Tohoku Skiing and Snowboarding
If you’re a powder hound who wants to get off the beaten track of international skiers and snowboarders, where there is very little English spoken and cultural immersion (and onsen immersion) is at an all time high, and there are abundant freshies that are easily accessible, Tohoku skiing or snowboarding is for you!
By skiing in Tohoku, you can experience the real Japan and satisfy your appetite for riding fresh powder.
The best way to get the most out of Tohoku is to go on a
multi-resort tour and sample lots of the Tohoku ski resorts and chase the conditions.
Tohoku Ski Resorts
Tohoku is the region in northern (northeast) Honshu, the main island of Japan. Tohoku consists of 6 prefectures:
Aomori;
Iwate;
Akita;
Miyagi;
Yamagata; and
Fukushima which is east of Niigata Prefecture and northeast of Gunma.
What is common to many of the Tohoku ski resorts is that there are very few westerners and not too many people riding off-piste, so there are often fresh powder lines galore. And some of the Tohoku ski areas are deserted mid-week so it almost feels like your own private ski resort! Much of the Tohoku skiing and snowboarding is at resorts that are small, have minimal advanced piste terrain, and only have enough off-piste terrain variety for one day of riding, but when you have a van, a guide and a driver, you can sample lots of different resorts.
Off-piste riding may be considered taboo at some of the resorts, but with care and discretion you’ll be rewarded with abundant freshies in the trees. At other Tohoku ski resorts, the tolerance for tree skiing continues to increase and some even encourage it.
Ski Areas Near Morioka and Mt Iwate
There is a collection of
Iwate ski resorts in northern Tohoku including Shizukuishi, Hachimantai Shimokura, Appi, and Geto Kogen.
Geto Kogen receives ridiculous amounts of snow – it’s a powder magnet. It has great well spaced tree skiing off a series of ridges. This is one of our favourite powder skiing destinations in Japan.
Shizukuishi has a Prince Hotel at its base and is very typical of a Tohoku ski resort: small; nice tree skiing; and a great onsen.
Hachimantai Shimokura is small and has great side-country and the tolerance to head into the powder continues to increase.
Appi is an upscale resort that has amazing groomed runs, and some designated tree runs, and some additional sidecountry further afield, although that requires a snowcat and extra yen.
Okunakayama Kogen is a small unknown ski area with a liberal approach to off-piste skiing and riding. It’s fun on a powder day, although because it’s small, it doesn’t cope with too many people chasing powder simultaneously.
Tazawako (in the
Akita Prefecture) is another of our favourite Japanese powder skiing spots. Tazawako Japan is growing in popularity and there will be a few other feisty powder hounds trying to get to the freshies, but relative to Nagano it’s a dream. Tazawako is a spot where you can get cultural immersion as well as powder submersion!
Ani is also in the Akita Prefecture and a little further afield. Ani offers some great tree skiing and sidecountry for those with route finding nous or a guide. It’s a bit of an effort to get there, which helps to keep the crowds down.
Yamagata Prefecture
Further south in the Yamagata Prefecture is
Zao Onsen. Zao Onsen is a reasonably mainstream ski resort that attracts some gaijin. A major plus is that it’s an onsen town and there are spectacular snow monsters (when there is visibility).
There are also various other
Yamagata ski resorts.
Aizu Ski Resorts
Further south, the imposing Mt Bandai in the Fukushima Prefecture is surrounded by a variety of ski resorts that are part of the Aizu region. These
Aizu ski resorts can be a little busy on the weekends with locals, although the Japanese generally won’t be much competition for the freshes in the off-piste areas. The Bandai ski resorts are mostly rather small and have some nice tree skiing.
Minowa is our favourite powder skiing resort in this area, although in recent years they've been slack with lift operations.
Nekoma Mountain is the amalgamation of the former Alts Bandai on the south side which has well developed facilities, and the former Urabandai Nekoma, which is north facing and often has nice snow, and also has good off-piste and sidecountry terrain.
Grandeco is mellow in many places and with a little exploring there are some steeper lines.
Inawashiro has amazing tree skiing but only when the powder is fresh because it’s mostly south facing. The town of Inawashiro can be a good spot to use as a base to explore the Bandai ski resorts.
Aomori Prefecture
The most northern prefecture, Aomori, has various ski areas, with the most famous being
Hakkoda, which is an amazing backcountry-type ski area that is serviced by a ropeway. Hakkoda absolutely gets dumped on with snow which is a major pro, but the associated con is that the weather can be brutal and the ropeway closed when the big blizzards come in. To get the most out of the backcountry of Hakkoda, you may wish to visit in late February or March.
Aomori Spring is a nice resort for tree skiing and to get away from the hordes that populate the high profile Japanese ski resorts.