Mt.T by Hoshino Resorts (Tanigawadake Tenjindaira)
Overview
Mt. T sits in Minakami Town, in the mountains of Gunma Prefecture, on terrain tied directly to Mount Tanigawa. The resort’s operating name, Tanigawadake Joch, references the mountain’s ropeway, and Mount Tanigawa itself is a well-known name in Japanese mountaineering — one of the country’s 100 famous mountains, and a peak whose rock-climbing routes have produced more than 800 recorded fatalities since the 1930s, a figure regularly cited as among the highest of any mountain in the world. That reputation belongs to the technical rock faces above the resort rather than to the ski area itself: Mt. T’s ski terrain runs from a 742.9 m base to a 1,489.1 m top, well below Tanigawa’s 1,977 m true summit, and is groomed and lift-served rather than technical alpine terrain.
Within that footprint, Mt. T is a small, focused ski area: 10 runs totaling 6.61 km, reached by a gondola and four chairlifts across a 746.2 m vertical drop. The trail mix centers on intermediate skiing, with 3.8 km of the total rated intermediate, against 1.27 km advanced and a combined 1.55 km split between easy and novice terrain. Rather than building its identity around trail count, the resort markets itself on backcountry access — its own materials cite ski-area slope angles of 15 to 38 degrees against 30 to 50 degrees in its backcountry zones, aiming the resort at experienced skiers looking to hike or ropeway their way into off-piste terrain beyond the groomed runs. Five lifts across ten runs works out to roughly two runs per lift, a tighter ratio than many larger resorts carry, which keeps the layout easy to navigate even though the terrain sits on a single connected pod rather than being split across separate base areas.
The resort is operated by Hoshino Resorts, a major Japanese hospitality company, under the fuller name “Mt.T The Ultimate Powder Field,” and it markets deep, frequent snowfall as its core selling point given Minakami’s position on the snowy side of the mountains dividing Japan’s Sea of Japan and Pacific coasts. Hoshino’s own materials cite average annual snowfall of roughly 1,500 cm, and the 2026-27 operating season is scheduled from December 19 through April 4, a season length typical of a mid-elevation Gunma mountain rather than the shorter windows common at lower, more southerly Japanese ski areas. Skiers ride the ropeway to access the upper mountain, and the Tajiri-zawa course is the one named run that appears in the resort’s own English-facing materials, a reference point in a trail network otherwise organized by difficulty band rather than individual course names.
Access is a multi-airport proposition rather than a single obvious gateway: Niigata Airport, the resort’s designated gateway, sits 126.5 km away, with Shinshu-Matsumoto Airport slightly closer at 117.6 km and Fukushima Airport a more distant third option at 138.6 km. Closer population centers are all within Gunma itself — Maebashi at 48.5 km and Takasaki at 54.8 km are the nearest sizeable cities, with Kiryū a third regional option at 58 km, making a Gunma-based trip, rather than a long day-drive from Tokyo, the more practical way to reach the resort. Tokyo itself is roughly three hours away by the resort’s own estimate, close enough for a determined day-tripper but distant enough that most visitors plan an overnight stay in Minakami rather than a same-day round trip.
Key stats
Official website — Last checked 2026-09-14
Lifts by type
| Type | Count |
|---|---|
| gondola | 1 |
| chair lift | 4 |
Runs by difficulty
| Difficulty | Distance |
|---|---|
| easy | 0.86 km |
| novice | 0.69 km |
| advanced | 1.27 km |
| intermediate | 3.8 km |
Maps
View official Mt.T by Hoshino Resorts (Tanigawadake Tenjindaira) trail map (image) →
Run & lift overview
Mt.T by Hoshino Resorts (Tanigawadake Tenjindaira): 10 runs, 5 lifts. Generated from community-mapped OpenStreetMap data, not Mt.T by Hoshino Resorts (Tanigawadake Tenjindaira)'s official map artwork. © OpenStreetMap contributors, OpenSkiMap (ODbL).
