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For regulars it’s jut ‘Appi’ – a resort famous for its champagne powder great accomodation and good food options and while it is not ‘Ski Bali’ (yet) it does have a good mix of western and Japanese options.
So Appi is a ski in ski out resort that sits in the Iwate Prefecture toward the top of Honshu, Japan‘s main island. The infrastructure is fairly modern there is a variety of terrain and some long runs, so it is much like many other excellent ski resorts in Japan except for one thing.
‘Luxury’
Appi does luxury better than almost anywhere else.
This is due to the quite excellent ANA Hotel InterContinental which sets the resort in a league almost entirely of its own at least as far as skiing in Japan goes.
GETTING THERE
Most people will get the high speed Shinkasen train from Tokyo station to Morioka station which will take a little over 2 hours and cost about ¥14,800 for a ticket (~$150 AUD). Driving from Tokyo will take you close to 7 hours and you will probably have to pay about $80 in road tolls… There is an option to fly to Iwate Hanamaki Aiport but you still have to catch a bus or get a taxi. During ski season the bus runs twice a day.
My preference is to travel by Shinkasen and spoil yourself a little, if you haven’t tried Gran Class then it is worth the extra expense for those special trips.
The Gran Class Shinkasen is equivalent to first class international airline travel, there is a small cabin with plenty of room, reclining seats in a private capsule. A steward to bring you drinks and snacks, they even have blankets and slippers.
Once you are in Morioka you have a couple of choices you can get the hotel shuttle bus or a taxi for the 45 kilometre (44 minute) journey (note there is also a public bus but it takes about 1.5 hours).
I think in keeping with the luxury of Gran Class you should get a luxury pick up but I will leave that with you, as the hotels have a regular shuttle that meets the trains it is definitely worth checking with them.
WHERE TO STAY
There are three main hotels that sit on the mountain, the Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza and the ANA InterContinental Appi Kogen Resort. The InterContinental hotel only opened in March of 2022 so it is currently in the midst of its first ski season and it has already been selected for the 2022 World Luxury Hotel Awards, winning the best Luxury Destination Hotel in Asia.
With only 34 rooms and suites nothing is crowded, the rooms are very generous in size and amenities. A premium room is 68 square metres and has a private garden, views of the mountain, lounge and a substantial bathroom (with a shower that just has to be experienced!).
Guests staying at the InterContinental have a complimentary afternoon ‘high’ tea which is a generous multi tiered plate of savoury and sweet snacks and later there is aperitivo with complimentary drinks and snacks. The breakfast is huge choice with a large buffet and lots of options available.
There is large Onsen with views to the mountain and pools inside an out that include a cold plunge pool and sauna as well.
If the InterContinental is not available or outside your budget then there are definitely alternative places to stay in Appi – there is the sister hotel the Crowne Plaza (with 400 rooms) which connects to the InterContinental and to the Resort Terminal as well as a Holiday Inn which is slightly removed from the main village area but is good value accomodation.
WHERE TO EAT
There is a full range of dining options at Appi from degustation/omakase right through to food court and pub style so there is definitely something for everyone. Here are a few options that we visited to give context.
Shiratsuyu
The restaurant in the InterContinental offers excellent degustation/omakase or à la carte options the food is Japanese/French cuisine beautifully presented and offering the best ingredients the region has to offer. They also have an extensive wine list with some excellent French and Italian bottles
Nanashigure
A pleasant Japanese restaurant offering a range of traditional dishes, soups, sukyaki, shabu shabu hotpot, sashimi and many more. Average set course is ¥11,000.
Kazan Teppan Yaki
Beautifully and precisely grilled dishes from steak to fish with lots of classic Teppan Yaki offerings.
Steak House
Delicious Japanese steak options, good wine list. Set course options from ¥20,000 but à la carte is also available. The wine list has some good American, Italian and French options. As Penfolds is a sponsor for Appi this year there was also a few Penfolds wines on offer.
Sushi Nagata
Premium sushi seating only 10 people, this restaurant faces chef Kuramoto Masataka as he creates each delicate piece of sushi carefully placing it on the dish in front of each of the ten guest one delicious mouthful after another.
