Winter Children's Lessons & Programs

Payment of your lesson or tour (either via a third-party agent or directly to Rhythm Japan) constitutes acceptance of all terms and conditions listed for all parties participating in Rhythm Rides lessons or guiding (named or otherwise).

Payment of your lesson or tour (either via a third-party agent or directly to Rhythm Japan) constitutes acceptance of all Rhythm Japan and Flywire terms and conditions listed for all parties participating in Rhythm Rides lessons or guidingand/or Summer Tours Niseko products (named or otherwise).

Flywire is the Payment platform that facilitates online payment transactions for Rhythm Japan.

Flywire Terms and Conditions

Lift passes are not included with any lesson or guiding product. They are required to be purchased separately for the duration of the lesson or guided product, when accessing a resort area. 

No refund will be given for any unused portion of lift passes.

Please arrive in suitable warm and waterproof gear for your activity, with a valid lift ticket five minutes before your scheduled lesson/tour time. All lessons/tours start at the scheduled time and lessons/tours cannot be extended or rescheduled following the late arrival of a guest for any reason.

All parties agree that they have valid travel insurance that covers the snowsports/outdoor activity being participated in. Please note, guests are responsible for their own medical expenses including rescue fees when accessing terrain outside of the resort boundaries.

Rhythm Rides lessons and guiding may be recorded by a Rhythm sponsored photographer/videographer. Customers acknowledge that they and their party’s likeness may appear in future print or digital media without remuneration.

The 20% off* Early Bird discount only applies to bookings of three days or more of Rhythm Rides full-day or 4 hour lessons/guiding. Blackout periods apply. Black out dates: 16th Dec – 5th Jan & 25th Jan – 2nd Feb.

Early Bird booking period: June 6th – July 31st

Skiing, snowboarding and other mountain sports are high-risk activities.

Rhythm Japan and its employees cannot be held liable for accidents or injuries, including serious bodily harm or injury resulting in death that occurs before, during or after your guide or tour.

All those who partake in a Rhythm Rides lesson/tour

All those who partake in a Rhythm Rides will indemnify and keep indemnified Rhythm Japan, its employees, affiliates and agents from all actions, suits, claims for damage and demands for personal injury, loss or damage.

A deposit of 20% is required within seven days of the booking.

The remaining 80% is due at least seven days before the lesson/tour date.

• 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 guiding has commenced. Upon receipt of a valid medical certificate, a reschedule or refund of future lessons is possible.

1. We must be advised before your new lesson has commenced.
2. Rhythm must receive the report 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.

In the event of extreme weather that has caused the resort to cease operations or the safety of the tour is at risk, we will offer a reschedule or refund of the lesson/tour

• A 100% refund  is only available at the discretion of the manager  for lessons/tours that have not commenced.
• A partial refund for the unused portion of lessons/tours that had already commenced.
• No compensation is available if suitable terrain is accessible for the booked lesson or tour.

Our program is offered at a fixed price for the entire season regardless of how many days you can attend during the season.  We are unable to offer pro-rata refunds or rescheduled lessons due to missed training days.

We will offer a refund or reschedule only for the following reasons:

• The training session has been cancelled by Rhythm Futures.
• There is a season-ending injury – a valid medical certificate is required.

If we deem the conditions unsuitable to train in, we may decide to postpone a training day. In this instance, we will first look to reschedule the session  to another suitable day, or if this is not possible we will provide a pro-rata refund.

Rhythm Futures program is a seasonal program which operates over a 12-week period, these programs are designed to see a seasonal progression of athletes year on year and because its length is more popular among kids living year around in the Niseko area. This season we have launched our Holiday Program offerings & extra days on the snow across some National Holidays.

Progression Camp is a training program designed for athletes who are used to consistent coaching & want to continue to develop their all-mountain riding skills. The programs are available for Intermediate – Expert level riders only and run for 10 days over a 14-day period. We operate a total of 2 Progression Camps and a Bonus week.

Kids Week offers kids the opportunity to learn and progress their skiing and snowboarding skills over 5 consecutive days in Niseko’s first committed weekly program. The commitment of the same coach and same kids in the weekly class provides a superior learning experience.

Our kids’ week & progression programs are conducted in English. If your child does not understand English and needs assistance in a different language, please contact our Rides Guest Services team.

For the Futures Seasonal Program, please refer to the Futures section of the FAQs.

Kids Week

• Meeting time is 8:45 am for warm-up
• The program will finish at 15:15 pm for a stretch down & de-brief until 15:30 pm

Mini-Futures 

• Meeting time is 8:15 am for warm-up
• The program will finish at 12:15 pm for a stretch down & de-brief until 12:30 pm

Rhythm Futures & Progression Camps

• Meeting time is 8:15 am for warm-up
• The program will finish at 2:45 pm for a stretch down & de-brief until 3 pm

Dot Base – your instructor will meet you on snow.

