What other travelers are saying about Appi Kogen Ski Resort
I visited it twice in two years. The trails are well designed, as a snowboarder, I enjoyed it. We were lucky enough to enjoy the powder snow most of the time. There r trails for beginner and advanced, ungroomed trails r fun. There r tree runs for those who r interested too.
To reach Appi Kogen Ski Resort from Tokyo, you can take the Tohoku Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo Station to Morioka Station, which takes about 2 to 2.5 hours. From Morioka Station, you can catch a local train or a bus to Appi Kogen, and the journey takes approximately another hour. Alternatively, during the winter season, there are direct bus services available from Tokyo to the resort.
The best time to visit Appi Kogen Ski Resort for winter sports is from December to March when the resort experiences consistent snowfall, providing excellent conditions for skiing and snowboarding. January and February are particularly ideal if you're looking for the quintessential winter experience with abundant snow.
Absolutely! Appi Kogen Ski Resort caters not only to winter sports enthusiasts but also to visitors who prefer other activities. Non-skiers can enjoy snowshoeing, snowmobiling, and sledding or relax in one of the resort's hot springs. The resort also offers indoor facilities such as swimming pools, fitness centers, and spas for those looking to unwind or stay active off the slopes.
Yes, Appi Kogen Ski Resort offers a ski school with experienced instructors who provide lessons for skiers and snowboarders of all levels. Whether you're a complete beginner looking to learn the basics or an advanced participant aiming to refine your skills, the ski school offers a range of classes, including private and group lessons, to accommodate your needs.
Really enjoyed our time at Appi. The snow was massive for Christmas (seems to be a common theme here in Japan) and it basically never stopped snowing the 3 days we were there. We stayed off resort so it was reasonable and shuttles ran frequently through the quaint snow covered “town.” Don’t expect too much night life here, it’s about families and powder. Runs were nice but really cater to beginner and intermediates. We brought our own skis this time as rentals run the same price as lift tickets and sizes max out at a quite small 170cm (this has been consistent in Japan as well). They have cat skiing but it runs quite pricy at about $200 USD per day, so that was a pass. Knocked off one star because they have lots of trees but no tree skiing. The trees are very dense, but could be opened up in the off season at the resort’s discretion. As such, in combination with the lack of much of a steep pitch, there were very limited options for advanced skiers. Please open those trees! Limited wait on lifts given the holidays, but you should never see 1 or 2 people on a quad with folks waiting.
The trails are great. Great snow, we'll groomed.
The staff are not very good. The gondola line will wrapping around in a U shape with a 20 minute wait, meanwhile the staff are allowing groups of 3 to take an entire carriage that can fit 8 people even though the signs there say to fit at least 6.
The bus situation is a mess if you're trying to stay in Morioka so you dont have to pay a small fortune for the on site lodging. Even though I'm sure it's a common occurrence, apparently the bus company can't fathom more than 2 busses of people trying to get to the ski resort. They didnt have any sort of standby system for extra people. When not everyone fit on the 2 7:40 am busses we had to wait for another bus that didn't leave until 8:30 am which is 50 minutes. Pretty bad considering their scheduling is terrible and even the 7:40 am bus arrives 30 minutes after the ski lifts open. And the 8:30 am bus didnt even fit everyone so we had to wait for another bus. So despite being 15 minutes early for the earliest bus I didnt get to the resort until 100 minutes after the lifts opened.
Good facilities and nicely groomed runs. Bit disappointed with the tree riding as a snowboarder. Totally doable but trees are relatively tightly spaced and get tracked out quickly. We were looking forward to hiking into the 'Attack Zone' but it's strictly off limits because of the Cat operation. All about the $$ it seems.
