Located in Yamagata on Japan’s main island, Honshu, the key to summer in Gassan is the snow it receives in winter. It’s not unusual to see up to eight metres of snow fall on its glacier during the winter, meaning Gassan doesn’t really become rideable until April, and the season runs through until late July.
While there are only five lifts, there is almost 1000m of vertical descent, with varied and uncrowded runs, and it has the cultural delights, great food and fun times you would expect with any trip to Japan.