Japan Family Holiday - Karuizawa Prince Ski Resort

Over Christmas we took our family to ski in Karuizawa, a beautiful resort town just one hour north of Tokyo by shinkansen. It was the first time Mr R had seen snow, the first time the boys had tried skiing and the first time the grown ups had skied in Japan. And like most things in Japan, our ski experience was a very well oiled machine in terms of convenience and efficiency, both quintessential to me when doing anything with children.

Snow resorts in Japan need little introduction. They are famed for their waist-deep powder snow, pristine slopes, and great apres ski life including onsens and delicious food. There are so many ski resorts to choose from and knowing where to go can be challenging. Knowing where to go with small children can be even more challenging. The options and the logistics of bundling up small humans to the snow can seem overwhelming.

Our perquisites for a snow resort were convenience (including the location and access to snow facilities) as well as ski school for the kids. Karuizawa delivered all this for us.  For anybody looking for a family friendly resort for young children, especially if it is the first time at the snow this is the place for you.

Firstly the location is great. The train station practically delivers you to the snow resort. There’s just a shopping plaza between you and snow! The resort provides all your needs: accommodation, rental, tickets and lessons including the Pandaruman ski school that takes children from 3 years of age, thus allowing parents to ski freely while the kids learn the ropes for the first time.

Even if you are travelling with people who do not want to ski there is plenty to do as the resort has facilities like indoors hot springs (onsen) and of course the massive shopping outlets next door.

This post describes our stay and all the details needed to organise your own stay at Karuizawa Snow Resort.

Travel period: Christmas (late-December)

Winter time in Karuizawa is colder than the city and well insulated winter gear is essential. Overnight the temperature drops below zero but during the day we had a lot of sunshine. Dress in layers: waterproof ski jacket, fleece or woollen midlayers, thermal underwear (including leggings) and snow boots as well as ski gloves, beanies and scarves. We preferred separate ski jackets and pants for the kids (as opposed to the snow onesies) as this way you could easily take the jackets off when indoors for meals at restaurants and easier toileting.

Snow Season

The snow season starts very early so you can start skiing from November all the way til the end of March.  This is possible through the use of snow machines that pump out fresh cover overnight when the temperature drops. However even in December, there was not full coverage of the mountain and conditions will be at their peak in January/February.  The overall snow conditions were more than adequate especially for beginner skiers but if you are in need of serious powder snow, look elsewhere.

Getting There 

Karuizawa is easily accessed from Tokyo. Travel time is approximately one hour and trains depart regularly from Ueno station. Reserve your seats as this is a popular destination and there is no guarantee of a seat if you opt to try the “non-reserved” carriages which could mean you are left standing for the entire journey. Also note, Karuizawa is not the last stop on this train line so be prepared to disembark the train with all your luggage WELL before the train pulls into the station! The stop is very short and with small kids and lots of luggage, it feels quite harried.

The train ride from Tokyo is also covered by the JR pass and the JR East Nagano/Niigata Pass, although you will need to travel elsewhere to make those passes good value. There is also a winter special JR Tokyo Wide pass that is valid for 3-days (perfect for weekend ski trip) and covers the return cost to Karuizawa from Tokyo.

Accommodation

For access to the slopes, The Prince Hotels provide all your accommodation needs and covers an absolutely massive number of options across their entire resort (no seriously, look at the map, it is huge).

To be closest to the snow, the Karuizawa Prince Hotel East is literally on the doorstep of the slopes. It sits between the two main ski areas and is also walkable to the Karuizawa Prince Shopping Plaza.


We chose the semi self-contained cottages for their location right next to the slopes and the novelty of staying in a wood cabin. We booked a four night stay over Christmas and had the most wonderful time. 

Checking into the Prince Hotel East Cottages

As you step off the train at Karuizawa station, the first thing you will see is the huge shopping complex across the road. The carpark and shops were packed with weekend day-trippers. We found the Prince Hotel concierge office (map) as we exited the train station and picked up a map of the resort (again it is so much bigger than you could envisage) and also a schedule for the shuttle buses. There are two different buses that drive routes in opposite directions between the many Prince Hotels and the shopping complex.

We took the green shuttle bus in front of the 7-11 and it transported us to the Prince Hotel East Cottage reception, a short journey away. At check-in we signed up for free membership with Seibu Prince Club which gives international guests discounts including a ¥500 discount off adult lift tickets and we received a special promotion for free daily buffet breakfast! Make sure you sign up for it.

We were then driven with our luggage to our cottage, literally 1 minute away but we enjoyed the perk of riding in a little buggy. From our cottage we were so close that we could see the ski slopes but being man-made, the snow itself was only contained to the runs. Everywhere else was dry and I was initially sad because I had pictured a cabin blanketed by snow but soon realised it was much easier for us to walk when the ground wasn't wet and slippery. I could even make an argument that the kids didn't even need their snow boots to walk around.

We stayed in a B-type cottage which can sleep four people.  It had one separate bedroom with two single beds and the boys gleefully claimed that for themselves. The parents took the two single beds located in the main shared area. Both the toilet and shower were fitted with oil heaters. There was a mini fridge, hot water urn, basic cutlery and serving ware. The cottage was a warm and toasty home for our four day stay.

In terms of dining options the options were the hotel, around the main Ski Centre, at the Shopping Outlet restaurants and food court or we could order room service.  Be warned that the majority of Shopping Outlet shops and restaurants close early at 7pm so it was very early dinners for us. In retrospect we realised that there is just one street of restaurants called Karuizawa Aji No Machi (map) that does stay open until 10pm, located opposite the train station.

