The Rising Toll of Backcountry Rescues
Hokkaido’s reputation as a winter paradise has never been stronger. Japan’s northernmost prefecture draws snowsport enthusiasts from across the globe, lured by legendary powder snow and the favorable exchange rates created by a weak yen. This combination has created a tourism boom showing no signs of slowing, with visitors flush with cash flooding restaurants and hotels from Niseko to Furano. Yet this season, the celebration of deep snow has turned into a heated debate about safety, responsibility, and who should pay when adventure turns to misadventure.
Between late November and early February, 58 skiers and snowboarders required rescue operations in Hokkaido’s backcountry and off-piste areas. A staggering 48 of them, representing 82.8 percent of all rescues, were foreign nationals, according to the Hokkaido Prefectural Police. This statistic has ignited fierce resentment among Japanese taxpayers, who increasingly view these operations as an unfair burden on local communities already struggling with rising costs of living and stagnant wages.
The frustration extends beyond the immediate rescue costs. Many residents connect the influx of wealthy international tourists to sharp price increases at local businesses, leaving locals out in the cold both economically and meteorologically. Watching public funds deployed to save visitors who deliberately ignored safety boundaries has become a flashpoint for broader anxieties about Japan’s tourism transformation. A recent video showing the Hokkaido Prefectural Police conducting a helicopter rescue of a lost college student from overseas circulated widely, amplifying concerns about resource allocation.
Tragedies on the Slopes
The debate over rescue funding carries tragic urgency. This winter season has already claimed multiple lives among foreign visitors seeking untracked powder.
Three young Australians have died in separate incidents since January. Brooke Day, a 22-year-old advanced snowboarder from Queensland, perished after her avalanche backpack became entangled in a ski lift at Tsugaike Mountain Resort in Nagano Prefecture. Days later, 27-year-old Michael Hurst from Melbourne died while skiing between Niseko Moiwa and Niseko Annupuri resorts in Hokkaido after becoming separated from his group. Earlier in January, 17-year-old Rylan Pribadi, a recent graduate of Brisbane Grammar School, died following a collision with a course boundary rope in Niseko.
Avalanche risks have proven particularly lethal. In March last year, an avalanche on Mount Rishirizan killed one participant in a backcountry tour and injured three others, including the guide. Police subsequently referred the tour company president to prosecutors on suspicion of professional negligence causing death. More recently, a woman in her 30s died after an avalanche struck a group of approximately 10 foreigners climbing Mount Yotei for backcountry skiing.
In mid-January, seven foreign tourists became stranded near Furano ski resort, prompting a large-scale search operation. The group had likely been backcountry skiing outside patrolled areas when they became lost on Mount Furano Nishidake. They initiated an emergency call using a satellite communication feature on a smartphone and were rescued without injuries, but the incident required significant police resources and highlighted the technological gaps in visitor preparedness.
According to the Hokkaido Police, 16 avalanche-related accidents occurred over the past five seasons from November 2019 to March 2024, resulting in 11 deaths and 10 injuries. Of these, 75 percent took place in February and March, when new snow accumulates on previously smoothed slopes creating unstable conditions.
The Economics of Mountain Rescue
Understanding the financial controversy requires distinguishing between different types of rescue operations. When police or fire departments mobilize, these services constitute civil protection funded by general taxation. Just as victims of theft do not receive itemized bills from detectives, skiers rescued by public agencies typically face no charges for extraction.
However, the calculation changes when private organizations conduct searches. At ski resorts operating on leased national park land, civilian ski patrols often handle rescues, and their services come with substantial fees. Furano ski resort, for instance, charges 20,000 yen per person per hour, plus 50,000 yen per hour for snowmobile use. A recent three-hour nighttime rescue there generated a bill exceeding one million yen for the lost skier.
Some municipalities employ hybrid systems coordinating local authorities with civilian rescue organizations. In these arrangements, the non-governmental components require payment, while the public portions remain taxpayer-funded. The result creates budgetary pressure on local governments already facing strained resources, forcing trade-offs between rescue capabilities and other community services.
Online commenters have expressed particular anger about these costs, creating a double dose of frustration for residents already coping with tourism-driven inflation. One typical complaint captured the prevailing sentiment.
The money that everyone worked so hard to earn is being used to save inconsiderate foreigners.
Others have suggested charging foreigners 100 million yen per rescue, requiring mandatory insurance policies before allowing ski area access, or sending bills directly to embassies.
Historical Patterns in Rescue Data
Analysis of police statistics between 2014 and 2019 reveals this season’s numbers represent an acceleration of long-term patterns rather than an isolated spike. Sidecountry incidents, defined as rescues involving individuals who accessed backcountry areas via ski resorts rather than trailheads, increased by over 30 percent annually during that period.
Foreign nationals consistently required more sidecountry rescues than Japanese citizens in absolute numbers, despite the absence of comprehensive data on total participation rates. The majority of these incidents involved navigation failures, with skiers exiting resort boundaries and promptly becoming lost in unfamiliar terrain. A Hokkaido Police representative explained the primary cause of distress.
If people knew how to use their smartphones as navigation devices, about 90 percent of callouts wouldn’t have happened.
The data also reveals significant behavioral differences between groups. Japanese backcountry skiers involved in incidents typically traveled alone or in smaller groups, with 35 percent of incidents involving parties of one. Foreign groups averaged larger party sizes, with only 12 percent of incidents involving solo skiers. Japanese citizens more frequently encountered trouble in true backcountry areas accessed from trailheads, where they faced challenges from bad weather and navigation errors. Foreigners predominantly encountered problems in sidecountry zones immediately adjacent to ski resorts, suggesting different risk profiles and preparation levels.
