Hi everyone,
I would like to plan a group trip with 6 of my mates to Japan for skiing during the 21/22 winter season. I have been skiing before (I am at a beginner level) but my friends have never tried it and have always wanted to learn. As we are from Malaysia we figured Japan could be the ideal place to go for us!
Does this sub have any recommendations for which ski resorts offers the best environment (slopes, lift pass prices, group skiing classes) for first time skiers wanting to learn the sport in Japan?
I have no preference for any location in Japan at the moment and am prioritizing the best experience for my group at our experience level.
Many thanks in advance!
3 comments
Considering that your friends have never tried skiing, I would consider Sapporo (Teine), or Gala Yuzawa as a destination, so if your group does not like the experience – it isn’t stack somewhere in a resort/onsen town in rural Japan, bored and bothered. Karuizawa might also be an option there.
Hakuba and Niseko have enough facilities for beginners, but they are typical powderhound and party resorts, so that vibe might not be what you are looking for, considering your nationality.
I would say most ski resorts cater to beginners very well, so it just depends on what kind of environment (remote or close to city etc) your group want to be in.
Gala Yuzawa is super close to Tokyo & doable as a day trip with many beginners trails. But it’s also very crowded so that might be a danger factor of its own 😅
My top recommendation is Hakuba’s 47/Goryu resort. The beginners trails are very wide so plenty of space for everyone. It also has a green trail at the summit, which is rare, so even beginners can enjoy excellent view. From Hakuba, you can also go to Cortina&Tsugaike resort which is also not too bad for beginners.
You can check out each resort’s trail map to get a sense of how many green/blue trails vs red/black. Sometimes they give the % distribution of the trails and angles&distance for each trail so you can judge for yourself.
I’ve been to Niseko and Hakuba (Happo-one) and I think they are pretty good for beginners. I’m intermediate to advanced, but my wife and son are beginners and they enjoyed it. I think resorts with shops/restaurants near the base are good cos if you want a break for a couple of hours, you can ski down to sit around and chill.
Other advice is not to aim to ski too many consecutive days… e.g if you’ve got 5 days, take day #3 off to recover. Unless you guys are super fit, it’s really tiring cos the movement won’t be natural to you.
Edit: if you plan to go during the shoulder season, it’s safer to pick a resort in Hokkaido… Japan normally has really good snow, but this recent season, Hakuba had terrible snow… the slopes were pretty brown in December, and when I went in early January, only the higher runs plus the children’s slopes were open.