Shizukuishi Ski Resort
The Shizukuishi Ski Resort in Iwate Japan is owned by the Prince Hotel group, and during the bubble era it was known as the flagship destination of the Prince dynasty. Perhaps the flag is now just flying at half mast because the resort is starting to show its age a little, despite Shizukuishi marketing itself as “pristine grandeur”. Some parts of the ski area have closed down, a major lift no longer runs, only some rooms at the
Shizukuishi Prince Hotel have been renovated, and other signs of financial constraints have crept in.
However Japanese ski resorts that are shiny and glitzy don’t necessarily equate to fantastic, and one possible allure of Shizukuishi for westerners is the lack of other gaijin. At Shizukuishi, you’ll definitely know you’re not at
Niseko or
Hakuba, but a real Japanese ski resort.
Pros and Cons of Shizukuishi Resort
Pros
- Shizukuishi has the convenience of a fully ski-in ski-out hotel.
- The Takakura Onsen is beautiful.
- The Shizukuishi ski resort is great for intermediate riders.
- Some of the side-country terrain has trees that are magical, although it’s best suited to riders who are good at reasonably tight trees and it’s more suited to skiers considering the traversing required.
- The resort is not westernised, yet it caters somewhat for English speaking guests. A few staff speak English and there are lots of signs in English.
- The area offers dramatic views of Mt Iwate.
Cons
- Shizukuishi doesn’t receive as much snowfall as many other Japanese ski resorts, although the powder is generally of very good quality.
- Shizukuishi is not a very steep mountain. There’s pitchier terrain above the lifts if you’re prepared to hike to the peak.
- The resort doesn’t cater particularly well for western children, with no group lessons in English and no child care. On the plus side, kids under 13 ski for free.
Pro or Con Depending on Your Perspective
- Off-piste skiing is frowned upon but it is possible. The advantage of the official prohibition on tree skiing is that combined with only minimal gaijin visiting, there are abundant freshies.
- Shizukuishi probably only has enough variety for powder hounds for one to two days, but Shizukuishi makes an ideal base to visit other Iwate ski resorts.
Where is Shizukuishi?
Shizukuishi ski resort is located in northern Honshu in the prefecture of
Iwate, 560km north of Tokyo. The Shizukuishi Resort is situated just north of the town of Shizukuishi and about 13km from the Akita Shinkansen’s Shizukuishi Station, and 28km northwest of the city of Morioka (a drive of about 35-45 minutes). From Tokyo, train travel is the easiest way to get there (see google maps or Japan Travel Navitime or routes and timetables). To have the flexibility to also visit nearby ski resorts, you’ll ideally have a car or be on a
multi-resort guided tour.
Shizukuishi Prince Hotel
There’s no village at Shizukuishi, with the Prince Hotel acting as the centrepiece of the base area. The Shizukuishi Prince Hotel is perfectly ski-in ski-out and provides western style accommodation. The hotel has a couple of restaurants, a ski and snowboard rental outlet, and a 3Ss retail shop - snacks, souvenirs and sake (OK they have beer too!). One of the highlights of the hotel is the Takakura Onsen, a hot spring that has been recognised as an onsen heritage site. The outdoor undercover onsen is particularly beautiful, surrounded by snow-covered rocks, little waterfalls and a large pond that has oversized goldfish (carp) that you can peer at.
If you have a car, you could stay at other accommodation options in the area.
Pension Sanrinsha is a charming and economical lodge 2km from Iwate Kogen ski resort and 2km from Amihari Onsen ski area. The owner speaks English and is incredibly welcoming. The compact rooms have western beds (either twin or triple rooms) and bathroom facilities are shared, which includes a bath with onsen water. The Powderhounds have stayed there. The meals were superb and it was a great find!
Book Shizukuishi accommodation:
Facilities & Services
In addition to ski and snowboard rentals, other ski resort amenities include on-mountain restaurants and ski and snowboard lessons. For English speaking guests, lessons are only conducted in a private format.
Shizukuishi Cat Skiing and Other Activities
Shizukuishi Cat Skiing operates in a zone that was formerly part of the ski resort. It typically only runs on Saturdays and is a single run affair and piste only skiing, unless you’re part of guided tour (see below) that includes some cat skiing such as the
Tohoku Storm Chaser.
The Shizukuishi Resort offers snowmobiling tours and has a tubing park and kids’ snow park. And ninja related activities are on offer (lord only knows what that entails!).
Koiwai Farm is nearby and offers illumination and fireworks shows on Saturday nights, which could be fun for the family. Don’t bother going to Koiwai Farm during the day. It’s the biggest tourist trap whereby you pay too many yen to enter and there’s nothing much to do except spend more money by eating lunch or buying their produce or cheesy souvenirs (pun intended!).