We sent Alex Parsons to Tohoku, for her first time. This is what she discovered.
Somehow, there are still ski resorts in Japan that are undiscovered, and Tohoku is keeping a lot of them.
The northernmost region of Honshu (Japan’s mainland) has over eighty ski resorts tucked away in the prefectures of Aomori, Iwate, Akita, Miyagi, Yamagata and Fukushima. They receive similar amounts of snow to Hokkaido, but are quieter, often cheaper, and don’t require another flight. Instead, you can jump aboard a shinkansen in Tokyo and be at the tip of the mainland in Aomori in just three hours.
While the skiing is off the charts you can also dive right into local culture, Samurai history and soak in ancient onsen hot springs.
I had the chance to explore six of Tohoku’s ski resorts, and this is what I found.
Hakkoda Kokusai Ski Resort – backcountry tree skiing
Waking up in the city of Aomori, I threw open the blinds of Relabo Medical Spa & Stay (highly recommend), and saw it was snowing. Of course. A casual 40cm of snow had come down overnight, and another 20cm fell that morning. I’d slept like a log after a fantastic massage but now it was time for business. And I’m in the business of pow hunting.
The first stop was Hakkoda Kokusai Ski Resort, a lift accessed backcountry paradise with a standard snow base of four metres. I met my guide Chuhei from Mt Hakkoda Guide Club who has been guiding here for 31 years. He’s never guided anywhere else, and doesn’t want to. I asked him why and he gestured around – it was the trees, the snow, the mountain.
It did feel spiritual when we reached the top of the resort, in full blizzard mode, and got to ride dreamy pow between the famous ‘snow monsters’ before descending into a stunning beech forest.
Aomori Spring Ski Resort – Olympic fervour, no crowds
Aomori Spring has the catchphrase “where Olympians play”. Its 22 foot half pipe serves as the National Training Center for the Japanese National Halfpipe Snowboarding Team, and is where athletes like Ayumu Hirano, Maddie Mastro, Danny Kass and Kelly Clark have trained. Olympic halfpipe rider Kaitlyn Farrington has also made it her home and I was stoked to go riding with her and local legend Tomo Yasuda.
With fresh snow overnight, we slashed pow like it was nobody’s business, rarely seeing another person on a run. The resort limits daily lift tickets to 1200 a day, so you’ll never stand in a lift line.
Hot tip: Stay at the Rockwood Hotel & Spa for some seriously good outdoor onsen action.
Mt Moriyoshi Ani Ski Resort
If you’re looking for cute-as-a-button old school skiin then put Ani on your radar, with just one gondola and two double chairlifts. The tree skiing here is meditative, fresh powder around well paced trees which was easily accessed with the help of guide Brent Potter from Japan Ski Tours.
Ani is all about untracked powder, you’ll still find it mid afternoon mid week every time. Brent explained that Ani is two hours away from a main population centre so during the week, it’s only frequented by those staying in the nearby lodges. And there are only two of those, one owned by Brent, Anaba Lodge. It’s a cosy stay with only six rooms, a fireside bar, sauna, cold plunge pool and lodge dog that loves cuddles.
Tazawako Ski Resort – ancient onsens, wide groomers and views for days
Tazawako ski resort is all about the views – Lake Tazawa the deepest lake in Japan, and Mount Akita-Komagatake, an active volcano covered in snow. Scenic is an understatement. Tazawako definitely feels like one of the more developed ski resorts, with food courts, rentals, excellent wide groomers for carving and six lifts.
Stay at nearby Tsurunoyu Onsen, a traditional hot spring hotel with its origins in the 1600s. The building is made up of convoluted wooden hallways that you shuffle through while wearing a yukata, as an elderly man holding a lamp shows you around. Am I dreaming?
Dinner had 17 separate dishes and was served in my tatami mat room before someone came to make up my futon bed. I explored the outdoor onsen (completely naked, of course) and marvelled as the rising steam mingled with the falling snow. Just when I thought it couldn’t feel more like a Studio Ghibli film, a fluffy Japanese sable stuck its head over a snow bank to say hello, before disappearing back into the night.
Miyagi Zao Sumikawa Snow Park – cat accessed backcountry
Don’t be fooled by Sumikawa snow park, it may look like tiny ski area but it’s famous for its wild storms and backcountry access. And wouldn’t you know it, I arrived in a total blizzard.
The winds were so strong they closed the bottom lift, but curiously not the top two lifts. If you know me, I’ll use any excuse to skin uphill, so my guide Kato-san and I happily toured past the closed lift and enjoyed our near-private ski resort. Of course Sumikawa has secrets, and most foreigners come here to catch a cat ride to the top and access the backcountry lines, some of which take you to Togatta Shrine and Okama crater lake.
Hoshino Resorts NEKOMA Mountain
With lift names like Devil Cat chair and Friendly Cat Express, I was in love with Nekoma before I even arrived. Then I walked into the Bandaisan Onsen Hotel at the resort’s base and was in snowboarder heaven. There is a free wax bar, first tracks for hotel guests, 2pm check out with access to the onsen afterwards, and one of the wildest buffets I’ve seen in my life (and I consider myself a bit of a buffet connoisseur).
Nekoma has been flying under the radar as it used to be two separate resorts that connected in 2023 to include a sunny south side and more powder-friendly north side, with a total of 13 lifts and 33 trails. I heard there was a great park too, but I was too busy doing research at the hotel’s specialist sake bar.
Must do: Bar hopping and copper melding in Sendai
While you’re in Tohoku, do not miss a bar hopping night in Sendai. Join a Tohoku Local Secrets tour for a first hand experience of two or three local izakayas in the back-alleys of Bunka-yokocho and Iroha-yokocho. Step back in time to the retro post-war Showa Era and squeeze into the famous tiny pubs that seat 8-10 customers at a time. You’ll have a local guide to navigate the best places and you’ll dine, chat and drink with locals. I hit up Hotaru 2 Gokan, Rock n Roll Museum and Sendai Sakaba, two unique bars I would never have found without my guide.
Need to know
There are a lot of small, local ski resorts to explore in Tohoku so it pays to road trip or train trip around the area. I used the JR East 10 day pass for ¥50,000 yen (around $450 AUD) and enjoyed unlimited travel on JR lines in the Tohoku area, JR buses, the Tokyo monorail and more.
If you want to spoil yourself, and you should, then upgrade to GranClass, a spacious Shinkansen carriage akin to first class where you can stretch out in comfort and be served delicious fare.
Uncovering the quirks of each resort is a huge part of the fun of a Tohoku trip. Then there’s the backcountry access. Scenic lines, no competition, wide spaced trees and the deepest turns of your life. Local guides come highly recommended to get the most out of your time and stay safe.
For more information about Tohoku visit their website.
*Article author Alex Parsons travelled with the support of Tohoku Tourism Promotion Organisation
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