Travel to Honshu
Flying into Tokyo
There are lots of options for international flights into the Tokyo airports of Haneda and Narita. Airlines include Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Korean Air, Air New Zealand, Air China, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, Thai Airways and Singapore Airlines (you might want to consider a
Singapore stopover). You can use a
flight search engine to find a great flight to Tokyo.
Keep in mind that transport options onto the ski resorts tends to be easier from Narita Airport compared with Haneda Airport. If your ongoing travel doesn’t quite align and you need to stay overnight at a Tokyo airport hotel, here are some options for
hotels near Narita Airport and
Haneda Airport hotels.
Flying Into Other Honshu Airports
Some people fly into Osaka to do a stopover in Kyoto before skiing/snowboarding. There are also lots of regional or smaller international airports that you can use if you don’t want to train it up further north. Here are some examples:
- Toyama Airport is an option for Myoko Kogen, with flights into Japan coming via Shanghai or Seoul
- Sendai Airport is only 88km from Zao Onsen in Yamagata Prefecture
- Yamagata Airport can be used for other Yamagata ski areas
- Close to Appi Ski Resort is Iwate Hanamaki, with domestic flights originating from Sapporo (55 minute flight) or Osaka Itami (1:25 hour flight), and international flights from Shanghai-Pudong (with China Eastern Airlines) and Taipei-Taoyuan (Tigerair Taiwan)
- Odate-Noshiro Airport is just 42km to north of Ani Ski Area in Akita, and it receives direct flights from Tokyo Haneda Airport.
- Aomori International Airport has flights from Haneda Tokyo, Sapporo, Taiwan Taoyuan and Seoul, and is the gateway airport for Hakkoda and other Aomori Prefecture ski resorts.
Travel Around Honshu
Travelling around Honshu Japan to get to the major ski resorts is reasonably easy considering the sophisticated train system, the
buses to Nagano ski resorts, and that once outside Tokyo, the roads are not too busy so driving is not difficult. Or a really easy way to travel is to go on a
Honshu ski or snowboard tour and let someone else do all the driving.
For information on how to get to each Honshu ski resort, see the respective “How To Get There” page for the ski resort. Examples include
How To Get to Hakuba and
Travel to Nozawa Onsen.
Trains
The train system around Honshu is very well developed and there are lots of routes covered by bullet trains (shinkansen) so it’s an efficient way to travel as well as providing plenty of cultural insights. There are often buses to ski resorts from major train stations, or the
Gala Yuzawa Ski Resort is unique in that it has a shinkansen station at the base of the ski area, so the trip from Tokyo is rather quick.
The rail passes tend not to be ideal anymore for those going on a snow holiday, and unless you’re travelling over a holiday weekend, you probably don’t need to pre-purchase your train tickets. Just buy them at the train station.
In relation to train timetables, google is pretty good for that, or you can use
Japan Travel Navitime to search for train routes, schedules, and fares.
See the
Japan Rail page for more information on the types of train and other train travel tips.
Buses to Ski Resorts
There are well developed bus systems between the major Nagano ski resorts and Narita Airport or Haneda Airport or Central Tokyo with
Nagano Snow Shuttle. Ski resorts covered include Hakuba, Shiga Kogen, Madarao, Nozawa Onsen and Myoko in Niigata.
For most of these ski resorts, there is also the option of private or shared airport transfers with Chuo Taxi.
Driving Around Honshu
Having a car makes a lot of sense if you plan to move around and it gives you the flexibility to visit some of the lower profile ski areas that are difficult to get to via public transport.
Rental cars from most snowy cities (e.g. Aomori, Morioka, Nagano) will have snow tyres on them, but they do not come standard from car rentals around Tokyo or the Tokyo Airport. So for the latter, either get a train to somewhere such as Nagano or IIyama and rent a car there, or pay the extra fees per day to get snow tyres put on ie
do not rent a car that does not have snow tyres on it.
See our
Japan driving tips for more information on driving in Japan.
Here are a couple of options for looking for deals on renting a car:
Tours – Transport Included
Powder hounds will probably want to sample multiple resorts and chase the best snow conditions. Going on a Honshu ski tour where your guide also drives you to different ski areas, is a fantastic way to travel around and to get the best out of a ski or snowboard trip.
Multi-day tours either have a single base (ie you stay in the same accommodation for the whole trip) and travel to different ski areas each day, or they are safari/road trip style whereby you’ll stay in two or more lodgings during the tour.
Some classic multi-day tour zones include:
Head to the Honshu ski/snowboard tours page and you can use the filters to narrow down your search for factors such as ability level, lift accessed versus backcountry skiing, guided versus hosted only, progression/instruction, and whether you want a private customised trip or you want to join a group. Or if the timing is the biggest factor, check out the Honshu ski tours schedule which provides a summary of tours by date.
Luggage Courier
If you want to do a stop-over for a couple of days in Tokyo or another city, you may want to consider sending your luggage to/from the airport with a courier service. The most popular is
Yamato (with the cat logo) who couriers luggage and provides temporary storage. They have service counters at airports and major train stations and your hotel can also assist with luggage pick-up. You don’t need to pre-book this, just do it at the airport for example.
You can
look up prices and approximate courier times. It may take less than 24 hours to get there but as a general rule, allow 2 days, and have a contingency plan if it takes 3 days due to a major blizzard for example. To get specific delivery times, you’ll need to use google translate on the former link.