Matsudai Family is a ski area located in the Matsudai neighbourhood of Tokamachi City in the southern region of Niigata Prefecture.
This ski area, as the name suggests, offers gentle slopes which are popular with families with small children, beginner skiers, and snowboarders. The ski area has two pair lifts and a run of about 800m, also open for night skiing. The steepest slope is 24 degrees.
This location was known as Matsudai Town until it became part of Tokamachi City in 2005. The full official name of the ski area is now Tokamachi-shi Matsudai Family.
Matsudai Family has been operating since December 1991.
Mountain
statistics
Top/peak (m)
440
Vertical (m)
200
Bottom/base (m)
240
Beginner runs (%)
60
Intermediate runs (%)
30
Advanced runs (%)
10
Longest course (m)
800
Steepest slope (°)
24
Number of courses
3
Ski lifts
2
Ropeway cable car
0
Gondola
0
Quad lift (4-person)
0
Triple lift (3-person)
0
Pair lift (2-person)
2
Single lift (1-person)
0
Surface lift
0
Information
Normal season dates
Matsudai Family usually plans to be open from late December until late March. See below for the actual opening and closing dates in recent seasons.
Normal opening times
Matsudai Family is normally open from 10:00am (9:00am on Saturdays and holidays) until 4:45pm during the daytime.
Night skiing
Night skiing operations are separate and from 6:00pm until 8:45pm (starting from Monday 5th January 2026). Both of the ski lifts normally operate from during night skiing.
Park
The Snowboard Mountain area on the upper slopes of Matsudai Family features items including a large table top, small table top, rail and box.
Families & children
There is a Kids Park area near the base which includes a sledging area.
Lessons
Matsudai Ski School offers morning and afternoon lessons. General, group and private lessons are available.
Rental
Ski and snowboard equipment rental is available.
Lift ticket prices
2025-2026 season
Information for the upcoming 2026-2027 season will be added by December 2026
1 day
Adult: 2,500 yen
Half day
Adult: 1,800 yen
1 lift coupon
Adult: 150 yen
11 lift coupon
Adult: 1,500 yen
Night skiing
Adult: 1,000 yen
Season ticket
Adult: 20,000 yen
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: 27th December - 29th March (93 days)
2024-2025 season: 23rd December - 30th March (98 days)
2023-2024 season: 23rd December - 24th March (93 days)
2022-2023 season: 21st December - 26th March (96 days)
2021-2022 season: 26th December - 27th March (92 days)
Deepest recorded snow depth
2025-2026 season: 320cm on 3rd February
2024-2025 season: 370cm on 24th February
2023-2024 season: 130cm on 28th January, 6th February
2022-2023 season: 240cm on 29th January
2021-2022 season: 330cm on 23rd February
2020-2021 season: 330cm on 19th February
2019-2020 season: 150cm on 11th February
2018-2019 season: 290cm on 27th-28th January
2017-2018 season: 340cm on 19th February
2016-2017 season: 190cm on 15th-16th February
2015-2016 season: 145cm on 2nd March
2014-2015 season: 300cm on 15th-17th February
Resources
Weather & snowfall (Japan Meteorological Agency) [open in new window]
Introduction to the region
Niigata Prefecture is located in the Chubu region of the main island of Honshu, and it is commonly associated with the Hokuriku subregion. The long Niigata coastline faces the Sea of Japan, and the prefecture borders Yamagata Prefecture, Fukushima Prefecture, Gunma Prefecture, Nagano Prefecture, and Toyama Prefecture.
Niigata played a significant role in the history of skiing in Japan. After Hokkaido and Nagano Prefecture, it is currently home to the third-most ski areas in Japan.
The ski areas of Niigata are scattered across the mountainous regions of the prefecture, and there is even one on Sado Island. The majority can be found in Yuzawa Town & Minamiuonuma City in the Chuetsu region and Myoko City in the Joetsu region.
Tokamachi City is located between those two regions and often receives heavy snowfall.
Matsudai Family is one of 2 ski areas currently operating in Tokamachi 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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