Overall Rating

Iwanai Cat Skiing Day Package

Iwanai Cat Skiing Day Package4.5/521
Iwanai Cat Skiing Day Package4.5 out of 5 based on 21 reviews
  • Recommend
    86%
  • Would Revisit
    86%
Wagner Custome Skis

Iwanai Cat Skiing Day Package - Reviews

Iwanai Cat Skiing Day Package - Reviews

Consitently awesome

Denis Bugrov
18/02/2024
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • RiderType
    Snowboarder
  • Rider Level
    Expert
  • Rider Age
    36-50
  • Home Country
    Singapore
  • Month:
    February
  • Admin Rating
    4

Consitently awesome

Denis Bugrov
18/02/2024
This was our second time in Iwanai and we went for 2 days. This time was under a freak heatwave with snow conditions being much more challenging than the first time around (which was perfect). Despite this, the guides found us terrific (albeit a bit slushy) powder in the trees and we had an awesome awesome time.

Big call out to the guides for getting creative - we went to new runs we had not gone to before in search of POW and it worked.

Iwanai attracts a good crew of people from different walks of life - was fun to ride and spend time in the Cat and bar with them.

The bar (and especially the sparkling sake) under Dan's masterful guidance deserves a shout-out as well.

Overall great skiing/ snowboarding/ thoughtful and competent operation/ really nice atmosphere and vibe and great facilities. Will definitely come again.
See our video here

Powder Filled Day

04/08/2023

POWDERHOUNDS.COM

Powderhounds Ambassador
Powderhounds Ambassador

POWDERHOUNDS.COM

Powderhounds Ambassador
Powderhounds Ambassador
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • RiderType
    Skier
  • Rider Level
    N/A
  • Rider Age
    N/A
  • Month:
    January
  • Admin Rating
    5

Powder Filled Day

04/08/2023
An amazing day
Great storm skiing
Snowing most of the day
Sparsely vegetated at the top of the terrain
Sake for apres ski
We had the most amazing day out with Iwanai cat skiing in late January. There was fresh snow overnight so we scored fresh powder on the former piste for the first couple of runs. Then the skies opened up and Puki Yuki the snow goddess gifted us throughout the day. It reinforced that one of the joys of snowcat skiing is that storm skiing can be a reality. It’s not like heli skiing where the helicopter gets grounded when it’s dumping with snow, or that upper lifts go on wind hold when the wind is howling. We were rewarded with deep line after deep line of powder. We scored 9 blissful runs which sort of satiated the powder appetite, yet it was so damn lovely that we could greedily have done more had it not been après ski time.

We’ve been out with Iwanai Cat Skiing a few times and it was nice to see its evolution over the years and the initial kinks ironed out. There is a new snowcat road to assist with egress on one side of the terrain, and it looks like they’ve been doing a bit of vegetation snipping. In the past it wasn’t the most polished operation, yet now it’s a well oiled machine. The guiding has advanced and the guides provided very clear instructions about runs and where to regroup, along with plenty of hollering which was welcomed considering the snowstorm and reduced visibility.

It sounds like the next iteration of the outfit is to add lodging to enhance the multi-day experience.

The rates have gone up in recent years and are in line with the rising tariffs of Niseko.
It may not be affordable for all people, but if it’s within your budget then you might manage an amazing day like we did. The powder memories will keep us going for a while.

You can see our full Iwanai cat skiing review for more detail.
See our video here

Amazing Cat Skiing

30/07/2023

Ben (BJ) van de Weyer

Powder Puppy
Powder Puppy

Ben (BJ) van de Weyer

Powder Puppy
Powder Puppy
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • RiderType
    Skier
  • Rider Level
    Advanced
  • Rider Age
    36-50
  • Home Country
    Australia
  • Month:
    February
  • Admin Rating
    3

Amazing Cat Skiing

30/07/2023
I booked a few days in a row with Iwanai Cat Skiing and I don't know where to begin gushing.

The service was incredible to the point I felt like I was being hosted by family; helping me figure out how to get there; organising late notice local accommodation for me; arranging pickup (I decided to take a bus from Otaru to the local station); organising meals at AMAZING local restaurants (Iwanai isn't really a tourist town) was all incredible.

