Rusutsu Resort 6 Day Snow Forecast

John-Paul from Australia writes:

I've been to Rusutsu twice now (Jan 07 and 09) and love the place. The off-piste skiing is steep enough for me and very, very deep. Most off-piste runs end up at the bottom of a chair, so you can explore with the confidence that you won't get lost. Most of the runs off Mt Isola are carved through the trees. You have the choice of skiing on the piste, or ducking into the trees. When the legs get tired you can get shoot back onto the piste for a rest!

The chairs are well connected with no flat spots - great for boarders! The longest lift queue I have experienced in two trips is five minutes and that was bad for Rusutsu standards! Virtually all the lifts are covered chairs or gondolas, so we never got very cold.

The Rusutsu Resort Hotel is great novelty for kids - wave pool, water slides, amusement park rides, ice carvings, souvenir shopping, etc. Adults, however, may find it tacky and the restaurant food uninteresting. The ski in/ski out location is awesome.

A point to note, when we visited Rusutsu, it did not have English speaking ski school for children, so we had to ski with our seven year old or pay for private English speaking ski lessons. This was an expensive activity. It may have changed now, but ensure you check beforehand.

All in all, it is a magical place and I would recommend it to anyone.

2011-10-11