Honshu Ski Trips 2027
Why Honshu?
Honshu is Japan’s main island, home to Tokyo and a spine of mountains that runs from the Japanese Alps to the snowy north of Tohoku. Like Hokkaido, storms off the Sea of Japan bury this area every winter, which means there’s lots of skiing to be had! Though we’ve been offering trips for over 20 years in Hokkaido, we’ve also been exploring Honshu’s best zones. These are the trips we built from it: a mix of resort powder, backcountry and old-school road-trip culture, complete with onsen and good food!
More Trees Please: Iiyama “Powder Triangle”
Private trip
When our guides get a week off, this is where they go.
This is an old-school Japan road trip. No flashy hotels or state-of-the-art resorts. Just some of the best steep tree skiing at small resorts, in a zone known for huge dumps. Iiyama is known as “Snow Country’s Little Kyoto” and is the birthplace of skiing in Nagano Prefecture.
We start near the Sea of Japan coast, an easy Shinkansen ride to Joetsu-Myoko. It’s a road-trip-style trip where we decide where to ski based on the weather, with resorts like Nozawa Onsen, Charmant Hiuchi and more. The trip concludes in Nagano City.
Quick facts
| Dates | Jan 24–31, 2027 |
|---|---|
| Price | ¥669,000 per guest, double occupancy* |
| Group size | 4–6 guests |
| Format | Private trip only |
| Skiing | 6 days: resort, sidecountry and guide’s-choice touring |
| Start / finish | Joetsu-Myoko (Shinkansen) / Nagano City |
| Accommodation | Mix of guesthouses and traditional hotels |
*Prices are based on double occupancy and may change with accommodation rates at the time of booking.
Day by day
| Day | Skiing | Overnight |
|---|---|---|
| Arrival | Meet in Joetsu-Myoko, transfer to the Nadachi area | Guest House Sanraku, Itoigawa (or similar) |
| 1 | Charmant Hiuchi zone | Guest House Sanraku (or similar) |
| 2 | Charmant Hiuchi zone, transfer to Iiyama with dinner en route | Hotel Hoteiya or OTOWA (or similar) |
| 3 | Local ski area | Hotel Hoteiya or OTOWA (or similar) |
| 4 | Local ski area | Hotel Hoteiya or OTOWA (or similar) |
| 5 | Local ski area | Hotel Hoteiya or OTOWA (or similar) |
| 6 | Ski touring | Hotel Hoteiya or OTOWA (or similar) |
| 7 | Transfer to Nagano for departure | — |
The Great White North: Aomori and North Tohoku
Group trip
Aomori City is often called the snowiest city on earth. That’s why our early-season Honshu road trip starts here.
This is our only group road trip this season, and it’s the trip that inspired our first exploratory trips on Honshu. Outside Hokkaido, we think it offers some of the best early-season riding in Japan.
We spend two days tram-assisted touring in the Hakkoda Mountains, then ski our way south through Iwate. We ski through Geto Kogen, the self-styled “King of Snow,” where locals say three days in four bring a storm. Geto Kogen offers both excellent lift access and touring options, so we plan on both!
This is an assisted touring trip, which means we expect to do frequent short hikes to get away from, or back to, the lifts. The trip is designed so that more ski touring happens early on and more laps off the lifts happen towards the end, but we always adapt to what the snow gives us, and we never go uphill just for the sake of the hike.
Quick facts
| Dates | Jan 9–16, 2027 |
|---|---|
| Price | ¥669,000 per guest, double occupancy* |
| Group size | 4–6 guests |
| Format | Group trip |
| Skiing | 6 days: tram-assisted touring, resort and backcountry |
| Style | Assisted touring: short, frequent hikes |
| Start / finish | Aomori City / Kitakami (bullet train exit) |
| Accommodation | Mix of city hotel and traditional Japanese inn |
*Prices are based on double occupancy and may change with accommodation rates at the time of booking.