Hosting, shuttling, and guiding staff are all friendly and easy to get along with, the snow was incredible (on the rare occasion Iwanai doesn't get fresh snow there seems to always be enough new wind swept cover), and I personally loved the terrain as there's plenty of tree lines to be made and a variety of difficulties one can create with what's available.

Can't recommend highly enough; will DEFINITELY be back next I'm in Japan.
See our video here

First time CAT skier, first time knee deep in Japow!

KELVIN A YAMADA
01/06/2023
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • RiderType
    Skier
  • Rider Level
    Intermediate
  • Rider Age
    51-70
  • Home Country
    United States
  • Month:
    February
  • Admin Rating
    3

First time CAT skier, first time knee deep in Japow!

KELVIN A YAMADA
01/06/2023
My first experience with cat skiing. Extremely fun and safe experience with Dan Yoder, Sidik, Joe and others at Iwanai. Communication was great even with 13 hour time difference, everything happened as stated. The guides went above and beyond to assure safe rides and adjusted things according to conditions and skill of skiers.

Felt safety was primary objective, guides would check and wait for skiers to meet at meeting points on the way down.

Lots of food at lunch. The ryokan was nice and dinner there was generous. One night probably a good enough experience.

Small group that listens to guests and communicates well. English speakers would feel very comfortable. A safe cat skiing experience. Highly recommended. Great snow.
See our video here

A day of powder

Charles Morris
10/05/2023
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • RiderType
    Skier
  • Rider Level
    Advanced
  • Rider Age
    51-70
  • Home Country
    Australia
  • Month:
    February
  • Admin Rating
    3

A day of powder

Charles Morris
10/05/2023
A day at Iwanai is definitely a day to remember. The cat was extremely comfortable providing a time to reenergise, communicate with the other group members or to sit quietly and take in the snow covered scenery. We were lucky enough to have a break in the weather for some sun and the view of the ocean around the city of Iwanai. The guiding was clear and not over done with thought put into everyone's safety, both guides did a great job taking us to beautiful untracked terrain, mindful of the ability of each group member. The snow and varied terrain were amazing and the level of satisfaction by the days end was sublime exhaustion.
See our video here

Room for improvement - especially with regards to guding

Jeremy Denning
03/05/2023
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • RiderType
    Snowboarder
  • Rider Level
    Advanced
  • Rider Age
    36-50
  • Home Country
    USA
  • Month:
    January
  • Admin Rating
    3

Room for improvement - especially with regards to guding

Jeremy Denning
03/05/2023
Paid about one grand USD with taxes for five hours of Cat skiing. Ended up with a little over one hour of short runs in blizzard/white-out conditions before spending the rest of my time boot packing through the woods in very deep snow. I followed the wrong tracks at a critical juncture (which I was never informed about) on a tree run. The terrain flattened out. I was preparing to boot a bit in order to follow the tracks when the Ski Guide came after me and made me drag my snowboard through the woods, traversing through thick trees for almost three hours when I could have just kept going and rode out to a main run then down to the main lodge according to earlier instructions provided and the word of other guides I spoke to at the end of the day. Almost everyone in my group said they didn't understand the instructions on the tree run where I was separated at the end of the day. One of the guides, not affiliated with my group, said the exact same thing happened to a group of three skiers the day before at the exact same spot. They just rode out though. Not a nice experience, not a professional operation, poor planning, preparation, guiding, and execution. I politely attempted to contact the owner to discuss a partial refund but my efforts were stonewalled. If you decide to come here for the Cat Skiing, bring your own map/GPS equipment and plan on being your own guide. I wished I had packed my Drift boards for the getting lost/stuck/booting part of my day. A highly likely scenario based on my experience. Iwanai has some very inexperienced new arrival "guides" from outside of Japan who are unfamiliar with the resort. The guiding could have been much better, but guiding a mixed group of 14 skiers and boarders in a raging blizzard is not an easy task. We probably needed at least one more guides given the conditions and the size of our group. Maybe now that they have one full winter of post-covid max capacity money-making they will slow down and clean up the operation. My impression of Iwanai was a young, overly ambitious, in-the-red operation running at full speed when they needed to slow down a bit and focus on training, procedures, logistics, customer communications etc. My day of Cat skiing/storm riding at Iwanai was a horrible value for the money and an absolute shit show operationally.

Response from Iwanai Resort Staff
"Thank you for your feedback regarding your recent CAT tour experience. Actually, we rarely have bad experiences at Iwanai so we take your feedback seriously. I’m very sorry to hear your story and I would like to take this opportunity to address your concerns.

