Sports in Japan: Skiing

Japan offers several world classes skiing and snowboarding resorts with abundant, high quality snow, beautiful scenery and relaxing hot springs. The country has staged the winter Olympic Games twice in the last 40 years.

There are over 500 ski resorts across Japan from the northern island of Hokkaido to the southern main island of Kyushu, varying in size from large resorts with dozens of runs to small one-lift slopes. The best resorts and snow conditions are found in northern Japan (Hokkaido and Tohoku) and in the mountains along the Sea of Japan Coast (incl. Niigata and Nagano).

While there are no ski resorts within the borders of metropolitan Tokyo, it is feasible to go skiing or snowboarding in a daytrip from Tokyo. Some of the most easily accessible and most popular resorts for daytrips are located in the Yuzawa region of Niigata Prefecture, which can be reached in around 90 minutes by shinkansen.

Many ski areas in Japan double function as hot spring resorts, leading to the particular Japanese way of enjoying skiing and snowboarding in combination with relaxation in a hot spring after a day on the slopes.

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