Hakusan Ichirino Onsen

Ichirino Onsen Ski Resort is the top pick for skiing for families near Kanazawa. Whilst you can stay in the little village of Ichirino Onsen with its ryokan and other traditional Japanese inns with onsen, it’s more commonly known as a ski resort to visit as a day trip from Kanazawa. If you don’t have a car, there is only one bus schedule per day between Kanazawa and Hakusan Ichirino Onsen Ski Resort, and the bus only operates on weekends and holidays.

Pros and Cons of Ichirino Onsen

Pros

• Hakusan Ichirino Onsen has very good terrain for beginners.
• It has some nice traditional lodgings at the base of the ski area.
• Ichirino Onsen is a delightfully unwesternised Japanese ski area.

Cons

• Schedules for buses to Ichirino Onsen are limited.
• Like many Japanese ski areas, it’s stuck in a time warp.
• It's a small ski area and there's little piste terrain for intermediate skiers and snowboarders.

Pro or Con Depending On Your Perspective

• The slopes are mostly north facing, which aids with snow quality, although the elevation of the hill is not particularly high for its latitude.
• There is some good freeride terrain, yet ski patrol has a very conservative approach so you might only be able to ride it if you wear your snow camo outfit.

Ichirino Onsen Ski and Snowboard Terrain

Ichirino Onsen is the largest ski area in Ishikawa, although this isn’t saying much as it’s a very small ski resort on an international scale. The ski resort has 10 courses (ie runs) yet the definition of a course is somewhat warped. Some of the runs are micro-runs and are just a part of another run (e.g. F course), whilst the J course is a very wide beginner area that’s really got a few runs to it. Hakusan Ichirino Onsen Ski Resort has 6 lifts comprised of an old gondola, a quad (Aiaru 3), a triple (Nodaira 1), and 3 pair lifts, plus there’s a magic carpet.

The Ichirino ski area is between elevations of 550 and 1,050 metres (500 metres vertical) and it has breadth in the lower part, whilst the upper half is only serviced by the gondola, so if it’s on wind-hold the vertical of Ichirino shrinks considerably.

The lower half has mellow wide slopes that are ideal for learning and Ichirino Onsen has a firm hold in the beginner market. There is only a small amount of terrain rated for intermediates, and there are 3 black runs (2 are incredibly short) which are not steep, so they could be tackled by strong intermediate riders wanting to hone their skills on ungroomed snow.

Ichirino has an old-fashioned approach to tree skiing. Sure, some of it can be gnarly without a significant snow base, whilst other trees are great and readily skiable if you can appear invisible. Whilst the terrain under the gondola looks tasty, needless to say, this would attract too much attention.

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Ichirino Snow

Mt Hakusan is a heavy snow region and the ski resort is well positioned to get snow from the classic norwesterlies, with little mountainous obstruction between the Sea of Japan and Ichirino. The snow base tends to peak at about 2.2 metres on average, but the snow quality is heavy relative to other parts of Japan that score that world renowned “Japow”. Ichirino snow conditions can fluctuate a lot from powder to very hard-packed or icy. Despite the favourable north facing slopes, the elevation of the ski area is not particularly high compared to other key ski resorts of a similar latitude (see Japan snow stats for comparisons).

Where is Ichirino Onsen Ski Resort?

Ichirino Onsen Ski Resort is in the southern part of Ishikawa Prefecture in the Chubu Region of Honshu. It is 45 km south of the famous city of Kanazawa (about 1 hour drive) and just to the north of Mt Hakusan. It’s one of three ski areas that are officially located in Hakusan City, although there used to be more ski resorts back in the Japan ski boom.

Hakusan Senjo Onsen Seymour Ski Area is to the northwest of Ichirino, although it’s 31km by road.

Driving is the easiest way to get to Hakusan Ichirino Onsen and it’s just by the side of Route 360, whilst the Komatsu Interchange on the Hokuriku Expressway is 37km from the ski area. There is a bus between Kanazawa station and Ichirino Onsen that takes 1.5 hours, but it’s only available on weekends and holidays, and there is only one schedule per day.

Ichirino Onsen Accommodation

There is a collection of lodgings at the base of the ski area in the Ozo area. It’s not called Ichirino Onsen for nothing, and the accommodations feature hot spring baths.

Ichirino Kogen Hotel Roan is well located and has various guest room types including western rooms with ensuite and Japanese rooms that utilise shared bathrooms. Half board is an option and a highlight of the hotel is the lovely open-air onsen baths.

Ichirino Onsen Accommodation Listings

Alternatively you can just day trip to the ski resort and stay in Kanazawa accommodation.

Ski Resort Facilities

The ski resort has the usual gamut of amenities including eateries and ski and snowboard equipment and clothing rentals. Some snowsports instructors speak a little English, but it would be a bit of a gamble regarding the ease of communication.

Ichirino Onsen has a kids’ park which is popular for sledding and tubing.

After skiing or snowboarding, you could have an onsen. Day trippers can pay a small fee to use the onsen at the local inns.