ANA InterContinental Appi Kogen Resort, an IHG Hotel

A New Kind of Ski Lodge on Tohoku's Softest Snow

Appi Kogen has drawn skiers north from Tokyo for decades, but until 2022 the resort had never had a true luxury address to match its slopes. The ANA InterContinental Appi Kogen Resort closed that gap: an all-suite, all-Club InterContinental property built from scratch on the mountain's celebrated powder, reachable in a little over two hours by Shinkansen. Washi paper traces snow and cloud across the bedheads, a "Dragon Eye" art installation and a 400-year-old beech tree anchor the public spaces, and a deliberately darkened entrance hallway plays like a walk through the forest before the light of the Club Lounge opens up.

Why It Works

We chose this resort because it is the rare Japanese ski property built for guests who want the run of the mountain and a proper hotel in the same stay. Every room carries Club InterContinental status, meaning lounge access and a level of service uncommon at altitude, and the design commits fully to its setting rather than importing a generic alpine look. Two working onsen and a spa built around imported European treatments round out a stay that does not ask guests to choose between skiing hard and resting well.

Why This Location

Appi Kogen sits inside Iwate's mountain interior, part of the wider Hachimantai range, and the resort's slopeside position means skis are on and off within minutes of the room. The Shinkansen connection through Morioka keeps the journey from Tokyo practical for a long weekend, and the same terrain that fills with what locals call "miracle" powder in winter turns to birch forest and open trails in summer, when the resort's golf course and walking routes take over from the lifts.

Fast Facts

• Prix: €€€€

• Vibe: alpine, minimalist, unmistakably Japanese

• Chambres: 38, all suites, Club InterContinental category, including a 300 sqm Presidential Suite

• Best For: skiers who want ski-in ease, couples after an onsen-led escape

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: closing the day in the outdoor IWA onsen with the slopes still visible in the dark

• Dining: SHIRATSUYU for farm-to-table Japanese-French cooking, MOCCO for Japanese spirits

• Amenities: ski-in/ski-out access, two traditional onsen (IWA, HINOKI), LAVILLA SPA with shiatsu and Elemis facials, golf course within 3 km, valet parking

• Attractions: Appi Kogen's ski slopes at the door, the wider Hachimantai onsen trail, Morioka Shinkansen station roughly 2 hours from Tokyo

Suites Designed Around the View

Every one of the 38 rooms and suites faces the mountain through floor-to-ceiling windows, and the Club InterContinental category means each comes with lounge privileges rarely offered outside major cities. The Presidential Suite, at over 300 square meters, adds a private kitchen, a separate dining room, an office and its own viewing terrace, a scale unusual for a ski property of this size. Throughout, the washi-paper bedheads and quiet, natural materials keep the interiors closer to a mountain retreat than a standard resort footprint.

An Onsen and Spa Circuit Built for After-Ski

Two traditional baths, IWA outdoor and HINOKI indoor, give guests a genuine hot-spring routine rather than a token wellness gesture, and both are positioned to keep the mountain in view while soaking. LAVILLA SPA APPI adds shiatsu massage and Elemis facials for guests who want treatment-room wellness alongside the onsen, and the fitness centre and sauna round out a stay built to absorb a full day of skiing without leaving guests looking for recovery elsewhere.

Getting There and When to Go

The resort is built for the Shinkansen traveler: Morioka Station connects directly to Tokyo in roughly two hours, with a further transfer to Appi Kogen itself. Winter remains the obvious season, when the resort's slopeside position and onsen combination are hardest to match elsewhere in Japan, but the same setting turns to white birch forest, golf and walking trails once the snow clears, making this one of the few Appi properties worth booking outside ski season as well.