Kurohime Kogen was a nice little interlude on the drive between Madarao and Hakuba. It was quite busy because it was just before New Year’s, yet we were the only gaijin there and refreshingly, we barely heard a word of English. And whilst the off-piste tree skiing area was reasonably small, there were stashes of fresh powder because the Japanese were more interested in the moguls and the terrain park features. The snow quality was reasonable even though the temperature was just below zero.

The tree skiing was a bit of fun, but often it didn’t run fall-line for more than a couple of turns. We put the skins on to explore the upper zone, where sadly the top lift no longer runs, probably because some bright spark thought that closing it would be a great way to save money. The tree skiing up there was fantastic, with nicely pitched and spaced fall line trees. It’s sad to see these sort of ski resorts dwindling and where they focus their resources on the beginners rather than the advanced riders.

You can see more on our thoughts of the pros and cons on the Kurohime Ski Resort overview page. You can also check out our Japanese ski resort ratings which reflects the small size of Kurohime.
See our video here