We've been to really quiet ski areas in Japan, but Tayama was a first for us to find a ski area that was just for us. We turned up to Tayama Ski Area at a very leisurely 11:30am on a Friday and there was not a blemish on the piste and about 10-15cm of fresh snow. We also got to park the car right in front of the lift.

Sure it's a tiny ski resort that's not likely to make it to our top 10 in Japan or even our top 100 ski areas in Japan, but it was amazing because we could do lap after lap on the piste with fresh powder and there was no one else there. Thankfully, after a while a race coach and slalom racer turned up to practise some gates so we didn’t feel completely lonely.

Despite the fresh snow, there wasn’t enough cover to attempt the trees. The top run had powder on bumps in the steep part and then it was just smooth. This upper run also had a couple of glide cracks in it which they clearly hadn’t managed.

On the following Sunday we drove past and it was relatively busy – there were at least 6 cars in the car park! Even though it’s probably subsidised with government money, you wonder how the ski area can stay viable with so few visitors.

We stayed at the Yuze Hotel which was lovely and well priced considering the quality. Our Japanese/western combo room was very large and beautifully presented. The onsen was fantastic and included indoor baths, a couple of outdoor baths that overlooked the river, and a semi open air bath that had windows you could open to look over the river. It was divine (see video) and up there as one of our fave onsen experiences in Japan.
See our video here