Inawashiro (or Snow Paradise Inawashiro) is a ski area located on the eastern slopes of Mt Bandai in Inawashiro Town in the northern region of Fukushima Prefecture.
This ski area has three named sections, Base Area and Sky Area (which until 2023 were collectively known as the Chuo Area), and the Minero Area. The Base Area and Minero Area each have various base facilities and parking. The Sky Area and Base Area can both be reached from the Minero Area via connecting runs, and the Minero Number 3 pair lift starts in the Base Area and ends in the Minero Area. A shuttle bus also connects the two base areas by road.
The snow on a few runs at Inawashiro is left ungroomed.
Inawashiro has a unique 'Fan Club' system. Members can ride the lifts on weekdays for free (0 yen!) and at half price at weekends... and membership is also free. It almost seems too good to be true!
For the 2024-2025 season, the ski area appears to be starting to call itself Zekkei Inawashiro (絶景・猪苗代スキー場). 'Zekkei' basically means 'spectacular views/scenery'. At the time of the most recent update in late November 2024, the official site is still split on the old/new naming. We will see how that develops before potentially adjusting the English name on SnowJapan, and for now the listing will remain as just Inawashiro.
Mountain
statistics
Top/peak (m)
1255
Vertical (m)
555
Bottom/base (m)
675
Beginner runs (%)
50
Intermediate runs (%)
35
Advanced runs (%)
15
Longest course (m)
3150
Steepest slope (°)
34
Number of courses
18
Ski lifts
9
Ropeway cable car
0
Gondola
0
Quad lift (4-person)
3
Triple lift (3-person)
0
Pair lift (2-person)
6
Single lift (1-person)
0
Surface lift
0
Information
Normal season dates
Inawashiro usually plans to be open from mid-December until mid-March. See below for the actual opening and closing dates in recent seasons.
Normal opening dates
Inawashiro is normally open from 8:30am until 4:30pm during the daytime.
Night skiing
Night skiing is on Saturdays from 20th December 2025 until 14th March 2026 (and also on 30th and 31st December 2025; 1st, 2nd, 11th January; and 22nd February 2026). The Number 1 quad lift operates for night skiing. 4:00pm until 10:00pm.
Early skiing ('Unkai ski') is from 6:30am until 8:30am on Sundays from 18th January until 15th March 2026. The Minero Number 1 lift operates for early skiing.
Park
There are two parks at Inawashiro: Sky Park and Base Park.
Families & children
The Kids Park is located by the Hayama Number 2 Family lift. Open from 9:00am until 4:00pm daily.
Lessons
Ski and snowboard lessons are available at Inawashiro.
Rental
Ski and snowboard equipment & wear rental is available.
Lift ticket prices
2025-2026 season
Information for the upcoming 2026-2027 season will be added by December 2026
1 day (visitor)
Adult: 6,600 yen
Child: 3,200 yen
1 day weekend (Inaski member)
Adult: 3,300 yen
Child: 1,600 yen
1 day weekday (Inaski member)
0 yen
Long day (visitor)
Adult: 10,200 yen
Child: 5,000 yen
Long day (Inaski member)
Adult: 5,100 yen
Child: 2,500 yen
4 hours (visitor)
Adult: 5,600 yen Child: 2,700 yen
Inawashiro runs a rather unique member system. If you join their Inaski fan club, lift tickets are substantially cheaper... and even free on weekdays!
For example, a normal 1 day adult lift ticket for 'visitors' is 6,600 yen. If you are an Inaski club member, that is just 3,300 yen on weekends... and 0 yen on normal weekdays.
Membership is free and there are other benefits too. It might sound a bit complicated, but it seems like a good idea, especially if you can visit on weekdays!
Consecutive 2 day and 3 day tickets are also available.
Historical snow depth data
The following ski season and official snow depth data have been independently compiled by SnowJapan for publication on this website. Where available, the data is updated annually after each ski season.
First and last dates of recent seasons
2025-2026 season: 19th December - 22nd March (94 days)
2024-2025 season: 20th December - 23rd March (94 days)
2023-2024 season: 23rd December - 24th March (93 days)
2022-2023 season: 23rd December - 21st March (89 days)
2021-2022 season: 19th December - 27th March (99 days)
Deepest recorded snow depth
2025-2026 season: 90cm on various days from late January to mid-February
2024-2025 season: 290cm on 10th-25th February
2023-2024 season: 60cm on 16th-20th January, 24th January - 1st February, 6th-14th February
2022-2023 season: 160cm on 3rd-4th February
2021-2022 season: 180cm on 2nd-3rd March
2020-2021 season: 180cm on 9th-14th, 18th-20th February
2019-2020 season: 70cm on 12th-13th February
2018-2019 season: 150cm on 30th January - 6th February
2017-2018 season: 150cm on 13th February - 2nd March
2016-2017 season: 180cm on 12th-20th February
2015-2016 season: 120cm on 13th-14th February
2014-2015 season: 190cm on 15th-21st February, 13th-14th March
Resources
Weather & snowfall (Japan Meteorological Agency) [open in new window]
Introduction to the region
Fukushima Prefecture is the southernmost prefecture of the Tohoku region of northern Japan. Fukushima Prefecture borders Miyagi Prefecture and Yamagata Prefecture to the north, Niigata Prefecture to the west, Gunma Prefecture to the southwest, and Tochigi Prefecture and Ibaraki Prefecture to the south.
The majority of the ski areas in Fukushima Prefecture are in the northern region around Mt. Bandai and north of Lake Inawashiro (the fourth-largest lake in Japan), as well as in the western region of the prefecture.
Inawashiro is one of 3 ski areas currently operating in Inawashiro Town. (There are several other ski areas in the town that are currently closed).
About the information on this page
SnowJapan independently researches, checks and updates the information on this page at least once each year, in the lead-up to every ski season. We also update it whenever we become aware of other changes. The information published on SnowJapan is based on independent research using official Japanese-language sources and is not supplied by ski areas. If you are planning to visit a ski area, we recommend checking the official ski area website for the latest operational information. We take great care to keep the information on SnowJapan accurate and up to date. However, SnowJapan accepts no responsibility for decisions made based on information published on this website.
Learn more about how we research, check and update information on SnowJapan.