For many Australian families, Niseko and Myoko are winter words. The numbers bear it out. JNTO counted 140,185 arrivals from Australia in January 2025, against 50,174 in July and 41,250 in August, and Japan's tourism agency found that about one Australian leisure traveller in ten went to Hokkaido in 2025, more than the average across all visitors. Most of them came for the snow.
This article is about the same two places when the snow has gone. From late spring to the middle of October, and again in the weeks of autumn colour, the ski towns turn into green mountain country with rivers, lakes, waterfalls and hot springs, and the best rooms are far easier to find. It also sets out, from the brands' own announcements, which new hotels are actually coming, and when. We read the pages of the hotels, the resorts, IHG, Myoko's tourism association, JNTO and Japan's tourism agency on November 5, 2026, and contacted none of them; the sources are listed at the end. Summer in Niseko, Furano and Akan for families is covered in Hokkaido in Summer for Gulf Families, and Niseko's powder in Hokkaido in Summer and Winter.
Key points
- Niseko Hanazono's green season of 2026 closed on October 12, and the winter season opens on November 28, 2026. Between them, and from late spring, the mountain belongs to walkers, cyclists and rafters.
- Higashiyama Niseko Village, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, has 50 rooms and suites, a spa drawing on Niseko's natural hot springs, and summer biking, trekking and zip-lining.
- Aman Niseko, on Mount Moiwa, is designed by the late Kerry Hill, with 30 suites and 31 residences. Aman's own site gives its opening as 2030.
- Six Senses Myoko was announced by IHG on October 24, 2025, with 57 rooms and suites, many with private onsen. No opening date has been announced; a local report in June 2026 pointed to early 2029.
- In Myoko, the autumn colour runs from late September to early November because of the range of altitude, and Joetsu-Myoko is 1 hour 50 minutes from Tokyo at the fastest.
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WHY GO WHEN THE SNOW HAS GONE
A ski town in summer can feel like a theatre between performances. Niseko and Myoko are different, because the mountains came first and the lifts later. Mount Yotei still fills the sky over Niseko, the rivers that feed the valley run high and clear, and in Myoko the waterfalls and high pastures that were buried in January become the reason to come.
For a traveller from Australia, the timing is easy. Japan's green season falls in your winter school holidays, and Japan's autumn in your spring, when the arrivals from Australia rise again; JNTO counted 96,610 in September 2025 and 96,158 in October. The rooms that are hardest to find in February are far easier to find in June or early October.
NISEKO IN THE GREEN SEASON
Niseko Hanazono lists what the mountain becomes after the snow: a zipline over the trees, a mountain bike park, a summer gondola, golf, padel, tree trekking and afternoon tea on the lake, with rafting, canyoning, fishing, horse riding and hiking close by. Its green season of 2026 closed on October 12, and the lifts return for the winter on November 28, 2026. The weeks between are quiet, and worth knowing about only if your trip falls there.
We tend to build the Niseko days around one morning on the river, one long walk and one slow afternoon, with the evening kept for a bath. A morning of rafting, a guided walk with Yotei in view, a round of golf or an hour on the zipline make a natural rhythm for a family. We arrange the guides and cars, and choose the day on the river by the weather, not by the calendar.
WHERE TO STAY IN NISEKO NOW
Higashiyama Niseko Village, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, stands in Niseko Village with 50 rooms and suites. Its spa draws on Niseko's natural hot springs; Yukibana, its all-day restaurant, looks out at Mount Yotei; Sushi Nagi serves an omakase counter; and the hotel lists biking, trekking and zip-lining among its summer excursions. It is about 114 km from New Chitose Airport.
On the Hanazono side of the mountain, Park Hyatt Niseko Hanazono is part of the resort itself, so the green season's activities start at the door. For a ryokan with a private hot spring bath in every villa, Zaborin is described in Hokkaido in Summer and Winter. Outside the snow months, we can often offer the room you would want in February, at the moment you want it.
THE HOTELS TO COME IN NISEKO
Much is written about new luxury hotels in Niseko, and not all of it is accurate. The clearest case is Aman. Aman Niseko will stand on the slopes of Mount Moiwa, designed by the late Kerry Hill, with 30 suites in a pavilion with mountain views and 31 Aman-branded residences in a nature reserve. Indoor and outdoor hot spring pools are planned for the spa and for every residence, and Aman describes skiing in winter and hiking, mountain biking and river rafting in the other seasons. Aman's own page says "Opening 2030". Reports of an earlier date should be read with that in mind.
When guests ask us to plan around a new opening, we plan around the one that is already open, and keep a note to propose the new hotel when its reservations begin.
MYOKO IN AUTUMN
Myoko, in Niigata, is one of Japan's oldest ski regions, and its autumn is long. Myoko's tourism association writes that because of the difference in altitude, the colours can be seen from late September to early November. Sasagamine, a high plateau at 1,300 metres, turns first, in early to mid October, with maple, beech, oak, birch and rowan around the pasture and Sennin Pond. Imori Pond peaks from mid to late October; a level path circles it in about 20 minutes, and on still, clear days Mount Myoko is reflected in the water.
