Honshu
Honshu, the main island of
Japan, has more than 500 ski resorts. There may not be as much powder in Honshu as there is at some
ski resorts in Hokkaido, but the snow still falls in abundance.
Where are the Honshu Ski Resorts in Japan?
Many of the ski resorts are within the Japanese Alps in the prefectures of Nagano and Niigata, with quite a few situated near the city of Nagano (northwest of Tokyo) which hosted the 1998 Winter Olympics and put some of these areas on the map. Ski areas near Nagano include:
- The Hakuba Valley ski area which consists of 10 resorts including Hakuba 47 and Happo One (most of the resorts are only linked via buses) – 105 minute bullet train from Tokyo, and then 1 hour bus from Nagano to Hakuba
- Shiga Kogen, a group of resorts that are interconnected - 105 minute bullet train from Tokyo, and then 70 minutes bus from Nagano to Shiga Kogen
- Nozawa Onsen – in northern Nagano, Japan
- Myoko Kogen - located one hour north of Nagano in the Niigata prefecture
Other popular ski resorts are Appi Kogen ski resort in north-east Honshu near the Towada Hachmantai National Park, and Zao. There are also hundreds of other ski resorts where you’ll be less inclined to run into western travellers.
One of the benefits of skiing in Honshu is that you don’t just have to ski. There are plenty of tourist activities on offer and you can also do side trips or stopovers in Kyoto or Toyko.
Getting to Honshu
There are lots of options for flights into Tokyo on the island of Honshu. Airlines include Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Korean Air, Air New Zealand, Air China, Cathay Pacific, Thai Airways and Singapore Airlines.
For those travelling from Australia there are many options for direct flights from various cities. Many airlines fly to Tokyo, and recently Jetstar has commenced direct flights to Osaka, although these sell out quickly. Qantas fly from most Australian cities to Tokyo (Narita International Airport).