Northern Honshu
Appi Kogen, Zao Onsen, Nekoma, Aomori Spring. Tree runs, deep snow, mellower terrain. Fewer tourists. Filter below to see Northern Honshu specific guides.
Morioka area
Capital of Iwate, a real city within 30 to 70 minutes of small, quiet, snowy ski areas.
Hirosaki area
A genuine historic castle city, and the base for three very different resorts: tiny Owani Onsen, Aomori Spring's capped-ticket halfpipe mountain, and Hakkoda's backcountry ropeway terrain.
Aizuwakamatsu area
The historic capital of Fukushima's Aizu region, with its own castle and Boshin War history, and the closest base to Nekoma Mountain, Grandeco and Minowa: three separately-ticketed resorts, not a combined pass.
Nihonmatsu area
A smaller, quieter alternative to Aizuwakamatsu, about 15 minutes by train from Koriyama's Shinkansen stop, trading a longer estimated drive to the same Bandai resorts for an easier journey in from Tokyo.
Amihari Onsen
A compact, skier-dominated ski area near Morioka with mellow, easy-access tree skiing and cheap tickets.
Geto Kogen
One of the snowiest resorts anywhere, 18m+ in a good year, with twelve ability-graded in-bounds tree run areas.
Appi Kogen
One of Japan's largest resorts and its first for black-run terrain, with cat-accessed tree runs.
Aomori Spring
The resort that caps daily lift tickets at 1,200. Dry snow, empty trees, the biggest halfpipe in Japan.
Zao Onsen
One of Japan's largest and oldest resorts, known for frost-covered 'snow monster' trees and its onsen town.
Adatara Kogen
A Fukushima resort on the slopes of Mount Adatara, with a long ropeway and wide groomed runs.
Hachimantai Shimokura
A resort in the Hachimantai area of Iwate, part of a cluster of small ski areas around the plateau.
Shizukuishi
An Iwate resort that has hosted World Cup alpine races, with a long top-to-bottom run.
Hakkoda
A single ropeway up an Aomori mountain where most visitors treat the whole area as informal off-piste, with vast backcountry off the summit.