Great ski resort with a mix of easy to advanced groomed runs and plenty of tree runs. The resort is famous for its powder and even in late March there was good snow cover on all the runs.
Staying at the resort is very convenient. The premium rooms are quiet and have an amazing view of the mountain and the lifts. The stay includes use of the on site Onsen.
Recommend self catering in the premium rooms as very limited choices for breakfast and dinner. We brought our own breakfast items which worked well. Dinner was either at the pizza restaurant or the Japanese buffet for JPY2500 pp. The food court has plenty of lunch options at reasonable prices. Not much Apres action at night on weekdays.
Staff were very friendly and happy to help.
Easy to get to. The free resort bus picks up from Kitakami station and takes around 50mins.
Spent 3 days snowboarding at Geto Kogen, had an absolute blast.
Arriving at 10am, there are still plenty of parking, however it is a pretty long walk to the ticket counter.
There are 2 gondola's that seats 6 pax, queue moves really fast.
Cafeteria serves typical japanese ski resort food and drinks.
Most importantly there are lots of powder at the designated tree runs even in the afternoon.
Would highly recommend sticking to the designated tree runs and not ducking ropes unless you are familiar with the terrain.
Pretty easy to find yourself stuck and needing to crawl back to the main trail in knee/waist deep pow. Or worse still falling into a crevice and needing ski patrol to rescue you at a hefty cost.
Snow was great but beware rentals!
they have a very small variety of boots - only one type in each size - and a zero refunds policy. After i paid i realized that i had accidentally booked 4 days and meant to book 3 - tough luck!
Lucky the boots worked for me
I spent one day snowboarding here in late December. Overall, it was a fun experience, but there are a few things to note. Renting a snow suit cost about SGD 90, and the gondola pass was around SGD 50 for 5 hours, which is the minimum rental time.
I would strongly recommend bringing your own food, as the food court queues were extremely long. Also, take note that the last food order is at 3:00 pm, and the last gondola ride is around 4:30 pm. After that, the area closes for a while before reopening for night skiing. You can top up SGD 20 if you have rented a snowboard equipment and want to change to a ski equipment.
There is a hot spring area inside this ski resort if you are interested.
Plan your timing and meals in advance to make the most of your day.
Big storm came through when I visited meaning only two lights were open with very limited terrain. Seems like a nice resort but would need to see it on a better day to provide a more in depth review.
More about Geto Kogen Ski Resort, Kitakami from our blog