Lotte Arai Resort Sneeuwverwachting

Visited January 2019. A major storm system moved in, we had about 1.5m of fresh powder in 2 days. Words do not do justice to the the amazing slack country available direct from the lifts. Arai is a little low, so it can get wet at the base. But the good riding is all from the top, above a normal freeze line. I did not get into the back country due to avalanche risk. Lotte Arai is expensive compared to Nozawa, Akakura, Madarao, Tangram etc. At 7000Yen a day including a returnable deposit, there is a big difference to the other local resorts. Facilities are amazing. There is only 1 hotel: Lotte Arai, with around 350 rooms, so the mountain gets a max of 1000 people on it. That may sound a lot but facilities cope very well. There is no easily accessible town (a shuttle bus to Arai Town) so you are stuck in the resort. Myoko Snow Sports run a ski school there. So there are English speaking instructors. There are good facilities for children and the hotel offers daycare. Summary: expensive but good.