Trips FAQ

The following outlines Rhythm Japan’s FAQ for Trips by Rhythm Rides.

TRAVEL

We have thought about everything for your trip while in Japan; however, your flights to Sapporo Chitose Airport will need to be arranged by yourself.

Niseko is just 68 miles from Sapporo’s New Chitose International Airport (CTS) and is accessible with direct flights via Tokyo (Haneda Airport AND Narita Airport) or via Osaka (Kansai Airport) Direct non-stop flights to Sapporo’s New Chitose International Airport are also available from Sydney, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Malaysia.

This depends on the tour package type you have selected.

Ultimate Family Experience – includes private transport
All other tours –
- Premium or Standard Package – includes private transport
- Value Packages – transfer is by group bus charter. Upgrade to private transfers are available at an additional cost

Yes! You will be responsible for all medical costs, should there be an accident while on your trip. We strongly recommend that you have comprehensive travel insurance that covers you for the type of tour you have booked. Specifically, we recommend purchasing additional coverage which will cover you for skiing/snowboarding off-piste & in backcountry terrain (if you have booked the JaPow experience).

Transfer by Private Vehicles

Our Team will be in touch with you prior to your arrival to confirm your arrival time at Sapporo Chitose Airport; when you arrive collect your baggage and head out the arrival hall where you will see our driver waiting for you. He/She will be holding a sign with your name.
You will travel by private vehicle for 2.5 hours to Niseko. When you arrive you’ll get checked in the hotel & have a short break before we collect you to come to Rhythm Base and get fitted out in your gear.

Transfer by Coach

Our team will be in touch with you prior to your arrival to confirm your arrival time in Sapporo. We will book the next available coach departing from Chitose Airport to Niseko. When you collect your baggage head out the arrival hall & turn left to go to the check in counter (we will confirm your bus company name in your personal itinerary).
Once you are checked in for your bus you will have time to grab some snacks & prepare for the 2.5 hour coach ride to Niseko.
Your bus will stop for a break around 1.5 hours into the journey at a place called “Mushroom Kingdowm” this is an awesome place to get your first taste of some authentic Japanese mushroom miso & shop local delicacies.
Once you arrive in Niseko, the bus will pull into the Hirafu Welcome Centre, from here your accommodation provider will be waiting to collect you and take you to the hotel.
When you arrive you’ll get checked in the hotel & have a short break before we collect you to come to Rhythm Base and get fitted out in your gear.

Unfortunately, this can be a part of traveling and not a great situation for anyone. If you have missed your flight or it was delayed please get in contact with our team ASAP and we will arrange your transfer to be rescheduled. The more advance notice you can give us on your arrival the better; however please note with a reschedule sometimes there could be a delay in your arrival at Chitose and your departure on your transfer, but don’t worry we will get you to Niseko!

Our team will have already been in touch to confirm your flight times at Chitose Airport & will have arranged a private transfer from your hotel. For added convenience, we will also collect your rental equipment from your hotel so you can enjoy a relaxing morning before you depart.

LIFT PASSES

Yes, we can remove the cost of your lift passes from your packages. Please get in touch with our team before you make the final payment.

The pass you are able to use will be dependent on what resort you visit. If you wish to only visit resorts that you can use an IKON or EPIC pass at, then we can exclude lift passes from your booking. Once here, if you and your guide decide to visit another resort not included on your IKON or EPIC pass, then this will incur lift pass fees payable by yourself.

ON SNOW EXPERIENCE

Yes; we can add additional people to your Trip up until the group maximums in each lesson or guide tour day.; Please get in touch with our team so we can provide a quotation that matches your group’s requirements

Yes; your trip is based around a minimum 2 person occupancy so we can accomadate a non skiing or snowboarding partner. Please get in touch with our team so we can discuss further with you.

You can check out our skills guide. If you are unsure though, our friendly team will be more than happy to have a chat with you and help establish your needs.

We have catered our packages around every type of rider:

New to the Sport? – Our Learn To Ride Taster has you covered. This tour will ensure you fast-track your progression. Upgrades to additional days are also possible!
Been riding for a while but want to improve your technical skills? Our Niseko Progression program is geared towards riders looking for real progression. We will pair you with a fully certified instructor in which you will have a week powered with daily progression
Not interested in lessons and just want to smash pow? Our JaPow experience has you covered with a week of guiding at the best spots. We recommend this package for those who can already comfortably turn on blue runs.
Coming as a Family? Our family packages offer kids group lessons for all levels & your 2 half-day privates/guiding are a 1 on 1 experience for the adults so we can tailor these to your ability level or goals.

