Amihari Onsen Ski Resort
Overview
Amihari Onsen Ski Resort markets itself under the tagline “Ski and Hot Springs Resorts in the Sky,” a nod to its onsen, Yakushi-no-yu, which sits about a one-minute walk from the ski facilities, close enough that season pass holders get a ¥100 discount on day-use bathing. The resort’s own trail information breaks its terrain into named courses by difficulty: Karamatsu Slope, a 600-meter run with a 20-degree maximum pitch for beginners; Birch Slope at 1,300 meters and Twin Forest Course at 1,000 meters with a 10-degree maximum for intermediate skiers; and Slalom Barn, a steeper 1,800-meter run reaching 37 degrees at its maximum gradient, for advanced skiers. Site materials describe the overall terrain split as roughly 35% beginner, 50% intermediate, and 15% advanced by that internal classification, and the operator promotes Amihari as the highest-elevation ski area in Iwate Prefecture.
Independent trail data puts the resort’s measured stats at a 763.6-meter base and 1,324.4-meter summit, a vertical drop of 560.8 meters served by five chairlifts across 11 mapped runs totaling 7.94 kilometers. Of that distance, 4.17 kilometers are graded intermediate, 2.73 kilometers easy, and 1.04 kilometers advanced. Amihari is also one of the few resorts in this area with multi-resort pass coverage: it accepts both the Indy Base Pass and the Indy+ Pass, each good for two all-day or all-night lift tickets per resort.
Morioka, Iwate’s prefectural capital, is closer still at roughly 23 kilometers, while Akita and Ōshū both sit beyond 70 kilometers away. Iwate Hanamaki Airport is nearest by air at roughly 48 kilometers, followed by Odate Noshiro and Akita airports under 66 kilometers, with Aomori Airport serving as the more distant regional gateway near 103 kilometers.
Measured against the resort’s own four named courses, the independently surveyed 11 runs and 7.94 kilometers average out to roughly 720 meters apiece, and the five-lift network works out to about 1.6 kilometers of piste per lift. That scale keeps Amihari firmly in the small-resort category even among its close Iwate neighbors, but the claimed highest-elevation status in the prefecture and the slope-side onsen give it a reason to draw visitors beyond pure terrain size. Its 560.8-meter vertical lands within a meter or two of Iwate Kogen Snow Park’s and Oguna Hotaka’s, two other small resorts covered in this comparison set, even though Amihari maps fewer total runs than either — a sign that vertical drop and run count don’t necessarily track together at this scale. Unlike those two, Amihari’s terrain leans intermediate rather than easy, with just over half its mapped distance at that grade, a split that fits its own named-course descriptions better than a simple easy-versus-advanced framing would. Combined with the onsen a minute’s walk from the lifts, Amihari reads as a mountain built for a relaxed day of intermediate cruising followed by a soak, rather than a resort chasing acreage or steep terrain as its selling point.
Key stats
Official website — Last checked 2026-09-13
Lifts by type
| Type | Count |
|---|---|
| chair lift | 5 |
Runs by difficulty
| Difficulty | Distance |
|---|---|
| easy | 2.73 km |
| advanced | 1.04 km |
| intermediate | 4.17 km |
Maps
View official Amihari Onsen Ski Resort trail map (image) →
Run & lift overview
Amihari Onsen Ski Resort: 12 runs, 5 lifts. Reflects OpenStreetMap's run and lift mapping for Amihari Onsen Ski Resort, not the resort's own trail map graphic. © OpenStreetMap contributors, OpenSkiMap (ODbL).
Typical conditions by month
Monthly conditions data for Amihari Onsen Ski Resort is not yet available.
Lift tickets & passes
- Indy Base Pass — 2 All-Day or All-Night tickets per resort; blackout dates apply (exact 26/27 holiday blackout dates not yet finalized as of verified_date)
- Indy+ Pass — 2 All-Day or All-Night tickets per resort, no blackout dates
Getting there
Nearest airports
- Iwate Hanamaki Airport (HNA) — 47.6 km straight-line
- Odate Noshiro Airport (ONJ) — 62.9 km straight-line
- Akita Airport (AXT) — 65.7 km straight-line
Nearest cities
- Morioka, Iwate — 23.2 km straight-line
- Akita, Akita — 71.1 km straight-line
- Ōshū, Iwate — 79.2 km straight-line
Also covered by
Where to stay
A dedicated lodging guide for Amihari Onsen Ski Resort is not yet available.
Nearby resorts
- Iwate Kogen Snow Park — 3 km straight-line, 561.6 m vertical
- Shizukuishi Ski Resort — 5 km straight-line, 710.6 m vertical
- Hachimantai Resort Panorama Ski Area — 7 km straight-line, 417.7 m vertical
- Hachimantai Resort Shimokura Ski Area — 8 km straight-line, 518.8 m vertical
- Tazawako Ski Resort — 16 km straight-line, 596.4 m vertical
FAQ
- Is there an onsen at Amihari Onsen Ski Resort?
- Yes. The resort's onsen, Yakushi-no-yu, is about a one-minute walk from the ski slopes, and season pass holders receive a ¥100 discount on day-use bathing there.
- What lift passes work at Amihari Onsen Ski Resort?
- Amihari accepts both the Indy Base Pass and the Indy+ Pass, each providing two all-day or all-night lift tickets per resort; the Indy+ version drops the blackout dates that apply to the base pass.
- What is the vertical drop at Amihari Onsen Ski Resort?
- 560.8 meters, from a 763.6-meter base to a 1,324.4-meter summit, served by five chairlifts.
- How is Amihari's terrain split between difficulty levels?
- The resort's own materials describe a roughly 35% beginner, 50% intermediate, and 15% advanced split, with named runs including the beginner-friendly Karamatsu Slope and the steeper, 37-degree Slalom Barn for advanced skiers.
- How long are the runs at Amihari Onsen Ski Resort?
- Eleven mapped runs total 7.94 kilometers, led by 4.17 kilometers of intermediate terrain, 2.73 kilometers easy, and 1.04 kilometers advanced.
- What's the nearest city to Amihari Onsen Ski Resort?
- Morioka, Iwate's capital, is closest at roughly 23 kilometers, while Akita and Ōshū both sit beyond 70 kilometers away.
- What's the closest airport to Amihari Onsen Ski Resort?
- Iwate Hanamaki Airport, roughly 48 kilometers away, is nearest, with Odate Noshiro and Akita airports both under 66 kilometers and Aomori serving as the more distant regional gateway.
- How long is the average run at Amihari Onsen Ski Resort?
- With 11 runs across 7.94 km, the average length is about 720 meters, and the five chairlifts work out to roughly 1.6 km of piste per lift, consistent with the resort's own named-course breakdown of four distinct graded runs.
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/.