Japanese ski resorts have developed a stellar international reputation for a few reasons: deep powder, incredible tree skiing and piping hot onsens, to name a few. However, for sheer size, the mountains are never going to compete with the likes of Whistler, Chamonix, Park City or St Anton.
With that said, there are five resorts in the country boasting an impressive 1,000m of vertical or more – and none of them are Niseko United resorts!
Of course, vertical, which is the difference in elevation between the bottom station to the top – is just one measure of size and, as you’ll find below, it’s possible to have a resort with plenty of vertical but not a great deal of terrain (generally narrower resorts).
Kagura
Base elevation: 630m
Top elevation: 1845m
Total vertical: 1225m
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It might surprise a few of you to know that the ski resort in Japan with the most vertical is not one of the Hakuba or Niseko resorts, but in fact Kagura – a ski resort in Yuzawa Town, part of Japan’s ‘Snow Country’ region.
Kagura is made up of three areas: Kagura, Mitsumata and Tashiro, and also connects with Naeba Ski Resort via a 5,481m cable car known as the ‘Dragondola’. The combined Kagura/Naeba area is known as Mt Naeba, and forms one of the largest skiable areas in Japan, with 30 lifts and more than 50 marked runs.
Kagura itself is a great resort for powder skiers due the quality of snow and its high elevation, and it is generally less crowded than its popular Naeba neighbour. The resort also has an impressively long season, often running from late November to late May, making it an excellent choice for a spring skiing getaway.
Myoko Suginohara
Base elevation: 731m
Top elevation: 1855m
Total vertical: 1124m
Suginohara (‘Sugi’) is one of several ski resorts in the Myoko area, with an 8.5km run that it claims (somewhat contentiously) to be the longest in Japan. The resort is relatively narrow and split over two main zones – Suginohara to skiers’ left, and Mitahara to the right.
Sugi is a resort that appeals to a variety of riders, with mix of long, cruisy groomed runs, but also some great tree skiing and sidecountry for more advanced riders. With only five lifts, you’d be forgiven for writing it off as a small resort, but when there’s fresh snow (and there often is), there’s a large amount of terrain that comes into play and it feels larger than it looks on paper.
Nozawa Onsen
Base elevation: 565m
Top elevation: 1650m
Total vertical: 1085m
Many will be familiar with Nozawa Onsen – it’s a hugely popular resort, and we often hear anecdotally that it has ‘the best of everything’: loads of terrain, amazing snow, great lift infrastructure (with a new gondola), onsen, a gorgeous town, and plenty of ‘culture’.
There’s an extensive variety of terrain that will suit virtually any skier, from total beginner paradise on the wonderfully wide and gentle Uenotaira course, to more challenging in-bound tree skiing in the Yamabiko area at the top of the resort.
With 20 lifts and 36 marked runs, there’s certainly plenty to keep visitors occupied for a week-long ski holiday, but it also happens to be located in an area that is densely populated with amazing ski resorts, making day trips to places like Madarao and Togari Onsen quite straightforward.
Ryuoo Ski Park
Base elevation: 850m
Top elevation: 1930m
Total vertical: 1080m
Ryuoo Ski Park is a strikingly narrow, with plenty of vertical but lacking the expanse of terrain to make it a true destination resort. That said, there’s some great skiing – particularly in the middle ‘Kiotoshi’ area, which has steep pitches up of to 36 degrees and some ungroomed runs.
The resort’s major selling point is its 166-person Ropeway, which transports skiers to a top station panoramic lookout called SORA Terrace, which boasts stunning views over the valley below or, if you’re lucky, a ‘sea of clouds’ phenomenon called unkai.
As one of the first ski resorts to allow snowboarding, Ryuoo is naturally very popular with Japanese snowboarders.
Hakuba Happo-one
Base elevation: 760m
Top elevation: 1831m
Total vertical: 1071m
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Happo-one resorts needs no introduction – it’s the largest of the ten Hakuba Valley resorts, not to mention the host of the Downhill events at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. With 21 lifts and 52km of marked runs to discover, there’s plenty to keep skiers and snowboarders occupied, though with 9 other resorts accessible via a single Hakuba Valley lift ticket, you may wish to keep your options open.
Hakuba is also the unofficial capital of Japan’s freeride scene, with some of the best steeps in the country and the kind of terrain that allowed it to become Asia’s first ever stop on the Freeride World Tour. Happo can be incredible if the conditions are right, and offers some spectacular wide-open bowls and ridgelines.
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January 13, 2023
I think you did your calculation wrong for Happo-one!
January 15, 2023
Thank you! Yes, we had the figure for base elevation instead of vertical. Fixed now.