Yokoteyama-Shibutoge

Altitude and snow earn the praise: this is Japan's highest lift-served skiing, so the snow stays dry and cold when everything lower has turned to slush, and the season runs into May. Reviews rave about the panorama of the Japan Alps and Mount Fuji and the snow monsters near the summit. Queues are effectively absent: one visitor reported not waiting once over Christmas. The pistes are wide and gentle, and the summit hut has a bakery above the clouds.

Weather and equipment are the weak spots. When it blows, lifts shut without warning or refunds, and the Shibutoge side does not open in strong wind. The chairs are exposed and slow, so the ride is punishing in the cold, and the gap between base and summit temperatures is severe. The terrain is monotonous, with almost nothing steep or wooded. Facilities are spartan, with complaints about a shortage of toilets, poor service and little English.