Yuzawa Kogen/Gala Yuzawa/Ishiuchi Maruyama

The loudest praise is for the logistics: Gala Yuzawa has its own Shinkansen station and the trip from Tokyo takes a little over an hour. The snow is rated light and good, with onsen, sledging and snowshoe tours alongside the skiing. Neighbouring Ishiuchi Maruyama is praised even more readily for having no queues, courses for every level, cheap tickets and night skiing.

Crowds at Gala draw criticism: lines form even on weekdays, and at peak times people waited over an hour to get in and as long again for rentals. Beginners fare worst, since the learning terrain sits at the top of the gondola and can be steep, icy and busy, so an expensive pass goes largely unused. A thousand yen each for a locker and the onsen also irritated visitors, and at Ishiuchi the restaurants fill up at weekends.