Dec–MarThe closest ski area to Kanazawa: a quiet hill about 40 minutes by car, with a powder course, a weekend ski bus and Kanazawa's hotels for the night.
Hakusan Seymour (白山セイモアスキー場) is the closest ski area to Kanazawa: about 41 minutes by car. It has 9 courses and 4 lifts, the ungroomed Rhapsody powder course, a kids' park and free parking. The 2025-26 adult day ticket was about ¥4,500. Last season ran from 3 January to 22 March 2026, so expect early January to late March in 2027. There is no night skiing. On weekends and holidays a Hokutetsu ski bus runs direct from Kanazawa Station.
Seymour is the hill for a Kanazawa visitor who wants snow without changing hotels. Sleep in the city, eat well, and be on the slopes in under an hour. It is a low, quiet hill (the top is 1,030 m), run by the same operator as Ichirino, with a central middle-grade slope, a variation course for faster skiers and a family slope. Half the terrain is intermediate and 30% is advanced, so it suits people who already ski rather than total beginners.
There is no village at the base, so this page is short on beds: the stay question belongs to Hakusan Ichirino, 20 minutes up the valley, where the onsen village and the inns are. Below: how to get there, the 2025-26 lift ticket list, the mountain and Kanazawa hotels for the night.
The Shinkansen gets you to Kanazawa; the last stretch is by road.
Collect the car at Kanazawa Station, 2h 26m from Tokyo on the Hokuriku Shinkansen. Seymour is about 34 km and 41 minutes away. The operator gives about 40 minutes from Komatsu IC and 45 minutes from Hakusan IC, and the road runs south on Route 157.
Winter tyres are needed. Hire cars in Kanazawa come with them in winter, but ask for them when you book. Parking is free, with 1,100 spaces. Licence rules are in our car-hire notes.
Find a hire car ↗Hokuriku Shinkansen to Kanazawa, then the Hokutetsu ski bus direct to Seymour. On the 2025-26 list it was ¥1,100 one way for adults and ¥560 for children, or ¥6,200 round trip with a 1-day lift ticket. Last season it ran on weekends and holidays only, and the 2026-27 dates are still to be posted. Bus-and-lift coupons are sold at the Hokutetsu Ticket Center at the Kanazawa Station West Exit.
Passes: the Hokuriku Arch Pass (¥35,000, 7 days) and the JR Pass cover the Shinkansen to Kanazawa. The Hokutetsu bus is private and is not covered by any pass. On weekdays there is no ski bus, so use a hire car.
See the Arch Pass ↗See the JR Pass ↗Compare rail passes2025-26 prices in yen; 2026-27 prices are not yet posted.
| Ticket | Adult | Child | Senior |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 day | ¥4,500 | ¥3,500 | ¥4,000 |
| Half day | ¥4,000 | ¥3,300 | – |
| 2 days | ¥8,500 | ¥6,500 | – |
| Single ride | ¥450 | ¥450 | ¥450 |
| Ride book | ¥4,500 | ¥4,500 | – |
| Season pass | ¥46,000 | ¥35,000 | – |
Lifts run about 8:30 to 16:30 on weekdays and from 8:00 at weekends and holidays. There is no night skiing. The operator sells an early-bird season pass ("SAM白山") from 1 October to 30 November. Prices can change in season.
| Rental, per day (2025-26) | Adult | Child |
|---|---|---|
| Ski set | ¥4,800 | ¥2,700 |
| Snowboard set | ¥4,800 | ¥2,700 |
| Wear | ¥3,700 | ¥2,700 |
Ski and snowboard lessons are offered for adults and children, and there is a kids' park, a nursery, lockers, showers and a free snow park. Season rental can be booked on the operator's site from 1 October.
Quiet slopes, a powder course and a hot-spring bath at the base.
Seymour has 9 courses served by 4 lifts. A central middle-grade slope suits beginners and intermediates, a variation course gives faster skiers something steeper and a family slope sits beside the kids' area. The terrain is 20% beginner, 50% intermediate and 30% advanced, and every run is open to snowboards.
