It’s not quite summer yet in Australia, which means it’s still autumn in Japan but that hasn’t stopped snow from falling!

The Snow Concierge was one of the first international visitors to realise Hakuba’s huge potential while working for a US television network during the Nagano Winter Olympic games, and it has been a fast favourite ever since. 

Most visitors to Japan’s ski fields tend to head to the better-known resorts of Niseko, Rusutsu, Hakuba Valley, Shiga Kogen and Nozawa Onsen, and for good reason as they are incredibly tourist friendly destinations with great accommodation and dining options and excellent ski infrastructure. But there are another 495 or so amazing resorts to discover for those hoping to have those runs all to themselves and who are prepared to venture a bit further afield.

Hakuba is perfect for families, with heaps of skiable terrain and no end of things to keep you occupied on rest days.

Greetings from Appi Kogen! We’ve been champing at the bit to get back to Appi after our last visit for a couple of reasons. First up we needed to confirm it really was as good as we’d remembered (spoiler alert: it is!!)