Sapporo Teine was easily the pick of the Otaru area.
Although visiting Japan in a low tide period (early January 2020), Teine was still open with a decent amount of fresh to be had.

Access: Easy car ride from Otaru. The drive up the mountain could be dicey in storm conditions. If following a car GPS, make sure to take the entrance that is closest to Sapporo, as GPS can sometimes take you to a closed road.
The resort is split between an upper and lower zone, connected by a cat track. You can either park at at the lower zone and catch the gondola up, or park in the upper zone and walk across to the quad.
Either works, I preferred the lower park just for options.

Terrain: As mentioned in the professional review, the bottom zone is quite flat while the upper zone has some better slopes. However, the lower zone has some longer lasting fresh, especially on the race course to the right of the theme park.
The upper zone has a lot to explore. The marked run below the quad would be nice in fresh snow, but was only moguls when I was there. There is some cheeky lines below the quad chair too.
Heading left, there is fun lines between the green cat track down to the quad.
To the far left, lines can be found below and to the right of the far double.
If you follow the other cat track that snakes down to around the park, there is a bank that is roped off that leads down a wide open slope accessed by a closed lift. This run ends at the bottom of the park, near the park double. Many laps to be had here.

Ducking ropes: I was never pulled up for ducking ropes, but I was quite lowkey.

Park: Probably the best park I rode in Hokkaido, level with Hirafu. Had small to medium features, but the super fast double chair made it very lapable.

Food: Ate at various rest stops, all the standard stuff at slightly below average prices, while being very generous servings.

Value: around $60AUD for a full day lift pass, which includes night skiing until 9pm. Great value for food too.

Overall: Drawn for the best resort I visited (Kiroro, Rusutsu). I would definitely recommend if you want to get great value for money, varied and large terrain.
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What a great little resort Teine is. We had the best experience here, and that was after spending several days at Niseko, Rusutsu and Kiroro. It's a small resort, but it's a lot of fun. It was not crowded at all when we were there, the tree skiing was excellent as were the slopes. You can take it very easy on the green runs or rip it up on the steeper slopes. The runs are fairly short, but you just get straight back on the lifts (we didn't have to wait at all) and a couple of minutes later you're back at the top.

But the best part is the tree skiing. Well spaced trees and lots of fluffy snow just next to the slopes.

You can do day trips here from Sapporo, and I would highly recommend it. Probably best on a weekday rather than a weekend. There's no nightlife here, but if you're staying in Sapporo it shouldn't matter.
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Teine is a very small ski resort just outside Sapporo which opens earlier than any other local resort. On a weekend trip from Kyushu to catch some snow in December ,we got there just as the snow was falling.
The positives of Teine are that if you are in the mood for some skiing and dont want to invest in a long trip ,the resort is so convenient you can go for just a few hours and it isnt a huge investment. The information offices throughout Sapporo have information on how to get there and if you dont speak Japanese, there is information in English.
Our purpose was to check out Bankei and other resorts which have a half pipe but they dont open until at least the 2nd week of December and snow had fallen every day since we had arrived, so we took the local train from the main station- and they write it out very clearly. Then we caught the bus right up to Teine. The total round trip cost was under 1500 yen, so we weren’t very concerned if it turned out to be a dud. The lower Teine was closed though you could ski down there and the return bus would pick you up. We opted for the main upper lodge, which had all the traditional food delights of a quiet Japanese lodge.
The ski pass was reasonably priced and there are special rates for seniors, “ladies day”, and school children. They even have a drop-off and pick-up Yamato Blackcat if you dont want to be burdened with your skis.
The snow , as it was fresh, was a heavy, slightly wet powder. It was a saturday and we expected there to be crowds but if you deduct the school team children, you could easily have a table to yourself in the lodge.
Don’t compare this with your Niseko/Hirafu/ Furano delights. This is a small local ski resort for those dedicated locals who might only have a few hours or a day to get in some runs. The signs are a bit confusing once you get to the top so definitely carry the map. I ended up on my first run in moguls although it appeared to be signposted as a beginner, an interesting intro to the mountain. Beware the green run- one part is not only flat but you had to climb up if you ride on blades as I do, or are a border(was nice to trudge along with them) but it is a long run, with some pretty forested areas and I noticed quite a few people ignoring the closed ropes to take a steeper detour.
The chairlifts: there are three. The main one is nice because it has a front shield so the wind, which was brewing, doesnt freeze your upper body and face. The older rope lift to go back up when you ski half way day was cold metal and small. But then you are right back to the top with more choices and no long wait.
None of the Hokkaido resorts are quiet during school holidays and sundays are the most common day off for families to have time together.
You can catch a bus from the local hotels but it’s not worth the cost or loss of time and lack of freedom to come and go as you choose.
The snow looked to be coming down heavier at 2, for example, so we just packed up and caught the bus to the train station and were back in Sapporo before the rush hour. You could also take a taxi if you want to stay late.
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It had been 7 years since we last visited Teine, so it was no great surprise that fresh powder wasn’t as readily available as it had previously been. And it had been a few days since it had snowed, so we had to scratch about. In the off-piste areas (ie in-bounds) it was very tracked out. In the sidecountry to the skiers’ left of the resort, the wide chutes were very tracked but there were still plenty of freshies on the ridges and in amongst the tighter trees.

