Back in Niseko Every Winter? Keep Your Ski Gear in Japan
Published Last updatedReviewed by Max
Back in Niseko every winter? Leave your skis in Japan between seasons.
If Niseko keeps bringing you back, your ski or snowboard gear does not have to fly home and back each year. Send the packed bag to Silk Crane from your hotel front desk after the last ski day, keep it in storage through the off-season, and have it delivered to the hotel you book for next winter.
You do not need a Japanese address or phone number to use Silk Crane. Storage plans are monthly or annual; shipping is charged separately.
Explore monthly and annual storage
Every February in Niseko, one ski bag fewer to fly
Imagine a couple who ski Niseko every February. On the last morning, they hand the packed ski bag to the hotel front desk for shipping to Silk Crane and fly home with ordinary luggage. In December, they book a different hotel in Hanazono and arrange delivery of the stored gear with Silk Crane well over a week before arrival.
At check-in, they collect the ski bag from reception and head out with the skis and boots they already know. After the holiday, the bag goes back to storage from the hotel for the following winter.
What does a yearly Niseko storage cycle look like?
- After the last ski day: dry the gear, pack it with the drying and packing guide, and add Yamato's plastic protective cover. Then hand it to your hotel front desk with the sending instructions from your account.
- Through the off-season: the gear stays in storage on an annual plan. If you want, add optional anti-corrosion edge protection, a separately purchased service.
- Before the next trip: At least 7 days before you need the gear, send Silk Crane the accommodation name, reservation name, full address, phone number, check-in date and desired delivery date. Confirm that the property can receive and store the shipment.
- At the end of that trip: send it back from the hotel, or, in a year you want it at home, have it delivered to the Yamato pickup counter Silk Crane confirms for your departure airport.
The monthly and annual ski gear guide compares the two plan lengths.
Does next winter have to be the same hotel?
No. Because the gear stays with Silk Crane rather than at a hotel, each winter's delivery can go to the hotel or lodge you book that year: Hirafu one season, Niseko Village or Annupuri the next. Delivery also reaches other resort areas, such as Furano, Tomamu or Hakuba, if you try somewhere new.
The hotel, resort and airport delivery guide lists the details Silk Crane needs for each delivery.
Do I need a Japanese address or a home in Niseko?
No. Silk Crane does not require a Japanese residential address, a Japanese phone number or a residence card. You need an active account and accurate identity, contact, sender and delivery details, so each bag can be identified and moved correctly.
Can I leave other things in Japan between trips?
Yes. Silk Crane offers monthly and annual plans for suitcases, ski and snowboard gear, golf equipment and bicycle cases. Describe each bag clearly and give its own destination and date: the skis to the Niseko hotel in January, a suitcase of city clothes to Tokyo later. Domestic shipping is calculated per package.
Questions before you choose
Can I take the gear home one winter instead?
Yes. Send Silk Crane your departure airport and terminal, airline, flight number, flight date and scheduled departure time at least 7 days before you need the gear. Silk Crane confirms the Yamato pickup counter and delivery timing. The Sapporo and New Chitose ski gear guide covers that airport.
I ride a snowboard. Is anything different?
The storage cycle is the same. The Niseko snowboard storage guide covers board bags, boots and edge care.
Keep planning your next Niseko winter
For sending from Hirafu, delivery to a new Niseko base and airport options, see the Niseko ski and snowboard storage guide. Explore adding city days after the ski trip, or browse the Japan storage guide collection.
Storage plans are monthly or annual; shipping is charged separately.