Typical conditions by month
Monthly conditions data for Mt.T by Hoshino Resorts (Tanigawadake Tenjindaira) is not yet available.
Lift tickets & passes
- Ikon Pass — 7 days, no blackout
- Ikon Base Pass — 5 days, no additional blackout
Getting there
Nearest airports
- Shinshu-Matsumoto Airport (MMJ) — 117.6 km straight-line
- Niigata Airport (KIJ) — 126.5 km straight-line
- Fukushima Airport (FKS) — 138.6 km straight-line
Nearest cities
- Maebashi, Gunma — 48.5 km straight-line
- Takasaki, Gunma — 54.8 km straight-line
- Kiryū, Gunma — 58 km straight-line
Also covered by
Where to stay
A dedicated lodging guide for Mt.T by Hoshino Resorts (Tanigawadake Tenjindaira) is not yet available.
Nearby resorts
- Okutone — 6 km straight-line, 399.6 m vertical
- Norn Minakami — 9 km straight-line, 391.2 m vertical
- Hodaigi Ski Resort — 11 km straight-line, 552.9 m vertical
- Minakami Kogen Ski Resort — 12 km straight-line, 393.1 m vertical
- Tambara Ski Park — 12 km straight-line, 312.4 m vertical
FAQ
- How big is Mt. T ski resort?
- Mt. T has a 746.2 m vertical drop between a 742.9 m base and 1,489.1 m summit. It's a compact area by international standards: 10 runs totaling 6.61 km, served by 5 lifts (a gondola and four chairlifts).
- Is Mt. T good for beginners?
- There's a modest beginner base — 0.86 km easy and 0.69 km novice, about 1.55 km combined out of 6.61 km total — with the gondola and chairlifts providing straightforward uphill access rather than requiring beginners to use surface lifts.
- Is Mt. T good for advanced skiers and backcountry terrain?
- The groomed advanced terrain is limited to 1.27 km, but the resort markets itself around backcountry access rather than piste mileage, citing slope angles up to 30-50 degrees in its backcountry zones versus 15-38 degrees on the maintained runs — a genuine draw for experienced off-piste skiers willing to hike or use the rope-way for access.
- What mountain is Mt. T on?
- The resort sits in Minakami Town, Gunma Prefecture, and operates under the name Tanigawadake Joch — a reference to Mount Tanigawa (Tanigawadake), the 1,977 m peak that rises above the ski area. Tanigawa is one of Japan's 100 famous mountains and is also notorious in Japanese mountaineering history for its rock-climbing fatality count, with over 800 recorded deaths on its cliff routes since the 1930s; that history belongs to the mountain's technical rock faces rather than the resort's own groomed runs, which top out well below the true summit.
- Which pass covers Mt. T?
- Mt. T is listed as a destination on both the Ikon Pass (7 days, no blackout dates) and the Ikon Base Pass (5 days, no additional blackout dates). Our data flags that the prefecture-level listing for this resort hasn't been independently confirmed, so it's worth double-checking current pass access directly with Ikon before booking.
- Who operates Mt. T?
- Mt. T is run by Hoshino Resorts, a Japanese hospitality operator, under the fuller marketing name 'Mt.T The Ultimate Powder Field.'
- What's the nearest airport to Mt. T?
- Niigata Airport (KIJ) is the resort's designated gateway at 126.5 km. Shinshu-Matsumoto Airport (MMJ) is slightly closer at 117.6 km, and Fukushima Airport (FKS) is a third option at 138.6 km.
- How much snow does Mt. T get, and when does the season run?
- The resort's own figures put average annual snowfall around 1,500 cm, and the 2026-27 season is scheduled to run from December 19 to April 4, roughly three and a half months of lift-served skiing.
Data sources
Last verified: 2026-09-15
Base facts from OpenSkiMap (ODbL), OpenStreetMap contributors, Wikidata (CC0), OurAirports (public domain) and GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). See /data-sources/.