Ani Ski Resort Akita
Ani Ski Resort is situated in a wonderfully remote spot on Mt Moriyoshi in the Akita Prefecture. It is ideal for powder hounds that have plenty of time on their hands to get there and score a few days of Japow. Ani Ski Resort is just small and has a little easily sourced off-piste tree skiing, but the main event is the backcountry that requires some route-finding expertise or a guide.
Ani has some similarities to the famed
Hakkoda with its snow monsters and using the gondola to gain elevation for backcountry skiing, yet some of the Ani terrain is much steeper than that of Hakkoda.
Ani is a
hidden gem Japanese ski resort aka a unicorn ski resort, with the rare combination of lots of snow, good tree skiing, and minimal crowds. However, keep in mind that there’s only a little bit of terrain for no-effort lift-accessed powder skiing, whilst powder hounds willing to put in just a little bit of work will be handsomely rewarded.
Pros and Cons of Ani Akita
Pros
- Ani is renowned for getting absolutely dumped on with snow.
- Ani Ski Resort is delightfully off the beaten track.
- There is a little easy-access tree skiing amongst widely spaced beech trees.
- Lift-assisted backcountry touring terrain includes some steep trees, and mellow trees and open zones.
- Off-piste and backcountry skiing is well tolerated by the patrollers.
- Lift tickets, food and accommodation are inexpensive.
- Some locals turn up on the weekends - otherwise it’s very quiet.
- Ani is on the Indy Pass.
Cons
- It takes some effort to get to Ani and it’s not part of a collection of nearby ski resorts that you can easily include on a road trip. The upside is that not many other powder hounds will make the pilgrimage.
- The ski area is small (in-bounds).
- Nearby accommodation options are limited.
Pro or Con Depending On Your Perspective
- Ani scores big storms that bring an abundance of Japow, but it can also get absolutely buffeted by big winds that shut down the gondola. Don’t anticipate much in the way of fine weather during winter, so don’t expect to see the pretty views across to the Sea of Japan unless you go in spring, although you’d much rather a Japanuary showdown of powder!
- If you’re looking for easy to find tree skiing, there is very little of this. Most of the powder skiing at Ani requires a guide or well honed backcountry skills.
- Ani feels like it’s in the middle of nowhere so there’s nothing to do except chase powder.
Ani Ski and Snowboard Terrain
Like most of the Akita ski resorts, Ani is small when it comes to piste skiing. It has 5 courses (3 beginner, 2 intermediate), 663m of vertical (537 to 1,200m), and 3 lifts. A gondola (or gondora as the Japanese like to call them) runs the full vertical of the ski area, and there is a double chair at the base and another double chair at the top.
Easy to find off-piste skiing is off the top chair, and as to be expected, freshies disappear quickly in the areas of low hanging fruit. There is also off-piste from the lower chair. Parts of the gondola also provide readily accessed tree skiing, although more navigation skills are required. The terrain below the double chair requires some decent nous when it comes to route finding because it gets pretty steep, it’s easy to get gullied out, and there are some unusual flat spots.
Ani has fabulous sidecountry, although it’s mostly not fully lift accessed and a degree of ingress and egress hiking is required. The real strength of Ani is its lift assisted backcountry, and there are also longer ski touring and splitboarding options.
Ani Guide
There are a couple of English speaking local guides who can help you explore the backcountry above and beyond the ski area and slackcountry, and they can also take you on runs with a car pick up. There are also a couple of international guides that are more likely to take you to the steeps. You can make an
enquiry for Ani day guiding here.
[AdListings collection="Japan" category="Ani" subcategory="Guided Ski Tours"]
Ani Snow
Ani is known for its abundance of snow monsters which is somewhat indicative of the type of snow storms it gets: lots of snow; slightly wet coastal snow; and ferocious winds. Ani has good elevation and whilst the slopes are mostly southwest facing, aspect doesn’t have much influence on the snow quality in winter when the sun barely shines.
Where is Ani?
Ani has an isolated location in Kitaakita (north Akita) in the northern part of the
Akita Prefecture in the
Tohoku region of Honshu. Ani Ski Resort is 88km northeast of Akita City and 114km northwest of
Morioka in the
Iwate Prefecture.
Ani Accommodation
Ani accommodation options near the ski resort are limited.
The best spot to stay is at
Anaba Lodge, in the pension village just down the road from the Ani ski area. The ski lodge is run by bilingual powder chasing fiends, so they’ll make sure you'll get the most out of Ani. Anaba has a communal lounge & bar and half-board. The renovated lodge has guest rooms that utilise shared bathrooms.
Hotel Fusch is 850 metres from Ani ski resort, and the owner provides shuttles to/from the ski resort (and the nearest train station). The simple little hotel has mostly western style rooms with ensuite, and a small number of Japanese tatami rooms. It’s inexpensive, even with half board.
Otherwise you could stay in one of the nearby towns, none of which are particularly picturesque. Quince Moriyoshi is located in the Ani Maeda station building which is 23km away from Ani Ski Resort. The hotel has an onsen onsite.
[AdListings collection="Japan" category="Ani" subcategory="lodging"]
Facilities & Services
The usual gamut of services and facilities are offered including lockers, a small retail shop, and equipment rentals. Most of the rental gear is antiquated (e.g. rear entry boots) but they also have a small selection of powder skis and a very small selection of touring skis. If you want to rent touring gear, your best bet is Anaba Lodge.
Some of the staff speak English, including a few of the instructors, so it’s possible to book a snowsports lesson in English.
The cafeteria offers very inexpensive fare for lunch, and you’ll need to pay in cash.
Activities
The resort offers a snowcat service for tourists to see the snow monsters and views (on those rare fine days). The pedestrian tourists also like to say hello to Hokuto the resident Akita dog (it seems everyone in the Akita Prefecture has an Akita dog!!).
If having an onsen is part of your daily après-ski ritual, you’ll need to travel a fair distance. The Quince Onsen is about 30-40 minutes drive, whilst Utto Hot Spring is about 45 minutes away.
If the weather is being very unkind, a down day activity could be to head to Kakunodate, which is a quaint samurai town 76km south of Ani (about 1.5 hours away).