Summer in Rusutsu: Everything You Need to Know After the Snow Melts

Spending summer in Rusutsu means having the time of your life — endless roller coaster rides, 72 holes of golf, and hot air balloons over Mount Yotei.

In winter, Rusutsu is the resort skiers plan their year around. With tree runs blanketed in ultra-soft Japan powder, it’s known as the ski instructor’s favourite resort for a reason. Then the snow melts, and the place reveals a side that has yet to be discovered. So let us tell you a secret only locals know: Green season in Rusutsu is every bit as good.

Mount Yotei takes off its snow cap (but still looks as beautiful), the slopes turn to 50 shades of green, and skiing gives way to a very different adventure list: hot-air balloons at sunrise, 72 holes of golf, and the largest amusement park in Hokkaido. Not bad for a ski town in July.

Let’s put it this way: Hokkaido’s summer deserves more credit than it gets. As the mercury rises in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, the northern island stays relatively cool and dry. That’s the whole logic behind the Hokkaido coolcation, and reason enough to make it part of your summer plans. It’s not only the weather that attracts people to head up north: by summer, it’s all golf, farmland and a theme park big enough to lose the kids in.

For families or anyone who still secretly enjoys a fairground ride, Rusutsu Resort’s amusement park is worth a whole day of exploration. It’s the largest in Hokkaido with eight roller coasters, a Ferris wheel, a go-kart track, and many family-friendly rides to keep the smaller ones happy. Consider it official permission to stop pretending you’re too grown up for the carousel ride.

Summer brings the outdoor Super Jumbo Pool and its slides, fireworks after dark, and the long view from the gondola up to the Yotei Panorama Terrace. Add the Cycle Trail and the resort’s resident sheep, and the day more or less plans itself. The park usually opens around late April for Golden Week, so check out the current season dates before you book.

Rusutsu is set against some of Hokkaido’s finest scenery, ringed by mountains, rivers and forest, so the outdoor activity list runs long. If you're up for an adventure, there’s white-water rafting on the Shiribetsu River, canoeing on Lake Toya, and cycling across mountainous trails. 

Prefer a slower pace? There's still plenty to pursue, including horseback riding through wildflower fields, lazy afternoons of fly-fishing, and farm harvesting where you pull your own carrots and fruits. The set-piece is the sunrise hot-air balloon where you get to see Mount Yotei from above.

If you want to raise your heart rate, there’s always pickleball. The fastest-growing racquet sport in the US is creeping up everywhere, including Japan. Rusutsu Resort got in early with Hokkaido's first dedicated courts, eight of them built to Pickleball Japan Federation standards. The sport is easy to pick up and far harder to put down, which makes it a fine way to spend an hour in the sun.

Most of all, Rusutsu is a golf lover’s paradise. Ask a golfer and they’ll point you to Hokkaido as one of Asia’s most scenic places to play. Rusutsu Resort Golf 72 is the marquee: four 18-hole courses, with Mount Yotei behind nearly every shot, and fairways quiet enough that the only thing to think about is your own swing. 

The Tower Course, laid out by Jumbo Ozaki, is the crowd-pleaser: wide off the tee, then trickier around the greens. The Izumikawa course keeps it friendly for beginners, while the River and Wood courses require a more serious, sharper game but repays you with scenery.

On the rare occasion that the weather doesn’t cooperate, the resort runs a steady roster of family handicraft workshops. On rainy days, Rusutsu Arena picks up the slack with climbing walls, bouldering, and table tennis. The real find is the two-storey indoor carousel.

It shares its maker with the carousel at Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch, one of only two in the world. A two-storey carousel in a Hokkaido ski town is exactly as unlikely as it sounds, and worth tracking down for that alone.

One caveat: many of Rusutsu’s local izakayas close once the snow’s gone, so it pays to know where to go (and always ring beforehand to confirm if they’re open). Inside the resort, the Oktoberfest buffet is a proper crowd-pleaser, with a spread wide enough for various tastes and appetites, as well as groups whose numbers keep changing.

For something more local, drive a few minutes out to Mokumokuya for all-you-can-eat Genghis Khan lamb grilled at the table. Call ahead: hours can vary through summer, and it’s cash only. Back at the amusement park, Ruth & Moose Forest Café turns out brick-oven pizzas and burgers, and Névé Café offers coffee, pastries and a few vegan options for breakfast.

Named Japan’s Best Ski Hotel at the World Ski Awards, The Vale Rusutsu is a short walk from the gondola, the golf shuttles and the amusement park. An indoor walkway links it straight to the resort’s restaurants and shops, so there’s no need to head anywhere further.

The one- to four-bedroom residences come with full kitchens, in-room laundry and floor-to-ceiling windows over the surrounding mountains, the kind of space that makes a longer stay easy to justify. Add a concierge to sort tee times and airport transfers, and trading the skis for a set of clubs starts to look like the smart move.

If golf is why you’re here, The 19th Floor is the booking that truly makes the trip. You’ll get a top-floor penthouse with a dedicated butler who handles everything from tee times and private transfers to dinner reservations, so your only job is to turn up with your best game.