Dec 02 2024 47 mins 1
Episode 40 takes us to Japan’s northern island of Japan to speak with John Greiner, founder of Iwanai Resort. Blessed with Hokkaido’s legendary powder and without the crowds of nearby Niseko, Iwanai is regarded as Japan’s best cat skiing and snowboarding mountain.
While the lower resort is open to the public, it is Iwanai’s cat operation which has put it on the map as Japan’s best. Mount Iwanai stands 1086 metres / 3562 feet above sea level and offers a diverse range of terrain including open bowls, old growth trees and retired courses of a consistent pitch of 20° to 40°. The cat operation is limited to 24 seats per day with the option of renting out a cat for private use. Delivering guests an average of around 4700 metres vertical of untracked powder each day, their goal is to give skiers and boarders the best day of their lives.
John and I discuss the resort and cat operation in detail along with why Hokkaido’s powder is rated so highly in the first half of the interview, before discussing the village and accommodation, reasons to visit Iwanai in green season and more in the second half of our chat. For more information, visit Iwanai’s website or follow them on Instagram and Facebook.
Outland Japan is a bi-weekly podcast hosted by Peter Carnell - a freelance tour guide based in northern Nagano – that transports you to rural, regional and the wilds of Japan in pursuit of stories that lie outside the neon hum of Tokyo and golden trimmings of Kyoto. Stories of travel, life and culture beyond the big cities. Follow the show on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Please note, prior to October 2024, Outland Japan was named Snow Country Stories Japan.
