Niseko Village has opened a 310-room Moxy hotel and will debut the first phase of a new glass-floor gondola system during its 2026/27 ski season.
The Hokkaido resort’s white season begins on 28 November 2026, bringing a more relaxed accommodation option to the mountain alongside increased lift capacity. Moxy Niseko Village has ski-in/ski-out access, while the Mori-no Gondola is designed to offer more comfortable transport in difficult weather.
Set at the base of Mount Niseko Annupuri, Niseko Village combines extensive ski terrain with an established collection of international hotels. The resort reports average annual snowfall of 18 metres, making its sheltered slopes suited to powder-focused winter trips.
Moxy Niseko Village brings playful design to the slopes
Located beside the existing Niseko Village Gondola, Moxy Niseko Village is a lively, design-led hotel with direct access to the resort’s ski runs. Its position should allow guests to move between breakfast, the lifts and après-ski without relying on transfers around the village.
The hotel has 310 guestrooms, including flexible loft-style accommodation suitable for groups and twin rooms. Interiors combine the Moxy brand’s colourful social character with details inspired by Japanese craft, offering a more informal alternative to Niseko Village’s established luxury properties.
Moxy Niseko Village is Moxy’s fifth Japanese hotel and first property in the country’s alpine resort market. Its opening follows confirmation of the project in 2024, when the five-storey development was expected to cost JPY6.59 billion, approximately US$41.74 million at the figure reported at the time.
The communal spaces reflect Moxy’s social approach to hospitality. Three dining and social venues give guests somewhere to meet between time on the mountain, with Moxy Bar & Café serving breakfast, casual dishes and drinks throughout the day. Moxy Grab & Go provides snacks and refreshments for skiers heading out early or moving around the resort.
After the lifts close, guests can use an outdoor foot onsen or the 24-hour fitness centre. The foot bath gives guests a way to experience Japan’s onsen culture while retaining Moxy’s youthful, sociable identity.
The hotel is intended to operate beyond the ski season, with hiking and cycling among the green-season activities available around Niseko.
Mori-no Gondola replaces an exposed chairlift route
The new Mori-no Gondola will use enclosed, eight-passenger cabins to connect the resort base with higher terrain. It replaces an exposed open chairlift route, improving access when wind, snow or low temperatures make uncovered lifts less comfortable.
Across the complete system, 86 cabins are planned. Most will use a standard enclosed design, while four VIP cabins will have tables suitable for light meals. Two glass-floor cabins will give passengers a direct view of the snow-covered terrain below.
The glass-floor cabins are an added feature; the gondola’s primary role is to improve capacity and comfort. Niseko Village expects the installation to double transport capacity on the route, reducing pressure as skiers and snowboarders move up the mountain.
The existing Niseko Gondola will remain in operation. The new system replaces the Mori-no Chair, which has served the mountain since the 1980s, as part of a staged renewal of ageing lift infrastructure.
Detailed plans for the approximately 2,000-metre route divide construction into two sections. The first is scheduled to open in December 2026, running from the resort base to an intermediate station at 670 metres.
The second section is expected to open in December 2027 and continue towards the upper mountain. Published reports differ on the final elevation, placing the upper station at either approximately 930 or 970 metres. Niseko Village’s September announcement presents the development as a winter 2026 launch, while the more detailed construction programme confirms that the full route will be completed in phases.
The intermediate station should allow passengers to leave partway up or continue towards more demanding terrain once the second section opens. This arrangement is designed to serve families, couples, beginners and experienced skiers without directing every passenger to the same elevation.
Year-round operation of the Mori-no Gondola from 2028 is under consideration rather than confirmed. Such a schedule would extend its use into Niseko’s hiking season, but the immediate focus remains improved winter access.
Niseko Village expands its range of places to stay
Moxy joins a varied accommodation collection at Niseko Village, including Hilton Niseko Village, Hinode Hills Niseko Village, Kasara Niseko Village Townhouse, The Green Leaf Niseko Village and Higashiyama Niseko Village, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve.
The new hotel occupies a different part of the market from the resort’s private townhouses and refined wabi-sabi apartments. Its loft rooms, communal venues and casual dining are better suited to travellers who value slope access and a sociable atmosphere over the formality of a traditional five-star stay.
Elsewhere in the village, the Niseko-yo precinct concentrates dining options in one area. A Kids’ Club accepts children aged from 18 months to nine years, broadening the resort’s appeal for families who want supervised time away from the slopes.
Moxy also opens before another international hotel arrives in the wider Niseko area. Fairmont Niseko is scheduled for early 2028, with 165 rooms planned for a forest site between Mount Yotei and Mount Annupuri. That development is separate from Niseko Village.
Lift investment continues across Niseko
The Mori-no Gondola forms part of broader infrastructure investment across Niseko United, the network of four interconnected ski resorts. Niseko Annupuri International Ski Area plans to replace its existing gondola before the 2028/29 season, raising expected capacity from about 1,440 to 2,800 passengers per hour.
Other projects include Grand Hirafu’s 10-person Ace Gondola and continued lift development at Hanazono. Within Niseko Village itself, the single-seat Wonderland Chair is scheduled to become a two-seat lift in December 2027, with projected capacity rising by 70 per cent.
Moxy Niseko Village is quoting nightly rates from £72 for a Loft Room. The published starting price does not specify eligible dates or booking conditions, making availability worth checking directly when planning a winter stay.
