10 Best Ski Resorts In Japan For Beginners
Trip101
We’re keen to share this magical, white world with you, so we’ve done our homework and found the best ski resorts in Japan for beginners. Continue reading to discover how you can become a snow queen or king. Once you start on this incredible journey, you’ll fall in love with the slopes as much as we have.
10. Ski Jam Katsuyama, Fukui
Ski Jam is designed to be excellent snow runs for beginners, intermediate users and advanced snow-queens and kings alike. There are three separate areas so that you can feel safe and sound practicing without running into any advanced users whipping past you at unfathomable high speeds. As with many of our other listings, the beginner slopes are located at the base of the mountain and so can easily be reached from the hotel’s main facilities.
9. Tsugaike Kogen Ski Resort, Nagano
At this site, they have mixed the beginner and intermediate levels, we guess, to encourage you to progress. That being said, the levels feel fairly comfortable after a short time practicing and in total, there are six courses that beginners/intermediate people can test out. If you definitely want to stick to the beginner ones only, then two courses will be suitable for you. We do love sites that cater to beginner night skiing, and Tsugaike Kogen Ski Resort does not disappoint.
8. Ryuoo Ski Park, Nagano
Another site with good progressions is Ryuoo Ski Park. Popular among the locals, you are much more likely to be surrounded by Japanese people than foreigners. At this site, the beginner level is 35% of the terrain, but there are only 15 courses in total. Intermediate levels equate to 40% and finally 25% is advanced only. It’s a nice site which also boasts incredible panoramic views so even if you give up on practicing for the day, you can still enjoy the beautiful scenery.
7. Madarao Kogen Ski Resort, Nagano
This site has a whopping 60% of its runs ungroomed, so it is great if you’re looking for a more off-piste experience. Stick to the base of the mountain and you’ll be safe in the beginner areas. The two main beginner runners called Utopia and Shirakaba should be enough to keep you satisfied. Conquer them first and then when you’re confidence has increased, head to the first intermediate slope. To be honest, we love that it’s so easy to see the progression of skills when tackling the challenges at Madarao Kogen Ski Resort.
6. Kita Shinshu Kijimadaira Ski Resort, Nagano
This site is notorious because it was the first Japanese resort that allowed snowboarders. If you’re a boarder, we feel like that alone is reason enough to visit. This site also has some of the steepest runs in Japan, so if you’re advanced and have beginners in your party, this might be your ideal compromise. It has been reported that 40% of the trails at this site are suitable for beginners, 40% intermediate and the rest is for advanced users.
5. Shiga Highlands, Nagano
This is actually an award-winning site for the best intermediate runs. Now, if you’re a beginner, they might be a little bit out of your league but it’s always good fun to see your aim. This site is slightly more protected from the weather which means that you’ll have more time to get used to your ‘snow-feet’ before being potentially blown off-course by strong gusts of wind. Shiga Highlands is also very expansive and so there is plenty of space for beginners to spread out and find the area that they feel most comfortable practicing on.
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