We were initially excited to get back to Aizu and whilst there, check out the new inter-connection lift that forms the amalgamation of Alts Bandai and Nekoma (now called Hoshino Resorts Nekoma Mountain). Unfortunately Honshu was having a long warm patch of weather and Aizu was having a particularly heinous snow season. Inawashiro Ski Resort was closed because it was pretty much bereft of snow, and the south side of Nekoma Ski Resort was closed. We’d been looking to check out the little Urabandai Ski Resort, but it too was closed, and we decided not to bother reviewing a couple of the Minamiaizu ski areas that had been on the itinerary. So our time in Aizu was cut very short to just two days.

We decided to use the time to really enjoy some of the things we love about Japan and absorb the culture. We stayed in a ryokan, soaked in the onsen, ate lots of marvellous Japanese food, and enjoyed a couple of tourist activities. A visit to the Tsuruga Castle was nice to appreciate the history of the area, as was a wander through the little village of Ouchijuku with its thatched roof buildings. It was a bit touristy, with restaurants and shops competing for trade, but enjoyable nonetheless to take in some more history.

We stayed at the Takamiya Hotel Bonari no Mori (you can see our review via here) which provided amazing value considering the quality on offer. We stayed in a really spacious room and the multi-course Japanese dinners were lovely.

We’ll be back Aizu and you’d better bloody well have some good snow when we do.
See our video here

Just returned from a great first trip to Japan including 1 week skiing at Alts Bandai/Nekoma and I'm writing this review from the viewpoint of an experienced intermediate skier, having skied in several countries over the past 40-or-so years!

We took advantage of the amazing Aizu Ski Deal, staying at Hoshino Resorts Alts Bandai where 3 of us (mum, dad and teenage daughter) had a fantastic time. The deal is amazing value for Aussies as we got nice accommodation, breakfast and lift tickets for much less than the price of just the lift tickets when skiing in Australia! We booked through Japan Snow Accommodation in Australia and they were very helpful with the whole experience, also offering to book transfers for us.

The quality of the snow was excellent, plenty of it although not a lot of powder, but it did snow most days that we were there. There is a reasonable variety of runs, a couple of steep ones (by our terms), mostly short, say 1-2 minute runs but a couple much longer. I'd say a week is probably a bit long for experienced skiers, although you do have the option of walking over to Nekoma when it is open, about 4 days of the week. (The walk takes about 15 minutes and it's a bit clunky walking so far in your boots through deep slow and over a few small hills but they do lend you a strap to carry your skis over your shoulder, which is a nice thought)

Oh yeah, and NO CROWDS! We were there from Monday to Saturday in mid-January and I think we had to queue only once and for less than 10 minutes. Most of the time you ski straight into the lift entry. Also very few Europeans/Aussies, which is pretty unusual for Japan at that time of year.

It's a long-ish trip by train from Tokyo but the train connections are good and there is a free shuttle bus from the nearby Bandaimachi station. We actually travelled there from Kanazawa - 2 shinkansen, the local train and shuttle bus took about 4-5 hours and we didn't wait longer than 15 minutes for any of the connections, which seems to be pretty typical of travel within Japan in general.

Here is a list of what we found to be good and bad:

The Good
- nice, mostly groomed slopes and plenty of snow across the 2 sides of the mountain
- great value accommodation and lift tickets - the hotel throws in a lot of freebies, including delicious soup when you come in at the end of the day, unlimited free tea and coffee, a free beer or sake at happy hour, free shuttle into town in the evening (although a lot of the staff didn't seem to know about this - see below!), free shuttle from the nearest train station, nice ice blocks/lollies when you come out of the onsen, some entertainment with a traditional singing and dancing show each night
- decent lunch options at both resorts including a huge free lounge/dining space at the bottom of the slopes and at 2 other locations on the slopes themselves
- very friendly, helpful staff
- wonderful onsen for a great hot bath at the end of the day
- the breakfast buffet is great with a LOT of choices including for western tastes - I've never seen such huge chunks of bacon!
- there is a really well-stocked store with heaps of gear over at the resort centre and prices are the same as in Tokyo, which is pretty unbelievable coming from Australia. I picked up a good pair of gloves for a great price. ANd rental equipment is also very good.

