Rusutsu Resort
ルスツリゾート
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Three Mountains of Tree Skiing
Rusutsu Resort is a place worth a visit in Rusutsu, Hokkaido. Travel through its seasons and highlights across 8 on-location videos before you visit.
Rusutsu spreads across three peaks — West Mountain, East Mountain and Mt. Isola — on the far side of Mt. Yotei from Niseko, and it catches the same Sea of Japan storms with a fraction of the crowds. The resort is best known for its gladed tree runs: widely spaced birch and fir where fresh snow lies untracked long after a storm, plus long, immaculately groomed trails for cruising. Everything funnels into one self-contained base with a large hotel complex, a carousel and even a summer amusement park, so families and powder hunters share the same slopes. Views stretch to Lake Toya and the ocean on clear days, and a free shuttle makes a day trip from Niseko easy. The slopes are mostly intermediate in pitch, which keeps the tree skiing approachable for anyone comfortable on groomed runs.
Best Season
- JanUntracked Powder
- FebMt. Isola Views to Lake Toya
- MarSpring Groomers
- DecEarly Tree Runs
Lifts typically operate from late November to early April. January and February are the powder months; by March the snow softens into easy spring cruising. Night skiing runs on the West Mountain slopes in midwinter.
History & Culture
A Highland Resort Opens
Rusutsu opened in 1981 as a highland resort combining skiing with a hotel and leisure facilities, an unusual all-in-one model for Hokkaido at the time.
Mt. Isola Expands the Terrain
Lifts reached Mt. Isola in the 1990s, tripling the skiable area and creating the long tree-lined descents the resort is now known for.
International Hotels Arrive
A Westin and the ski-in ski-out Vale Rusutsu opened at the base, bringing the resort's lodging in line with its reputation among overseas skiers.
13 Izumikawa, Rusutsu, Abuta District, Hokkaido 048-1711
- About 2 h by resort bus from New Chitose Airport
- About 1.5 h by bus from Sapporo; free shuttle from Niseko Hirafu in winter
- About 1.5 h from Sapporo via Route 230
Lifts about 9:00–17:00; night skiing until about 20:00 in midwinter
One-day lift ticket roughly ¥8,000–10,000 (guide only)
Hours and fees are a guide and may change — please check official information before your visit.
