Ikon Just Added 7 Ski Resorts in Japan

So… What Happens Next?

Ikon Pass just expanded deeper into Japan, adding seven resorts to its network.

• Shiga Kogen Mountain Resort, Japan
• NEKOMA Mountain, Japan
• Myoko Suginohara Ski Resort, Japan
• APPI Resort, Japan
• Furano Ski Resort, Japan
• Mt. T, Japan
• Zao Onsen Ski Resort, Japan

I’ve ridden a few of them, Shiga Kogen, Myoko, and Furano, and they’re all excellent resorts.

Whether Ikon expanding into Japan is a good thing or a bad thing depends on who you ask. Everyone will have their own opinion. Instead of debating that, it’s more interesting to look at what trends might follow in these ski towns.

Some of these areas were already firmly on the global ski radar. Myoko and Furano especially.

They didn’t need Ikon to put them on the map, they’d already “blown up” in my mind. If anything, Ikon was probably fighting to get them on the pass, not the other way around.

Shiga Kogen, though, is what really interests me.

It’s an incredible resort: true ski-in, ski-out accommodations, massive terrain, and a historic samurai-era village right at the base. It’s always felt a bit underappreciated internationally compared to places like Niseko or Hakuba.

So What happens now?

Naturally, the same two questions keep coming up:

Will lift tickets get more expensive?
And will real estate prices around these resorts rise next?

The honest answer is: probably but not for the reasons people think, and not all at once.

Let’s talk about what actually happens in Japan when global ski passes show up.

Lift Tickets in Japan Were Already Going Up

Lift ticket prices in Japan have been rising well before Ikon or Epic expanded here.

Over the last few years:

• Resorts across Japan raised day-ticket prices by 20–30%
• The biggest drivers were:
  • Labor shortages
  • Aging lift infrastructure
  • Rising maintenance and energy costs
  • A massive rebound in inbound tourism

In other words:
Japan didn’t need Ikon to raise lift prices.

That said, Ikon does change one thing:

It puts Japanese resorts directly in front of millions of foreign skiers who now see them as “included,” not “far away.”

And when demand spikes, especially during peak periods, resorts gain more pricing power and naturally can raise lift ticket prices.

So will Ikon cause lift ticket prices to rise?

Not day one.
But it makes future increases easier to justify.

Day tickets in Japan have historically been cheap relative to North America. That gap is already closing. Ikon likely accelerates that trend but it didn’t start it.

The Bigger Impact Is Likely Real Estate

If there’s one area where global ski passes historically do matter, it’s real estate.

Not immediately.
Not everywhere.
But over time, yes.

What We’ve Already Seen in Japan

Even before this Ikon expansion:

• Resort towns like Hakuba, Niseko, Furano, and Myoko saw land prices rise far faster than Japan’s national average
• In some cases, 30%+ year-over-year increases were reported
• The main drivers were:
  • Inbound tourism
  • Weak yen
  • Foreign capital
  • Limited developable land

This happened without those areas being broadly accessible via global season passes.

What Ikon Actually Changes

Ikon doesn’t instantly turn a Japanese ski town into Niseko.

What it does is subtler and powerful over the long-term.

• Puts these resorts on the mental map of North American, European, and Australian skiers
• Normalizes Japan as a repeat destination, not a once-in-a-lifetime trip. (There is no publicly available data on Ikon passholders repeat purchases year after year, but my gut says its pretty high)
• Increases the odds that visitors:
  • Come back multiple seasons
  • Stay longer
  • Start asking, “What does it cost to own something here?” (The question that starts it all)

That’s usually when real estate starts moving.

Not year one.
But years three, five, seven.

Will All Ikon Resorts See Price Increases?

No.

Not every resort in Japan can be Aspen or Whistler.

Some Ikon-added resorts will see:

• More skier days
• Better hotel occupancy
• Gradual land appreciation

Others will see very little change because:

• They still have population decline
• They still have excess housing supply
• The terrain is ehh
• They’re not walkable
• There far from population centers

The Pattern Japan Keeps Repeating

Here’s the pattern we’ve seen again and again in Japan:

1. A town has great terrain and cheap housing
2. Foreign tourism grows slowly at first
3. International awareness crosses a tipping point
4. Prices move, not to U.S. levels (besides Niseko), but upward

Niseko and Hakuba became what they are because demand eventually met constrained supply, Ikon definitely increases the chance that more towns follow that path.

So… What Happens Next?

If history is any guide:

• Lift tickets:
  Likely continue rising gradually, especially on peak days. Ikon or not.
• Real estate:
  Select resort areas will likely see increased demand, higher prices, and more development over the next 5–10 years.

The key word is select.

Japan still has:

• Hundreds of ski towns
• Massive housing oversupply
• Enormous regional differences

Ikon doesn’t change that overnight.

But it does ask an interesting question:

Which of these resorts are next and which stay overlooked?

That’s the part worth paying attention to.

I’ve heard rumors Kiroro is the next mountain to join Ikon in the coming years. That would be an interesting for me since i ride there often…

Browse opportunities yourself: Check out current listings at Nipponhomes.com

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