Our 132nd entry in this blog is our first ever trip to a ski resort as a family. Papa Dave and I have been to several ski trips with our friends and we want Ate Rei and Sai to try it. And guess what? This is their very first snow experience. Yay!

This is the Prince Snow Resort in Karuizawa, Nagano, Japan. The Karuizawa Ski Resort, also known as the Karuizawa Prince Hotel Ski Resort, is renowned for being very readily accessible from Tokyo, being just over an hour from Tokyo or Ueno via bullet train. Here are the kids and Papa Dave so ready to dive in, I mean, slide in with their sleds.

Beginners could head to the Karuizawa Prince Hotel Ski Resort (or KaruSki for short) if they were very short on time and wanted a ski resort that’s close to Tokyo. This is considered to be a beginners’ ski resort. That is just perfect for us, we don’t plan to be pros anyway 🙂

We just love to enjoy the snow! Our very first snow! 🙂 It’s just like playing in the sand… Making sand castles but with snow. And it’s difficult to touch it as it will numb your hands the longer it stays. Isn’t that amazing? 🙂

And of course, who goes into snow without making a snowman? 🙂

And not just snow play is in here, there are also bouncing castles and rubber slides which Ate Rei and little Sai had the most fun with.

We also tried their sightseeing lift for us to reach the topmost part of the resort and see the entire (not sure if it really is entire) place in Karuizawa.

Karuizawa is one of the first ski resorts in Japan to open each season (early November), due to extensive snow making facilities. So if you want to try ski or snowboarding in early winter, even if there was not much of actual snow, this place is a good start.

Karuizawa Prince Hotel Ski Resort can be quickly accessed via train from Tokyo. It’s co-located with a big shopping mall, so when you get bored with the skiing after 10 minutes you can go shopping. Definitely a win win!

Rather than selecting a prized mountain to put a ski resort on, the terrain for the Karuizawa Prince Hotel Ski Resort was selected because it was close to the train station. It is just a walking distance from the train station, you can even see the wide slope from the station which makes you so excited to head to the resort immediately as soon as you arrive.

Not a lot of people are here, since not a lot of Japanese people are beginners. This makes it a perfect place for families with kids, specially the ones like us, who did not even bother to ski or try snowboarding, we just want to touch snow. lol 🙂

Just look at this little boy, our little PaSaiSai, taking his time and enjoying the snow. Lying around, sliding here and there, making holes and pretending as his hideout. 🙂

The ski resort has a handful of eating options on the hill as well as a restaurant at the Prince Hotel East. The ski school offers private lessons in English, and rental equipment is available at the Karuizawa Ski Center and the Prince Hotel. For us, we had our lunch at the huge Prince Shopping Outlet which is just walking distance from the resort itself.

This might be our go to ski resort and will easily be our favorite one, until we know how to do actual ski and snowboard. Papa Dave and I tried it several times and still it is very difficult for us. hehe… I hope Ate Rei and Sai will easily learn how to do it.

Ate Rei’s favorite sport now is snow sledding. 🙂
Here is also a view of the cabins at the foot of the resort slope for you to rest or stay overnight.

And that was our one day visit to our very first snow resort experience. We hope to go back next time. I wonder when can that be? 🙂
Some descriptions from https://www.powderhounds.com/Japan/Honshu/Karuizawa.aspx