Is Rusutsu the Japanese ski resort that truly has it all?

No compromises at Rusutsu Resort in Japan’s Hokkaido prefecture

Ski trips inevitably involve some sort of compromise. It’s very hard to find a resort with great powder, modern lifts, slopeside accommodation, good food, activities other than skiing and snowboarding, good accessibility, English lessons, fantastic and varied terrain, and a progressive attitude to self-responsibility and riding in the trees. Rusutsu might just be the closest thing to having it all.

The geography of the resort is very different from most in Japan, being split in two with the mega resort, beginner slopes, luxury hotels, restaurants and onsen on the west side of the road, and the serious off-piste gladed paradise on the east side, linked by a gondola. If you want the luxury resort family-based experience with all the glitz and a little skiing, you can stay on the west side. If you want the off-the-beaten-track in-bounds backcountry-like no frills experience where you park by the lift and eat on the hill, then you can spend your day on the east side and never see the resort (the first time I visited Rusutsu on a day trip with a guide, I didn’t even know the mega resort was there). It’s like having two ski resorts with very different personalities right next to each other.

If you’re part of a family or large group with very different needs, you really can have both worlds at the same time, leaving the kids on the West Mountain, while you do what you need to do on the East Mountain, then hop back when lessons are over. This layout works well, keeps the learners away from the steeper areas, and helps the resort feel less busy than it really is. As soon as you’re off the lift and in the trees, Rusutsu somehow still feels undiscovered on the east mountain.

“It’s like having two ski resorts with very different personalities right next to each other.”

Lifts and terrain

Rusutsu has some of the best lift-accessed tree runs in Japan, and possibly the world.

Although there’s no getting away from the fact that Rusutsu gets busy, the nature of the layout and the access-all-areas policy means there are very few bottlenecks, and the modern and fast lifts help shift the crowds. You might be shocked to find what looks like a long line of people at the base of a lift, but you’ll be equally shocked to find yourself on the lift in 10 minutes. Then, when you get to the top, everyone quickly spreads out.

Powder at Rusutsu Resort. Image: Rusutsu Resort

Rusutsu has 594m of vertical and 18 lifts, four of which are gondolas. There are more than 37 courses – a total of 42km in length – and acres of skiable terrain. Rusutsu doesn’t have any designated tree runs or no-go areas within the resort boundaries like many Japanese resorts, which can create bottlenecks and heavily tracked areas. You can go pretty much anywhere within the resort boundary at your own risk.

The Rusutsu trail map. Image: rusutsu.com

The East Mountain and Mount Isola are characterised by long top-to-bottom reds along the ridges (Isola Grand is 3.5km long) with blacks, a few reds, and tree runs that drop off the ridges then collect into gullies that run out to the bottom of the lift. The reds are perfect for carving, and the groomers hold up well throughout the day.

Perfectly groomed pistes. Image: Robin Watts

Rusutsu is excellent for snowboarders as there’s no need to traverse anywhere or flat spots to skate through, and there aren’t long flat greens at the bottom of every lift that you are forced to ride. The gladed tree areas are well-spaced almost everywhere, and although it’s not Hakuba-level steep, there are definitely steep areas that get the blood pumping. There’s a ridiculous amount of forest to explore here, and I thoroughly recommend an in-bounds tour to help you find the best spots. We had Francisco from Hokkaido Mountain Experience show us around on a non-powder day, so we knew exactly where to go when we came back.

Francisco from Hokkaido Mountain Experience finding the powder stashes on Mt Isola on a rare sunny day in early February. Image: Aron Tarjani

While Rusutsu certainly caters to beginners, it doesn’t have the largest network of green runs. Beginners will want to start on the West Mountain, as it has access to the low-angle Family course and more progressive green runs.

For intermediates, the previously mentioned long reds on the east side of the resort are the place to be, along with some of the easier tree runs.

Francisco also gave us a quick carving lesson. Image: Robin Watts

Rusutsu is set up perfectly for expert and advanced skiers and riders, with endless trees to explore and a selection of groomed and ungroomed blacks. If you love the trees, you really can’t get bored here. You’ve got every conceivable variety of tree skiing on offer, from gentle to steep, open to tight, and everything in between.

The only downside is that Rusutsu can get very busy on a powder day in peak season, so the best tree runs will be tracked out well before your legs get tired. Still, there’s plenty to explore, and you can find mellow areas away from the popular steeper areas. It gets tracked quickly, but not as quickly as Niseko.

There are no official backcountry gates at Rusutsu, so if you intend to enter the backcountry, you can’t use the lifts, but Mount Shiribetsu is nearby.

Lift tickets cost from 12,500 ¥ for an adult 5-hour ticket, or 5,400 ¥ for children. Rusutsu is also on the Epic Pass, so holders can enjoy five days of unrestricted consecutive access to the resort.

Snowfall

Rusutsu reports an annual average snowfall of 14 metres, the same as Niseko, being just 20km apart. Rusutsu has some of the driest, fluffiest snow around with just 5% moisture content and the north facing slopes and thicker tree coverage also help preserve the pristine powder and perfect groomers a little bit longer – but that usually isn’t an issue as from mid-December to early March, it snows on average six days a week.

Accommodation and Resort Services

ACCOMMODATION

Rusutsu has three upmarket hotels in the Resort: the huge Rusutsu Resort Hotel, the all-suites Westin Rusutsu Resort, and the condominium-hotel The Vale Rusutsu. All are luxurious, well-appointed and perfect for families if you have the cash.

Just outside the resort, there’s a small village with more budget-friendly rental homes and pensions that require a short walk, car ride or shuttle to the Resort. (You’ll need to book early to get the nicer ones.)