Additionally, the historical data suggests foreign skiers suffered injuries at higher rates than their Japanese counterparts in sidecountry incidents, with tree strikes appearing more frequently in foreign incident reports. This indicates potential gaps in technical skill or risk assessment among visitors unfamiliar with Hokkaido’s heavily forested terrain.
Preparation Gaps and Inadequate Equipment
Many rescues involve visitors dramatically unprepared for Hokkaido’s harsh mountain environment. Last spring, a British couple in their late 20s required helicopter rescue from Mount Yotei after attempting to hike to 1,750 meters elevation wearing summer clothing. The woman wore short sleeves and long pants, while the man wore long sleeves and shorts. They called emergency services at 6:10 pm reporting they were cold and unable to find shelter, despite the mountain’s reputation for unpredictable weather even during warmer months.
Such incidents highlight a fundamental gap in backcountry safety culture. Unlike organized ski mountaineers who access remote areas from trailheads with proper gear, many sidecountry visitors appear to treat off-piste skiing as an extension of resort amenities. They often lack avalanche beacons, probes, shovels, or basic navigation skills, entering terrain with hidden cliffs, tree wells, and avalanche risks without adequate assessment.
Proposed regulatory changes aim to address these gaps. The Niseko Rules, governing behavior in Japan’s most popular ski area, may soon require avalanche beacons and helmets as mandatory equipment for backcountry access via ski resorts. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has commissioned a large-scale research project for the 2024/2025 season to study foreign backcountry skier demographics and behavior, representing the first official government acknowledgment of Hokkaido’s backcountry as a legitimate recreation and travel space.
Insurance and Policy Solutions
The surge in incidents has intensified calls for systematic changes to how Japan manages adventure tourism risks. Insurance providers report dramatic increases in snow sports claims. Southern Cross Travel Insurance noted a 75 percent increase in skiing and snowboarding accident claims in Japan between 2023 and 2025, with average claim costs between $1,100 and $1,500. Competitor 1Cover reported a 43 percent spike from 2024 to 2025.
These statistics suggest current voluntary insurance arrangements may prove insufficient for the growing risk environment. Proposals under active discussion include mandatory rescue insurance for foreign visitors, billing systems for flagrant safety violations, and enhanced pre-arrival safety education requirements.
Yusuke Harada, chief researcher of the snow and ice team at the Civil Engineering Research Institute for Cold Region, emphasizes that February and March represent peak avalanche danger periods. New snow from heavy snowfall and storms accumulates on previously smoothed slopes, creating prime conditions for surface avalanches. He offers specific advice for backcountry enthusiasts.
It is expected that conditions will be more likely to cause surface avalanches than ever before. You will need the courage to turn back.
Owen Lansbury from the Mountain Safety Collective urges visitors to understand that Japanese ski patrols typically will not venture beyond resort boundaries, unlike operations in many Western resorts. He warns about the consequences of crossing boundaries.
The moment you go underneath a boundary rope there is no avalanche control and no ski patrol to help you if you get stuck or injured.
This creates longer response times and higher costs when police must mobilize for extraction.
Cultural Friction in a Tourism Boom
The rescue controversy occurs against a backdrop of unprecedented tourism growth that has fundamentally altered local economies. More than one million Australians visited Japan in 2025, up 15 percent from 2024, with similar increases from the United States and other markets. The weak yen has made Japan more affordable than traditional destinations while offering superior snow quality to drought-affected resorts in North America.
This influx has strained local infrastructure. Longtime visitors note that facilities outside major resorts often lack English language support or modern safety equipment. Matt Guy, an Australian guide living in Japan for a decade, observes that smaller lodges are not prepared for English speakers and lack familiarity with the attitude and behaviours of powder-seeking tourists. They are more set up for the local community, forcing a rapid catch-up to high-speed tourism growth.
Local residents increasingly perceive foreign visitors as driving inflation while displaying disregard for safety protocols. Some international visitors have been observed on social media skiing off-course and then claiming language barriers when confronted. The comparison to 2024’s Mt. Fuji rescues, where foreign hikers required extraction during officially closed climbing seasons, reinforces a narrative of visitors treating Japanese safety regulations as optional suggestions rather than critical protections.
Within skiing communities, awareness of this tension has grown. Some foreign residents urge visitors to respect local rules to avoid giving ammunition to anti-foreigner media narratives. The balance between welcoming tourism revenue and protecting local resources and safety remains unresolved as Hokkaido navigates its identity as a global winter destination.
The Bottom Line
- Foreign nationals accounted for 82.8 percent of off-piste rescues in Hokkaido between November and early February, totaling 48 out of 58 rescue operations.
- Three Australian skiers have died in Japan this season, while avalanches have claimed additional lives among foreign backcountry enthusiasts on Mount Yotei and Mount Rishirizan.
- Rescue costs vary dramatically: police and fire department rescues are taxpayer-funded, while civilian ski patrol operations can generate bills exceeding one million yen for complex nighttime operations.
- Police statistics from 2014-2019 show sidecountry incidents increased 30 percent annually, with foreigners consistently overrepresented compared to Japanese nationals.
- Proposed solutions include mandatory avalanche safety equipment under updated Niseko Rules, required rescue insurance for foreign visitors, and enhanced safety education.
- Peak avalanche risk occurs in February and March, when new snow accumulates on smoothed slopes creating unstable surface conditions.
- Travel insurance claims for snow sports accidents in Japan have increased 75 percent between 2023 and 2025, indicating rising accident rates among international visitors.
