Rhythm Rides T&Cs

• Private Lessons from 1st December – 10th April 

• Resort Guiding from 13th December – 31st March 

• Lift-accessed Backcountry Guiding from 22nd December - 31st March

• Backcountry Touring from 22nd December – 10th April

• Futures & Progression Camps from 25th December - 27th February

• Up until seven days prior, a full refund will be provided for any reason.

• From seven days prior until 48 hours prior a 20% cancellation fee will be incurred.

• Within 48 hours of the booked lesson/tour date a 100% cancellation fee will be incurred.

• No compensation can be made for the loss of tour time due to injury or illness if the lesson or tour has commenced. 

• A 100% refund or lesson/tour reschedule is possible upon receipt of a valid medical certificate, a reschedule or refund of future lessons is possible, on the condition that:

  • We are advised at least one hour before your lesson/tour is due to commence.

  • Rhythm must receive the valid medical certificate within 24 hours of the cancelled/missed lesson.

• We reserve the right to cancel any reservations that do not meet our booking terms or have not been paid by the due date.

• Flywire may charge additional processing fees, including up to 1% of the refund amount.

We want you to have the best on-mountain experience with us, so if you are feeling unwell or are injured we will be happy to reschedule your lesson upon receipt of a medical certificate or accident report, providing we have been advised at least one hour prior to the lesson commencing.

Ski Patrol will make a treatment recommendation based on the seriousness of the injury, this may include:

• Immediate transfer to a local hospital (or other appropriate facility) via emergency services

• To seek further medical advice independently (at a private clinic, physio, or hospital) 

• Rest

If your child is injured we will call you immediately to inform you of their condition and confirm where you can meet your child. Therefore, it is crucial we have a number we can reach you on at all times.

If the injury is deemed not an emergency we will wait for you to arrive so that you can decide the best form of treatment for your child. 

If the injury is deemed critical, your child will be taken to an emergency service deemed appropriate by the ambulance service. In this circumstance, we will endeavour to reach you and reunite you with your child as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately once a lesson has commenced we are unable to offer partial refunds or reschedule lessons.

We recommend allowing a minimum of 1.5 hours before your scheduled lesson start time to collect and be fitted with your rental equipment. For morning lessons we strongly recommend arranging your rental equipment the day before – if you have pre-booked you are able to collect your rentals from 1pm the day before your booking begins for free. If you are running late please call our guest services team on 050 3773 0913.

For Private Lessons, the lift pass you purchase will depend on your goals and ability level. For those who are new to the sport (Level 1-2), we would recommend a Grand Hirafu full day pass which will give you access to Grand Hirafu & Hanazono resort. If you are more experienced (Level 3-6) and you would like to explore more of Annupuri or Niseko Village you will need an All Mountain lift pass. \

For Resort Guiding and Lift-accessed Backcountry, you will need an All Mountain lift pass.

For Explorer Upgrades (Privates & Resort Guiding) visiting resorts outside of Niseko please contact our Guest Services team to confirm the correct lift pass for your day.

Yes. Lift passes are required to use the resort facilities which include the groomed runs that you will use during your lesson.

We are incredibly lucky that Hokkaido receives arguably the best snow in the world! That does mean that the weather is often extremely cold, snowy and windy and then sometimes even rain towards the end of the season. The good news is that this does not mean that your lesson can not go ahead. We will run our lessons every day providing the lifts appropriate for your level are operating.

If the resort has closed all of its lifts for the day due to weather, we will offer a full refund or reschedule. If your lesson has already commenced we will offer a partial refund or partial reschedule.

Yes. We recommend that you have a travel insurance policy, and it is important to ensure that it covers the type of skiing/snowboarding you plan to enjoy. If you’re planning to go into the backcountry via the Niseko gate system or touring your policy must cover ‘off-piste’ or ‘backcountry’. Depending on your policy this is sometimes an optional extra.

If you would like to change the start time or meeting location, please contact us at least 48 hours prior to your lesson/guiding. We can not guarantee it is possible to amend your meeting location after this time. It is not possible to change your meeting location on the morning of your lesson/guide.

If it’s more than a week before your lesson, we’re happy to reschedule. From 7 days prior until 48 hours prior, we offer rescheduling if we have availability. From 48 hours prior, we unfortunately do not offer a reschedule unless a medical certificate is provided. (Please see our cancellation policy)

During the booking process you will have selected a meeting location, either our Rhythm Hirafu store or one of our on snow locations. Typically, we recommend an on snow meeting location to ensure you make the most of your lesson time. 

The available meeting locations are:

• Dot Base – Your instructor will meet you in front of Dot Base, within the ‘Meeting Point’ bannered area.

• King Gondola Base – your instructor will meet you by the stairs on the carpark side of the mountain centre.

• Family Base – your instructor will meet you on snow, next to the ticket sales window.

• Rhythm Hirafu store – located here, your instructor will meet you on the top floor by the Rhythm Rides sales counter.

If you’ve booked a full-day lesson then you also have the option of meeting at Annupuri resort; your instructor will meet you on snow, outside the Nook. Please note that travel time is not included so it is imperative you arrive in Annupuri ready to ski/board for your chosen start time.

Our Premium Private and Explorer Upgrades include private transport to and from the resort, you will be picked up directly from your accommodation by your instructor and dropped-off there again at the end of the day. Our guest services team will be in touch once your booking is confirmed to make the necessary arrangements.

Backcountry Touring includes private transport, you will be picked up directly from your accommodation by your guide and dropped-off there again at the end of the day. Our guest services team will be in touch once your booking is confirmed to make the necessary arrangements.

Full-day lessons and guiding can start at Annupuri Base, by pre-arrangement only, your instructor will meet you outside the Nook. If this is your preferred meeting location we must be advised at least 24 hours before your lesson start time.

Unfortunately not, we can not begin lessons in Hanazono. However, we can ski in the resort once your lesson has started and you are with your instructor/guide.

Unfortunately not, we can not begin lessons in Niseko Village. However, we can ski in the resort once your lesson has started and you are with your instructor/guide.

Private transport with pick-up and drop-off from your accommodation is included with  the following products:

• Premium Private

• Backcountry Touring 

We can also offer private transport for the below full-day products if you add on our Explorer Upgrade for ¥30,000. 

• Full Day Private Lessons

• Resort Guiding

• Lift-accessed Backcountry

If you would like private transport for your lesson you will need to book our Private Premium, or add our Explorer Upgrade if you are booking our Niseko, Private, Resort Guiding or Lift-accessed Backcountry products.

Grand Hirafu operates a free village shuttle service that runs on a continuous loop every 15 minutes to the key resort base areas of Dot Base and King Gondola Base. Your accommodation provider may also offer a shuttle service, and they are best placed to advise you on how to get to the resort from where you are staying.

There is a free resort shuttle that operates between Hanazono and Hirafu Village.