We spent two days with Niseko Cat Skiing Day Tours, a Saturday and Tuesday in mid-February. The driver/guide was prompt to pick us up (2 guests) at our lodging in Niseko and was informative during the drive to our starting point. We received basic beacon, probe and shovel instruction before heading out in the cat with 4 other guests (3 other during our stay). The guide and driver were great - always helpful with instruction and equipment. The snow conditions were equally awesome. The one thing we didn't get until we experienced it firsthand was the tight fit of the cat - not like American/Canadian or European snow cats and the noise. They are slow but the tracks to spots where we dropped were small too. The lunch on the mountain both times were tasty (box lunches) with soups and waters on the side. Overall, we really enjoyed the trip but we wish we could have done more runs and or had a bit more vertical. Nevertheless, it was a great experience overall. See our video here

Rising Sun was extremely responsive, professional, and provided an overall awesome experience. Avy briefing was quick and effective, guide was knowledgeable, and the powder was insanely deep. Wish the terrain was a bit steeper, but it was high avy danger so can't complain. Lots and lots of pillows in their zone. See our video here

Rising Sun Guides provided my sons (20 and 18) and I (54) with the greatest day we have ever had on the snow. I am a skier and they both snowboarders and we all had an amazing day. There were 2 cats with no more than 6 people in each cat. We saw each other once so we had an incredible experience. This was not our first time back country skiing/boarding but it was our first time cat skiing, and what an amazing intro it was. We have probably not done cat skiing until now because of the price, but it was worth every cent. We had 8 runs on waist deep powder. The runs were varied in length some shorter than others but always exhilarating. This tour does not use old ski resorts so they’re more steeps. The cat was was an old taxi and only added to the day!
Our guides Sam and Chris, and cat driver Adam were the most accomodating and genuinely enthusiastic crew we could have hoped for - Rising Sun Guides are lucky to have them.
Do yourself a huge favour and book a day or four with Rising Sun, you will not regret it. Footnote - the sandwich lunch is also amazing!!! See our video here

The guides are very nice and friendly, and the snow quality is amazing! The only thing I'm sad about is the terrain. I don't enjoy the terrain a single bit. There's nothing above tree line, and most of the terrain is tight trees, with branches sticking out everywhere. I love tree skiing usually, but only when it's spaced apart nicely. But on this cat tour there's a lot of tight and steep sections that's not wide enough for my skis to fit sideways, and I have to nudge back and forth to get down and sometimes slide on my butt. Yes, I'm not very skilled. Everybody else in the tour loved it because they're much better than me, they jump through tree branches, or point their skis straight downhill then do a sharp turn, which is all beyond my skills. I like steep terrain (which is why I booked the Rising Sun cat tour because it's advertised as steep), but I can't handle steep and narrow at the same time.

Each run is 200m vertical. The first 100m is all steep narrow trees, and only the bottom 100m is wide open terrain. So the "fun" turns section is very short.

My biggest complaint is the advertising. I think this tour should be advertised as "Expert to Extreme", not "Advanced to Expert". Being "Advanced" just allows me to get down, but does not allow me to have fun. Being Expert, or be able to jump and navigate steep narrow trees, is the minimum requirement in order to have fun. (Just FYI, I've booked 2 other tours in Japan before advertised as Advanced to Expert, and the terrain is much easier, wide open, and I'm not the worst skier in the group).

Another complaint is the advertisement video: https://vimeo.com/264567949. I watched it before booking, and the terrain on the video looked wide enough. But the video doesn't show the top 100m of the run which is always narrow. Therefore I find the video misleading too.

Anyway, if you love jumping on pillows and between tree branches then book this tour and knock yourself out. If you can't jump then don't bother.

Response from Andrew, owner of Rising Sun Guides:
Thanks for the feedback and we`re really sorry to hear that the day didn`t meet your expectations. We do feel that advanced to expert accurately describes our terrain however we also recognize that these terms can be misunderstood. We have added some additional information about recommended skill level to our website to provide more context.

We do try to market our cat ski operation as the steepest and most challenging cat ski operation within day trip reach of the Niseko area. From your comments it does sound like that message was received but we apologize if anything was unclear.

