Areas around Aomori
The ski areas around Aomori prefecture seem to be heavily focused on backcountry. Having no proper training, I still wanted to ski there (in-bounds; safety first, people!) and see the famous Hakkoda snow monsters… giant trees covered in snow.
If you’ve read my section on Aomori under the East tab, you’ll know I was doing my best to recover from a cold / fever (and then a rare case of food poisoning, my only one in 10 trips so far) so my details are fairly lacking in this section.
There was a ridiculous amount of snow, but also high winds so unfortunately I did not get to see the snow monsters as the ropeway was closed that day. As such, I don’t have pictures worth sharing, but I would like to ski there again someday!
Logistics
Transportation
Not wanting to drive by myself on the other side of the road (from what I’m used to) in the snow, I took taxis but I expect most people rent a car. Given the distance, they were expensive. Rockwood Hotel at Aomori Spring Ski Resort had English-speaking staff that I was able to exchange messages with and they arranged for my taxi to my next ski destination. I would reach out to them in advance (I think they typically ask for 3 days to coordinate? maybe 5?). Hakkoda Hotel staff had a shuttle to the Hakkoda ski area and were able to help me arrange a taxi (in advance) for my eventual return to Aomori airport, though I don’t know if they spoke English as they kindly tolerated / indulged my broken Japanese. :)
Lift Tickets / IKON / Epic
Neither are on IKON or Epic. For Aomori Spring Ski Resort, you can book via their website in English, iirc. For Hakkoda Ski Area, I bought a ticket when I arrived. Bring cash for Hakkoda Ski Area, btw. Lift ticket was the only thing ok to be paid with card, but other stuff, not so much.
Equipment
Given it’s heavily known for backcountry, I didn’t give the best impression showing up to rent at Aomori Spring Ski Resort with my crummy Japanese. The staff likely spoke English but they ignored what I put on the form and gave me non-powder skis with DINS set at 4. Rather than try to salvage my reputation (still not healthy at this point), I just took the skis and changed the DINS myself. At Hakkoda Ski Area, I had no issues whatsoever with the equipment or staff, however. :)
Aomori Spring Ski Resort
Overall
If you’re here for backcountry, you likely stopped reading after the first 2 sentences in the intro. I skied in-bounds and the snow was just fine, though non-powder skis made it a little challenging. A small resort but enough to hold my interest for a day.
Hotels
Rockwood Hotel & Spa - It’s your only option to stay at the resort, so… the hotel was nice, as were the staff. My room was very spacious and comfortable. I didn’t utilize the ski lockers on the first floor as I only skied one day instead of the originally planned two days. Other than drinks from vending machines, the gift shop has a limited selection of snacks. I will say the food (included with my stay) in the restaurant was an underwhelming buffet of a wide variety. A first out of all the ski resort food I’ve had in Japan. It might be where I got food poisoning, actually…
Restaurants
The Ramen House - Tasty ramen! I think you can drive to this as it’s at the base of another lift (not the one nearest the hotel) but I skied down to it. Inexpensive (compared to the US), friendly staff, ordered from a ticket machine upon entry. If I go back to this resort, I may just try to eat every meal here, unless there were other options in the hotel I didn’t bother to find.
Hakkoda Ski Area
Overall
I was very sad the ropeway was closed due to high winds on the one ski day I had here. Still, there was a nearby small lift that serviced a handful of runs. I thought I would make the most of it and ski the entire day, though the staff gave me a polite but questioning look when I asked for a full day lift ticket. I suspect the small lift is primarily used for people to access backcountry as it really did feel like 3 relatively short runs, and they have options to buy tickets for 10 rides (I think there are fewer trip options, too), half a day, etc. Oh, and it’s a paper ticket with no way to fasten to your jacket, so bring something to keep the ticket dry. I was going to buy something from the store for that purpose, but uh… I didn’t bring cash, which made the older gentleman at the counter wave me away with an annoyed look. My b.
Hotels
Hakkoda Hotel - Google says it’s a 3-star hotel but I found it quite lovely. Deceptively large, actually. Staff was very warm and welcoming. I believe some spoke English. My room was large, with heated floors in the main room. The tatami room had a space heater and the futon was warm and comfortable. Thank goodness because the entry room to the outside (not the entry room from the hall) was freezing. I only went in there to get my yukata for the included dinners (in my package) and vowed to never go into that area again. The dinners and breakfasts were everything I’d expect from a ryokan and I left very full and happy. There are onsen on site, but I was lazy and used the bath in my room. :) Definitely hope to go back to see the snow monsters and would stay here again!