Japan puts a very different spin on a ski holiday. Days on the mountain might be followed by a soak in a steaming onsen, dinner in a tiny ramen restaurant, or an evening wandering through a traditional snow-covered town. And there’s plenty of choice when it comes to where you ski. From Hokkaido’s famous powder to the hot spring villages of Nagano, the easy Tokyo connections of Niigata, and the winter landscapes of Tohoku, each region offers its own reason to head to the mountains.
Hokkaido: for famous powder and great food
Hokkaido is often the first place that comes to mind when you think of skiing in Japan, and for good reason. Resorts including Niseko, Rusutsu, and Furano are known for their powder snow and wide choice of terrain. Niseko works particularly well if you want plenty going on away from the slopes too, with restaurants, bars, and hot springs adding to the experience. Furano has a slightly different feel, combining excellent skiing with a nearby town that’s easy to explore once the lifts close. Food is another big part of a Hokkaido stay. Sapporo is famous for miso ramen, making a steaming bowl of noodles a very welcome way to end a day in the snow.
Nagano: skiing meets traditional Japan
Hakuba offers a wide choice of ski areas alongside restaurants, onsens, and mountain scenery, while Nozawa Onsen combines skiing with the atmosphere of a traditional hot spring town. After a day on the slopes, you can wander through the village and experience one of its public baths. There’s plenty to discover beyond skiing too. Nagano is home to the local soba noodles that are the perfect reason to make time for a long lunch between runs.
Niigata: an easy addition to a Tokyo adventure
Echigo-Yuzawa can be reached from Tokyo by bullet train, so you could spend a few days exploring the capital before swapping city streets for snow-covered mountains. The surrounding area has a choice of ski resorts as well as hot springs, giving you plenty of options once you arrive. Further north, Myoko combines several ski areas with traditional onsen towns. Niigata is also one of Japan’s best-known rice-growing regions and has a strong sake culture, adding another side to the experience once the skiing is finished for the day.
Tohoku: for something a little different
If you’d like to go beyond Japan’s best-known ski areas, look north to Tohoku. Resorts such as Appi Kogen and Zao Onsen offer impressive winter scenery and the chance to experience a quieter side of Japan’s ski scene. Zao is particularly memorable for its juhyo, often known as ‘snow monsters’, where trees become completely coated in snow and ice during winter. Combine that with skiing, hot spring bathing, and regional food, and you have a winter holiday that feels very different from a traditional European ski break.
Make time for what happens off the mountain
Part of the appeal of skiing in Japan is that your day doesn’t have to end when you take off your boots. You might soak in an outdoor onsen surrounded by snow, try the local style of ramen or soba, explore a mountain town, or spend an evening in a cosy izakaya. And because Japan’s ski regions each have their own food, traditions, and landscapes, travelling between them can be just as rewarding as the skiing itself.
To book your Japan ski holiday, speak to your Travel Counsellor today.
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Finding your match...
