In February 2017, I went to Nozawa, Japan for a week of skiing with Claire and Jason (daughter and SIL). Overall it was a great experience. Japan is a pleasure for travellers with excellent rail services to just about anywhere in the country (with much more English signage and speakers than 20 years ago).

And most important, I found the overall cost of skiing to be very reasonable compared to Australia and New Zealand (and I heard similar comments relative to Canada and USA). The snow quality was far superior to typical snow conditions in Australia and New Zealand (unless you happen to catch the annual dump of snow). The same comment applies to the infrastructure (ski lifts, ski runs, restaurants and bars, etc).

Also the local village is a pleasure with everything one needs for a week of skiing. The local Ryokan where we stayed was basic but quite adequate (once we worked out the systems…common bathroom bookings, breakfast arrangements, etc). As a result the Japan ski fields are well populated by folks from ANZ as well as the the restaurants and bars at night…! Some photos follow:

Hikage slope

Start of day two – good snowfall

Blizzard conditions at top of mountain…my goggles froze up…could not see anything…not good for skiing…!

Fine day after the blizzard

Claire gracing the slopes

Azegamikan Ryokan where we stayed

Shrine on way to slopes

Typical ski trail through fir tree forest