21 January 2026
When I first moved to Japan, I wondered what everyone does in winter when all the mountains are covered in snow. Your first option would be to keep hiking - but with a bunch of gear suited for winter mountains. To be honest, the idea sounds super cool, but considering how much I like to go solo hiking, I didn’t really think starting up solo hiking on a winter mountain was worth the possible risks.
The other alternative is snowboarding/skiing, and so I decided to pick up snowboarding!
A couple years in, I’m still not very good. But it’s a nice way to spend the day outdoors, and if you don’t mind the long drive out of Tokyo, you can do day trips out to one of the neighbouring prefectures like Nagano or Gunma.
Hakkaisanroku Ski Area
Hakkaisanroku Ski Area (八海山麓スキー場) is a relatively small ski resort located in the city of Minamiuonuma. I think it's overshadowed by the Muikamachi Hakkaisan Ski resort, a larger resort that is only a 25 minute drive away.26 Feb
Muikamachi Hakkaisan Ski
After driving in from Tokyo on Friday and staying at the Muikamachi Hutte, we set out for a day of snowboarding on Saturday at the Muikamachi Hakkaisan Ski resort (六日町 八海山スキー場).26 Feb
Joetsu Kokusai Ski Resort
Joetsu Kokusai Ski Resort (上越国際スキー場) is located in Niigata's Minamiuonuma city, a 3-hour drive from Tokyo.30 Jan
Daisen White Resort
After visiting Daisen Masumizu Highland on the 28th of December, we decided to do a second day of snowboarding at Daisen White Resort (大山ホワイトリゾート) on the final day of 2025. Since the snowfall this year had been a bit late, only a portion of the resort was open.24 Jan
Daisen Masumizu Highland
While I was down in Shimane over the New Year's break, we decided to make the most of it and also do some snowboarding. The main ski fields near Shimane are the ones on the side of Mt Daisen, which is in the neighbouring prefecture of Tottori.21 Jan
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