Please arrive ready for your day of skiing and snowboarding.

Every morning, our Kids Supervisor or Managers will be available at the meeting point to ensure the day runs smoothly. Also, you can always reach out to our coaches to assist you with any questions.

Futures & Kids Week –

Kids Week level 1-3 – a Grand Hirafu lift pass.

Kids Week level 4-6 – an All Mountain lift pass.

Progression Camps – An all-mountain pass is required.

Mini Futures* – Please note that Niseko United no longer provides pre-school lift tickets for free, so a valid pass that will cover the four-hour duration of each week for Grand Hirafu Resort will be required.

• Lift passes – levels 1-3 require a Grand Hirafu pass, and levels 4-6 require an All Mountain pass.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to request a specific instructor for our group lessons. However, it is possible to book a specific instructor for our Private lessons.

No. Rhythm Rides does not offer a waiting list. You can head online to find a different available date or contact our Rides Guest Services.

To make any changes to your booking 24 hours prior to the lesson start, please contact our Rides Guest Services team or call +81 50 3773 0913

Once the lessons have commenced it will only be possible to join the group if our staff is available to help. If you are running late, please call Rides Guest Services to confirm if it will be possible to still join the group.

• Futures, Progression Camps and Kids Week: 7 – 14 years old
• Mini-Futures: 4 – 6 years old

Every child is different, and the best approach depends on the circumstances. Some children may respond better to private one-on-one lessons. Please contact our Rides Guest Services in advance to determine the best option for your child.

Yes, helmets are mandatory for all Futures Programs & Kids lessons. We are able to offer seasonal helmet rentals at a reduced rate for season long rental.

This is not mandatory, however, we do highly recommend them for beginner snowboarders.

Full Day Programs (Rhythm Futures, Kids Week, Progression Programs)
Each training day will include a 1-hour lunch break. Depending on the ages of the group, and how each group is handling the conditions the coach may take additional breaks during the day as needed.

Mini Futures Program
Will typically take a 15-minute break during the middle of the session to rehydrate, and use the bathroom. This is also a good time for your little one to have a snack and energise, so we recommend packing some snacks.

We aim for our children to be able to experience as much of the mountain as possible during their time in our programs & we have a range of lunch options on the mountain and in the resort which our groups will visit during the season.  Depending on the skill level of your child, the lunch could be locally in Grand Hirafu or the other resorts such as Niseko Village, Annupuri or Hanazono, at all locations we offer a variety of meal options.

If your child is over the age of 12 years, you can authorize them to make their own way home at the end of the day. To do this please speak with the Kids Program Manager on your first day.

Please fill out the medical release form. Our Kids Manager will then check in with you on the program’s first day to confirm any additional information needed to ensure the best care for your child.

Our programs are designed to be a full commitment for both your kids and our coaches. They are not available as casual training sessions. You can, however, book in for the entire program though, and choose to take some days off at the end of the program if this suits your family best.

We ask parents or guardians to provide us with a phone number they’re contactable on in case of any problem. You will be contacted by our team as soon as possible.

Wherever possible we will be happy to keep shredders together, providing the ages and abilities work well with the rest of the athletes on the team. Please add this information to the comments section when registering your child.

Unfortunately, we are unable to reschedule or provide a refund for this reason.

Kids under 6 years old will always ride with a responsible adult and if riding with an instructor this will only ride with one kid at each side, maximum 2 per ride.

King Lift #4 and Wonderland lifts are not allowed for any kid.

Children signed up to our program should be toilet trained and able to use the restroom.

1. Children will not go to the toilet unsupervised.
2. 7+ years we will wait out the front
3. 3-6 years we will go with the child and provide assistance but we will not enter the cubicle of the child.

Our weekly program is the first of its kind in Niseko, offering a consistent multi-day approach to learning. Our program starts each week on a Monday and runs consecutively until Friday. Each day builds on the previous lessons & progression by the same coach & kids. Our Futures Camp will provide your child with a superior & super fun learning experience.

Unfortunately, our camp is set as a five-day program; if you are unable to make it for all of the days you can choose to miss some days of the camp only if it’s at the end. However, please speak to our Guest Services team to confirm if your schedule will work with our program. There’s no pro-rata fee that could be applicable.

Unfortunately not; our five-day camp is a consecutive learning experience which starts on a Monday and ends on a Friday.

We will form groups firstly around those who have a similar ability level and goals & then secondly around appropriate age groups. To do so we pay special attention during the sign-ups and then we do a safety lap every Monday.

During the safety lap we will try to assign kids accordingly to their ability level, goals and age. However, if by any circumstance there’s no suitable group for your child we will offer to upgrade to a private lesson whether possible or offer a full refund.

