Why Group Ski Trips Could Be The Move In 2025

What goes down on a group ski trip, stays on a group ski trip. 

It’s like ‘Fight Club’ or the lead antagonist in the Harry Potter series – you don’t talk about it. 

Sure, you tell your friends and fam about all the pow and how beautiful it was – but all the wild après stories, best pow stashes and secret side-hits you found, they stay close to your chest – forever. 

There’s just something about a group ski trip that’ll forever stand out in your memories as ‘the time of your life’, one of those lifelong memories that stick with you forever. 

And in 2025, group travel is back in a big way. 

Let’s Break It Down: 

Why Group Ski Trips Are The Go This Winter

Riding is better with homies

Ever been halfway through a story and everyone around you is massively calling BS, and then one of your pals – a shining light from above – comes along and validates, “nah, they actually did that.”

Yep, sometimes having someone there to backup your sidehit stories comes in pretty clutch. Not only that, by riding with a crew, you always have each other's back and have an extra set of eyes on if the terrain you’re considering dropping is safe or not. Plus, it’s just funner.

COVID, who?

While it feels like an ancient myth now, it’s crazy to think that only a few years ago so many of us were in government imposed lockdowns restricted from international travel. Yet, that was a thing that happened…

A bad time, for sure. Although during that era, two big things happened.

Firstly, whether through luxurious government handouts or the inability to get out and spend, people saved up cash. Banks of cash. Making international travel much more accessible than ever before. 

Secondly, people’s interest grew. Want to know the best way to get someone to want to go overseas? Mandate that they can’t. 

So as you may imagine, since the border restrictions have opened it seems the whole world has been buzzing about being back out, about, and abroad.

‘It’s so cheap, let’s do rounds’

For us here in Japan, the current weak yen kind of sucks. For those abroad looking to come visit Japan, the weak yen is everything – resulting in US customers roughly scoring ¥150 to the US dollar. 

Naturally, it’s helping Japan stand out as the best value-for-money destination at the moment, making it the perfect time to tick off that ski holiday that’s been floated in the group chat every year for the last decade.

Lol, who saw the recent snowfall in Whistler?

Whistler, we love you, but let's be real here. Bad snowfall in other famous ski resorts like Whistler. Record-breaking snowfall in Japan. How many people in the crew does it take to work out which is the better option?

‘Yeah, I’ve been to Japan...’

According to the JNTO (Japan National Tourism Organization), Japan clocked a whopping 36.86 million international visitors in 2024 alone –  a 47.1% increase over 2023. 

Yep, to say Japan is the destination on everyone’s mind would be an understatement. So if your crew aren’t part of the 99% of the rest of the world (faux stat) who visited Japan over the past year, maybe it’s time to come see what all the hype is about?

Do It For The Lore

Why else, if not for the many memories for years to come?

The Do's and Don't's of booking a group ski trip

Do: Book That Trip

Just. Do. It.

Rhythm Japan has zero affiliation with Nike…or Shia LaBeouf.

Do: Book early

We’ve all have that one friend, that, each and every group trip, waits until the last minute and ends up with a hotel an hour-and-a-half away from the rest of the squad. Don’t be that friend this trip.  

Over the 2024/25 winter season, Niseko United’s four main resorts, Hanazono, Grand Hirafu, Niseko Village and Annupuri, served up a record breaking 11.3 million gondola rides over the three and a half month season. As you can imagine, there was a lot of people in town. 

So while your crew may be happy to wait for that one friend dilly-dallying on booking their flight, the rest of the world won’t. Niseko fills up FAST. From every accommodation option booking out months in advance to restaurants being inaccessible over the peak season without a reservation (usually made months prior), Niseko isn’t the best destination for the ‘impromptu traveller.’ You need to book early, especially when trying to organise a big group’s itinerary. 

Although, it ain’t all that bad. By booking early you’ll normally score pretty wicked early bird discounts on things like accommodation, flights, rentals, lessons and guiding…. So essentially everything. By booking early, you can essentially save on everything.  

Do: Find accomm that can fit all of you

We literally just told you: ‘don’t be that friend on this trip.’ Why are you still contemplating being ‘that friend’? 
Don’t try to go rogue and find your own accommodation, chances are you’ll end up booking completely out of town. Stick with the crew and find a self contained unit, apartment or chalet that can fit all of you together. 

Trust us, whether you’re coming over for a stag's do, a gals weekend, family vacay, or the ultimate couples retreat, the shenanigans back at the apartment will be equally as fun as your time out on the slopes. Plus, normally bigger properties (that sleep upwards of six) are priced accordingly, so when booking with multiple people, you’ll actually end up saving a few bucks on nicer accom than you would have if you initially sought out the cheaper option. 

Do: Check accommodation offerings

Is your accom a far walk from the slopes? What about all of the region’s main bars and restaurants? Do they offer a shuttle service? If not, is there a car park for a rental car? All questions that should be found out before booking in your accom – because no one wants to be responsible for the rest of the crew spending an extra ¥10,000 on unnecessary buses and taxis.

Do: Lock in a private lesson for your crew

Look, whether you shred the gnar as a group or not, all of your travel stories will be about how crazily y’all shredded the gnar – we get that. But, every once in a while you need to back it up! 

That being said, we know that when you’re coming over on a 5-day ski trip, you don’t really start to feel like ‘you have your legs back’ and are comfortable on the slopes until the last day of your trip. Screw that, ride to the fullest this squad ski trip. 

Take advantage of all the mammoth early bird deals and lock in a private lesson for the crew on your first day to make sure all your skills are up to speed so that you can adventure to the fullest for the remainder of your trip.

The Don’t's

Don't: Leave It Til the Last minute

Were you listening when we said how hard it is to score last minute accom in Niseko over the winter months? Don’t leave booking until the last minute, you will regret it. 

Don't: Treat Japan poorly

Japan is truly a unique country, from its cultural offerings and attractions to its world renowned food and beverage locations and of course, famous powder snow, Japan is truly a world of its own. Embrace it, enjoy it, and most importantly, respect it. 

Don't: Overestimate your abilities

It’s not normally the angle that we’d push while selling you the dream crew holiday to Japow, but let’s be real here, as with any extreme sport, the snow has potential to be quite dangerous – especially if your group is planning on venturing out into the backcountry. Don’t overestimate your skillset and try to ride with the best in the crew. Book a guiding experience, learn the safest terrain and how to use all the safety gear, and make sure everyone’s skills are up to par before heading out to un-patrolled terrain.

Book now to score a whopping 20% off all rental orders, as well as lessons, guiding and touring experiences with Rhythm Rides!