This experience at Inawashiro was very different to our time there a few years ago. On our last visit, Inawashiro was probably our favourite of the Mt Bandai ski resorts because the tree skiing was soooo much fun. However this time the temps had risen a little and the unfavourable aspect of Inawashiro Ski Resort compared to the Urabandai (back side of Bandai) ski areas became more apparent.

We skied on dreadful groomers with golf balls on them. The snow in most of the treed areas had turned to glue and it was almost scary to ski off-piste.

It was a weekend and the resort was crazy busy. This wasn’t too big a deal out on the slopes and the lift queues weren’t too bad, but getting a table for lunch was close to impossible and the queues to buy lunch were ridiculous. We gave up in the end.

Inawashiro is a fabulously fun ski area to visit when there’s fresh snow and temperatures have remained cold. Weekdays would be preferable to weekends, although even with the latter, competition for fresh lines would be unlikely to be a problem in the off-piste areas. See the Inawashiro overview page for more on our thoughts on the pros and cons, and also see the Japan ski resorts ratings to see how it stacks up.
See our video here

Skied here a total of three days over the last 2 years with Powder Recon. It is a great introduction to the tour, being one of the first resorts on the list.

The tree skiing the first year was fantastic and although my day there in 2014 this year was not as good (a bit unlucky with the snow and temperature), I still really enjoy this field. There are some really easy pickings here and it is like being royalty to be the only ones allowed to ski them.
See our video here

We had an amazingly fun couple of days at Inawashiro as part of a Powder Odyssey Tour. Whilst the piste terrain is pretty much rubbish for advanced riders (who don’t like moguls), some of the tree skiing is fantastic.

Like many other traditional Honshu ski resorts, off-piste skiing is prohibited and the patrollers have a reputation for policing it heavily. Luckily Powder Recon has a good relationship with them, and they managed to arrange some special privileges for us to respectfully ride some of the off-piste terrain.

The powder was a little heavy but there were freshies galore!
See our video here