DISCOVER HIDDEN HOKKAIDO
Iwanai Resort has a charm all its own. Built on the foundations of a classic Japanese ski resort from the bubble era, we’ve thoughtfully updated the facilities while preserving the character that makes this place special.
Step inside our lodge and you’ll find yourself among local people, surrounded by a side of Japan that most visitors never get to experience. This is authentic Hokkaido—a place where you can slow down, meet the locals, and get a genuine glimpse into life beyond the big-name resorts.
On the lower mountain, three groomed runs offer lift-served skiing for high beginners and low intermediates. For those looking to venture higher, our Snow CAT opens the door to a completely different experience—deep powder, expansive terrain, and fresh tracks away from the crowds.
And there’s more to Iwanai than skiing. Try a snowshoe hike through the winter forest, experience the mountain after dark on a Night CAT, go ice skating, or join one of our cultural tours. The town is also home to a surprising collection of museums and galleries, including Asia’s largest private collection of Picasso works.
So when you’re ready to trade crowded lift lines for fresh powder, local culture, and a mountain that still feels like a secret, come to Iwanai and discover Hidden Hokkaido.
HISTORY ON THE MOUNTAIN
A Resort That Refused to Die: The Birthplace of CAT Skiing in Japan
Iwanai’s connection to skiing goes back long before the lifts and lodges of today. The Iwanai Ski Federation was established in 1927, five years before the Hokkaido Ski Federation, showing just how deeply skiing was already part of the local community.
Local skiers explored the slopes of Mt. Iwanai for decades before the modern resort opened. In 1980, the Iwanai Kokusetsu Ski Area officially opened, featuring six courses, multiple lifts, a hütte, and more than 2,000 metres of skiable terrain overlooking the Sea of Japan. The timing was perfect. Japan’s ski boom was underway, and Iwanai quickly became a major regional resort. At its peak, more than 125,000 visitors came each year, with seven lifts, restaurants, a bar, and a gift shop.
As Japan’s economy slowed in the 1990s, visitor numbers declined and the resort gradually scaled back. By the early 2000s, the local community had stepped in to keep the mountain alive, operating just a fraction of the original lift system. Rather than let the unused terrain disappear, Iwanai found a new way to share it. Snow CAT Tours gave skiers and riders access to deep powder on the mountain’s retired lift-served terrain. In 2004, Iwanai pioneered CAT skiing on the mountain, eventually developing it into Japan’s first commercially bookable CAT skiing experience.
In 2017, our team took over management of the hütte and mountain operations. Since then, we’ve renovated the lodge, upgraded the CATs, improved the infrastructure, and expanded the skiable terrain well beyond the original resort runs.
Today, Iwanai brings together nearly a century of skiing history—from local skiers exploring the mountain in the 1920s to the resort boom of the 1980s and the evolution of CAT skiing.
The lifts may have changed, but the spirit remains the same: find the snow, explore the mountain, and share the experience.
