How Niseko Has Changed Since 2018 — and What Hasn't

An adult one-day Niseko United All Mountain Pass has gone from ¥7,400 in the 2018-19 season to ¥13,500 in peak season 2026-27. I've lived in Niseko since 2018, and what's changed is the price, plus how many people come in winter and where they come from; what hasn't changed is the light snow that piles up overnight, and the mountain's rules.

If you're coming back after a few years away, the prices are probably what will hit you first. So instead of nostalgia, I lined up official numbers from Niseko United, Kutchan Town and Japan's labour ministry and compared them myself (checked 5 October 2026). For what meals and supermarkets cost now, beyond lift passes, see How expensive is Niseko right now?

The numbers: around 2018 vs now

Sources: Niseko United 2026-27 / 2018-19 (archive), Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare FY2026 / FY2018 (archive), Kutchan Town visitor statistics, Kutchan Town statistics

What's changed

Prices: lift passes up about 1.8x, the wage floor up about 1.35x

On a five-day pass, ¥32,200 has become ¥65,500, nearly double. Over the same stretch, Hokkaido's minimum wage went from ¥835 to ¥1,131, about 1.35 times. In Niseko these past few years, what it costs to play has grown much faster than what it pays to work. The way passes are priced has changed too. In 2018-19 there were two tiers: on season (December 11 to March 20, ¥7,400 a day) and off/last season (November 23 to December 10 and March 21 to May 6, ¥5,100 a day). In 2026-27 the season is split into five periods (early, regular, peak, spring and final), and peak (December 24 to February 28) is the most expensive. Accommodation in Kutchan now carries an accommodation tax of 3% of the room rate (including Hokkaido's own tax) for stays from 1 April 2026 (Kutchan Town).

People: twice the foreign guest-nights, and a different mix

Total visitor numbers in Kutchan are almost flat: about 1.647 million in FY2018 and 1.642 million in FY2025 (the counting method changed in FY2020). What grew is foreign guests who stay overnight, and how long they stay. Foreign guest-nights went from about 465,000 to about 895,000, and the average stay grew from 3.08 to 4.76 nights. Australia is still number one, up from 116,164 to 166,822 guest-nights. But its share of the total fell from about 25% to about 19%. The US quadrupled from about 30,000 to about 122,000 guest-nights and is now second, and Taiwan and Korea each grew more than fourfold. If the lift line sounds more international than you remember, you're not imagining it.

Town and workers: the population swells only in winter

Kutchan's foreign-national population went from 1,519 at the end of October 2025 to 4,325 at the end of January 2026. Tourists don't register as residents, so that jump is people who live in town for the winter, mostly to work. The whole town counted 17,415 people at the end of January 2026 and 14,147 at the end of September. The winter-summer gap has grown from about 1,200 in 2018 (16,492 in January, 15,323 in September) to about 3,300. Housing has got tighter with it. In April 2025, ABC News reported that land prices in residential areas outside the main ski resort have almost tripled since 2017, and that rent and land costs were locals' number one concern in a local government survey (ABC News). If you're coming to live here, read What should you decide before moving to Niseko? first.

What hasn't changed

• The snow. Silent overnight snow, and sinking to your knees on the first run
• The daily avalanche info and the gate rules
• An onsen after skiing
• Mt Yotei hiding most days (ha)

Leave the resort only through a gate, never when the gate is closed, and never duck a rope. These Niseko Rules are unchanged, and so is the local official Niseko Avalanche Info every morning. A search and rescue outside the resort is billed at ¥100,000 minimum (Niseko Rules). It's still a mountain full of first-timers, so watching out for injuries matters as much as it ever did. Why that snow is so light is in Why is Niseko's snow so light? What tripped me up in my own first winter is in What went wrong in my first Niseko winter?

What I love about living here, and what worries me

The best part is that I live in the Hokkaido countryside and still talk to people from all over the world. I don't think there's another town in Hokkaido where you use English and Chinese every day. And if you work in food and serve something good, people will pay a fair price for it.

Four things worry me.

• Among the people I know, locals have stopped eating out in Hirafu
• There's not enough housing for workers
• The town leans too hard on winter, and summer is weak. Winter (December to March) went from 59.9% of all guest-nights in FY2018 to 71.8% in FY2025
• I feel the "Niseko is expensive" image makes other Hokkaido people less likely to come. In winter FY2025 (November to April), Japanese guests were about 12% of guest-nights. That makes me a bit sad

A local tip: prices are up, and so are the crowds. But ski one run the morning after a big dump and none of it matters. Niseko is a sneaky mountain like that.

Coming back after a while: how to find the old Niseko

You'll feel most of these changes in Hirafu in January and February. If you want something closer to the old feel, start by shifting your dates. In 2026-27 the All Mountain Pass costs ¥8,800 a day for adults in early season (November 28 to December 11) and spring (March 23 to April 4), or ¥42,700 for five days, which is ¥22,800 less than a peak five-day pass. The catch is that in some years early season is thin on snow and only part of the terrain is open. If snow matters more to you, the regular rate (¥12,600 a day) from December 12 to 23 or March 1 to 22 is the middle ground.

Next, get out of Hirafu. Kutchan town has izakaya and diners where locals actually eat. In 2025-26 the free Kutchan Night Bus ran between Hirafu and JR Kutchan Station from December 1 to March 31, 17:00 to 22:30 (Kutchan Tourism Association). Check the 2026-27 schedule when it's announced around November. For getting around at night, see Can you get around Niseko without a car?, and for where to base yourself, Where should you stay if not Hirafu?

Where is the old-style Niseko?

Kutchan town, Annupuri and Moiwa on the other side of the mountain, and the day-use onsen where townspeople go. Outside the Hirafu that changed, there is still time that wasn't built for tourists. Why winter Hirafu gets called "not very Japanese", and where to find everyday Japan place by place, is in Where is the old-style Niseko outside Hirafu?

FAQ

How has Niseko changed in recent years?

Prices and people. An adult one-day All Mountain Pass went from ¥7,400 in 2018-19 to ¥13,500 in peak 2026-27, and foreign guest-nights in Kutchan went from about 465,000 in FY2018 to about 895,000 in FY2025. The snow and the Niseko Rules haven't changed.

Are prices in Niseko going up?

Yes. Lift passes are up about 1.8 times, and from April 2026 Kutchan adds a 3% accommodation tax to room rates. For food and supermarket prices, see How expensive is Niseko right now?

Are fewer Australians coming to Niseko?

No. Australian guest-nights in Kutchan rose from 116,164 in FY2018 to 166,822 in FY2025, and Australia is still number one. Other countries grew even faster, so its share went down.

How can I enjoy the old-style Niseko?

Come in early December or late March, and eat in Kutchan town at night. Early-season and spring passes are ¥8,800 a day for adults, cheaper than peak.

— Niseko Hub Editorial Team