Value Index

Which resorts give the most mountain for the money — a value-per-yen ranking across snow, lift infrastructure and terrain.

Value Index
Rank Resort Value Day pass Snow Lift Terrain
1 Zao Onsen Ski Resort 100 ¥4,000 34 91 72
2 Kandatsu Snow Resort 94 ¥3,500 60 31 53
3 Takasu Snow Park 85 ¥3,900 39 48 70
4 Tsugaike Mountain Resort 73 ¥5,900 59 89 47
5 Nozawa Onsen Snow Resort 62 ¥7,500 71 62 77
6 Hakuba Happo-One Snow Resort 56 ¥8,400 63 84 67
7 Hakuba Norikura Onsen Snow Resort 56 ¥6,200 53 60 42
8 Hoshino Resorts Nekoma 56 ¥6,300 44 51 71
9 Hakuba Cortina Snow Resort 55 ¥6,200 59 43 46
10 Sapporo Kokusai Ski Resort 52 ¥6,000 64 33 34
11 Geto Kogen Ski Resort 48 ¥6,800 62 31 48
12 Ikenotaira Onsen Alpen Blick 47 ¥6,900 61 32 50
13 Kiroro Snow World 46 ¥8,800 70 48 61
14 Madarao Mountain Resort 46 ¥8,500 56 49 79
15 Rusutsu Resort 44 ¥10,100 56 70 84
16 Furano Ski Resort 44 ¥8,000 53 41 69
17 Tazawako Ski Resort 44 ¥5,300 27 36 49
18 Myoko Suginohara Ski Resort 43 ¥8,000 66 32 47
19 Hakuba Iwatake Snow Field 43 ¥7,000 41 44 54
20 Niseko United 41 ¥12,000 75 67 83
21 Sapporo Teine 41 ¥9,400 60 66 46
22 Shiga Kogen Yakebitaiyama 41 ¥8,000 59 30 57
23 Appi Kogen 34 ¥9,500 43 33 79
How the value index works
Value 0–100

Weighted value score ÷ adult day-pass price, rescaled so the best-value resort sits near 100. More mountain per yen ranks higher.

Snow 45%

Powder-day frequency (50%), snow-depth reliability (30%), and warm-rain risk (20%).

Lift 30%

Uphill capacity (40%), lifts per hectare (25%), lifts per slope (20%), and lift count (15%) — bigger is better.

Terrain 25%

Slope count (50%) and versatility (50%): difficulty balance plus terrain-type variety.

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