Day by day
| Date | Skiing | Overnight |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 9 | Meet in Aomori City | Hotel in Aomori |
| Jan 10 | Hakkoda: tram-assisted ski touring | Sukayu Onsen Ryokan (or similar) |
| Jan 11 | Hakkoda most of the day, then drive to Okunakayama | Starfall Lodge (or similar) |
| Jan 12 | Okunakayama Kogen | Starfall Lodge (or similar) |
| Jan 13 | Okunakayama Kogen, dinner on the drive south | Semi Onsen (or similar) |
| Jan 14 | Geto Kogen | Semi Onsen (or similar) |
| Jan 15 | Geto Kogen backcountry | Semi Onsen (or similar) |
| Jan 16 | Transfer to Kitakami for departure | — |
Powder Project 2027
A quick hit of the best of northern Honshu, built from the highlights of past winters’ exploratory trips.
Tohoku is the old-school cousin of the big Nagano and Niigata zones. Part of building the best cat operations in Japan is occasionally revisiting what other companies are doing, so this trip starts with a day of cat skiing in the Hachimantai zone.
Then we drop down to visit the “King of Snow.” Three out of four days at Geto Kogen are storm days, and if we get lucky with one, we’ll do laps off the lifts until the fresh tracks run out. If it hasn’t snowed much, we head into the Geto Kogen backcountry, which still sees very few hikers. This resort has a ski patrol that actively works to open in-bounds gated areas and fully embraces the powder lifestyle.
After that we switch to the western side of the range and put skins on to earn our turns for the last two days.
With terrain reminiscent of some of the best touring spots in Hokkaido before anyone knew where they were, this is real Japan with empty trailheads and endless powder among well-spaced trees. If you imagine breaking fresh trail instead of following a skin track, and relaxing in an onsen at the end of the day that doesn’t require sharpening your elbows, this is the zone for you.
Quick facts
| Dates | Feb 13–19, 2027 |
|---|---|
| Price | ¥642,000 per guest, double occupancy* |
| Group size | 4–6 guests |
| Skiing | 5 days: cat skiing, resort and backcountry, ski touring |
| Start / finish | Morioka / Kitakami |
| Accommodation | Standard hotel and Japanese inn |
*Prices are based on double occupancy and may change with accommodation rates at the time of booking.
Day by day
| Date | Skiing | Overnight |
|---|---|---|
| Feb 13 | Arrive in Morioka, transfer to Hachimantai | Lodge Clubman (or similar) |
| Feb 14 | Hachimantai cat skiing, then transfer | Semi Onsen (or similar) |
| Feb 15 | Geto Kogen and backcountry | Semi Onsen (or similar) |
| Feb 16 | Geto Kogen and backcountry, then transfer to Yokote | Japanese Inn |
| Feb 17 | Ski touring | Japanese Inn |
| Feb 18 | Ski touring | Japanese Inn |
| Feb 19 | Transfer to Kitakami for departure | — |
You Don’t Know Yuzawa
Japan’s ski mecca that most Western skiers still haven’t heard of.
With some of the highest-elevation skiing on Honshu and one of the rowdiest sidecountry alpine zones available, this is the Japanese ski mecca most Westerners still don’t know about.
Only a short way from Tokyo, and consistently one of the snowiest regions in Japan each year, come explore Yuzawa with us. With over 15 ski areas to choose from each day and a wealth of trailheads to skin from, there is always something new to check out.
The high alpine bowls of Kagura’s backcountry are a highlight, and a refuge if we hit one of Honshu’s warmer spells. The limited number of lift tickets sold each day, and the rowdy terrain that can be reached, make this zone one of Japan’s steep-skiing pilgrimages.
Come visit the zone that is a favorite of many of Japan’s pro riders when they get downtime.
Quick facts
| Dates | Jan 23–30 or Feb 14–20, 2027 |
|---|---|
| Price | ¥669,000 per guest, double occupancy* |
| Group size | 4–6 guests |
| Skiing | 6 days: alpine backcountry, steep resort terrain, guide’s choice |
| Start / finish | Echigo-Yuzawa (Shinkansen from Tokyo) |
*Prices are based on double occupancy and may change with accommodation rates at the time of booking.
Itinerary outline
| Days | Skiing |
|---|---|
| 2 | Kagura and its alpine backcountry |
| 2 | Many local ski areas to choose from |
| 2 | Many local ski areas to choose from |
Ready to ski Honshu?
Spots are limited to 6 guests per trip. Tell us which trip you’re interested in and we’ll be in touch with availability and next steps.
