I’m about to land in the snowiest city in Japan, literally. Around six metres of snow dumps on Aomori City in Tohoku each year, enough to cripple most airports in the world but not here.
On final approach, the buffeting white-out thins, and I catch a glimpse of a single skier on a local hill down below, carving as if no one is watching. This is the Japan ski world we dream about – traditional, uncrowded and filled with culture.
The Tohoku region is a six-prefecture powder paradise with about 100 ski resorts across Aomori, Iwate, Akita, Miyagi, Yamagata and Fukushima and I’m here to try three of them.
Mount Hakkoda: Bewitching backcountry
Thirty kilometres south-east of Aomori City sits Mount Hakkoda. It may be slightly south of the Niseko resorts of Hokkaido, but Hakkoda is on roughly the same latitude, meaning it’s in the same path of those celebrated, powder-provoking Siberian winds that steam across the Sea of Japan to dump bucket loads of snow.
Its dinky two-seater chairlift opens up five fun runs but experienced powder-seekers beeline for Hakkoda Ropeway. The 101-person gondola has a dual purpose: ferrying day-trippers up to see the famed ‘snow monsters’ (trippy fir trees encased in ice and snow) and delivering skiers to two ungroomed “advanced-intermediate” runs, including the five-kilometre Forest Course.
Hakkoda has a cornucopia of tree runs, which the resort’s fine-print invites you to “freely enjoy … at your own risk, after submission of a mountain notification form”. We recommend taking a guide such as Hakkoda Guide Club to explore the resorts five peaks of backcountry.
Ohira Chiaki, guiding here for a decade, says you “don’t even need to be fit” to follow him through the wide-spaced trees of Mt Maedake. His second-favourite backcountry run is the half-day Onsen Course, which requires pre-arranged transport because it finishes away from the tiny ski village. Two things to note about Hakkoda: high winds can close the exposed ropeway at short notice (hiking up is not discouraged) and the guides’ English can be limited.
Hakkoda’s off-mountain accommodation options personify Tohoku’s small-scale ‘Japanese’ stays (each with their own shuttle). Holiday alongside local farmers enjoying their off-seasons at Sukayu Onsen; an authentic ryokan with utterly traditional rooms and a “1000-people” mixed-gendered cypress-wood public bath. It’s open 24 hours and strictly naked or rented bathing suits from the onsen, but the milky waters mostly obscure your ‘bits’ once you’re in.
Hotel Jogakura is more of a compromise, offering Western-style rooms and toilets (warm-seated bidets). Yet there’s still an unmistakably regional-Japan vibe here, thanks to (gendered) onsens and a restaurant serving local fare – though horse sashimi and shark fin soup might be a tad too traditional for some tastes.
APPI Resort: Your family’s first resort?
One of Tohoku’s largest resorts is APPI Resort, 45 kilometres north of Morioka, the capital city of Iwate prefecture. Its piste fans out below Mount Maemori (1304m) and boasts well-lifted, well-rounded, and predictable terrain with a kid-friendly snow park and enough reds and blacks to keep decent skiers stoked for at least a long weekend.
The 15-minute Appi Gondola deposits you on the cusp of wide cruisers and in-bounds tree runs, including the kilometre-long Dragon Tail. Past Appi skiers will note that the Mount Nishimori (1328m) lift has been mothballed, replaced by the Nishimori Cat, offering a fair to good chance of shortish freshies in the lesser-skied trees.
APPI Resort is a ski-in-ski-out ‘ecosystem’ with bright pastel-coloured gondolas and a fun model dinosaur area in the snow to keep the family entertained. It suits people looking for a balance of cruisy skiing, family friendly all-inclusivity, and convenient dining choices.
There are five restaurants, including sushi, a bakery, karaoke bar, various fitness areas, and boutiques selling resort-priced goodies. One of the largest outdoor hot springs in Tohoku, Shirakaba-no-Yu, is worth the short shuttle ride for a soak/sticky beak.
Appi’s accommodation centerpiece is the 360-room ANA Crowne Plaza. Its bright-yellow and blue-reflective-glass tower (circa 1988) is a snapshot of Japan’s former boom times. There are both Japanese and Western-style rooms, ranging from the top-floor Tower Royal suite to simultaneously spacious and cosy ‘standard’ rooms with 1990’s auras – light woods, greys and creams.
The ANA InterContinental (opened 2022) offers ‘elevated’ dining experiences, ski valets and exquisite fittings (the wooden bath-tubs are wonderful) for a customary premium tariff. Those with $10,000 (one-million yen) per night to burn can consider InterContinental’s well-appointed Presidential Suite.
Zao Onsen: The steamy snow-monster village
Tohoku’s most personality rich, old-school resort is Zao Onsen, a 40-minute bus ride from Yamagata city (2.5 hours on the Shinkansen from Tokyo Station). Like perennial Aussie fave Nozawa Onsen, this place was a hot-spring village long, long before it was a ski resort. Zao is renowned for its ‘snow monsters’, too. At night, a gaggle of the deep-frozen trees are illuminated in trippy colours near the Zao Ropeway’s top station (see our Instagram reel).
The postcard-pretty ski area is excellent for intermediates and beginners looking to carve up to the next level and there’s a 10-kilometre, top-to-bottom run for those looking to test their endurance.
When the snow deities smile, Zao’s powder potential is immense, so remember to pack your yellow goggle lens if you want to play on the upper slopes. You’ll also want to study the ski map closely to get the most out of Zao’s medium-sized, wide-fingered piste, saving you potentially long traverses when connecting the resort’s two sides (divided by several off-piste valleys).
The charming little village, permanent population around 300, spreads out evenly across the ski area’s base, roughly delineated into North, South and Central Zao. Accommodation is a low-rise mix of ryokans (many with their own onsens), smallish-scale hotels, and a peppering of more affordable pensions and lodges.
Zao’s back streets feel rural, bordered by old wooden structures creaking under the weight of snow on their roofs. Northern Zao has a traditional local atmosphere, centred around Takayu Street, which features torii gates, old wooden public hot springs (including cute foot baths and hand baths), and calm dining establishments. Southern Zao clusters around the “Snow Monster” ropeway, with hotels and souvenir shops nearby. And Central Zao is a small commercial hub spread around the central ropeway that goes to TORIKABUTO Peak. There is also a convenience store.
Given this trio and a gaggle of other little powder paradises, such Geto Kogen and Tazawako, it makes you wonder why Aussies aren’t skiing in Tohoku en masse yet.
All the above-mentioned resorts are close to regional cities well serviced by Shinkansen or flights to Tokyo. Cities worth exploring for their own merits. Bottomless noodles in Morioka’s soba restaurants. Laneway izakaya/bar crawls in atmospheric Sendai. Coming face-to-face with the intense angry-face floats of Aomori’s Nebuta culture.
That’s exactly what Tohoku offers: a cultural immersion into solid little resorts well off the well-tracked trail, relatively devoid of crowds. It’s a region ripe for a road trip or bullet-train safari, mix-and-matching ski areas as you go; a couple of days here, a few days there. You could spend weeks, months, even a season exploring.
Steve Madgwick was a guest of Tohoku Tourism