The Bad (although not bad enough to not recommend going here!)
- we were a bit surprised to find that all lifts except for 2 don't have safety bars, which is pretty unusual for an advanced country like Japan. You do get used to this but it does feel unsafe at first. The lifts at Nekoma are pretty old and not really padded or comfortable like lifts everywhere else I have been.
- have to get a new lift pass every day, involving walking about 100 metres to the ticket counter and back at the start of the day when you just want to get out there - this is just annoying and every other resort we have been to give you one pass for the whole time you are there
- hotel check-in process and ski rental process are too slow, complicated and time-consuming
- ski rental prices are very unclear and it took a LONG time for the staff to calculate the price when we extended for 1 extra day
- the dinner buffet is expensive and we really could not eat so much food so it would be nice to be able to order a simple ramen or set for dinner but you have to take the shuttle bus to town - about 45 minutes away for other food options
- strangely most of the front-desk staff don't seem to know about the evening shuttle bus to Aizu Wakamtsu. We had to explain this to the staff a few times as they only knew about the day trip to town, even though it is mentioned on one of the brochures.
- there is a ski map in English but the hotel doesn't stock them - we found them at the ski information office
- it's a bit of a struggle trying to communicate if you don't speak Japanese so you need to use Google translate, or actually take some lessons before you go (which I really should have...). But if they are really trying to attract westerners then they need to work on this a bit.
See our video here

Following on from a week in Shiga Kogen on a "Powder Progression Tour" my wife and I decided we wanted to put our newly developed powder skills to the test, but also wanted a better "local experience" than we had got when last skiing at Niseko. Aizu seemed to fit the requirement nicely.
We hired a 4wd Corolla wagon from Toyota Rentals in Nagano and drove to Inawashiro by way of Niigata (as we wanted to check out the amazing aquarium and sample some of the freshest seafood and best sake Japan has to offer!) Easy way to get around. Booked into the Royal Hotel (Active Resorts Urabandai) following Powderhounds' recommendation and it is a must...fairly priced and with a great onsen for the end of the day soak. At the end of the week, dropped the car at Koriyama and jumped on the Shinkansen for a short ride back to Tokyo.
Skied several fields as we chased the best powder available that week. Our thoughts

GranDeco; can be very crowded on the weekends...short runs, some nice tree skiing but they don't like you being off piste.
Minowa; great tree skiing, happy lifties, who smile, knowing you are going to head into the trees. Good level of slope progression for developing your tree skiing. Smaller field.
Nekoma; overpriced for what it offers, short runs (top tow not working)
Alts Bandai; probably our pick...well developed (for this region), great tree skiing and (if you can be discrete) lift line skiing in the back basin and decent length piste runs too. Excellent ramen for lunch!!
Inawashiro Ski; a close second to Alts. not very busy especially on the Minaro side, nice trees in places too.

Cons; Aizu doesn't do night life in the winter with many of the local restaurants closed. Many more Japanese use the area in the summer for outdoor activities.
Otherwise a fun week; our only regret...that we didn't get down to Aizu Kogen Taketsue some 120km south of Urabandai as that may be the crown jewel of the area??
See our video here

This was our third trip to the Aizu/ Bandai area and we’ve enjoyed it each time because we’ve typically come from the busy international touristy areas around Nagano and Niigata, and it’s been refreshing to get away and reacquaint ourselves with the real Japan.

Road tripping around and exploring lots of little ski areas is a favourite pastime of ours, but Aizu won’t suit the typical international skier/snowboarder who want to park themselves at one ski resort for 10 days and wander around the many bars and restaurants (and potentially use the services of an international ski school). Aizu isn’t like that because each ski area doesn’t provide much terrain variety in itself, and nightlife is non-existent. And there are plenty of options to sleep on futons on the tatami mat if you wish, lots of onsen, and all the Japanese food you could hope for.

The snow quality has varied somewhat during our visits. The first trip the snow was absolutely primo, the second trip we had to be mindful of the elevation and aspects of the ski resorts, and on the third trip the snow was pretty bad because all of Honshu had experienced some uncharacteristic warm temperatures for mid January. Typically Aizu is renowned for having abundant and very good snow (without being Hokkaido or Iwate type snow).

On our last visit we stayed at Active Resorts Urabandai (previously called Urabandai Royal Hotel) and you can see our Active Resorts Urabandai review here.
See our video here