Despite it not being a huge area and some significant traversing required to get to and from some of the goods, we continue to be incredibly impressed with the expert terrain on offer at Teine. It would be epic on a powder morning!

You can see how we rate Sapporo Teine versus other Hokkaido ski areas via the Japan ski resorts ratings page.
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Well developed and modern field compared to many in Hokkaido (exc Niseko).
We kept to the highland zone (main high speed 4 chair), the lowland zone or Olympic zone is really targeted at COMPLETE beginners.
The chair gives access to some of the steeper terrain I have skied in Hokkaido, you can traverse to another basin for some good chutes and tree skiing. The trees have been cleared in these chutes but there is still plenty of chance to pop off to the forests at the sides. Technically this is off piste but we encountered lots of locals and never had issues with patrollers.
Skiers right of the chair is a moderately steep off piste run which is wooded the entire way down, great run but lacking in snow early in the season, the usual dont get stuck in river bed caveat.
Great base facilities and good food, lockers shope etc.
This was popular given the proximity to Sapporo we were never alone, even when traversing and skiing the far chutes, but we were never crowded.
Definitely worth a visit for the day, I would be bored if I had to ski a week here. But if you were learning it would be fantastic.
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What a little Gem. From the outset advanced riders can forget about the bottom hill (Olympia) as the Highlands is the only place of interest. The steep section which is of most interest to most who fly halfway around the world in search of powder is accessed via a high speed hooded quad. The majority of this resort has a northerly aspect but even on a Monday mid January there was about 20 foreigners and about the same number of locals who were chasing the powder with all the gear so don't fool yourself into thinking you'll get it all to yourself in the peak season.

For beginner powderhounds the far skiers right lift (Double) accessed a flat ridge in the slackcountry with flat sections but fantasticly spaced trees and lots of mushrooms to hit and we had some amazing runs popping and whooping through the trees.

Coming down off the front straight under the old ropeway line was epic which explains why so many other people were chasing it. Some great chutes, steep terrain and sensible ski patrol makes this place worth visiting. Lunch vouchers with your ski ticket (about $50 USD) makes this even better value. Just watch storm fronts with NW winds (a common feature in this area) high winds will shut down most of highlands and if that's the case there is bugger all else there to excite you.

For those going out of bounds have the right gear. The traverse track is well defined and reading reports of up to 7 gullys skiers left out of bounds might be true but they aren't obvious from the top as I suspect half of them open up halfway down the ridge. Local knowledge goes a long way here but with an obvious traverse out as long as you don't drop too low it's hard to go wrong.

Two last tips. If you're driving watch the GPS as it might put you on the summer road to the ski hill (which is closed) there are two options, with the one looping east the correct one for winter.

Tip 2 This is a day hill and it's so close to Sapporo that I've bumped it up in rating there. It's also an easy drive from Otaru.
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A very nice a good place to go. Many staff speaks English. Japanese are nice and courteous people. Please be quiet and nice to them.
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I just love Hokkaido skiing. This is my favourite resort for a day trip as it is so close to the city, great value for money and easily accessible. The off piste is some of the best I have ever experienced in Japan.

See here for more info on Sapporo Teine http://www.best-of-sapporo-japan.com/hokkaido-skiing.html
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Sapporo Teine was a bit of a surprise package. We initially thought it would be a pretty lame local Sapporo ski hill with just mellow groomers. Sure Teine Olympia fits the bill for that, but we were very happy that Highland far exceeded our expectations as a powderhound destination. Whilst it’s only a small ski resort, it’s got a lot going for it considering the steep slopes, the top notch tree skiing, and the Hokkaido powder.

Whilst the place might be swarming with kids having ski lessons, the off-piste and backcountry areas get surprisingly little traffic. Even multiple days after a snowfall, we found lots of fresh lines in the side-country, and considering the aspect of Highland, the snow stays in really good condition.

For more detailed ratings of Sapporo Teine and to see how it compares to other Japan ski resorts, see our powderhounds resort ratings.
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