deep day at APPI

appi at a glance:

  • APPI is located on Japan's main island Honshu.
  • Tokyo is also on Honshu, but is far away from APPI.
  • Honshu is a tall-skinny island. The popular ski resorts around Nagano are directly west of Tokyo. APPI is north of Tokyo along the Shinkansen (bullet train) line that runs the length of Honshu going north-south.
  • The bullet train stop is the city of Morioka, and then a local train takes you to APPI. 
  • APPI is over 3 hours from Tokyo via train, but is still arguably easier to get to than the Hakuba resorts.
  • Once at APPI, it is a sprawling resort with a small town nearby that offers some bars restaurants and traditional Japanese culture. There is enough to keep you entertained here. 
  • The mountain is large but the steeps are concentrated up high. Stay on the high lifts for quick fun laps. 
  • 2 gondolas, 16 lifts, terrain park, night skiing, and tree skiing is frowned upon only if blatantly obvious or dangerous.

 

 
 
 

APPI is Huge. It is far away from tokyo so you can have the place to to yourself on a powder day. appi understands what the western skier is looking for in japan. 

“an all-inclusive resort experience that promotes the surrounding region, and the added benefit of neck-deep snow”
 

If you get on the Tohoku Skinkansen line from Tokyo and head north to Morioka you will leave the average skiing tourist far behind. Three hours later on this speeding train and you are in Iwate Prefecture were the skiing can be perfect and your POW uncontested. Fit APPI into a larger trip that continues north to Hokkaido and you'll end up knowing more about skiing in Japan than the next powder-seeker. 

The mountain is sprawling. It has steep pitches up top and then slowly rolls back to the resort. Find your favorite section and lap it until the dinner bell. Then eat dinner prepared from APPI's own farm. If you start to get cabin fever, you can trade your dinner ticket in for a bus ride to the bars and restaurants in town. APPI wants you to experience the region, not just their resort. APPI will bus you to nearby Hachimantai Resort and you might actually have that entire resort to yourself. If you want some real backcountry lines, then tours around Hachimantai and on the lower ridges of a large volcano can fulfill your gnar-needs. 

APPI's slogan is "Be Happy in APPI." It's easy to do.