Awasuno Ski Resort sits quietly on the river terrace of the Joganji River, which flows from the Northern Alps into the Sea of Japan. Despite facing two management crises, the ski bubble and the COVID-19 pandemic, the resort has regained its former vitality thanks to the efforts of local volunteers and the support of local residents and fans. The key man behind the restoration, to which he says he has "dedicated his life," is Awasuno native Matsui Kazuhiro. On a slightly cloudy day in March 2025, he gave us a tour of Japan's friendliest ski resort, with a 65-year history.
It used to be a stay-at-home ski resort
As we drove up the Joganji River, which flows from the Northern Alps, the white slope of the Tateyama Sanroku Ski Resort came into view on the right. But our destination wasn't here. Further along Prefectural Route 43 was Awasuno Ski Resort in Dontsuki. This small, local ski resort is located on a terrace on the left bank of the Joganji River in Awasuno, formerly part of Daisen Town, at an altitude of 600m, with two lifts. It
may be compact in size, but the slopes are impressive. Of the seven courses, five are for intermediate and advanced skiers, and there are six ungroomed areas scattered throughout. The photo below shows a dynamic course overlooked from the top of the slope. It's perfect for intermediate skiers, offering a long run of 1,000m.
The slope to the left as you head towards the first pair lift is the Snow Dolphin Course. With a maximum gradient of 32 degrees and a total length of 730m, it is a challenging slope that is the venue for the popular freeride competition "Chanmero Freeride."
"I was born here in Awasuno and grew up with this ski resort as my backyard. Back then, everyone ran a guesthouse from their own home, and it used to be a ski resort where you could stay overnight. Ours was fully booked for about 10 days from New Year's to New Year's with guests from the Kansai region. However, in preparation for the Nagano Olympics, the road network was improved, and it became possible to travel from the Kansai region to Nagano. Then, the number of guests gradually decreased, and the resort became more of a local ski resort rather than a stay-over resort, and everyone stopped running the guesthouse. This was also due to the aging population..."
These are the words of Kazuhiro Matsui, who was born in Awasuno in 1971. He left his previous job with an annual salary of 12 million yen to become the manager of the NPO as its first salaried full-time employee in the 2021-2022 season, and has since been devoting himself to the development of Awasuno Ski Resort every day.
Two comebacks
With the end of the ski bubble, Awasuno Tourism Development, the operator of the resort, decided to withdraw in 2002. A group of local volunteers decided to take over operations in order to keep the resort running. However, in 2020, due to a lack of snow caused by a warm winter and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, NPO Awasuno was dissolved and the resort was forced to close. At the time, Matsui was living in Urawa City, Saitama Prefecture, and working for a private corporation in Tokyo affiliated with the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
"I was shocked when I heard that. Even when I was in Tokyo, I would return to my hometown on weekends to run the local ski club and continue coaching. If the ski resort disappeared, it felt like the light of Awasuno would go out. If things continued like this, local children would have no base to ski. They could practice at the ski resort next door, but I would prefer to let them practice at the ski resort with the clubhouse."
Matsui's own experiences overlapped with this. He started going to Awasu Ski Resort at the age of three, and was passionate about alpine skiing throughout elementary, middle, and high school, becoming a competitive athlete who even competed in national championships during his middle school years.
Photo: dashimasu
For the sake of the community and the local children, my desire to keep the school going at all costs grew stronger and stronger.
"At the time, I told my children, 'Don't worry, I'll definitely keep this place.' I felt like I would give my life to protect this place."
Despite the travel ban imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Matsui and other parents gathered at an izakaya to search for ways to keep the resort open. He and his friends then formed the "Association to Support the Revival of Awasu Ski Resort."
A restart supported by local residents
After forming the "Awasu Ski Resort Revival Support Group," Matsui's first move was to have volunteers cut the grass.
"We realized that we couldn't open for business unless we cut the grass on the slopes, so we placed an ad in the local newspaper saying that we should cut the grass as a way of showing our gratitude to this historic mountain. We were looking for volunteers to pick up trash and cut the grass. We had no gasoline or machinery, so we asked people to bring their own tools. We thought that around 50 people would show up, but 200 volunteers gathered, and over four months we had a total of over 500 people."
Matsui had planned to continue to keep an eye on the ski resort, commuting back and forth from Tokyo by Shinkansen, as he had done up until then. However, he ended up taking early retirement from his company.
"At the same time, my company asked me to transfer to Wakayama. At that moment, I thought there must be a god. He was telling me to quit. I resolved to pour my passion into rebuilding the ski resort."
Bringing new excitement to the slopes
In 2020, a crowdfunding campaign to raise operational funds raised 6.62 million yen from 429 people, against a target of 2 million yen. In order to meet such high expectations, Matsui decided to visit Awasu Ski Resort every day, objectively observing the flow of customers, observing from a bird's eye view, breaking down existing concepts, and trying something new.
"What I value is running the business from the customer's perspective. I take the initiative to listen to customers, put their requests into practice right away, and capture their hearts."
"For example, we have an event called 'Woof-Woof Paradise' where you can ride the lift and slide down the slopes with your dog on a specific date. We get advice from an acquaintance who is a groomer, and we are proceeding while managing the risks.
"I thought it wouldn't be a problem for small and medium-sized dogs because their owners would be able to carry them on the ride, but once we started doing that, we started seeing larger dogs who couldn't be carried on the chair. We have to stop the lift every time we want to put a dog on the chair, but other customers haven't complained, and in fact everyone is happy to watch over them."
