EAT > Shiratsuyu at ANA Intercontinental Appi Kogen (14/20)

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Shiratsuyu at ANA InterContinental Appi Kogen is less a standard hotel restaurant and more a calm, quietly luxurious alpine dining room, where polished service, thoughtful cooking, and a deep sense of place come together just steps from the snow.

Returning to Appi Kogen after a couple years has been a mixed experience. Our first time was so good we were really excited about returning. However returning was not the same outstanding experience. Ski lift tickets have nearly doubled in price, and the general maintenance of the whole resort feels very tired. Shiratsuyu was very good last time (being the main restaurant in the ANA Intercontinental) and we made sure we booked to go back twice during our stay.

AMBIENCE >

Tucked within ANA InterContinental Appi Kogen Resort, Shiratsuyu opens onto a cocoon of soft light, blond timber, and wide glass that frames the ski slopes and surrounding forest in cinematic layers. In the evenings, the room settles into a glow of warm lamps and candlelike highlights, with hushed conversation from couples, small groups, and ski-weary families blending into the clink of glassware and the occasional rustle of ski jackets hung neatly by the entrance.

Mornings here feel different: sunlight bounces off the snowfields and pours into the dining room, drawing a mix of early-rising skiers, spa guests, lingering over breakfast rather than racing out the door. Seating is generously spaced, with booth-like banquettes and well-padded chairs that invite a slow multi-course dinner rather than a rushed in-and-out.

EAT >

Shiratsuyu’s menu works from a “farm to table” philosophy, blending local Iwate produce and Sanriku seafood with French technique in a way that promises both polished and comfortably alpine.

The food was quite good but not at the level of previous meals. We started with a shared terrine of duck and foie gras (pretty to look at and quite tasty), followed by a lobster thermidor (it was Christmas after all) and finally grilled local chicken with vegetables. It all tasted good, not great and on food alone you would forgive it being a busy time of year etc. However service was just poor, from the basics of keeping glassed topped up with water or wine to food arriving in the wrong sequence (the side of vegetables arrived well before the cold terrine starter).

Lobster and chicken were both as expected the desert of apple tarte tartin was much more Sarah Lee than tarte tartin, tasted ok but this is not what you expect from a fine dining restaurant.

We were sharing the meal but meals were not brought with any serving cutlery and we were offered side plates to eat from (this eventually resolved by the same familiar waiter who was busy trying to resolve everything with his Christmas hat only slightly slipping).

DRINK >

The broader resort has numerous food and beverage options, and Shiratsuyu benefits from that shared cellar and bar focus. The wine list leans toward food-friendly bottles suited to both seafood and richer alpine plates, with a considered mix of Old World classics, New World pinot and chardonnay, and a small but intelligent showing of Japanese wines that echo the kitchen’s sense of place. We selected a Burgundy from Gevery-Chambertin which turned out to be delicious though expensive for what it was.

Pre-dinner, guests are not welcome unless they are staying in the hotel (a shocking change from our last visit). The lounge bar was not available to access for guests staying in the rest of the complex, and given every other bar in the whole resort opens after 7pm there are no real alternatives.

After our meal we planned to sit and have a drink in the lounge and listen to Salvatore the Italian piano and guitar performer we recalled from our previous visit. However now sitting in the hotel lobby to listen to music (on Christmas evening) requires an additional ¥3,000 per person cover charge (not surprisingly the lobby was EMPTY).

CONCLUSION >

Appi Kogen won the world’s best ski resort (Japan) in 2023 and the Intercontinental has had two years of holding a Michelin Key and also four years in the world luxury hotel awards.

Back in 2023 we stayed at the Intercontinental for five nights and came away thrilled, it was exceptional – service was brilliant, food and inclusions for guests were excellent. Everything about that stay was absolutely world class, I recall stating it was definitely 11/10. Fast forward to December 2025 and something is very broken in Appi.

What has gone wrong? Accomodation prices have more than tripled (we would have stayed at the Intercontinental again but prices are now way (WAY WAY) too much. Lift tickets have increased by 20% and are now some of the most expensive we have found on Japan.

Service has fallen away to the level you expect in a chain motel.

Back to Shiratsuyu, food was fine and the wine selected was good (expensive like everything else) the one waiter we recalled from last time was racing around trying incredibly hard to look after everyone, while the rest of the staff were floating around like deer in the headlights.

Winning all the awards has led to massive increases in costs and a reduction in the value and service offered. What was once world class is probably now much better avoided, there are much better ski resorts and at this price better accomodation options. It has scraped in with a 14/20 but it felt like 8/20 given the price we paid.

Right now I can only suggest you avoid and hopefully it will change in the future.

Appi Kogen sits on a high plateau in the far north of Honshu, in Hachimantai City in western Iwate Prefecture, about 50 kilometres northwest of Morioka and on the fringe of Towada-Hachimantai National Park. The resort spreads across the flanks of Mount Maemori and neighbouring peaks at roughly 40 degrees north latitude, placing it in a snow belt shaped by the surrounding Ou mountain range.

This landscape is defined by a chain of volcanoes, most notably Mount Iwate, a 2,039-metre stratovolcano to the east, and the broader Hachimantai massif, a flat shield-type volcanic plateau whose long-cooling magma fields feed the region’s onsen culture. As a result, APPI’s groomed runs, birch forests and hotel clusters sit within a wider volcanic panorama of crater rims, lava domes and steaming hot spring vents, giving the ski area a quietly dramatic geological backdrop.

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