Pandaruman Ski School

With a lot of major resorts, the starting age for ski school with English instructors is 4-5 years old. With Mr R just three years old and Mr A being five years old, the boys could attend the Pandaruman ski school together. Their program provides both ski and snowboard classes for the littlest first-timers, starting from as young as three years old. Half of the class is conducted on “indoor” grass slopes before they progress to skiing on the snow. They provide helmets and special beginner skis and even "magic" snowboards with handles. They have an English website and we booked lessons online. Payment as is often the case in Japan is done in person upon arrival.

We signed the children up for three full days of ski classes. This involved two 2-hour sessions with a 2-hour break in between. There are two different venues for classes: Centre and East. Our cottage was located in the middle of both classes within five minutes walking distance. The Centre class area felt bigger and more official with a proper building where the kids could change, a waiting room for parents and clean toilets. It is next to the main Ski Centre and adjacent to the “Higaeri (a Day-Trip) Snow Park” (map). The East classroom office was just a couple of portables and is located on the map next to East Snow Park (map). It is also opposite Restaurant Porto where the breakfast buffet is served. For convenience pick the East classroom so you can eat and then take the kids straight to class. Convenience is everything!

For the full day class, both 2-hour sessions were essentially the same program repeated twice. The children were fitted for their ski boots and helmets before a warm up with a giant snow-Panda mascot. Very kawaii.

From here they were fitted with their skis and began their introduction to skiing on the artificial grass slope. There was a specially designed obstacle course with bells and cones and gates to move around as the kids learnt to move on skis. After the first hour, the kids got a break for a lolly (it was strawberry mum!) and a drink of water. Then the class tried skiing on real snow. There was a long travelator that took the kids to the top of the course where they were taught to ski down a gentle slope.

Hats off to the instructors who literally bent over backwards for the kids. They guided them down the slope backwards, carried them back up after they land on their bums and skiied back up the slope nonstop! The classes were conducted in English, Mandarin and Japanese and there were always extra support staff around to help the instructors with the kids.

At the end of the 2-hour class the kids could ski down a very short slope by themselves!  We always made sure we arrived just before pick up to see them ski on their own and cheer them on.

When the class was over, in the most polite and respectful way, the kids all gathered together and were taught to say thank you in Japanese to their instructor. They then changed out of their gear and their instructors stamped their progress cards and gave them a Pandaruman keychain gift.

This whole class structure was repeated again at the afternoon session. We changed venues for the second and third day from the Centre to the East classroom but essentially our kids did the same thing for three days.

So the pros? Classes were perfect for young kids to get a feel for skiing in a fun, safe and child-friendly way. There was no better or cuter option for both our kids to learn as first time skiers. Pandaruman classes are conducted in three languages and the online booking system was very easy to use. There were up to six classes a day during the Christmas holiday period and saw people booking the day before or the morning of the class. The equipment was all included with the class fees so there was no need to rent their skis or helmets.

The cons? Ideally, I would have enrolled them for just one full day of ski school to familiarise them to skiing and honestly I would have done it just because it was cute and not as intimidating as the crowded main slopes. The next day we think a standard class at ski school would have been more beneficial. However, the caveat for us was that Mr R was too young for any other classes and we were happy to keep the boys together.

Ski hire and hitting the slopes

Since The Hubs and I both know how to ski, we rented ski gear and didn’t take any lessons. There are numerous rental shops and most provided the same rates. For our stay, we hired a 3-day package and had to store them at our accommodation.

We were able to purchase a 3-day lift pass with a small discount using the Prince Seibu card. In Japan, lift tickets are worn on the outside of your jacket sleeve in a clear case. The lift operators occasionally stop you to check your ticket and it was a real pain to show them our own tickets as we just put them in our pockets (I’m used to the Australian ski tickets that come with a small wire hook to hang off a zipper). Next time, we will bring our own lanyard or buy one of their ticket holders.

What were the slopes like? Having not skied for so many years, the mostly beginner slopes in Karuizawa were the perfect level for us to find our “feet” again. There are a couple of advanced slopes but if you are a serious skier looking for fresh powder and more advanced courses, this resort may not meet your expectations. That being said the pro-snowboarder from Terrace House - Opening New Doors boards in Karuizawa so if it’s good enough for him, surely it’s good enough for anyone!

From the chairlifts, we were able to look down and check on our kids in ski school as well as admire the huge snow park next to it. Karuizawa is definitely a very family friendly resort. Parents could drop off an older child to Pandaruman and then go next door with a younger infant to play in the snow park.

We saw many different ski schools on the slopes and this resort clearly caters for beginner skiers and snowboarders. For English speaking instructors however, the choices will likely be limited so check the Prince Hotel resort website for more details on how to book a class well in advance.

Other activities

We didn't want to overtire the kids so we didn't do much more than skiing but for those who don’t ski, there were clearly plenty of other things to do. For children, the Seibu club members can access the resort kids club which looked like a lot of fun with craft activities and an indoor bouldering wall. There are night snow experiences for club members which look amazing. Cottage guests can use the East Hotel hot spring baths. Then there is the Karuizawa Prince Shopping Plaza which would take a whole day or more to cover.

Outside of the snow fields, the greater Kyu-Karuizawa ("old Karuizawa") town is also worth exploring.  Karuizawa Ginza (map) is a famous shopping street with a mix of traditional and western architecture with many cafes and shops. Further out, there are nature walks, waterfalls, hot springs, museums and churches to visit. It would make a great area to further discover on a self-drive holiday (which we did in a future visit and post to come).

We really loved our stay at Karuizawa Ski Resort. It was the epitome of convenience when skiing with young children and would also be a great place even for non-skiers as there are plenty of activities for everyone to enjoy. In fact we really wish we could have shopped more, visited the snow park and driven around town during this trip. But for now, we will definitely be recommending Karuizawa to our friends and are already planning our next return trip to this beautiful area of Japan.