Hakuba vs Niseko: 2026 Land Prices and Snowfall Compared

Hakuba vs Niseko on public data: at the 1 January 2026 land-price points, Niseko Hirafu’s holiday-home point is ¥200,000/m² and Hakuba’s is ¥27,400/m². Over the year, Hakuba’s price rose 33.0%, compared with 10.5% at Hirafu. Kutchan’s weather station has the higher 1991–2020 annual snowfall normal: 921 cm against Hakuba’s 655 cm.

Here “Niseko” means Kutchan Town (倶知安町, whose addresses include Niseko Hirafu) and Niseko Town (ニセコ町). “Hakuba” means Hakuba Village (白馬村). The figures come from the national land-price survey (地価公示, chika kōji), the prefectural land survey (都道府県地価調査) and Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) normals. The Hakuba Land editorial team checked them on 9 November 2026. The point prices are valuations of surveyed plots, not asking prices; the July table gives town averages.

Hakuba vs Niseko: how do the 2026 land-price points compare?

At the two holiday-home residential plots, Hirafu’s 2026 price is about 7.3 times Hakuba’s (our arithmetic), though Hakuba’s rose faster over the year. This is not a market-wide multiple: Niseko Town’s July commercial average is lower than Hakuba Village’s.

Point (town)	Surrounding area, as described in the survey	Price (¥/m²)	Change vs 2025 (%)
白馬-1 (Hakuba)	Mainly holiday homes, with some pensions	27,400	+33.0
白馬-2 (Hakuba)	Farm hamlet with farmhouses and some minshuku	8,970	+12.5
白馬5-1 (Hakuba, commercial)	Hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops	40,300	+35.2
倶知安-1 (Kutchan)	Small and mid-sized ordinary houses	35,000	+11.1
倶知安-2 (Kutchan)	Ordinary houses and apartments	67,000	+11.7
倶知安-3 (Kutchan, Niseko Hirafu)	Holiday homes and pensions	200,000	+10.5
倶知安5-1 (Kutchan, commercial)	Shops and offices along a national road	181,000	+16.0

Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), 2026 地価公示 (as of 1 January 2026), National Land Numerical Information dataset L01-26; values match the Hokkaido and Nagano prefecture lists. The dataset has no 地価公示 point in Niseko Town.

MLIT reported that 白馬-1’s +33.0% was the highest rate of change among residential standard points in Japan in the 2026 survey. Hakuba Village’s residential average was +22.8%. In MLIT’s summary by the Hokkaido appraisers, Kutchan’s residential average was +11.1% (previous year +6.1%) and its commercial point +16.0% (+11.4%).

The two holiday-home points, 2017–2026

1 January of	倶知安-3, Niseko Hirafu (¥/m²)	白馬-1, Hakuba (¥/m²)	Hakuba as % of Hirafu
2017	38,000	6,760	17.8
2020	108,000	8,980	8.3
2023	156,000	13,300	8.5
2026	200,000	27,400	13.7

Source: MLIT dataset L01-26, yearly price fields; the dataset lists both points in every year from 2017 to 2026. The percentages are our arithmetic.

Both points are described as holiday-home and pension areas. The Hirafu point is 6,500 m by road from Kutchan Station; 白馬-1 is 2,900 m from Hakuba Station. From 2017 to 2020 the Hirafu point rose 184.2% and the Hakuba point 32.8%. From 2023 to 2026 the Hakuba point rose more: +106.0% against Hirafu’s +28.2%.

Does this mean Hakuba is becoming the next Niseko? Two plots are too narrow a basis for judging whether the wider markets are following the same path. Hakuba’s share of the Hirafu price fell from 17.8% in 2017 to 8.3% in 2020; its recovery to 13.7% in 2026 still left it below the 2017 ratio. Those changes do not predict future prices.

What does the July 2026 land survey show?

The prefectural survey values a different set of plots (基準地) as of 1 July. The averages below are the figures each prefecture publishes for the surveyed plots in each town.