Our JaPow experience can include mixed-discipline guests of similar age and ability levels.
The Ultimate Family Tour – can be customized to allow the kids to choose ski or snowboard lessons for the week, and Mum & Dad can choose to have 2x AM lessons together or we can split the lessons to be 1X each per person, which can offer customization for the ability level & discipline choices of each parent.
The Learn to Ride Taster – Both group members will need to select the same discipline for all three days (either ski or snowboard)
The Progression Tour – This tour is designed to fast-track your progress and make real improvements with our top-level instruction. If you have a skier & a boarder in this group we can either add an additional instructor or we can offer other options to split your lessons between each group member

If you are traveling with young children we would recommend either the Ultimate Family Tour – which incorporates lessons for them for the week, and then a full day of resort guiding on day 6.

On all our Trips the minimum age required is 7 years old. If you have children under this age, please contact our guest services team so we can discuss your options.

If you are focused on riding pow but still need a few pointers to stay afloat, the good news is we have you covered. Our guides not only know the area like the back of their hand they are also instructors as well and will be able to tailor a powder progression for you that will keep you ripping and smashing pow all day. Just let us know where you are at with your riding when you book in so we can link you up with the perfect guide for you.

In most products, the instructor/guide is exclusively yours! The only exception to this is in our Ultimate Family Tour where the Kids Week is a premium group lesson in which your kids will be with the same instructor & same kids for the entire week.

All of our Rhythm Japan guides are first and foremost instructors! Our guided products are all led by expertly trained, experienced guides, all of whom have a background in teaching snowsports. Many, if not all of them, have spent many winters chasing the Hokkaido POW, with some even staying here year-round.

What does this mean for you? It means not only are you receiving a knowledgeable guide, who is passionate about showing you the safest and most fun ways around Hokkaido’s resorts and backcountry, but you also have someone who can provide you with further training and instruction in your chosen discipline.

Our team are all friendly, passionate, fully qualified snowsports instructors with some going on to become experienced, expertly trained guides. With multiple seasons spent fostering a love for Hokkaido as the powder capital of the world.

Yes! Your instructor/guide is central to your trip and will be with you for each snow day.

Generally, your guide will be with you for the whole day; depending on what you are up to and where though, occasionally your guide might take a break for their lunch and meet you back at a specific time (usually a standard lunch break is one hour)

As much as possible we try and maintain flexibility on resort choices to make the most of the best conditions. However the level of flexibility will depend on the tour have booked & if there has been multi day passes issued. If you prefer to retain full flexibility on your resort choice each day please get in touch so we can discuss further.

Yes, our tours are designed to be a full day & completely flexible depending on your group’s preferences and needs. This is with the exception of the Ultimate Family Experience which includes 2X half-day lessons/tours which start at 9 am and finish at 12 pm & fixed starting times for our Kids Week Program at 9:15am

Your hotel includes a complimentary shuttle service to and from the resort which you will be able to take to meet your guide. On days that you will be visiting a resort outside Niseko, there will be complimentary private transport

Accommodation

We have chosen reputable accommodation partners which offer great options based on your price preferences each accommodation partner offers a variety of room types and upgrade options to suit any budget from twin-share studios up to penthouse luxury we have you covered. If you want to discuss the different types of accom’s and what might be best for you please get in touch.

Setsu & Chatrium are the two hotels which are located right in the middle of Hirafu. However, Always Niseko is also only 5 minutes away from the heart of Hirafu so all with a little bit of a walk are available for off-snow activities without too much effort.

Yes, breakfast is included in all our packages;

Setsu – includes daily breakfast at their in-house restaurant -Meli Melon
Always Niseko – includes daily breakfast at their in-house restaurant – Elements
Chatrium – includes a daily ¥2000 voucher per/person to use at GreenFarm cafe. This can be used at any time of the day.

