Winter sports becoming an unaffordable luxury for many areas of Japan

Skiing or winter sports are very much a "rich family" thing in my home country, or at least that was the case when I was a kid. The cost of getting to the mountains, hiring gear, and paying for lift passes made it something out of reach for many families, my own included.

Now, living in Japan, it saddens me to see a similar trend emerging here at some of the country's most famous ski resorts. Recent reports show that lift ticket prices across Japan have risen by more than 40% over the last four years, particularly at resorts popular with overseas visitors.

Places like Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu in Hokkaido now charge over 10,000 yen for a daily pass, and when you factor in gear rental, food, and parking, and a day on the slopes quickly becomes a significant financial outlay. Operators are targeting affluent visitors willing to pay for a premium experience, and locals (+ us expats with yen-based salaries) just can't keep up in a lot of cases.

My local area (Hakkaisan) is still fairly reasonably priced. Not the case everywhere, though.

In saying that, a lot of smaller, community-focused hills are resisting the trend, keeping rates lower for locals, but the wider picture is still not ideal. The winter sports culture here that was once accessible to many is increasingly becoming a playground for the wealthy and foreign tourists.

How do you feel about situations like this, where activities are priced for the wealthy and tourists, often leaving locals out in the cold (no pun intended)?