Hida Kawai is a ski area located in Hida City in the northern region of Gifu Prefecture.
This ski area describes itself as 'a very small ski area, usually very quiet and uncrowded... with great snow'. It is hardly one of the smallest ski areas in Japan, though, with four ski lifts - three pairs and one single - and six official ski courses.
The snow on a few upper runs at Hida Kawai is left ungroomed.
Unfortunately, the top Number 5 lift will not be operating during the 2025-2026 season. The Number 2 (single) lift will only operate on weekends and holidays.
The 'kawai' in the name of this ski area might sound like it means 'cute', but it is actually the name of the location of the ski area. Kawai Village merged with neighbouring towns and villages in February 2004 to become Hida City.
Mountain
statistics
Top/peak (m)
1260
Vertical (m)
430
Bottom/base (m)
830
Beginner runs (%)
40
Intermediate runs (%)
30
Advanced runs (%)
30
Longest course (m)
1800
Steepest slope (°)
35
Number of courses
5
Ski lifts
4
Ropeway cable car
0
Gondola
0
Quad lift (4-person)
0
Triple lift (3-person)
0
Pair lift (2-person)
3
Single lift (1-person)
1
Surface lift
0
Information
Normal season dates
Hida Kawai usually plans to be open from late December until mid- to late March. See below for the actual opening and closing dates in recent seasons.
Normal opening times
Hida Kawai is open from 8:30am until 4:00pm. The ski area normally closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 7th January 2026. The top Number 5 lift will not operating during the 2025-2026 season.
Night skiing
There is no night skiing at Hida Kawai.
Ungroomed runs
There are a few ungroomed areas at the top.
Families & children
There is a Kids Corner in the base building.
Lessons
Ski lessons are available at Hida Kawai on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays only.
Rental
Ski and snowboard equipment & wear rental is available.
Lift ticket prices
2025-2026 season
Information for the upcoming 2026-2027 season will be added by December 2026
1 day (weekends & holidays)
Adult: 3,900 yen
Child: 2,500 yen
Seniors: 3,400 yen
1 day (weekdays)
Adult: 2,500 yen
Child: 1,500 yen
Morning
Adult: 3,000 yen
Child: 1,500 yen
Seniors: 2,500 yen
Afternoon
Adult: 3,000 yen
Child: 1,500 yen
Seniors: 2,500 yen
1 lift coupon
Adult: 300 yen
Child: 300 yen
Seniors: 300 yen
11 lift coupons
Adult: 3,000 yen
Child: 3,000 yen
Seniors: 3,000 yen
Season ticket
Adult: 28,000 yen
Child: 11,000 yen
Seniors: 25,000 yen
The weekend-only morning ticket is from 8:30am until 1:00pm and the afternoon ticket is from 11:30am until 4:00pm.
A number of Family tickets are also available on holidays (not available on normal weekdays):
1 adult and 1 child - 5,500 yen
2 adults and 1 child - 8,000 yen
Additional adult - 3,500 yen
Additional child - 2,000 yen
Pre-school children can ride the lifts for free.
Historical snow depth data
The following ski season and official snow depth data have been independently compiled by SnowJapan for publication on this website. Where available, the data is updated annually after each ski season.
First and last dates of recent seasons
2025-2026 season: 6th January - 15th March (69 days)
2024-2025 season: 28th December - 23rd March (86 days)
2023-2024 season: 10th January - 20th March (71 days)
2022-2023 season: 29th December - 19th March (81 days)
2021-2022 season: 25th December - 21st March (87 days)
Deepest recorded snow depth
2025-2026 season: 125cm on 9th-10th February
2024-2025 season: 330cm on 8th-9th February
2023-2024 season: 120cm on 26th-31st January
2022-2023 season: 110cm on 2nd-3rd February
2021-2022 season: 205cm on 7th-8th February
2020-2021 season: 160cm on 11th-12th January
2018-2019 season: 110cm on 30th January - 5th February
2017-2018 season: 150cm on 8th-9th, 12th-14th and 18th-20th February
2016-2017 season: 160cm on 26th January and 12th-14th February
2015-2016 season: 70cm on 11th-13th February and 1st-4th March
2014-2015 season: 200cm on 13th March
Resources
Weather & snowfall (Japan Meteorological Agency) [open in new window]
Introduction to the region
Gifu Prefecture is located in central Japan and is one of only eight landlocked prefectures in the country. It is surrounded by seven other prefectures: Aichi, Mie, Shiga, Fukui, Ishikawa, Toyama and Nagano.
All the ski areas in Gifu Prefecture are in the northern mountainous regions of the Prefecture, in Gujo City, Takayama City and Hida City.
Six ski areas in Gujo City recently joined together for promotional purposes under the Takasu Mountains brand. (Takasu is the name of a neighbourhood in Gujo City. In 2004, Takasu Village merged with several other towns and villages to form the current city). That area is particularly popular with people visiting from Nagoya and Osaka. Train links are not particularly convenient, so most people travel by car or bus.
Hida Kawai is one of 2 ski areas currently operating in Hida City.
About the information on this page
SnowJapan independently researches, checks and updates the information on this page at least once each year, in the lead-up to every ski season. We also update it whenever we become aware of other changes. The information published on SnowJapan is based on independent research using official Japanese-language sources and is not supplied by ski areas. If you are planning to visit a ski area, we recommend checking the official ski area website for the latest operational information. We take great care to keep the information on SnowJapan accurate and up to date. However, SnowJapan accepts no responsibility for decisions made based on information published on this website.
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