Muica

Muika Onsen Hotel sits right at the base of the slopes, with direct access to the lifts. It's a comfortable, family-friendly hotel with a natural hot-spring bath, rooms suitable for families and groups, and a restaurant serving local dishes. The rice is Minamiuonuma Koshihikari, often called the best rice in Japan, and you'll taste the difference. It's the obvious place to stay, especially with kids.

For more choice, stay in Muikamachi town, about 10 minutes away. There are a few business hotels near the station and some ryokan in the surrounding hot-spring areas. Echigo-Yuzawa, about 25 minutes south, has a much bigger range of onsen hotels and restaurants. Our Echigo-Yuzawa accommodation guide lays out the options.

The No.1 quad and three pair chairs serve the hill, with the main slope spreading out wide in front of the center lodge. Falcon and Swallow are the main intermediate runs, wide and steady at around 20 degrees, ideal for big carving turns. Seagull runs along a ridge toward the base, narrower and more technical, and Stork branches off it for a short, steeper pitch. Beginners have the long, winding Canary run (1.6 km at a gentle 6 degrees), plus Bluebird and the lower Falcon slope, with a small terrain park and wave features to play on.

The off-piste field is the highlight. The three top runs, Dynamic, Condor and Eagle, are left ungroomed, and a short hike-up zone lets you climb to the highest point. Dynamic drops straight down a 33 degree pitch, Condor is a wide, open face perfect for powder turns, and Eagle runs along the edge with one groomed lane for getting out. After a storm, this is where the action is.

From the top of Eagle, experienced skiers can also access a permit-based mountain route outside the resort's managed area. You'll need to sign an application at the ticket office and wear an armband (with a ¥1,000 deposit). It usually opens from mid-January once the snowpack is deep enough. This is genuine backcountry terrain, so carry avalanche gear, ride with a partner and check conditions before you go.

Snow here is plentiful but often heavy because of the low altitude, so fat skis help. Midwinter is the best time to visit.

By train: take the Joetsu Shinkansen to Echigo-Yuzawa, about 80 minutes from Tokyo, then the JR Joetsu line to Muikamachi (about 20 minutes). A free shuttle bus runs from Muikamachi Station to the resort.

By car: take the Kan-Etsu Expressway to Muikamachi interchange, then follow Route 253 toward Tokamachi for about 3 km. It takes about 5 minutes. Winter tyres are essential. Parking is free, with space for about 500 cars.

Families with young kids are well served: the onsen hotel, free kids snow park, indoor kids room, gentle runs and free station shuttle make Muica one of the easiest family resorts in the Uonuma area. Beginners and improving intermediates will love the wide slopes. Advanced riders and powder hunters who don't mind a short hike will enjoy the off-piste field and the mountain route. Expert skiers seeking long steep runs should spend most of their time at Muikamachi Hakkaisan or Kagura.

Dining Esse, on the second floor of the hotel, is the main restaurant, with lunch dishes made from local ingredients. On weekends and holidays, the panoramic restaurant at the center lodge has great views over the valley, the Yataimura food court at the base serves family-friendly meals and sweets, and Yummy, a local gelato maker, has a stand in the center lodge.

Après is a soak in the hotel onsen, then dinner at the hotel or in town. The Uonuma valley is famous for rice and sake. Hakkaisan, one of Japan's best-known sake breweries, is in Minamiuonuma, and its Uonuma no Sato complex has a snow-chilled sake storehouse, a soba restaurant and a bakery. Try hegi soba and anything made with local Koshihikari rice.

• Lift hours: 8:30 to 16:00. The season usually runs from late December to late March.
• Cheap days: there are weekday service days with different discounts each day, Muica Days on the 6th, 16th and 26th of each month, and free tickets for primary school kids on the third Sunday.
• Rental: the rental system lets you switch between skis and boards, or between different models, as many times as you like during your rental.
• Mountain route: apply at the ticket office, wear the armband and carry avalanche gear. It usually opens in mid-January.
• Sister resorts: a used ticket from Maiko, Yuzawa Nakazato or Cupid Valley gets you a discount here.

Nearby resorts worth pairing

Muikamachi Hakkaisan is just across the valley and has much steeper terrain. Maiko and Ishiuchi Maruyama are about 15 minutes south, and the Yuzawa resorts are about 25 minutes away. Cupid Valley, another sister resort, is about an hour west.