Children’s Programs FAQ

Children Program FAQ

The following outlines Rhythm Japan’s (owned and operated by Rhythm & Beats. Co. Ltd.) Terms & Conditions for Rhythm Rides.

Please familiarise yourself with our program & operational information if you have booked or will be booking a Rhythm Futures, Kids Week or Progression Camp. 

PROGRAM INFORMATION

Our Rhythm Futures program is a seasonal program which operates over a 14-week period, these programs are designed to see a seasonal progression of athletes year on year and because its length is more popular among kids living year around in the Niseko area.

  • Full Day programs operate on Saturdays & Sundays
  • Mini Programs operate on Saturdays only

Our Progression Camp is a training program designed for athletes who are used to consistent coaching & want to continue to develop their all-mountain riding skills. The programs are available for Intermediate – Expert level riders only and run for 10 days over a 14-day period. We operate a total of 3 Progression Camps each season.

Our Kids Week – Offers kids the opportunity to learn and progress their skiing and snowboarding skills over 5 consecutive days in Niseko’s first committed weekly program. The commitment of the same coach & same kids in the weekly class provides a superior learning experience.

Kids Week

Meeting time is 9:15 am for warm-up

The program will finish at 15:45 pm for a stretch down & de-brief until 16:00 pm

Mini-Futures 

Meeting time is 8:15 am for warm-up

The program will finish at 12:15 pm for a stretch down & de-brief until 12:30 pm

Rhythm Futures & Progression Camps

Meeting time is 8:15 am for warm-up

The program will finish at 2:45 pm for a stretch down & de-brief until 3 pm

We will meet in the snow at Dot Base next to the ticket counter. Please arrive ready for your day of skiing and snowboarding.

Futures & Kids Week – A Grand Hirafu pass is required for all levels.

Progression Camps – An all-mountain pass is required.

Mini Futures* – Please note that Niseko United no longer provides pre-school lift tickets for free, so a valid pass that will cover the four-hour duration of each week for Grand Hirafu Resort will be required.

  • Futures, Progression Camps and Kids Week: 7 – 14 years old
  • Mini-Futures: 3 – 6 years old
We will form groups firstly around those who have a similar ability level and goals & then secondly around appropriate age groups. We aim to have these groups formed and settled in as soon as possible in the season.
Yes, helmets are mandatory for all Futures Programs & Kids lessons. We are able to offer seasonal helmet rentals at cost.

This is not mandatory, however, we do highly recommend them for beginner snowboarders.

Full Day Programs (Rhythm Futures, Kids Week, Progression Programs & Spring Camps)
Each training day will include a 1-hour lunch break. Depending on the ages of the group, and how each group is handling the conditions the coach may take additional breaks during the day as needed.

Mini Futures Program
Will typically take a 15-minute break during the middle of the session to rehydrate, and use the bathroom. This is also a good time for your little one to have a snack and energise, so we recommend packing some snacks.

For the Kids Week program, the location will depend on which level your kids are assigned.

Levels 1 to 4, will have lunch at Elements. The lunch will include a balanced diet from Monday to Friday with side dishes, beverages and fruit as dessert. The weekly menu will be available shortly.

All Futures Seasonal Programs will have lunch at Elements as well.

Progression Camps and levels 4 to 6 of Kids Week will have lunch on the mountain at King Bell. They will be able to select a variety of options from the menu. Options change seasonally however typically these will include a drink plus a main meal of Ramen, Katsu Curry, Hamburger set or Vegetable Curry

If your child is over the age of 12 years, you can authorize them to make their own way home at the end of the day. To do this please speak with the Kids Program Manager on your first day.

Please fill out the medical release form. Our Kids Manager will then check in with you on the program’s first day to confirm any additional information needed to ensure the best care for your child.

Our programs are designed to be a full commitment for both your kids and our coaches. They are not available as casual training sessions. You can, however, book in for the entire program though, and choose to take some days off at the end of the program if this suits your family best.
Wherever possible we will be happy to keep shredders together, providing the ages and abilities work well with the rest of the athletes on the team. Please add this information to the comments section when registering your child.

KIDS Week

Our weekly program is the first of its kind in Niseko offering a consistent multi-day approach to learning. Our program starts each week on a Monday and runs consecutively until Friday. Each day builds on the previous lessons & progression by the same coach & kids. During our Kids Week, we also take time to enjoy some of our favourite off-snow activities in the area. Our Kids Week will provide your child with a superior & super fun learning experience.
Unfortunately, our program is set as a five-day program; if you are unable to make it for all of the days you can choose to miss some days of the program only if it’s at the end. However, please speak to our Guest Services team to confirm if your schedule will work with our program. There’s no pro-rata fee that could be applicable.
Unfortunately not; our five-day program is a consecutive learning experience which starts on a Monday and ends on a Friday.

Progression Camps

Our camps are available for intermediate to expert-level riders only. If your child is not yet comfortable riding blue/red runs then we would recommend signing them up for our Kids Week program instead, which is available for all ability levels.
The same coach will be assigned across the three camps. Our Progression Camps are designed to be run in two-week blocks. During this two-week training period, your child will have the same consistent coaching and team members. If you have signed up for multiple camps, it is possible that there could be a changeover in kids joining the camp. However, we find that a lot of our campers tend to book multiple camps in a row which can create an awesome team environment.

Rhythm Futures

If you have booked a Kids Week or Progression Program – your lessons will be conducted in English. If you have booked a Rhythm Futures program – we do have a number of bi-lingual Japanese instructors & many Japanese local kids who join our programs. However, there are limited spots available in these classes. Please make sure to select this and comment on the need for the Japanese language at the time of booking and we will be in contact to discuss your needs.
Our coaches are serious about progressing our Futures Athletes. During the season we will conduct regular skills assessments at the start, middle & end of the program to track our athletes’ progress in a number of snowsports skills. This will provide a foundation for planning our sessions, working towards goals & also tracking our athlete’s progress over the course of their time in the Futures program. We will provide these reports to all parents at the halfway mark & end of the season.
No, the program runs for 14 consecutive weekends without brakes starting on the first weekend of January.
We will group all athletes together at the start of the program into training groups according to age, interests, and ability level. Each group will then have a dedicated coach for the season program, the five days of the kid’s week or, the 6 weeks of the progression camp.
Registration will be open until November 15 with program placements confirmed by December 8th. Programs require a minimum of 4 athletes per group/level in order to operate. Waitlist positions for the program will be confirmed from December 9th.

Contact us: If you have any questions regarding the above terms and conditions, please contact us at info@rhythmjapan.com