Which ski resort near Sapporo for beginners? Teine, Sapporo Kokusai, Asarigawa Onsen and ONZE compared

If you are staying in Sapporo and taking your first lesson at a nearby resort, the map shows several options. This post compares only four: Sapporo Teine, Sapporo Kokusai, Asarigawa Onsen and ONZE. SnowWind teaches at all four.

First, the geography: Teine and Sapporo Kokusai are in Sapporo; Asarigawa Onsen and ONZE are in Otaru.

This post is for you if you:

• are on snow for the first time, or have only had a day or two
• are staying in Sapporo or Otaru and want a nearby resort for lessons
• are not sure which resort to start at, or which one to move on to later

The four in one table

The table shows only figures the resorts publish themselves.

Resort	Area	Vertical drop	Runs	Lifts
Teine	Sapporo	683 m	15	9
Sapporo Kokusai	Sapporo	470 m	7	4
Asarigawa Onsen	Otaru	520 m	9	4
ONZE	Otaru	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded

Teine and Sapporo Kokusai figures were checked against the resorts' official websites in July 2026; Asarigawa Onsen's against its official website and the Hokkaido Ropeway Association (Hokkaidō Sakudō Kyōkai) in August 2026. We have not yet verified ONZE's official figures, so we have left them out.

Bigger numbers do not mean better for beginners. For someone on snow for the first time, what matters more is where the beginner area is, how long the runs are, and whether you have to carry your gear uphill. The rest of this post goes stage by stage.

Choose by stage

Day one: Asarigawa Onsen, ONZE

Asarigawa Onsen’s beginner area is right at the base, and it has a snow escalator. On day one you repeat stance and braking over and over, and the escalator carries you back to the top of the slope each time, so you save the energy of hauling your board uphill. Once your basic control is steady, move on to other runs.

ONZE is a small resort, and it also has a beginner area; on a clear day you can see the sea from the runs. KAKU observed in 2025 that its beginner, intermediate and advanced runs are separate from one another. Night-skiing hours can change from season to season; check the resort’s official website.

SnowWind has warned on Threads: “A small resort does not mean every run is easy.” So at ONZE, the day-one goal is the same: braking and speed control.

Limited stamina: Teine

A first day often takes more out of you than you expect. The beginner runs in Teine’s Olympia Zone are shorter: finish a run, stop and catch your breath, then ride the lift back up. KAKU observed in 2025 that there is a magic carpet near the beginner runs.

Once you can brake: Sapporo Kokusai

Sapporo Kokusai’s beginner route is long and wide. Once you can brake, you can find your rhythm here one turn after another. Piling up time on the same long run makes it easier to get the feel than switching terrain often.

If you are just starting out, take the four-seat lift on the right to mid-mountain and ride down the Märchen run (メルヘン). Once you have some basics, take the gondola to the summit instead, follow the forest run on the far right back to Märchen, and ride all the way from the summit to the base.

Just before the forest run joins Märchen, there is a stretch that is almost flat. If you are not yet comfortable riding straight downhill and holding your speed, your board will slow down here until it stops. Carry your speed into this section, and do not stop sideways across the middle of the trail.

Long runs also use a lot of energy, so plan rests along the way.

Sort out your return transport first. SnowWind has warned on Threads: without a booking, you may not get on if the return bus is full, and you may not get back to Sapporo that day.

After the lesson you still have to return rental gear, change, pack up and walk to the boarding point. On a first visit, with children or in a large group, it all takes longer. The method: pick your return bus first, count back from its departure time through the end of the lesson, gear return and changing, and leave at least 20 to 30 minutes in between. For timetables and how to book, follow the resort’s announcements for the season.

Where to take a lesson

Lesson details for each of the four resorts are in the lessons section of its resort page:

• Sapporo Teine (in Chinese)
• Sapporo Kokusai (in Chinese)
• Asarigawa Onsen (in Chinese)
• ONZE (in Chinese)

To see how the runs and lifts are laid out first, each resort page has a 3D map. For run lists, see each resort’s data page, for example Sapporo Teine runs & lifts and Sapporo Kokusai runs & lifts.

Course levels and prices are on the courses page. Snowboarders from complete beginner up to those who cannot yet link turns consistently, and skiers who cannot yet make parallel turns, start with the Beginner Lesson.

If you are deciding between Rusutsu and Niseko, see Part 2 of this series: Niseko or Rusutsu?

Facts checked: 9 November 2026. Run openings, bus timetables and night-skiing hours can differ each season; check each resort's official website before you go. The beginner advice for each resort is compiled from SnowWind's official Threads account; KAKU's observations are taken from posts KAKU published in 2025.