niseko annupuri international ski area

Access to the best off-piste areas in Niseko as well as very plesant night skiing. Not a lot of nightlife in the Annupuri village but Grand Hirafu is not far away by shuttle bus.

Snow quality great, runs long and well groomed. Off piste skiing excellent with mountain guides, but guides are very expensive, at around $500 - 600 per day, regardless of numbers in your party.

This ski area is very well run offering a variety of terrain for all levels of skiers, great left systems and plenty of off-piste terrain for the powder. We arranged our time a little late and should have been a couple of weeks earlier as things were getting warm in early March before we left.

This place has the best powder snow ever. Smallish area 4 chairs 1 gondola, linked to the rest of Niseko United (if the 4th chair is running) and close by bus to Moiwa. Something for everyone, easy beginner groomed pistes, some steepish bits. But mostly deep deep powder tree runs perfect for expert riders. Gate 7 is worth the trip on its own. Nice little hut on the mountain for coffee, beer clam chowder etc. good burgers and coffee near the gondola and pretty standard cafe near the bus stop. 80/20 snowboarders, so that's a nice, but great for everyone. Don't tell anyone though or they'll all be there...

Niseko Annupuri is one of the four main Niseko resorts. As a result, it is more international than Japanese. The runs are wide, well-groomed, and generally unchallenging. However, the backcountry gates can be an awesome adventure after a new snow fall. Be warned that after the gates there is a steep traverse through trees. Then your choice of three wide bowls. All the bowls funnel into a narrow valley with very tight lines through the trees.

Enjoyed knee deep powder here and thoroughly enjoyed it BUT...was surprised by the condition of the infrastructure. Needs updating

After 8 fabulous yearly visits here we finally had one which only produced one good snow fall then nothing for 5 days,however still great groomed runs and sunshine.Good eateries on the mountain and not much waiting on lift queues.You can normally count on regular snow falls producing fresh tracks and good tree runs.

I gave 4 star because the place is one of the best snow skiing area I have never been. You can have powder snow for sure. Although the weather is always snowing or snow storming ( not many sunny day I must say), you won't regret for snow.There is all mountain pass available, but when I stayed we had a bad weather so all the lift on top of mountain was closed. Please be careful to buy the tickets as often we can not use fully due to the weather.The negative sides are:1. The skiing school is still run very old fashion way. You can not book online, if you book for private lesson, you are secure for spot which is VERY expensive, but if you prefer a group lesson, if there is no spot, forget it. There is no way you can get a lesson. There is no English group lesson, and although they said you have to come as early as possible to queue to make a booking, they open the desk before the opening time so there is unfair way of booking a group lesson.2. There are 3 restaurants but they are all very simple basic Japanese food, not creative at all. One of them is even same menu and charge bit more than the other. Looks like food court rather than restaurants.3. You need to queue for buying a tickets to the restaurant. But the machine is only one and long queue.Do I go again? Yes, absolutely. You can not get a such a beautiful snow like Niseko anywhere.

If your into throwing-off some tricks while cruising, this might be the best place in Niseko if the terrain parks of Grand Hirafu are closed. Slope is moderate and doesn't get too chopped up; it's also not too flat, so you can keep it moving. An all-around fun area. Pro tip: don't miss the "mega beers" at the base before the shuttle ride back to your hotel!

If weather is windy at niseko village and gondolas down, you can ski a bit 'higher' here, not as crowded as Hirafu area on the day we were there

We had an all mountain pass and were staying at Niseko Villiage. We came across to Annupuri due to the Niseko Gondola being closed. It is a great ski resort which offers wide groomed runs and a lot of off piste (but in bounds) tree runs. We enjoyed a hike up to the peak through Gate 2, although it is quite windswept at the top the view and the run down was well worth the hike! We also went through gate 7 where we found some decent powder thought he trees then dropped into a natural half pipe which was heaps of fun. There seems to be something for all levels at this resort and the lines and crowds are much better than Niseko Villiage and Hirafu. We loved the family style restaurant which had a more authentic japanese feel to it and was fairly good value. During lunch we also took advantage of the express board hot wax (1800 yen).

Wide groomed slopes make for a great ski day for intermediates. Some challenges for advanced skiers. Not crowded, unlike Niseko. Similar to Hanazono ski area. Above treeline is more challenging and can be very windy. Grooming of runs is very good. Base lodge is plain and simple. Not as crowded as the other Grand Niseko ski areas.

This was the first Ski resort that I visited in Japan after skiing in Europe for the past 15 years. I have to say I love this Resort and plan to ski in Japan again in 2015. Skiing in Japan is significantly different to skiing in Europe in a number of mainly good ways:1. Most people in Japan seem to ski for a few days rather than for a week as they do in Europe as a result you don't get the huge crowds and queues for the airport transfer, hotel checkin and ski hire that you get in Europe. 2. The airport/station transport links run on a regular basis so its very easy to arrange to get there independently and the hotels can be easily booked on the internet.3. I understand that most Japanese tend to ski for a few days at the weekend so if you go midweek like you largely have the slopes to yourself. We never has to queue for a lift on our visit and it was easy to get into Restaurants.4. Japan has an excellent snow record, we skied in March outside of peak season and missed the deep powder that Niseko is famed for, however the snow was still better than on most of our trips to Europe and the standard of grooming is excellent.5. Niseko United is one of the larger ski areas in Japan but is much smaller than the big resorts in Europe, this may possibly be related to the fact that most people tend to ski a few days rather than a week.6. Niseko has some serious night skiing the main ski area a significant proportion of the resort is lit making it a worthwhile activity rather than a gimmick, there were even back runs that were lit and you could pretty much ski from 8am to 8pm every day.7. The mountain restaurants appeared to be run by local families and had a lot of charm and were reasonably priced, many reminded me more of trekking lodges in Nepal than the over-crowded and over-priced restaurants in Europe. 10. The quality of the ski equipment was good (we rented skis and poles from our hotels).11. The nightlife is much more subdued than in Europe most people seem to go out for a meal and sit in an Onsen.12. Apart from the cost of getting to Japan the costs of a skiing trip in Japan aren't higher than in Europe.

We are in late 30s, learning how to snowboard for the first time. Lucky we booked the private lesson or else we will not love the experience (getting up after falling from Snowboard is most challenging for us). Taka-San, our instructor, is super helpful and kind. We love learning from him.We have a little problem with booking though. I try to book the class by myself from Bangkok, its almost impossible. I have to ask my japanese friend to call the school to book for us. And we email them for confirmation.

This is my favourite area to ski. Wide slopes of varying degrees to challenge the most die hard skier/snowboarder. Plenty of powder as well as groomed runs. The crowds were minimal as it is more for the moderate to experienced skier. The view from the top is amazing. Restrooms and eateries at the bottom to take a break and refuel