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Best Ski Resorts in Honshu

Hakuba Valley - 11 resorts - popular for families and big mountain backcountry

Nozawa Onsen - one of Honshu's most popular resorts for families

Myoko Kogen - 4 ski areas - huge snowfalls - great for families

Madarao - popular family resort with some of the best in-bounds tree skiing in Japan

Shiga Kogen - Japan's largest ski area with 19 resorts - mostly interconnected via lifts

Cortina (one of Hakuba's resorts) - famous for huge snow falls and epic powder skiing

Appi Kogen - a great family mountain - lots of groomers & some great side country

Zao Onsen - famous for its snow ghosts & historic Ryokans & onsens

Sekki Onsen (one of Myoko's resorts) - it's all about the powder!

Tenjindaira - possibly the best side/backcountry skiing in Honshu

Geto Kogen - Iwate Prefecture - this place rocks for powder!

Lotte Arai - Honshu's 5-star ski resort - great for families & powderhounds

Kagura near Yuzawa - a large ski resort with some great powder skiing

Shizukuishi - Iwate's largest ski resort - great for families - fabulous tree skiing!

Tazawako in Akita Prefecture - a powder mecca - ideal for a day or two

Aomori Spring - gets incredible amounts of snow

Charmant Hiuchi - a gem of a powder ski area in Niigata prefecture

Yuzawa - closest major ski area to Tokyo has many family friendly ski areas

Oze Iwakura (Gunma prefeture) - great little ski area where very few foreigners go

Inawashiro - Aizu Region - has some good tree skiing - ideal for a day or two on a road trip

Best Ski Resorts in Honshu

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Overview

Best Honshu Ski Resorts - Powderhounds

For information on the best Honshu ski resorts as rated by Powderhounds.com, see our best skiing in Japan awards.

The top ski resorts in Honshu are also highlighted in detail in our Japan ski resorts ratings, which include factors such as powder, terrain for different ability levels, lift infrastructure, nightlife, family friendliness, culture and cost. Note that for the ratings provided by Powderhounds, areas such as Myoko Kogen and Hakuba are rated for the individual ski resorts within the region and not as a collective.

Best Honshu Ski Resorts - Readers' Reviews

These awards for the "best ski resorts in Honshu" are based on the public reviews on Powderhounds.com. Come and have your say on the top Honshu ski resorts by reviewing and rating a ski area. Navigate to the Honshu ski resort you want to review and click on the "add review" link in the left-hand-column. Put your vote in!

Best overall Honshu ski resort ¹: Okushiga Kogen, Nozawa Onsen, Suginohara
Best Honshu powder skiing ²: Ani, Okushiga Kogen, Tenjindaira
Best snow: Suginohara, Okushiga Kogen, Akakura
Most uncrowded: Aomori Spring, Shizukuishi, Togakushi
Best lifts: Nozawa Onsen, Suginohara, Hakuba Goryu
Piste trails: Nozawa Onsen, Shiga Kogen, Geto Kogen
Off-piste: Tenjindaira, Ani, Hakuba Cortina
Child friendly: Akakura, Madarao, Okushiga Kogen
Value for money: Ani, Kagura, Hakuba Cortina
Nightlife: Nozawa Onsen, Happo, Hakuba

NB only Honshu ski resorts with a minimum of 4 reviews were considered in the awards. Where there are equal scores, the resort with more reviews is selected as the best. 1 The top overall Honshu ski resort is based on an average of the other above factors. 2 The best Honshu powder skiing is the average of the scores for snow, uncrowded and off-piste.