Another option is to rent a vehicle and stay in Kutchan, where there’s a wide choice of accommodation, and you can enjoy far cheaper convenience stores, supermarkets, high-quality, wallet-friendly restaurants, and nightlife. The drive to Rusutsu takes about 30 minutes.

We spent 9 nights at Stay Living Niseko (in Kutchan, not Niseko), an unstaffed hotel with tiny but well-appointed rooms right in the centre of Kutchan. The 13m2 rooms are best seen as a step up from a capsule hotel and have a standard Japanese hotel en-suite, a fridge, mini kitchen, microwave and a little storage area. The hotel has its own parking areas a short walk away and is an excellent base for exploring Kutchan on foot and driving to Kiroro, Niseko, and Rusutsu. I wouldn’t call it a budget, but ¥18,000 per night is a good deal for this location.

A small but perfectly formed twin room at Stay Living Niseko. Image: stay-niseko.com

GETTING THERE

Rusutsu is just a 90-minute drive from New Chitose Airport and around 100 minutes from Sapporo. (You can check various access routes by car or bus on the Rusutsu website under Explore the resort > Access). It’s also just a 30-40 minute drive from Kutchan or Niseko, making it an ideal day trip. There’s also a bus that you need to prebook. You can get the train from Tokyo, but it takes at least eight hours and involves two trains and two buses.

See our guide to booking a ski trip to Japan for more details on getting to Hokkaido and booking flights, trains, and car hire.

Note that the two sides of the resort, West Mountain and East Mountain, are on opposite sides of the highway and linked by a gondola. For powder-hunting day trippers, you will be better off driving up to the East Center Station and parking there. If you’re staying at the resort’s hotels or you want to enjoy the resort facilities, then head to the Rusutsu Resort car parks.

RENTAL & RETAIL

There are several Salomon and Atomic rental stations around the two base areas, with ski and snowboard rentals starting at ¥8,500 for adults and ¥6,100 for children for 5 hours. Expert kit is available for higher fees and multi-day rentals over six days, saving on the daily rate. As is typical at most Japanese resorts serving international guests, high-quality, as-good-as-new winter sports clothing is also available to rent so you can arrive “empty-handed”. You can pre-book your rental equipment on their website.

SNOWSPORTS SCHOOLS

Rusutsu offers private ski and snowboard lessons in English, starting at ¥47,000 for up to five skiers or four snowboarders for two hours. Lessons for larger groups of 6-8 are also available. Lessons should be pre-booked on their website.

The Kid’s Park: rusutsu.com

In-bounds guiding is also available to book.

Attractions & Activities

ONSEN

Rusutsu has a choice of two hotel onsen that are open to the public. The Westin has an outdoor hot spring and an indoor jacuzzi. Kotobuki onsen at the Rusutsu Resort Hotel is a large, modern, upmarket public facility with indoor and outdoor baths opened in 2019.

Kotobuki onsen’s outdoor bath at the Rusutsu Resort Hotel. Image: rusutsu.com

OTHER WINTER ACTIVITIES

Rusutsu Resort also offers a range of winter activities that puts other Japanese resorts to shame, including snowmobiling, snow rafting, dog sledding, horse riding, ice fishing and snow drifting (in a rally car).

BARS AND APRES-SKI

Rusutsu doesn’t have the nightlife of Niseko, nor will you struggle to find an open bar at night like some Japanese resorts. For apres-ski drinks, though, it seems the only place open in the resort is the lobby lounge at the Westin Rusutsu Resort. There are more options in the evening, with Pub Cricket and the more upscale Obrist cocktail bar opening at 5:30 pm. You can also get drinks at the poolside bar at Rusutsu Resort Hotel from 6-9 pm.

If you want to escape the resort, there’s a cluster of izakaya and bars beyond the car park in front of the Vale Rusutsu, including Rodeo Drive, Youtei and Tanpopo Shokud.

Food

Within the resort, you’re spoilt for choice with more than 20 dining options open in the winter that offer Hokkaido-produced seafood, meat and dairy produce. Note that some are reservation-only, while others will require a reservation in the peak season.

The buffet at the Rusutsu Resort Hotel is spectacular with plenty of customisable, cooked-on-the-spot options.

The Oktoberfest Hokkaido buffet at the Rusutsu Resort Hotel. Image: rusutsu.com

On the east side, there’s Cafeteria Lone Pine at East Centre Station, Cafeteria Isola 2000 at the bottom of the Isola Gondola and Cafeteria Steamboat at the bottom of the Isola No1 Quad. This means you’re never more than one lift away from a warm restaurant and a toilet.

Culture & Ambience

Rusutsu isn’t traditionally Japanese like Nozawa Onsen, but it still feels Japanese compared to Niseko. Of course, it’s modern and developed, but it still has some of that strangeness and wonder that is classic Japan.

Rusutsu has two distinct vibes and a level of variety that’s hard to match. Not just in terms of the gigantic, varied unpisted tree zones (you can’t call them tree runs as they are fully open faces, bowls and gullies) where you’re never repeating the same runs unless you want to – as opposed to doing the same runs repeatedly at other resorts where the tree runs are designated strips. It has swanky upscale resort hotels and budget capsule hotels.

It’s also really easy to navigate, and in that way, it feels like many North American resorts, where you can go anywhere on the way down and all your buddies still end up at the same lift.

The only thing that you could accuse it of is not having super long runs. But the lifts are comfortable and quick, so it isn’t an issue.

Also, we can’t help but mention that Rusutsu is so close to Niseko and Kutchan. If you’ve come all this way, it would be criminal not to make the short trip to Rusutsu for a day.

Rusutsu truly is a resort that has it all.