Shizukuishi at a glance:

• Prince Hotel Shizukuishi is a powder skiers secret paradise in Japan. Totally undiscovered and with good snow it will have you giddy for months.
• Shizukuishi is located on Japan's main island of Honshu in the Iwate Prefecture.
• Like APPI, Shizukuishi is north of Tokyo and you can get here from 2 different stops on separate shinkansen (bullet train) lines.
• Take the Akita Shinkansen line to the Shizukuishi stop or take the Tohoku Shinkansen line to Morioka. Take a bus from either stop to the resort. 
• Shizukuishi is small with only 5 lifts and one tram, but you will not be competing with anyone for fresh tracks; size doesn't matter. 
• There is night skiing, and fun gully zones in the trees that nobody seems to mind foreigners skiing.
• At the hotel you are pretty isolated, but have buffet style meals and internet in the lobby. There is no bus service into the nearby town, but a taxi is an option. If it's snowing you will be satisfied. If the powder is lacking while you visit, then bring a good book. 
• Fit Shizukuishi into a larger journey on your way farther north to the coast or Hokkaido. You may just discover the best spot in Japan. 

The prince hotel at shizukuishi is a complete secret in japan. I don't even know why i'm sharing it's location. 

“We arrived here mostly by chance. for 4 days we never even crossed our own tracks.”
 

It isn't that the mountain is so big we couldn't cover enough terrain to see our own tracks again. In fact the mountain is fairly small. It is a resort off the map and still very much japanese. Prince Hotel owns Shizukuishi, so you know what to expect with the accommodations. This is far from the the flag-ship resort for Prince,  but this is exactly why we like it. The price is right and the mountain is completely devoid of any powder seeking competition.  

Make this a stop on a larger journey to simply experience your private powder-skiing resort. It spoils you. Then move along to APPI or continue along the Shinkansen to Aomori or Hokkaido. The resort is a little isolated and has no bus options to go visit the town. There isn't endless entertainment at this resort like Rusutsu. However, if you have the snow, then this will quickly become your favorite secret spot in Japan. 

We almost became bored with skiing uncontested and untracked POW. Almost.