Food Court
There is a big food court with a huge range of food options to suit all palates. Including Udon, Soba and Tempura at Hachimantai and Ramen at Sogen. There is an Indian restaurant Pashupati and a Curry venue Atago.
WHERE TO DRINK
Bar Grand Chariot in the Crowne Plaza has a range of cocktails and whiskeys and they even have a karaoke room. There is also Mocco a cozy whiskey and cocktail bar in the InterContinental which often has live music.
A bit further APPI Bakery Little Rabbit serves beer and whiskey and if you are prepare to venture over to the pension village there are two options 19 Brew Pub with lots of craft beers on tap to complement the burgers and fried options. Finally there is Ollies Follie Bar (in the White Rose Inn) which serves beer on tap, craft bottle beer, sake and spirits. They also have pizza which is reportedly some of the best you will find in Japan!
MOUNTAIN DINING
The only true on mountain dining experience at Appi is the Red House (which is more a pinky purple colour these days). You will find it halfway up the central slope and features ramen and curry dishes. Unlike most ski resorts in Japan you don’t even find vending machine coffee on the mountain. The coffee at Red House is quite good and the food and beer options are very popular.
The food court is where most people tend to go as it is right in front of the central slope with easy access to the gondola or quad chair.
WHERE TO SKI
The resort has 16 chairlifts and 1 gondola together that covers 21 trails and courses. Put another way it is 43 kilometres of runs in total. The longest of those runs is Yamabato which is about 5.5 km a long cruising green run that takes you from the top of the APPI Gondola out to the foot of the Nishimori ski area (cat skiing only) and down back to the central area and the resort centre.
The resort features some more adventurous terrain with course runs designed by Austrian Toni Sailer. There are two main quad chairs that run on that side of the mountain with a third a back up for when weather is too inclement to run the others. Appi claim that the Sailer Quad is the longest lift in Japan and it definitely gets you to the top of the mountain at a reasonable speed. Importantly the two quads on this side of the mountain have ‘chondola’ covers so it is much more comfortable when the snow is dumping or it is sleeting…
There are a number of tree run zones from the ‘magic forest’ a roped of tree run for kids to the ‘dragons tail’, ‘cruise 1’ and ‘cruise 2’ and finally the ‘bravo’ and ‘attack’ zones which are only accessible by snow cat.
It is a resort that has lots of intermediate and beginner terrain but most of the more challenging terrain needs you to take the Nishimori cat ski.
The Nishimori Cat Ski costs ¥3,000 per run but be warned it is only accessible to the public weekdays and not during busy holiday periods. During those times you need to buy a black ski pass (¥33,000 per day and only 30 sold each day).
APPI have an innovative ticketing system you can buy a standard ‘Blue’ ski pass for ¥7,000 (about $75 AUD per day) and there are discounts for multiple days and buying online. Or you can buy a ‘Gold’ ski pass for ¥9,000 ($95 AUD per day) which lets you skip all the queues (no prizes for guessing our choice). Finally as mentioned above is the ‘Black’ ski pass which has the benefits of the ‘Gold’ plus the cat skiing access.
And if you like back country skiing there are a bunch of guided tour options available. The resort has all the right back country gear available for hire too.
CONCLUSION
From the champagne on arrival to the champagne fine powder snow, APPI is a resort that is going to want you to keep coming back. It is no surprise that it has been voted Japan’s best ski resort at the World Ski Awards as well as the The ANA InterContinental winning the ‘World Luxury Hotel Award’ (for Asia) because it is pure luxury and is absolutely amazing. With its excellent breakfast buffet, ski valet service, daily afternoon tea (we never needed to eat lunch on the mountain), aperitivo hour (well actually 90 mins from 4.30 to 6pm) for a drink and another snack. The excellent onsen (one inside pool, two outside pools), gym and more. Yep my favourite hotel this year, one of the best hotels I have ever stayed in.
But there are more approachable options too, the Crowne Plaza has a range of accomodation, as does the Holiday Inn and then there is the village with all sorts of lodge and pension accomodation.
One thing is certain we will be heading back to APPI and we are currently planning an ALAMANK Tour of the region… who wants to join us…?
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