Regarding the promotional video, we do feel that this accurately reflects the terrain and snow quality that can be expected on a regular day at our cat operation. It is important to note though that snow conditions change daily, over the course of the season and from year to year. Earlier in the winter, guests can expect tighter lines more brush and more defined pillows as our snowpack develops. Later in the winter, we`ll have a deeper base helping to open up wider lines.

This video was filmed on a single day when the Powder Hounds visited us to check out our operation as regular guests. It was not a specially selected day but rather our best effort to accurately demonstrate a day in our cat zone.

Thanks again for your feedback! The Rising Sun Crew See our video here

Guide was excellent, spoke perfect English and had an impressive knowledge of the land. Japan was in an awful snowfall year but we were blessed with 18+ inches overnight so we couldn’t tell at all. Snow cats were a little old, slow and outdated, runs were a little shorter than we would have liked but the terrain itself was unreal. Perfect level of challenging / fun with pillows, trees, and deep pow. Only reason I give it the thumbs down for doing it again is the price per vertical feet when you do the math. 5,600 vertical feet, on 9 runs for over 500$. I don’t regret it in the least, I just treated it as an amazing once in a lifetime day at that price. See our video here

Went with Rising Sun guides cat skiing while in Niseko. This was my first experience cat skiing. It had snowed the day before so we had 8 fun powder runs through some steeper terrain and trees. I had some safety concerns about the cats. They seriously need to upgrade them. Before the first run the guide and driver both got out and the cat started rolling backwards with myself and all the clients inside. The driver tried to jump back in and missed and was being dragged along as we rolled backwards. I thought she was going to have her legs rolled over! Luckily everyone was ok. Overall the day was ok but I dont think this is worth the price since the runs were super short compared to time spent crammed in uncomfortable cat. Maybe thats the norm in cat skiing since it was my first time going I can’t be sure. They did bring along a photographer who got some awesome action pictures of us! See our video here

Andrew the owner of Rising Sun Guides had told us that the cat skiing terrain was uniquely steep for Japan cat skiing, so we knew the day was going to be pretty good. And we weren’t disappointed – it was amazing! It was a bluebird day (which is rare) so there were amazing views of Big Bertha (Yotei), and whilst the powder wasn’t deep the snow was soft and nice to ride.

Pros
Rising Sun Cat Skiing completely breaks any stereotypes that Japanese cat skiing (and skiing in Japan in general) can’t be steep and deep. Rather than being an old ski resort that’s converted into cat skiing as is typically the case in Japan, the terrain here is proper backcountry.

The Niseko region is renowned for its amazing snowfalls that possess both quality and quantity. The location in the Niseko region is also a huge pro because you can combine a day or more of cat skiing with everything else that Niseko has to offer: resort skiing; backcountry touring; nightlife; restaurants; activities etc.
The guiding is of high quality and the guide to guest ratio is high. You feel safe.

Cons
A day of cat skiing doesn’t involve a lot of vertical and each run is rather short. It’s all about the quality not the quantity.
The cat skiing terrain size isn’t large (as is common in Japan) but at least the resets come frequently.

Pro or Con Depending On Your Perspective
The retro snowcat was primitive yet very funky. The snowcat wasn’t as comfortable as a standard snowcat cabin, but it was a very cool cat!

You can see our full Rising Sun Cat Skiing review here. See our video here

My buddy and I had an amazing time cat skiing with Rising Sun guides. Not only were the guides great, and the selection of runs, but we lucked out and got a ridiculous amount of snow both before and during our cat skiing experience.

I grew up in a major ski resort and I've never seen that much snow in my life. So much fun. Stoked for next season - already planning on coming back to Niseko. See our video here

We had a really fun day cat skiing with Rising Sun Guides. They have lots of fun terrain with drops, rolls and pillows in the trees and plenty of room on private property so you don't have to compete with other groups. The guides are super nice and competent. They had 30cms new snow which covered most of the tracks in the area. We skied 8 runs around 200 meters each. See our video here

Had two great days and were very lucky quite a lot of fresh snow each morning. The guides were very friendly and knew well. CATs have seen their best days but were still up to the task. Slopes were good but could be slightly steeper at some parts. See our video here