The Skiers' Guide to Rusutsu

Rusutsu is just 3 hills connected with 2 gondolas and several chairlifts. 2 hills comprise the biggest skiing area (East) and the other hill (West) much smaller. You can access both from a big car park on the East side. The ride between the two parts is quite long in a gondola that goes over quite a big valley.

Groomed runs are mostly reds and blues. As the quality of snow is simply exceptional, it is a pleasure to ride these even if not any challenge. It is possible to go off piste and amongst the trees and it is a real blast. The views are also great with the snow encrusted trees under dark laden sky.

The chairlifts are slow and inefficient. It seems Japan has not seen much investment in skiing in the last 20 years. The real point of going there is to experience wonderful snow and tree skiing. If lucky, you'll get deep powder thrown into the mix too, but you have to be quick - everybody is hunting it and it soon gets tracked out. Though you can usually still find some amongst the trees even after all the easily accessible stuff is gone.

Amazing snow quality, incredibly light and powdery and so much if it. Off piste tree runs with nicely spaced out trees at a fun level of steepness everywhere. As the season goes on and the snow keeps on falling the train and features change. Beautiful place and incredible snow quality but also very cold so wrap up warm and cover your face. Most mornings were blue bird with the snow starting to fall a few hours into the day.

Easily accessible and great lift system. Limited terrain and moguls. Enjoyed the number of runs considering the space. Great food and beautiful scenery.