Rhapsody is left ungroomed, so after a snowfall it is the one run here worth going out of your way for: a steep line with a maximum gradient of 36° and an average of 30°. It is for confident skiers and snowboarders; the rest of the hill is friendlier.
The kids' park and a nursery make a family day workable, and kids' and adult lessons are offered in both ski and snowboard. Senjō Onsen Seiryū (千丈温泉 清流), a hot-spring bath, is a one-minute walk from the base and gives a discount with a lift ticket. Pets are not allowed.
Snow is thinner here than at the high resorts: the top is 1,030 m and last season opened on 3 January after a slow start.
Seven stays: six Kanazawa hotels 41 minutes away and the Ichirino inn I stayed in. Check rates shows tonight's price for your dates.
How to choose: there is no village at Seymour's base, so Kanazawa is the base: the Shinkansen, the food and far more rooms, with the slopes under an hour away. If you want to sleep by the snow, the inns of Ichirino Onsen are 20 minutes further up the valley; see our Hakusan Ichirino guide for all of them.
Stay in Kanazawa and drive out
A 30-floor tower opposite the East Exit, linked to the station by an underground passage, so you never walk in the snow with your skis. Scored 9.2 on Agoda from 3,294 reviews.
Check rates ↗A modern hotel by the West Exit, an easy walk from the station. Scored 9.2 on Agoda from 3,796 reviews.
Check rates ↗Directly opposite the West Exit, with a rooftop terrace bar and a good breakfast, for a smarter base. Scored 9.3 on Agoda from 783 reviews.
Check rates ↗A hotel with its own natural hot-spring bath, which suits a cold day on snow. Scored 9.1 on Agoda from 6,904 reviews.
Check rates ↗Another Kanazawa hotel with a natural hot-spring bath. Scored 8.9 on Agoda from 6,760 reviews.
Check rates ↗A ryokan night in a quiet valley outside the city: hot-spring baths and a kaiseki dinner, for a ski trip that ends with a proper onsen evening. Scored 9.1 on Agoda from 109 reviews.
Check rates ↗Up the valley at Ichirino
Where I stayed: right by the slope, full of Taiwanese and Chinese-speaking families, a quaint, fun little ski village with moderate and beginner slopes. Scored 8.8 on Agoda from 84 reviews.
Check rates ↗all hotels in Kanazawa · Hakusan Ichirino and its inns · Kanazawa hotel guide · Getting to Kanazawa
Pack lunch for the hill, then spend the evening in Kanazawa.
On the 2025-26 price list an adult day ticket was about ¥4,500 (child ¥3,500, senior ¥4,000), a half day ¥4,000 and a 2-day ticket ¥8,500. A single ride was ¥450. 2026-27 prices are not yet posted, so treat these as last season's figures.
The operator posts its own dates in late autumn. Based on last season, which ran from 3 January to 22 March 2026 after a snow-short start, expect an opening in early January and a close in late March 2027. It is a low hill (top 1,030 m), so the start depends on snowfall.
It is the closest ski area to Kanazawa by car: about 34 km and 41 minutes from Kanazawa Station. The operator gives about 40 minutes from Komatsu IC and 45 minutes from Hakusan IC.
Yes, on weekends and holidays. The Hokutetsu ski bus runs direct from Kanazawa Station: ¥1,100 one way for adults and ¥560 for children on the 2025-26 list, or ¥6,200 round trip with a 1-day lift ticket. Last season it ran on weekends and holidays only, and the 2026-27 dates are still to be posted. Weekdays need a hire car.
No. Lifts run in daylight only, from about 8:30 to 16:30 (from 8:00 at weekends and holidays). For night skiing near Kanazawa, see Hakusan Ichirino or IOX-Arosa.
Yes, as a small, quiet hill. The 9 courses are 20% beginner, 50% intermediate and 30% advanced, with a family slope, a kids' park and nursery, ski and snowboard schools for adults and children, and a free snow park. Total beginners may prefer the wider, gentler slopes at Ichirino.
Choose Seymour for the shortest drive from Kanazawa and a quiet day. Choose Ichirino, 20 minutes further up the valley and run by the same operator, for the onsen village, night skiing and a place to sleep by the slope.
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