The waterfalls are the season's other pleasure. Naena Falls drops 55 metres, a 15 to 20 minute walk from its car park through maple and oak. Near Tsubame Onsen, Sotaki Falls drops 80 metres and is counted among Japan's 100 finest waterfalls, seen from a deck about 15 minutes on foot from the car park, with an open-air bath above the gorge in the village. The roads and facilities close one by one in early November, as the snow arrives, so the dates matter.
WHERE TO STAY IN MYOKO, AND SIX SENSES
Akakura Kanko Hotel opened on December 12, 1937. It was built by Kishichiro Okura, the chairman of the Imperial Hotel, who later opened Hotel Okura Tokyo, and it stands at about 1,000 metres with views over Lake Nojiri and Mount Myoko and, at times, a sea of cloud below. It has 69 rooms, some with a private open-air bath, and its sulphur spring flows straight from the source. For a traveller who knows Myoko from the ski fields, it is the place to see the mountain in October.
Six Senses Myoko is the new name to watch. IHG announced it on October 24, 2025: a slopeside hotel at the foot of Mount Myoko in the Suginohara ski area, with 57 rooms and suites, many with private onsen, 21 branded residences above, and a spa with bookable private onsen. IHG gave no opening date, saying only that construction would begin in April 2026. In June 2026, Uchi Japan, citing a local report of a public meeting, wrote that the opening might move to early 2029 after design changes on part of the site. Until the brand confirms a date, we treat it as a hotel for a later journey.
SHAPING A WEEK OUT OF SEASON
In early October, we might begin with three nights in Niseko for the river and the walks, fly to Tokyo, and take the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Joetsu-Myoko, 1 hour 50 minutes at the fastest, for two nights at Akakura and the waterfalls at their peak. In June or July, Niseko alone can hold a family for five nights, with Tokyo before and Kyoto after.
Within Signature, our planning for journeys of 7 to 21 days, we arrange the hotels, guides, cars and tables, and settle each in the simplest way available, usually on your hotel bill or on the day. If you already ski in Niseko or Myoko each winter, a green-season week shows you the same place with different eyes.
SOURCES AND HOW WE CHECKED
We read the pages below on November 5, 2026. Travel times are rounded. We did not contact any hotel, resort, brand or other body. The Australian figures are for 2025.
- JNTO, visitor arrivals by month (Japanese): arrivals from Australia, January, July, August, September and October 2025
- Japan Tourism Agency, Consumption Trends Survey 2025 tables (Japanese): Hokkaido visit rate of Australian leisure travellers
- Niseko HANAZONO, summer: green season activities, 2026 season closed October 12, winter opening November 28, 2026
- Higashiyama Niseko Village, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve: 50 rooms and suites, natural hot springs, restaurants, summer excursions
- Aman Niseko: Mount Moiwa, Kerry Hill, 30 suites and 31 residences, hot spring pools, Opening 2030
- IHG, October 24, 2025: Six Senses Myoko, 57 rooms and suites, 21 residences, Suginohara, construction from April 2026
- Uchi Japan, June 18, 2026: opening may move to early 2029, citing the Joetsu Town Journal
- Myoko Tourism Association, autumn leaves (Japanese): late September to early November, Imori Pond, Naena Falls, Sasagamine, Sotaki Falls
- Myoko Tourism Association, access (Japanese): Tokyo to Joetsu-Myoko 1 hour 50 minutes at the fastest
- Akakura Kanko Hotel (Japanese): opened December 12, 1937, Kishichiro Okura, about 1,000 m, 69 rooms, open-air baths, Lake Nojiri
QUESTIONS TRAVELLERS ASK
When is Aman Niseko opening?
Aman's official page gives the opening as 2030. Reports of an earlier opening do not match the brand's own information.
When will Six Senses Myoko open?
IHG has not announced a date. A local report in June 2026 suggested early 2029, and we wait for the brand to confirm before planning around it.
What is there to do in Niseko without snow?
Rafting, canyoning, hiking, mountain biking, a zipline, golf and horse riding, with Mount Yotei in view. Niseko Hanazono's 2026 green season ran until October 12.
When are the autumn colours in Myoko?
From late September to early November, starting high at Sasagamine in early October and reaching Imori Pond and Naena Falls in mid to late October.
How far is Myoko from Tokyo?
Joetsu-Myoko Station is 1 hour 50 minutes from Tokyo by Hokuriku Shinkansen at the fastest, and the hot spring villages are a short drive from there.
ASK US TO SHAPE YOUR WEEK IN THE MOUNTAINS
Tell us which month you have in mind, who is travelling and what you enjoy outdoors. We will set out Niseko, Myoko or both, with the hotels and the days, and the reasons for each, so that you can choose.
Begin planning →We reply within 24 hours, in writing
Some of the restaurants and bars we arrange seat guests only by introduction or membership. We ask on your behalf; the table and the evening are the house's decision. We do not publish their names.