REPORT

Joetsu Kokusai Ski Resort is made up of four distinct areas—Active, Mothers, Panorama, and Forest—and boasts the largest slope area of any single ski resort in Japan, covering an impressive 380 hectares. Just standing on the Nagamine Slope (pictured), which is the gateway to the Mothers Zone, it was immediately obvious that the scale was far bigger than I had expected. After taking this photo, I enjoyed a comfortable warm-up on moderately firm groomed snow that felt great underfoot.
[Nagamine Slope]

An instructor from the Joetsu Kokusai Ski & Snowboard School I met first thing in the morning told me, “It snowed nonstop all day yesterday, so lessons were tough (laughs), but today the conditions are incredibly good!” The Mina Slope (pictured), which you can lap via the Nagamine Quad (1,050 m), offered the same conditions as Nagamine—groomed wet snow that was moderately firm but still had a powdery feel, making it very comfortable to ski.
[Mina Slope]

I later headed up into the Panorama Zone via the Panorama Quad (1,045 m). A man visiting from Gunma told me, “The snow quality is great and it feels amazing to ski on—I’m really glad I came today!” The Panorama No. 2 (pictured) and No. 3 Slope both featured very easy-to-ski conditions, with a well-groomed packed powder base that was moderately firm.
[Panorama No. 2 Slope]

Next I rode the No. 3 Romance Lift (pictured, background), whose base sits beside the Oshiru-ko Chaya where you can enjoy their famous freshly grilled mochi oshiruko, and headed back up for another run on the north-west-facing Panorama No. 3 Slope to savor the powder once mores, where there was more than 20 cm of soft, fluffy new snow along the sides of the course. Three visitors from Tokyo I spoke with said, “We love Joetsu Kokusai and come to ski here every year. Next, we’re heading over to Toma via the Panorama No. 4 Romance Lift—the snow quality over there is even better.”
[Panorama No. 2 Romance Lift]

　
＊On 1/17 (Sat.) and 1/18 (Sun.), a “Kids Triathlon” will be held. Furthermore, the “Joetsu Kokusai Snow Fireworks” event will take place on 1/17 (Sat.), while on 1/18 (Sun.), there will also be a Sled Race and “Ski Kids’ Day,” where children aged 3 to elementary school receive a ¥1,000 lunch voucher with the purchase of a one-day admission ticket or a one-day admission+ ticket.
　　　
[Joestu Kokusai Details on 1/15 (Thu.)]
＊Most Couses are OPEN (Atema No.1 & No.2, Osawa, Daibetto)
＊Operating Lifts … Nagamine No.2 Romance (8:00～) and totally 12 lifts
＊Fee … 1-Day Pass Adult5,500, 3 y/o to 12 y/o JPY3,500, Over 60 y/o JPY4,300
　
＊Request for the original data of our photographs
　
reported by Snownavi