Tazawako, Akita たざわ湖スキー場

#Published

This is one of my first posts about a resort I’ve visited. I’m still working on what would be interesting to write about. Tazawako is such a wacko name. It translates to Lake Tazawa, but I’m glad they called it Tazawako. This lake is in Akita Prefecture. I’ve never been to Akita Prefecture, and even having come here, I don’t feel.I can justifiably tell people I’ve been to Akita.

Tazawako reminds me of Lake Tahoe, not only they sound similar, but on the mountain, you get a beautiful view of the lake. Towards the afternoon, the lake shimmers with the low golden hour light. Just beautiful.

I hadn’t heard of this place before, but it has shown up in my Japan Snow Map data as something that was close to where I was staying in Shizukuishi, a drive under an hour east. It wasn’t one that was on my hit list for Tohoku, but seeing it was reachable, I couldn’t resist making that easy drive.

The resort was a decent size by Japan standards, likely the biggest in Akita. Six lifts cover the mountain, though one was out of action (a common theme that I’ll talk about in the future). Six is on the top-end of resorts in Japan.

Scattered around though are evidence of the age, this lovely hand painted ski maps were placed at the top of one of the lifts.

The day I went wasn’t a powder day, but a good time going around the mountain, the runs connect well and lots of options to explore. It seemed like the day I went, the only food option was the food court at the bottom. It was huge, just like their food portions. One order could easily feed three people. The highlight though was a shoes-off cafe that served up a nice coffee and views to work from.

I’m surprised I’ve never heard of this place, it ought to be more well known, with the Shinkansen station close by. If you’re even in the mood to venture out to Akita, Tazawako is one of my recs.