Tohoku's premier resort — Olympic-grade grooming, ski-in ANA InterContinental, 21 lifts, and one of the few Japanese mountains with real English-speaking ski school capacity.
Runs
22
Vertical
880m
Summit
1328m
Base 500m
Annual snow
8m+/season
Premium
Best season Early December to early May
Why Appi Kogen
Tohoku's premier resort — Olympic-grade grooming, ski-in ANA InterContinental, 21 lifts, and one of the few Japanese mountains with real English-speaking ski school capacity.
Tohoku's premier resort; ski-in ski-out; shuttle from JR Morioka
Plan your trip
Appi Kogen is one of Tohoku's biggest international resorts — long groomed runs, dependable Iwate snow, and the Hotel Appi Grand at the lift base. Tohoku Shinkansen Morioka + 50-min shuttle.
Long-haul gateways and the cheapest domestic hops.
Hanamaki Airport has seasonal flights from Taipei. From overseas, fly Tokyo and connect via Tohoku Shinkansen.
Trains, shuttles, and rentals from the airport.
Resort shuttle from Hanamaki Airport (HNA) to Appi Kogen — ~70 min, reservation required.
Hand-picked stays across the resort's two zones.
Hotel Appi Grand at the lift base — multiple wings, ski-in/ski-out, onsen. Plus Appi Kogen Hotel and the Madarao-style ANA Crowne Plaza.
Pass, lessons, gear, and guides for powder days.
Adult 1-day ~¥6,500. 21 courses, dependable groomers, 5.5 km top-to-bottom run — Tohoku's largest by lift area.
Terrain in detail
BalancedMixed terrain — solid intermediate base with sharper lines for advanced skiers. Difficulty, powder character, and the stats that matter on the mountain itself.
Hardcore index
48
Mixed terrain — solid intermediate base with sharper lines for advanced skiers.
From terrain split, run profile, vertical drop, expert features.
Powder profile
Long groomers, lighter Tohoku snow inland.
Drier on cold storms, deeper when the Sea of Japan fires.
8
m+
per season
Frequent deep days through midwinter
Expert runs
7 of 22
Estimated from advanced terrain split.
Vertical drop
880m
Solid sustained pitch.
Steepest pitch
32°
Stiff black-run pitch.
Backcountry gates
None
In-bounds skiing only.
Tree skiing
Limited
Mostly groomed terrain.
Moguls
Few
Mostly cord and powder.
Best for
Terrain & features
Photo: 掬茶 / CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source
Getting there
Nearest airport, train and bus options, and what the drive looks like in winter conditions.
From airport
Approximately 75 minutes from Iwate Hanamaki Airport
Train / bus
Direct shuttle from JR Morioka Shinkansen Station Approximately 75 minutes from
Overview
Direct shuttle from JR Morioka Shinkansen Station
From airport
Approximately 75 minutes from Iwate Hanamaki Airport
Live conditions
Off-seasonThe mountain is resting.
Next season
Opens late November
Current temp 14°C, wind 7 km/h. We’ll resume the daily report once snowfall picks up.
Forecast data via Open-Meteo. Refreshes hourly. Always verify with the resort before driving up.
Nearby resorts
More resorts in Tohoku
resort town
A long-season resort overlooking the Sea of Japan, run by the Rockwood Hotel — a short hop from the Shinkansen and rarely crowded.
powder-focused
A single ropeway into Tohoku's most legendary backcountry — snow-monster ridges, tree runs through beech forest, and some of Japan's deepest, driest snow. Experts and guides only on most days.
day trip
A city mountain on the edge of Aomori — short lift lines, floodlit night skiing, and a reliable first day of a Tohoku trip.
resort town
Overlooking Lake Tazawa — Japan's deepest — with long cruising runs and a clean shuttle connection from the Akita Shinkansen.
Trail map
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Stays, lift passes, rentals — everything you need in one place.
Book & plan
At the resort
Book accommodationOfficial resort siteGetting there
Domestic flights to SendaiTohoku airport transfers
