Rusutsu Resort Reviews

We did a couple of day trips to Rusutsu while staying in Kutchan town. We came for the tree runs and we definitely found what we were looking for. There seems to be nowhere off limits here and you can go anywhere in the trees between the lifts. Lots of deep powder and some decent steep parts. After the powder is tracked out the groomed runs hold up very well here so you can still bomb the pistes in late afternoon. Mount Isola on the east side only has reds, blacks and trees so the crowds stay away even on a busy day. There are so many different routes through the wide tree areas that you won’t get bored. And there’s no winding green runs back to the lift or flat spots so laps are quick. It’s also hard to lose your buddies as once you’ve chosen a tree run everything pretty much funnels down to one lift. The west mountain has all the green runs, resort facilities and luxury hotels but we didn’t even go over there as you can drive up instead of taking the gondola and park on the east side. If you dream of untracked runs and being alone in the trees in Japan, this is where you’ll find it. Will definitely be back here soon.

• Great layout that keeps the beginners separate, acres of tree runs, lots of easy-access deep dry powder, minimal lift lines, quality pistes
• Can be hard to find a lunch spot with space on the east side, no real traditional village and not much nightlife (apart from the resort base), good value hotels sell out as there aren’t many in resort

Rutsusu was a lot of fun, there's plenty of decent tree riding, some nice and steep. The pistes are well looked after but do tend to flatten out low down but that's normal for Japan. The views are stunning, Yōtei, Shiribetsu and Lake Tōya can all be seen on a clear day.

• Lots of accessible and varied tree runs
• Not to much for advanced riders on the west mountain