This passionate management philosophy of understanding needs from the user's perspective and actively taking on new challenges has paid off, with last season (2024-2025) seeing the highest number of visitors in the past 15 years.
When trying something new, people tend to start by thinking about why it can't be done, but Matsui takes a positive approach and steadily works on what he can do.
To cut costs, the club is closed on weekdays in March towards the end of the season, but there was a night game for one day. It was dubbed "Japan's darkest night game."
"If there is snow like last year, there are customers who want to ski for even just an hour or two. So we thought we'd try a night skiing session on Friday nights from 7pm to around 11pm. Before we did it, we announced on social media that we wouldn't do it unless there were at least 51 people. The reason for this is that it costs 51,000 yen to lease the electric lanterns that will be used for construction lighting. Tickets cost 1,000 yen per person, so we need a minimum of 51 people.
We ended up receiving 100 applications. At the same time, anyone who donated 2,000 yen would be taken to the top of the slope in a snow groomer and have a commemorative photo taken! We offered a shuttle service.
I drove the snow groomer back and forth from 7 PM to 10 PM. This was for the next day's opening, so it was a good use of my time and energy. I was just transporting customers and taking photos while I was at work. But for customers, that one day is important because the previous year's lack of snow meant they weren't able to ski as well as they could. We had quite a few visitors that night." Unfortunately, on
Saturday, the next day when the resort was open, it was pouring rain and no customers showed up. He and the staff laughed and said it was a good thing they had night skiing.
Awasu Ski Resort can also be accessed by car or by public transportation, such as trains and buses, from Tateyama Station. Last season, the resort teamed up with a railway company to offer a one-day lift ticket for adults for 4,500 yen, allowing round-trip travel from Toyama Station. They also implemented a strategy to attract more visitors by essentially making transportation from Toyama Station free.
The lack of snow due to the warm winter is perhaps the biggest threat to ski resorts. However, they believe that this can be overcome to some extent with ingenuity and ingenuity.
"Last year (2011/2012 season) was predicted to be a warm winter even before the season began. So, we asked the snow removal company to collect the snow in one place, even if it meant taking up half the parking lot. On New Year's Day, we managed to keep only the kids' park open using the collected snow. The strategy was to use the snow removal costs to make snow. Then, around 40 foreign technical intern trainees, who had never seen snow before, showed up, rented snowwear, took photos, and played. It was a great activity in itself."
The friendliest ski resort in Japan
Awasu Ski Resort's concept is "Japan's friendliest ski resort." The slopes are wide and gentle at the bottom, and the staff are kind, too. The staff have a strict rule against getting angry with customers.
"We aim to be the perfect ski resort for beginners. We see many students in their 20s snowboarding or skiing for the first time using Yuki Maji * , and our staff carefully guides them through getting comfortable in their rental boots. If they experience pain on the top of their foot or pain on their first try, they'll likely never wear skis again. Whether they're comfortable or painful on their first try determines their future." They
don't get angry or scold them for riding the lift or taking a break on the slopes. They just don't know what to do. That's why they just teach them gently.
*Yuki Maji: A service provided by Recruit Co., Ltd. that is part of the "Maji☆bu" project, offering free or discounted lift tickets to approximately 130 ski resorts across the country to young people aged 19 to 22.
I don't want to lose a place that holds fond memories.
On the day of our interview, junior ski practice was taking place. Matsui sincerely hopes that these children will still be coming here 10 or 20 years from now.
"I receive many messages like this: 'I live in Tokyo now. I was taken care of there 50 years ago, I think. It would be sad to see this place of memories disappear, so I would like to help.' I'm sure the children skiing here today will feel the same way decades from now, when the resort faces a crisis. They will return to this place of memories. This cycle is important, especially with the declining birthrate. It is important for both the industry and the community that the place where people first began playing in the snow remains."
Matsui believes that increasing the NPO's membership is key to its continuity. If they can attract "Awasu fans" throughout the year and stabilize membership fees, they won't have to worry about running the resort even if there isn't snow in the winter. Going forward, they are exploring what kind of year-round initiatives they can implement beyond skiing.
"In industry, the key is to get people to step in. That's why we stay open during the green season. To be honest, we don't make much money, but it's a way to revitalize the green season and also a promotion to attract new winter customers.
Ski resorts only make the news in the winter. But if they're open in the summer, local TV stations and newspapers will pick them up, and when people hear about them all year round, they'll think, "Well, I guess I'll go once winter comes." Thanks to that, I think this season's visitor numbers are over 200% higher than last year. We ran out of the rice we had secured just a month after opening."
What dreams does Matsui, who has made a major change in his life and given his all to revitalize his local community, have?
"My dream is to return to being a salaryman. That will only come true when the reconstruction here is successful. I want to develop the ski resort as a hub for the local community and make Awasuno an attractive place that makes people want to live here."
Supported by local residents and NPO members, the ski resort continues to grow flexibly, using its ingenuity to keep costs down while incorporating new and fun things. It feels like Awasuno is the ideal example of a small ski resort surviving as a healthy public space in Japan's future.
This season, the park opened on Saturday, December 13th. Incidentally, this season too, the park is planning to hold the "darkest night game in Japan" and fireworks (Tateyama Foothills Snow Festival) simultaneously on Valentine's night, Saturday, February 14th, 2026. Be sure to check it out!
Photo: Daigo Onozuka
Information
Awasuno Ski Resort
1868 Usuwawari, Motomiya, Toyama City, 930-1451
Official website: https://awasuno.com/winter