Winter Group Programs FAQs

Rhythm Futures Program is a seasonal program that operates over a 12-week period, it is designed to support athletes' development year-on-year and because its length is more popular among kids living year around in the Niseko area. 

Futures Progression Camp is a week-long camp for riders aged 10-15 who are already shredding at an advanced level or higher.

Futures Ski & Snowboard Camps are designed for children aged 7-14 from beginner to advanced, running full-day lessons from Monday to Friday with the same coaches and participants all week.

Our Futures and Progression Camps 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.

Futures Ski & Snowboard and Progression Camps

• Meet at 9am 

• Finish at 3pm

Mini-Futures 

• Meet at 9am 

• Finish at 12:45pm

Rhythm Futures 

• Meet at 8:45am

• Finish at 3pm

The instructor will meet the group in front of Dot Base, within the ‘Meeting Point’ bannered area.

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.

Weekly programs:

• Rhythm Futures Ski & Snowboard Camp level 1-2 – a Grand Hirafu lift pass.

• Rhythm Futures Ski & Snowboard Camp level 3-5 – an All Mountain lift pass.

• Progression Camps – an all-mountain pass is required.

Seasonal programs:

• Rhythm Futures - a Grand Hirafu lift pass.

• Mini Futures - a Grand Hirafu lift 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 operate a wait list. We recommended reaching out to our Rides Guest Services team at rides@rhythmjapan.com and they will do their best to assist you with an alternative date or program.

To request any changes to your booking prior to the lesson start, please contact our Rides Guest Services team at rides@rhythmjapan.com or call +81 50 3773 0913. 

Once the lessons have commenced it will only be possible to join the group if our staff are available to connect you with the group. If you are running late, please call the Rides Guest Services team on +81 50 3773 0913 and we will do our best to assist you.

Weekly programs:

• Rhythm Futures Ski & Snowboard Camp – 7-14 years old.

• Progression Camps – 10-15 years old.

Seasonal programs:

• Rhythm Futures - 6-14 years old.

• Mini Futures - 3-6 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 than a group learning environment. Please contact our Rides Guest Services in advance to determine the best option for your child.

Yes, helmets are mandatory for all Futures seasonal programs and weekly camps. 

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

Full day programs - Rhythm Futures, Futures Ski & Snowboard Camps & Progression Camps - include a 45 minute 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 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 and 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 authorise 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 reach out to our Guest Services team at rides@rhythmjapan.com and they will provide a medical waiver for you to complete. 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 that can be booked by the day. You can however, book in for the entire program 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 always 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.

Whenever possible we will try our best to keep our young shredders who are friends together, providing the ages and abilities work well with the rest of the athletes in the group. Please let our Guest Services team know at the time of booking who your child would like to be grouped with.

Unfortunately, we are unable to reschedule or provide a refund in these cases unless it is due to sickness/injury and a medical certificate if provided within 24 hours.

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

King Lift #4 is not permitted for use by any child.

Children enrolling in any of our programs should be toilet trained and able to use the restroom.

Children will not go to the toilet unsupervised.

• 7+ years we will wait outside the bathroom entrance 

• 3-6 years we will go with the child and provide assistance but we will not enter the cubicle with 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 until Friday. Each day builds on the previous lesson’s progress alongside the same coach and kids each day. Our ski & snowboard camps will provide your child with a superior and super fun learning experience.

Unfortunately, our program is set as a five-day program. If your child is unable to make it for all of the days you can choose to miss some days of the program only if those days fall at the end of the week. However, please speak to our Guest Services team to confirm if your schedule will work with our program. There’s no pro-rata discount in these cases.

Unfortunately not, our five-day program is a consecutive learning experience that 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-up process and then carry out a safety lap every Monday morning at the beginning of the program to ensure each child is allocated to an appropriate group.

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 move them to another program, upgrade to a private lesson where 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 (within 24 hours of the initial missed lesson,) a reschedule or refund of future lessons is possible.

We must be advised at least one hour before any future lessons commence.

Our camps are available for advanced to expert-level riders only. If your child is not yet at this level then we would recommend signing them up for our Futures Ski & Snowboard Camps instead, which is available for ability levels ranging from beginner to advanced. If you are unsure what level your child is currently at, please reach out to our Guest Services team at rides@rhythmjapan.com 

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-up process and then carry out a safety lap every Monday morning at the beginning of the program to ensure each child is allocated to an appropriate group.

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. 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 move them to another program, upgrade to a private lesson where 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 (within 24 hours of the initial missed lesson,) a reschedule or refund of future lessons is possible.

We must be advised at least one hour before any future lessons commence.

We will form classes firstly according to the previous season’s groups and athletes’ log information, secondly around those who have a similar ability level and goals, then finally around appropriate age groups. We aim to have these groups formed and settled in as soon as possible in the season.

In our Rhythm Futures program we will have a number of bi-lingual Japanese/English instructors and groups running, however we’re unable to guarantee this for every group. Please make sure to select this preference 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 is 4 hours per session and Futures is 6 hours per session, including lunch. Both programs include:

• Expert coaches, passionate about teaching kids

• Same coach, same kids all season!

• Brand New K2 Rental Gear included in the program to enjoy for the season

• Weekly session report and progression book

• Stay connected with a group app for parents, coaches, and events

• Group bonding and teamwork activities throughout the season

• End of season Futures event

Our coaches are serious about progressing our Futures athletes. During the season we will conduct regular skills assessments at the start, middle and 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 and 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 halfway mark and 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.

No, the program runs for 12 consecutive weekends without breaks starting from 10th January.

Each group will then have a dedicated coach for the seasonal program and we will endeavor to maintain the same coach for the entirety of the program. However, there may be cases when this is not possible, often as a result of instructor injury or illness. In these cases we will always provide a suitable and equivalent replacement.