I visited Madarao Kogen for the first time in awhile last weekend. The snow conditions were good. The website has a good coupon for a full day all-mountain (Madarao + Tangram) plus lunch. This coupon was nice, since most of the area I enjoy is on the Tangram side.
As a boarder, I noticed how I was outnumbered by skiiers. Still, the resort was much less crowded (for a Saturday) than places like Happone and Nozawa. There are a few key runs - with hardly any people on them - that made it worth it. One is powder wave (kind of on the border of the two mountains, you need to use a Madarao