No compensation can be made for the loss of lesson time due to injury or illness if the program has commenced. Upon receipt of a valid medical certificate, a reschedule or refund of future lessons is possible.

• We must be advised before your new lesson has commenced.
• Rhythm must receive the report within 24 hours of the cancelled/missed lesson.

Our camps are available for intermediate to expert-level riders only. If your child is not yet comfortable riding blue/red runs then we would recommend signing them up for our Futures Camp program instead, which is available for all ability levels.

We endeavour to have consistency in our coaches across our camps, which can provide some week-on-week consistency. While this is our goal, we can not guarantee the same coach throughout multiple-week camps

We will form groups firstly around those who have a similar ability level and goals & then secondly around appropriate age groups. To do so we pay special attention during the sign-ups and then we assess the ability level, speed and endurance of each rider over the first day

If at the discretion of the coaches and the program manager your child is not at the ability level required to participate in the program where possible we will offer a spot on the Futures Camp or use the credit for private lessons. If this is not of your convenience we will offer a full refund.

No compensation can be made for the loss of lesson time due to injury or illness if the program has commenced. Upon receipt of a valid medical certificate, a reschedule or refund of future lessons is possible.

• We must be advised before your new lesson has commenced.
• Rhythm must receive the report within 24 hours of the cancelled/missed lesson.

We’re thrilled to provide kids joining our Mini-Futures and Futures program will have access to a set of brand new K2 gear from the start of the resort operation until April 6th. 

*If availability is limited we might provide other brands’ gear. Offering is only available for season long programs and not for camp’s offerings.

What’s included? 

• A pair of skis with bindings, poles and boots or a snowboard set with bindings and boots. 

When can I collect the gear? 

• Gear will be available to collect on Saturday 02nd and Sunday 3rd of December within the store opening hours.
• Kids joining the camps will be contacted directly to arrange a suitable time.
• Our team will get in contact closer to the first day of lifts operations to confirm this year’s schedule.

What if I can’t come on the set days? 

• We will arrange another suitable time before the program’s start date.

Loss and Damage Policy

• If there is extensive damage from misuse of equipment, but can be fixed, the minimum cost of a full tune is charged.
• If equipment is damaged beyond repair or lost/stolen, a fee will be charged equivalent to 10 days’ rental for standard gear.

We will form groups firstly around those who have a similar ability level and goals & then secondly around appropriate age groups. To do so we pay special attention during the sign-ups and then we do a safety lap every Monday.

Our Futures programs are primarily conducted in English, If your child requires instruction in Japanese, please inform our Guest Services team at the time of booking so we can do our best to allocate a bilingual instructor.

If you have booked a Kids Week or Progression Program – your lessons will be conducted in English.

If you have booked a Rhythm Futures program – we’re limited to bi-lingual Japanese instructors and working on long-term solutions to this important matter. Please make sure to select this and comment on the need for the Japanese language at the time of booking and we will be in contact to discuss your needs.

Mini-Futures: 

• 4 hours per session.
• Brand New K2 Rental Gear Included.
• Events & Program Calendar to be up to date.
• Weekly Session Report and Progress Book.
• Group App for parents and coaches to stay connected.
• Community Events

Futures: 

• 7 hours per session.
• Brand New K2 Rental Gear Included.
• Daily Lunch included
• Events & Program Calendar to be up to date.
• Weekly Session Report and Athlete Report.
• Group App for parents and coaches to stay connected.
• Community Events

Our coaches are serious about progressing our Futures Athletes. During the season we will conduct regular skills assessments at the start, middle & end of the program to track our athletes’ progress in a number of snowsports skills. This will provide a foundation for planning our sessions, working towards goals & also tracking our athlete’s progress over the course of their time in the Futures program. We will provide these reports to all parents at the end of the season.

Mini Futures will be provided with a progression booklet to be completed across the season and track their progress and next goals.

Registration will be open until December 06th, with program placements confirmed by December 20th.  Programs require a minimum of 4 athletes per group/level in order to operate.
Waitlist positions for the program will be confirmed from December 22th.
Registration will be open from May 1st; registrations will be reviewed and approved within 48 hours. Where program spots are full a waitlist will be accepted with final spots being confirmed Dec 1.

At the start of the program, we will group all athletes together into training groups according to age, interests, and ability level. Each group will then have a dedicated coach for the season program., the five days of the kid’s week or, the 6 weeks of the progression camp.

January 5th, 12th, 13th and February 11th, 23rd and 24th.

We have adjusted our program pricing as a result of rising operational costs & adjustments required to wages to meet with inflation.

This increase allows us to maintain the high quality of our offerings and attract the best coaches, ensuring that each participant receives exceptional value from our program.

The Holiday Program is available only to be booked in full.

Same as the seasonal program we will need a minimum of 4 participants per group to run the class.

Meeting time is 8:45 am
Start time is 9:00 am
Finish time is 3:00pm