UTOPIAN POWDER RESORT

Madarao Mountain Resort is loved by many, thanks to its amazing variety of ‘Madapow’-laden slopes. A 1,382-metre mountain accessible in under 2.5 hours from Tokyo via bullet train to Iiyama Station and shuttle bus, it features 30 separate courses. Some 60% of these are left ungroomed, making this resort a powder-lover’s dream come true.

For beginners there are wide, slow-paced courses like Utopia, and for those with experience, there’s the Ninja, with challenging eight-metre high log jumps.

The Sawa is a great example of the courses at Madarao Mountain Resort that maximise its natural terrain features. Powdery natural half-pipes made this tree run an instant favourite among experienced riders, and in 2016-2017, the resort incorporated more natural half-pipe terrain into its River Line tree run.

The Family Adventure tree run was also newly completed in the same season, extending the fun and excitement of a natural slalom course to more skiers and snowboarders. Backcountry tours and powder-riding lessons are also available at Madarao Mountain Resort with English-speaking guides, and there are plenty of other engaging terrain features and activities to try between the Freeride Park, Snowmobile Land and Kids Park.

www.madarao.jp/ski/_en
Madarao-kogen, Iiyama City
2+81-26-964-3214
Days 8:30-17:00, Holiday Nights 17:00-21:00
Travelling times to Madarao Mountain Resort Tokyo: 3 hrs (train), Osaka: 5 hrs (train)