Yes, if you would like to book additional days for accommodation, guiding, lift tickets, etc these can all be arranged by our team

Rentals

This depends on the package type you have selected

For the Learn to Rides Taster

We have everything you need for your first day! The package includes standard rental equipment, helmet & wrist guards if you snowboard & outerwear (jacket & pants)
You will also receive brand-new goggles, gloves & a neck warmer which will be yours to keep!

Progression Tour, Ultimate Family Tou, and JaPow Experience

Includes premium rental equipment. You will have the choice of top-of-the-line equipment which can be swapped each day to suit the conditions and your progression.

Yes, we can add any additional equipment you need to your booking & you will also receive a 10% discount on your rentals

BOOKING

This will depend on your goals & expectations for your trip. The season in Niseko runs from 4th December until April 14

This trip runs only on select weeks of the season which corresponds with the operation of our Kids Week program. To take advantage of the epic family trip you will need to book a trip that runs from Monday to Friday during dates of December 16 to Feb 25

We recommend these tours at any time that you can travel. These tours are completely customized to your goals, experience & conditions with a stronger focus on teaching and progression we can make any day regardless of the amount of powder a productive & fun day.

Japan is blessed with the best powder conditions in the world, year after year, the snow charts speak for themselves. That being said the consistent deep snow is generally condensed into the months of January – February. While early season can also provide some epic pow days (and fewer people) there can be some challenges in accessing off-piste terrain early season.

During March; we will get a mix of weather, powder snow & spring conditions and for this reason, we will tailor your experience around the best possible spring powder which can involve more days of backcountry touring. This can actually be an epic time of the year to explore the mountain ranges around Niseko which are otherwise usually snowed in.

Our Trips are fully customizable which means we can tailor them to your specific needs and goals for your trip. Typical customization requests include:

Additional people – There will be a per-person charge that will be applied to some included services (accom, lift tickets) however your lessons/guiding is FOC for up to 6 people
Explorer Upgrade – Want to spend more time visiting other resorts in the area, like Rusustu, Kiroro, or Moiwa Resort? We have you covered with a private vehicle and extra travel time included for just ¥20,000 per/day for up to 6 people.
Additional Nights – We can add extra nights before or after your package; depending on your goals additional charges could be limited to just the accommodation, or if you’re wanting to continue on snow we can add additional rental, lessons/guiding.

If you have found the experience that is right for you; you can follow the book now link and follow the steps to pick your hotel preference & then room type. The final price of the package will be dependent on the dates you travel with fluctuations in pricing occurring due to accommodation surcharges over peak periods.

From here our friendly team will be in touch with you, to make sure we have your tour just right for you. We will also confirm availability and make any final adjustments needed. Once confirmed you will receive a booking confirmation in which the payment is due within 7 days & the outstanding balance 70 days prior to your arrival date. If you are traveling within 70 days the full balance will be due in order to confirm the booking.

Cancellations and Amendments

We highly recommend having comprehensive travel insurance which will cover you for expenses related to the loss of your trip if you are unable to travel.

We are unable to provide full refunds or reschedules of your trip within 70 days of your tour departure if you or a member of your party is unable to travel due to illness. Upon receipt of a valid medical certificate and with 48 hours’ notice we will be able to refund you for your lessons, rental, and lift tickets only. This means you will be fully charged for your airport transfers and accommodation and is due to the terms and conditions of our partners.

Changes in your party will need to be reviewed by our team to ensure that we are able to provide you with the experience that we expect from our tours. Limitations will be based on the discipline, ability, and age of those joining the group. If they don’t fit in your guide we can always recommend options for them.

Unfortunately, our tours are not able to be refunded or partially refunded if you need to finish early for any reason. For this reason, we recommend having comprehensive travel insurance which will cover you for the loss.

If the resort is not operating, we will offer a cancellation day in which you will receive a partial refund for your lessons/guiding & rental services only. All other bookings (accommodation, lift tickets can not be refunded)

Other

Depending on your food goals for your visit to Japan, Niseko has a wide variety of options available to suit all budgets. From luxurious Michelin-star restaurants serving some of the best Japanese cuisine outside of Tokyo to the food trucks running through the village at the base of Grand Hirafu, the options are endless.

We are able to give you recommendations of some great places to dine during your stay. All reservations will need to go through your hotel concierge team who will be happy to manage your reservations for you during your stay.

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