Furano Ski Resort

Measured by us across 3,069 ski areas by one identical method. These are not the resort’s own published figures.

The quality score deliberately excludes how much snow falls — it uses temperature, frequency, rain and wind. Snowing a lot and snowing well are different things.

Counted from the runs and lifts drawn on OpenStreetMap, within the boundary of the ski area. These are not the resort’s own published figures.

See past trail maps on Skimap.org ↗

Source: OpenSkiMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0). How finely ski areas are drawn varies by region, so treat the counts as indicative. Vertical is the difference between the highest and lowest points of the mapped runs and lifts.

Road conditions decide whether you can get there at all. Check before you leave.

Footage remains the copyright of each operator. JAPANSNOWLINE neither stores nor redistributes it.

2 hot spring sources with published analyses lie within 5 km of this ski area, nearest first (the hottest is 40 °C).

These are analyses of hot spring sources, not a list of baths you can visit. They date from 1910 to 2005, many from decades ago, so today’s temperature and chemistry may differ. Names are as recorded in Japanese. Temperature and pH bands follow Japan’s standard for analysing hot springs.

Source: processed from the hot spring analysis data in the Geothermal Information Database (GRES-DB), Geological Survey of Japan, AIST

Places within 20 km of this ski area, for a day off the slopes or an evening. Chosen from those most read about on Wikipedia, favouring places with an English Wikipedia article, and listed nearest first.

Based on the Japanese Wikipedia lists of sights in each prefecture, as compiled in travel-log-data (CC BY-SA 4.0). English names from Wikidata (CC0). The content of this section is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Accommodation data: OpenStreetMap

• When Japan's Ski Resorts Open for 2026/27, and Whether There Will Be Snow When They Do Japan's 2026/27 season opens on 20 November at Sapporo Kokusai, 21 November at Sapporo Teine and 28 November at Niseko, Rusutsu, Kiroro and Furano. Dates checked on each resort's own site, set beside what December actually delivers: in Hokkaido about as much snow as January, in Nagano and Niigata about four-fifths.
• Furano Is Being Called the Next Niseko. Its Snow Record Says Something More Interesting. Land in Furano's Kitamine district rose 27.1% in 2025, the steepest in Japan, and Hong Kong, Malaysian and Marriott money has followed. But Furano ranks 237th of 397 Japanese ski areas for snowfall. What it does have is the steadiest winter of any big-name resort in the country: 13% variation over 12 winters, and 93% of normal in the El Niño year that cut Niseko to 57%.
• Who Is Buying Japan's Ski Resorts — and What the Snow Data Says They Actually Bought A Singapore fund took Madarao and Myoko Suginohara. China's Fosun took Kiroro, its hotels and the Club Med brand on top of them. Hong Kong and Malaysian money is in Furano, an Indonesian group is looking at Minami-Furano — and Vail Resorts, the largest ski company on earth, owns nothing here at all. Set against twelve winters of measurements, the buyers and the pass companies are chasing two different things.
• Skiing Japan from Australia and New Zealand: What the Snow Data Says Australia's snowiest ski area ranks 966th in the world. 246 Japanese ski areas get more snow than Perisher. And Japan's season opens two months after yours closes.
• Niseko vs Whistler: Whistler Is the Outlier, Vail Is the Rule Whistler is the world's 29th snowiest ski area. Vail is 1,335th — and 288 Japanese ski areas get more snow than the resort that defines American skiing.
• Niseko vs Yongpyong: The Gap Is Bigger Than Anyone Says Yongpyong is Korea's most famous ski resort and ranks 2,539th in the world. Niseko gets 3.4 times its snow, and 384 of Japan's 397 ski areas beat Yongpyong outright.

Updated: 8 Oct 2026, 00:52

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