Ishiuchi Ski Resort Terrain

In its own right, the Ishiuchi Ski Resort is well sized by Japanese standards, and of course its inter-connection with Gala Yuzawa and Yuzawa Kogen makes it a larger ski area. However the size of the Ishiuchi Maruyama Ski Resort is somewhat dependent on the snow quality because the bottom elevation of the resort is only 256 metres, so some of the lower runs might be closed or undesirable. The Ishiuchi Ski Resort is quite wide at these lower elevations across 3 bases and it has some “transport” trails to traverse the mountain, whilst the top of the ski area is narrow.

The official trail stats of the Ishiuchi Ski Resort are 40% beginners, 40% intermediate and 20% advanced, but a few of the black runs have exaggerated ratings. It’s mostly suited to intermediates as well as beginners.

The top of the gondola could have gone a bit higher and there are some annoying flat spots in the area. Combined with an intersection of multiple trails, a kids’ snow park, and the potential for pedestrians wandering around oblivious to skiers, you’ll want to keep your wits about you.

The top lift of the Ishiuchi Ski Resort provides access across to Gala Yuzawa. Be aware that connections may not be open during the fringes of the season, or if the top lift goes on wind-hold. 

Lifts

The lift layout isn’t a strength of Ishiuchi Ski Resort, which is probably a by-product of the way in which the ski areas grew and interconnected. A couple of lifts crisscross each other, you have to skate a bit to get between some lifts, and some lifts are rather short so you have to catch multiple chairs just to get in a decent length run.

Ishiuchi has started to streamline its lift operations and upgrade some of its ancient lifts. The Sunrise Express is a chondola, which is a cross between a gondola and a 6-person chair lift. It’s a shame they didn’t extend it just 20 metres further up, so that it linked well with the other lifts. The chondola can develop queues on weekends, especially considering the many pedestrians that use the gondola cabins. The top quad lift also gets queues on weekends, and the staff are often inept at organising people to load 4 to a chair. Another newish chair is the Chuo Family lift that’s good for beginners and enables connection to the Kanko base.

A strength of Ishiuchi is the night skiing, which isn’t just for beginners. The illuminated areas in the central zone include intermediate runs as well as the half pipe. On Saturday nights there is also beginner night skiing at the Hatsukaishi base.

Lift Tickets

You can purchase lift passes for just Ichiuchi Maruyama, or for more yen, you can purchase a tri-area ski pass (the Big Mountain Yuzawa Snow Link pass) to access all three resorts during the main season.

Ishiuchi Maruyama Snow and Weather

This is snow country where it usually snows a lot. Many of the Yuzawa ski resorts receive about 11 metres of snow per season, and Ishiuchi is no exception. The slopes have a mostly north easterly orientation which aids the snow quality, but Ishiuchi doesn’t have elevation on its side which plays out when the temps are a little warmer than normal. You can do some comparisons via the Niigata snow stats and also compare Ishiuchi to some of the Nagano ski areas that are at a similar latitude.

One of the upsides of the elevation is that it’s not overly exposed. Whilst some of the higher trails are wide and treeless, making visibility difficult when the fogs rolls in, Ishiuchi is not as predisposed to wind related lift closures relative to many other Japanese ski resorts.

Terrain Park

Ishiuchi usually has a decent park set up which includes jumps and rails. The main drawcard for Ishiuchi is the halfpipe, which is somewhat of a rarity these days in Japan. The pipe is run by the local city rather than the ski resort, so it attracts an additional charge and you’ll want to check opening times.

Ishiuchi Skiing for Beginners

Other than a couple of complete novice trails, Ishiuchi Ski Resort can be a little challenging for international beginners because most of the lifts service both green and red runs, and the signage isn’t always that obvious as to the degree of challenge you’re about to hit. On the plus side, there are various big wide trails where there’s less chance that beginners will crash into each other.

Confident beginners can head up the top chair and explore some of the north area of Gala Yuzawa.

Intermediate Terrain

Ishiuchi Ski Resort is pretty good for intermediates of all levels. Low-end intermediates will enjoy the various mellow red runs, and there are also steeper red groomers. The resort usually grooms part of a couple of the black runs, and one hits a maximum of 35 degrees so it’s good for strong intermediates.

Advanced On-Piste

The supposed “advanced” runs won’t challenge most advanced riders. The resort labels some zones as “powder areas” which essentially means they don’t bother to groom the run, so expect camouflaged bumps on a powder day.

Off-Piste Skiing Ishiuchi

Ishiuchi has a couple of small official tree runs that are OK for those just starting to become familiar with tree skiing. Otherwise, areas inside the resort require good navigation skills to avoid gully traps, and/or they’re at low elevation and require cold temperatures.

Better terrain can be found on the peripheries of the resort. Close-in are some easy pickings for advanced riders which seem to be well tolerated. Slightly further afield are tasty steep lines that will require good backcountry skills, some of which are in plain view and not likely to be kosher considering the abundant avi fences and the potential for run-out to the piste.