed a very undesirable culture from many Euros who were pushy and like rabid dogs. It felt very un-Japanese. There were also a lot of unsavvy skiers and snowboarders entering the sidecountry without avalanche safety gear and dropping in on top of us as we entered terrain traps. Unlike some Japanese ski resorts’ approach to backcountry access, having safety gear is not compulsory at Kiroro.

With just very short skins, it was very easy to get away from the hordes and get delightfully deep powder, the strength that Kiroro continues to be renowned for.

It continued to snow heavily all day (maybe dropping 60-70cm during the day) and in the early afternoon we set off multiple slides in the sidecountry. We reported this, and interestingly they don’t close the BC gates when the avalanche danger is extreme (because they say legally they can’t “control” the backcountry). Wonder if those unsavvy wallies continued to ride down a slope, 5 at a time?!

The two Kiroro hotels have received a make-over in recent years and the tariffs have risen accordingly (plus a bit more). Everything at Kiroro was expensive. For example, at the bar near the kids’ snow park I ordered a corn soup with bread for 850 yen. Out came half a tiny mug of soup (soup like you get in the vending machine for 100 yen) and one cracker. Rip off! But it appears that the many affluent Chinese that stay at Kiroro can afford it, so hats off to Kiroro for capturing this market. The outrageously expensive condos that they’re building should further cement Kiroro’s position as a luxury ski destination, but it remains to be seen if the reasonably small ski area will be able to support the number of on-mountain pillows.

We stayed at The Kiroro, and it’s a lovely hotel but we weren’t so overly impressed with the service. You can check out The Kiroro review here.

Kiroro has some amazing strengths: the family friendliness; the deluxe accommodation; and the copious Hokkaido snow; and if you’re prepared to work just a little, the powder skiing can be phenomenal. But if you’re looking for untracked slopes in lift accessed zones, you might be better off going to Tohoku.
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I had the good fortune to visit in the middle of a huge snow dump on a weekday, so had no crowds and immense amounts of fresh powder when I was there.

By Japanese standards, the prices are pretty steep here—5,800 yen for a day pass is quite high compared to what you can find elsewhere, especially on Honshu; though perhaps not too out of line for similarly large resorts.

But I was most surprised to find lots of in-bounds off-piste areas. While there are of course no-go "danger" areas, there are quite a few really nice tree areas that are even marked with numbered signs as in-bounds off-piste areas. There are several side/backcountry gates, too, that don't seem too complicated to access.

I'd definitely recommend the resort for people looking to enjoy some in-resort off-piste riding.
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Had to get away from Niseko. Rented a car and took about 50 min. It was puking snow there. Rode the off shoot gates and had chest deep snow. Vert is pretty low and stay off the green runs they are flat. Really good place to ride. Pretty busy but you can find amazing tree runs.
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Me and a group of snowboarding friends headed over to Kiroro to try it out due to recommendation for 2 weeks!

Snow: The snow was very light and VERY slightly wetter than more inland resorts. Over the 2 weeks we had around a metre of snowfall. 2016/17 season's January snowfall was 2 metres under average and it was still pretty good. It snowed every day however some days only very light for a few minutes and other days very heavy. Snow is pretty much a guarantee if you come between December and March and almost always has the most in Hokkaido!

Uncrowded: Almost no lift lines other than if the lift stops for a minute or in the morning after a dump. Some slopes can be a little crowded on weekends but considering places like New Zealand, Kiroro is pretty uncrowded. If you are a beginner, be weary of large armies of school kids hogging the entire beginner area.

Lifts: The lift system is decent at Kiroro. You can access any of the 4 main areas of Kiroro from the main base. The lifts were quite fast except the gondola (15 mins) and slow family lift (beginners). All main lifts were hooded. The Yoichi lift was awesome!

On-piste: Sadly, Kiroro does become very boring after a few days if you are only going on-piste. Asari peak was a waste of time for on-piste riding except for the central black run as all of the runs have very tedious flat sections which is a pain for snowboarders. Nagamine is probably your best bet with fast and consistently moderate steepness + no flat sections. The 2 main Yoichi and Centre Express runs are also decent but onpiste does become boring after a few days.

Off-piste: Not as good as Rusutsu or other resorts. Decent tree-skiing to be had through Nagamine and theres a nice tree run between Yoichi red and green runs to base however nothing spectacular. Kiroro is full of small trees with their branches poking out from under the snow and very tight trees. Going out of bounds (sidecountry) requires you to go through a tedious process of filling in a climbing plan before you go! Once you go out the top gates, the first 1 - 2 minutes of riding is amazing but after the fun comes the cat-track or traverse which lasts at least 10 - 15 minutes. The 2 creeks are never filled in so the gully is not an option which makes staying high or a horrible cattrack the only two options. Backcountry is an absolute waste of time, with a guide costing hundreds of dollars for little riding. Our journey was 6 hours walk through a hurricane of wind for 2 - 3 minutes of riding. All in all, even off-piste here is not fun unless you know where to look and even then it does become tedious.

Child-friendly: Was not here with a child so I didn't really pay much attention, however there is a pretty extensive games room in one of the hotels and a good ski academy.

Value: Kiroro was extremely expensive and always looks to rip anyone off! Lift tickets are pricey along with food. Kiroro introduced gates in order to access sidecountry to make you join the Mountain club or pay for a guide. The pool in the resort costs 1500 Yen to enter EVEN IF YOU ARE STAYING THERE!!!!

Nightlife: No real town at Kiroro, only Otaru 40 minutes drive.
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Over the years, we have skied just 11 resorts through Japan but found Kiroro the most satisfying. On Hokkaido, Niseko United and Rusutsu we consider are also very good but for some reason we keep heading back to Kiroro. In fact on the last trip to Japan, we paid good money to stay on snow at Grand Hirafu but ended up doing the daily 45min drive up to ski Kiroro for a week! Quality of snow is the clincher and lack of crowds allows skiing straight onto the very high quality and fast lift systems. You certainly get a lot of ride time here. Unlike other reviewers on Powderhound we have spent plenty of full days here and have not even seen a single patroller let alone get chipped by any. There was barely a foreigner not ducking the ropes to get at the untouched beside any run. Why they put ropes where they do remains a complete mystery as there was no avo, creek or cornice danger. This is not just a Kiroro thing, it is found across Japan IMO. In fact last Xmas at Nozawa and Happo One, it was the ski instructors who told us where to duck the ropes. Back to Kiroro and again unlike others reviewing, we found plenty of tree runs and steeps within the resort boundary. Yes a negative is the the run outs do flatten considerably but skiers should have no problems, but boarders will get annoyed. The hike out the back gate at the top of Asari is one of the easiest to skin up to off piste magic and if you strike it lucky, one of the skidoo adventurers may give you a tow half way across to the main ascent! Most skiers know that you don't do Japan for terrifying steeps or leg sapping vertical metres, its all the about the powder and at Kiroro, this is where you can find it and enjoy it.
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Nice powder off piste but painful long run-outs. Pistes are probably ok for intermediates and beginners but end in long run-outs as well.
Best with a guide as lots of nips and tucks in the terrain that can drag you into creek drainages and then you are in trouble.
I agree uncrowded but gets tracked out quickly if there are any groups of westerners looking for powder. Patrol are a constant concern as they can be nasty according to the locals I skied with.
I gather if you want to walk for a few hours you can get some nice turns out of the resort, but most of us prefer short walks with lots of turns, not the reverse no matter how good the snow. I reckon there are lots of better options in Hokkaido for "powder pigs".
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