Niseko Hirafu is the main heartbeat of Niseko in Hokkaido. Hirafu is the largest of the Niseko villages (although Hirafu Village is probably large enough to be considered a town), and the Niseko Grand Hirafu Ski Resort is also the largest of the four interconnected Niseko United ski areas.
Niseko Japan is famous for the high quality powder that falls in abundance. Niseko is also world renowned as a premier Japanese ski resort due to its huge range of restaurants, bars, shops, and services, yet in reality, these are largely just elements of the Hirafu Village.
Summary of the Pros and Cons of Niseko Hirafu
Pros
- Hirafu has the best developed facilities and services in Niseko, so it has the best choice for snowboard and ski rentals, and the most options for ski and snowboard lessons with an English speaking instructor (group or private format).
- Niseko Hirafu is very family friendly with kids’ lessons, child care, babysitting, and a kids’ play park.
- The Hirafu Village is somewhat unique. There aren’t many Japanese ski resorts that have a village where you can wander around and explore lots of restaurants and shops.
- The nightlife is very vibrant, which is rather rare for a Japanese ski resort.
- Apartments and houses are also rare at Japan ski resorts, but Niseko Hirafu has a multitude of options.
- As part of Niseko United, the Grand Hirafu Ski Resort provides access to extensive terrain (relative to other Japanese ski resorts), and off-piste and sidecountry skiing and snowboarding is permissible.
- Grand Hirafu itself is a decent sized ski area.
- The Hirafu night skiing is very impressive.
- As with all of Niseko, Puki Yuki the snow goddess blesses Hirafu with lots of blower powder.
Cons
- Niseko generally is rather busy, but Grand Hirafu in particular can get a little crazy during peak holidays (see when to ski in Niseko).
- All of Niseko is very expensive relative to most other Japanese ski resorts, and Hirafu accommodation comes with a premium price tag.
- A small amount of the Hirafu accommodation is ski-in ski-out, but much of the lodging sits below the Hirafu ski resort which requires a walk or shuttle bus to get to the slopes.
- For a busy ski resort that charges so much for lift tickets, it’s surprising that the lift infrastructure isn’t better.
Pro or Con Depending on Your Perspective
- Most people speak English in Hirafu and Japanese is not widely spoken. Most of the staff in the hotels, restaurants, ski schools and shops are not Japanese native speakers.
- Some of the pros have come about because Hirafu is very westernised (e.g. nightlife, self-contained accommodation, international ski school).
- Only small amounts of Japanese culture have been retained.
Most other pros and cons outlined on the
Niseko overview also pertain to Hirafu.
Grand Hirafu Ski and Snowboard Terrain
Niseko Grand Hirafu Ski Resort is a decent sized ski area (by Japanese standards) with 30 marked trails (or courses as the Japanese call them in English), 940 metres of vertical (260 - 1,200m), and 12 lifts. These include a gondola and 3 quad chair lifts (only 1 with a hood). Otherwise the lifts are crappy old double chairs, and there’s also the infamous pizza box chair lift at the top which (if it’s open) often attracts some ridiculous lift lines.
The official trail statistics are 30% beginner, 38% intermediate and 32% advanced. The Family run is a good beginner run, although it can get pretty congested, and other beginner runs are concentrated around the gondola base and aren’t that mellow for novices. There are several red runs for intermediates and short black runs that tend to bump up rather quickly.
Hirafu Ski Resort offers some great off-piste skiing including fabulous tree skiing and more open off-piste terrain. A little sidecountry skiing is on offer out gate 9 whilst the terrain to skiers’ right of Hirafu Ski Resort is out of bounds. The Niseko An’nupuri peak is accessed from Hirafu and provides more slackcountry as well as backcountry over the back of the resort.
Grand Hirafu is inter-connected via the slopes and lifts to
Hanazono and
Niseko Village and onto
Niseko Annupuri (so long as ferocious winds haven’t closed lifts down), so a Niseko United lift pass provides access to additional terrain.
Niseko Hirafu Snow
The Niseko snow is world famous for the quantity and quality of the powder, providing Japow at its finest. The slopes have an east to southeast orientation which isn’t usually fantastic for snow quality, but the sun doesn’t actually come out all that often.
Where is Niseko Hirafu?
The Niseko Grand Hirafu Ski Resort and the Hirafu village that sits at the base are located between
Niseko Village and
Hanazono. Hirafu is officially located in Kutchan Hokkaido, although the actual town of Kutchan is 8km to the northeast.
The New Chitose Airport (Sapporo Airport) is the main gateway airport (100km away) and there are airport shuttle buses and private transfers available. See the
travel to Niseko page for more information on location and transport.
Hirafu Accommodation
The Hirafu village can be subdivided into Upper Hirafu (above Highway 343) and Lower Hirafu (below Highway 343). Upper Hirafu is closest to the slopes and includes some ski-in ski-out Hirafu accommodation. Lower Hirafu accommodation is a short walk to the Ace Family lift, or a shuttle to the slopes is required. As a gross generalisation, there are more Hirafu hotels in the upper zone and more big houses and apartments in the lower village.
Nearby are sub-villages that are within walking distance of the hub of Hirafu such as Hirafu East village (Izumikyo) and South Village (some call it West Village), where the cost of accommodation is more affordable.
Search for Hirafu accommodation rates and availability and book online:
Ski Resort Facilities & Activities
Hirafu Ski Resort and Hirafu Village pretty much have whatever amenities and services you may be looking for, including snowboard and ski rentals, snowsports schools, child care, on-mountain eateries, and even the all-elusive international ATMs. See the
Niseko facilities page for more information.
Niseko Hirafu also offers an abundance of activities including ski tours, onsens and day spas. See the
Niseko activities page for more information.