In regard to the lack of communication provided before your run, we apologize if you did not hear the dangers of that course, especially the specific point where riders must exit the valley. There is no easy way out of there so everyone needed to be aware. As mentioned, the winds and weather were bad so communication must be improved on those bad-weather days. To this end, we are installing media units in our new CAT cabins so that clients will be able to be briefed inside the CAT before departure. This coming season, you’ll be able to see video of the run before you embark. And we have made further adjustments so that clients will have better communication with our guides throughout the run.

Regarding a missed opportunity to respond to your request, we sincerely apologize. You are correct, this past season was extremely busy, as we had more clients than ever. But there should have been a call-back to you. We missed the chance to hear your story. We would have apologized and immediately obtained information about how to improve our service. We will humbly do so now. We very much appreciate your understanding and hope that you will give us the opportunity to provide you with a better experience at Iwanai Resort in the future."

See our video here

Iwanai Resort March 2023

Thomas Hopkins
08/03/2023
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • RiderType
    Skier
  • Rider Level
    Expert
  • Rider Age
    36-50
  • Home Country
    USA
  • Month:
    March
  • Admin Rating
    1

Iwanai Resort March 2023

Thomas Hopkins
08/03/2023
Two great days at Iwanai — John and Dan run a great operation and skiing Iwanai was highlight of our Japow trip!
See our video here

AWESOME EXPERIENCE

Danny Lax
28/02/2023
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • RiderType
    Skier
  • Rider Level
    Advanced
  • Rider Age
    36-50
  • Home Country
    USA
  • Admin Rating
    2

AWESOME EXPERIENCE

Danny Lax
28/02/2023
This was an exhilarating and intense day of bottomless powder. Not for the faint of heart, but if you like deep, nothing in the area compares. We did CAT skiing with other providers and this gives you about double the vertical with more varied and steeper terrain.
See our video here

A dream day

Charles Morris
16/02/2023
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • RiderType
    Skier
  • Rider Level
    Advanced
  • Rider Age
    51-70
  • Home Country
    Australia
  • Month:
    February
  • Admin Rating
    3

A dream day

Charles Morris
16/02/2023
The day started with a few problems, some people did not get an email about the pick up time so a few delays. They need to smarten up on that one!
That was the only slight hiccup, the rest of the day was a powder dream, with good length runs with great pitch. Loads of untracked powder with a mixed bag of open and tree runs.
The number of runs you get done is really up to the experience of the team on your cat.
A day for the memory bank!
See our video here

Siberian Storms

Simon Berry
28/02/2019
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • RiderType
    Skier
  • Rider Level
    Expert
  • Rider Age
    36-50
  • Home Country
    New Zealand
  • Month:
    February
  • Admin Rating
    5

Siberian Storms

Simon Berry
28/02/2019
Iwanai delivered one of the great powder days for our group of 5 riders.

Situated on a the north west coast of Hokkaido it is prime position to strike regular snow dumps off the Japanese sea, weather systems coming freshly chilled off Siberia and filled across the sea deliver regular powder to this hill.

Iwanai Cat Ski operates on a ski resort that has unemployed lifts, you explore a deserted mountain with professional guides leading into untracked paradise runs. Riding through open tree glade runs, well spaced trees and a superb powder bowl. Length and pitch of runs is fantastic with 700m plus vert, dependent on the cat drop off points.

Terrain is well varied with plenty of trees to provide vis in storms, dress warm though as the storms rolling through pack a punch with wind chill on the ridges plummeting to -30 conditions. Powder poles for boarders also recommended as some of the best powder bowl lines require a decent traverse.

Sizes of groups can vary, however the guides soon align riders ability and if necessary can split groups so everyone rides at the most suitable pace and ability.

Base facilities are excellent, plenty of space to move about and a hassle free ski and board waxing service is on hand. The hosts are the owner/operators who provide Japanese home cooked style lunches and a full bar for well deserved apre ski drinks. Pick up and drop off shuttle services provided to Niseko and other lodgings nearby.

If you want a great day out skiing fresh Hokkaido powder this is a must, book well in advance to ensure you don't miss out, they have a very functional online service available for this. You may pay a little extra than others around, however the terrain and experience is well worth every bit.
See our video here
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