SKI > Aizu, Nekoma Mountain Fukushima, Japan

There are over 22 resorts in Aizu it is a region with an enormous quality of cumulative snowfall and micro fine snow, there are great runs in fresh snow that don’t require any hiking, a lower risk of avalanche because of the dense trees. The best option is to seek out a local guide or take a tour like those offered by Mint Tours. Check out aizu.jp for more information.

In 2023 the resorts of Nekoma and Alts Bandai were joined by a chair lift that takes you over the top and accessing a whole extra resort. Both Alts and Nekoma were already top of the list for many powder hounds with excellent snow, great facilities and few people on the runs.

The first thing to get your head around is all the names Fukushima is the prefecture, it is in the Tohoku region in the north of Honshu (the big island for those less familiar with Japan) and there are a lot of ski resorts in this region. Urabandai is another name you will here, it refers to the resorts on Mount Bandai (which include the combined Alts Bandai Nekoma Mountain but also Inawashiro. Inawashiro is the name of the large lake often seen in promotional photos for the region. Mount Bandai by the way is one of the more famous mountains in Japan. Another name for the area is Aizu, the grouping of resorts in the region of which there are twelve. The now combined Alts Bandai Nekoma Mountain is definitely the largest resort in the area and has the most challenging terrain.

GETTING THERE

If you are going by train it will take about 2.5 hours but you will need to change trains and get a taxi or connecting shuttle (depending on which side of the mountain you are staying). In writing this we will make the assumption that you are staying on the Alts Bandai side of the mountain at the excellent Hoshino Resort hotel.

Take the Tohoku Shinkasen train to Koriyama Station (1 hour 20 mins) and change to the Ban Etsuasai Line for the Bandaimachi Station (1 hour), if you have booked ahead there is a free shuttle bus which will take you up to the resort which takes about 15 minutes.

Alternatively by car it is about three and a half hours drive there is plenty of parking at Alts Bandai and the upside of having a car you have access to other resorts and restaurants in the nearby towns. You can also take a bus but you will need to arrange connecting transport. The taxi drivers can be incredibly obliging, some how we managed to fit two large ski bags in between the seats of a standard taxi.

ABOUT NEKOMA MOUNTAIN

Nekoma Mountain Resort is two different resorts that connect with a chair over the top, so depending on which side you are staying will depend on your preference on where you will stay, eat, ski etc. The choice is personal and the big hotels do have regular coaches that will take you to all of the resorts in the region and bring you back at the end of the day.

If you use Google Maps to identify resorts Nekoma Mountain North is the resort formerly known as Nekoma and Nekoma Mountain South is the resort formerly known as Alts Bandai.

WHATS IT LIKE TO SKI

If you are staying at Hoshino Resort (Alts) then you are facing straight out at the mountain and there a couple of immediate options, the shorter double chair on the left and the long quad straight up the hill. The front valley only has the three lifts but there is still quite a lot of terrain and if it is available it is definitely worth getting the cat skiing which takes you up high and where the snow powder can be incredibly deep.

When we travelled the base was between 3-5 metres and you did not want to fall because your stock will not find anything hard to push back against to get you upright again!

Over the top of the chair drops into a nice gully with a couple of steeper and heavier snow options, while there are a couple of black runs showing on the map, these are really advanced intermediate runs rather than expert.

Over the top to Nekoma and their the snow is often lighter (but just as deep) and you can find yourself up to your waist in powder after a big storm. Watch for when lifts look like they might be about to turn in order to get some fresh trails, sometimes that can be mid morning.

Other than on weekends you are unlikely to find many busy days on either side of the mountain, some days we were literally skiing the runs on our own, the only other people were working the lifts and restaurants.

WHERE TO STAY

If your planned base is the south side of the mountain there is really only one option the Hoshino Resort (this is the only ski in and out option for Nekoma Mountain), there are other guest houses and small hotels a short way down the road, for those you will need a car to get to the resort but it does open up options.

Hoshino Resort has good rooms, and has an excellent Onsen, Swimming Pool and a good restaurant. Be warned the restaurant does book out and being a guest in the hotel does not guarantee you a table for dinner, so book in early (from someone who made this mistake and ended up with a dinner of chips and crackers from the gift shop).

On the other side of the mountain is the Urabandai Lake Resort which has excellent views over Lake Hibara also has excellent onsen (inside and out) with a large buffet restaurant and bar. This is a big hotel but you need transport either a car or to take a bus to the mountain to ski. The hotel does have regular free buses which will take you to the mountain to ski each day.

The other choice is to stay at En Resort Grandeco which is a different resort that does have a hotel in the area, the terrain at Grandeco is mostly intermediate.

WHERE TO EAT

There are not a lot of options for eating out at Nekoma Mountain Resort, staying on the South side at Hoshino resort there is a good restaurant but as warned previously do book. There are alternatives but all will require you to have a car to get to them.

Similarly staying at Urabandai Lake Resort you have the hotel buffet restaurant. There are restaurants in the area but all are 5-10kms away.

WHERE TO DRINK

The bar at the Hoshino is not that lively, in fact unless they are having an event (like in the image above) it is often empty in the evening. Many people just buy takeaway beer / whiskey and retire to their rooms. The Urabandai Resort has more going on with a games room and bar that is normally quite busy.

LINKS

• Urabandai Lake Resort
• Urabandai Ski Resort
• Grandeco Ski Resort
• Inawashiro Ski Resort