Town (residential / commercial points)	Residential avg price (¥/m²)	Residential avg change (%)	Commercial avg price (¥/m²)	Commercial avg change (%)
Hakuba Village (3 / 2)	11,200	+25.6	58,500	+30.8
Kutchan Town (4 / 2)	75,900	+8.3	158,500	+14.3
Niseko Town (4 / 1)	21,800	+10.9	32,500	+10.2

Source: Nagano Prefecture and Hokkaido, 2026 land survey municipal tables (published 16 September 2026). Hokkaido defines the average change as the mean of each continuing point’s change; Nagano’s Hakuba figures equal the same simple mean of its listed points (our check).

The highest-priced survey point in each town:

• Kutchan: 倶知安5-1 on the station-front street, ¥192,000/m² (+15.0%). The town’s holiday-home survey point, 倶知安-2 in Kabayama (字樺山), 3,600 m by road from 比羅夫 (Hirafu) Station, is ¥150,000/m² (+8.7%).
• Hakuba: 白馬5-2 on the Hosono road, an area of lodgings and restaurants, ¥85,000/m² (+25.9%).
• Niseko Town: ニセコ5-1 on a prefectural road lined with shops and restaurants, ¥32,500/m² (+10.2%).

Why have prices risen in each area?

MLIT’s 2026 summaries attribute the rises to the following:

• Hakuba: growing numbers of foreign visitors seeking powder snow, high-end hotels and complexes near the ski areas and Hakuba Station, and strong demand for holiday homes and condominiums from wealthy domestic buyers and foreign buyers. The appraisers note that very few properties are for sale around Happo, where 白馬5-1 is.
• Kutchan: housing demand in the town’s built-up area has grown beyond pre-COVID levels as tourism businesses reopened. Earlier commercial land investment was encouraged by progress on motor-vehicle-only roads (自動車専用道) and the Hokkaido Shinkansen, along with the arrival of international luxury-brand hotels; after a pause during COVID, a sharp rise in visitors improved trade.

How much snow does each area get?

JMA station (elevation)	Annual snowfall total (cm)	Annual maximum snow depth, normal (cm)	January mean temperature (°C)
倶知安 Kutchan (176.1 m)	921	183	−5.4
白馬 Hakuba (703 m)	655	100	−2.8

Source: JMA normals 1991–2020 (平年値) for each station.

These stations are in Kutchan Town and Hakuba Village. They measure conditions there, not at the ski areas. For monthly figures, see our Hakuba weather by month guide.

How should you read these numbers before comparing property?

• One plot each. A 地価公示 price is the normal price of one standard plot as of 1 January, judged by MLIT’s Land Appraisal Committee. A listing’s asking price is set by the seller.
• Compare like with like. Kutchan’s three residential 地価公示 points range from ¥35,000 to ¥200,000/m², so a town average mixes town-centre and resort plots.
• A higher percentage need not mean more yen. 白馬-1’s +33.0% added ¥6,800/m²; the Hirafu point’s +10.5% added ¥19,000/m² (our arithmetic).
• Dates and plots differ. 地価公示 is as of 1 January and 地価調査 as of 1 July, on separate plots.
• The comparisons answer different questions: Hirafu is pricier at the selected holiday-home plots, while Hakuba’s plot rose faster recently; Kutchan’s higher station snowfall normal does not establish how individual ski resorts compare.
• This page does not compare lifts, access, building rules, taxes or rental demand.

For buyers looking in Hakuba, Hakuba Land helps find and purchase land, checking road access and permitted use with the relevant professionals before purchase. If you decide to build, you contract directly with our long-term partner builders for design and construction; we coordinate the work.

Related guides: Hakuba land prices 2026, buying land in Hakuba, can foreigners buy property in Hakuba? and what listed yields mean.

Checked on 9 November 2026 against MLIT, Hokkaido, Nagano Prefecture and JMA data.