The guides and staff at Iwanai are great. My cousin and I had the time of a lifetime. Sadik showed his priority for our safety as he literally hiked up the gulley in the E bowl when I lost my ski in the powder. He must have gone a kilometer in skin boots. Of course he spotted the ski, somehow a hundred meters downhill in a bush.

Dan helped us with arrangements pre and post cat skiing. Joe gave us a lift back to Niseko. Hopefully joe will get to finish school and travel in the US. All are friendly and professional, good service oriented people. Vlad and Sadik were our guides and inspire great confidence. hopefully I might be able to ski in macedonia one day.
See our video here

Great snow, amazing guides and the best owner. This is one not to miss out on!
See our video here

On our second trip to Iwanai Cat Skiing we stayed at the Iwanai Kogen Hotel to get a feel for what was on offer for the multi-day packages.

The Iwanai Kogen Hotel was a 3 star hotel that was very typical of a traditional Japanese hotel. It’s the antithesis of what you’d find in Niseko with its luxury westernised hotels and condos, and that was a major part of the appeal. The onsen was a highlight and it was nice to alternate between the indoor and outdoor baths.

The meals were fantastically Japanese and showcased the local seafood. Dinner consisted of multiple courses (traditional kaiseki) and each was a complete surprise package. One course was perhaps a little too much of a surprise for me but overall the food was amazing. We love seafood so we really enjoyed the meals, and if you don’t adore seafood they can make other cuisine for you. Breakfast was mostly set menu and traditionally Japanese.

We stayed in a western room (with ensuite). The room was a bit dated (which is typical of many Japanese hotels), but very functional. Our room offered a sea view but we couldn’t see it because it was snowing (similarly the onsen was supposed to offer views)! If you want to go the full Japanese experience, we’d recommend staying in a full tatami room and sleeping on a futon.

The proximity to Niseko is a huge pro. You can combine everything that Niseko has to offer with a serene Iwanai experience and by staying in a local ryokan for a couple of nights, it provides a lovely quiet Japanese experience.

Of course there’s all the pros of the cat skiing itself and you can see our fullIwanai Cat Skiing review here. NB Terrain, safety & guiding ratings are relative to the highly coveted BC cat skiing operations.
See our video here