Tenjindaira
Mt.T by 星野リゾート36°50′ N 138°58′ E756 m vertical6.6 kmSeasonal
Mt.T suits strong riders who want steep powder and backcountry gates on a day trip from Tokyo, and it gives beginners very little room to learn.
Road closure
Mt.T limits entry to 150 riders a day from 9 January to 28 February 2027
Tenjindaira, which trades as Mt.T, caps entry at 150 riders a day on a booked ¥14,000 pass through the peak powder weeks. Ikon Pass holders are exempt. Book ahead, and catch the new direct bus from Jomo-Kogen at 7:58 from 5 December 2026.
Checked 2026-10-11 · tanigawadake-joch.com
Photo Haruyuki Mase 間瀬晴之_撮影 · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 and others, credited in the gallery
- Beginner1.5 km
- Intermediate3.8 km
- Advanced1.3 km
OpenStreetMap maps 0 named runs and 5 lifts at Tenjindaira, and the guide measures each one against the elevation model.
Open the 3D map ↓Fly the mountain in 3D立体地図
Ride every run at Tenjindairaコース
Named runs from the trail map
Tajirizawa course田尻沢コース3,000 m
A 3 km run from the ski area down to the ropeway base. It opens only when snow reaches the valley, and the slopes beside it are closed to everyone.
Good for long run to the base, unlimited ropeway laps
Out of five
How it rides
- Powder
- 5 out of 5
- Trees
- 4 out of 5
- Steeps
- 5 out of 5
- Park
- 1 out of 5
- Beginners
- 1 out of 5
- Quiet
- 5 out of 5
- Value
- 3 out of 5
- Après
- 2 out of 5
- Family
- 1 out of 5
- Sidecountry
- 5 out of 5
Know the zones before you goエリア
Tenjindaira天神平
zoneIntermediate
These slopes spread around the ropeway's top station at 1,319 m, where View Terrace Tenjin serves lunch.
Good for ropeway top station, restaurant, short laps
Tenjin-toge天神峠
zoneAdvanced
The Tenjin-toge pair lift climbs to 1,502 m, the highest point of the ski area.
Good for steepest piste, views of Mt. Tanigawa
Takakurayama高倉山
zoneIntermediate
The Takakurayama No. 1 lift serves this side of the ski area.
Good for pistes away from the ropeway
Beyond the ropes · Through gates
Mt.T opens its backcountry through designated gates, and the terrain beyond them is unmanaged, with slopes of 30 to 50 degrees by the resort's own figures. Under its terms of use, anyone rescued from outside the managed area pays every cost of the search.
- Leave the ski area only through the designated gates
- The slopes on both sides of the Tajirizawa A course belong to the Tone-Numata Forest Office, which has made them a no-entry zone; the resort works on them only to protect riders on the course below
- Check the mountain weather and the avalanche bulletin before you go, and ride in a group that includes someone experienced
- The resort recommends a guide for anyone without experience of this terrain
- Carry a beacon, probe and shovel; the resort marks a beacon as essential and an airbag as optional
- Search and rescue takes time and can be charged. Under the terms of use the company bills the rescued rider for search staff, snow machines, ropeway running costs, lighting and electricity
- In an emergency call the police on 110
5 lifts on the map
Know the liftsリフト
Season 2026/27
Buy the right ticket
- Adult day
- ¥9,000, about CAD 81 or USD 57 (October 2026 rates)
- Early and late season
- ¥6,000, about CAD 54 or USD 38 (October 2026 rates)
From 9 January to 28 February 2027 the only adult day ticket is the Ultimate 1Day Pass at ¥14,000. It is limited to 150 riders a day and needs a reservation, which opens in December 2026; Ikon Pass holders need no reservation. An afternoon ticket costs ¥6,000 all season and children aged 7 to 12 pay ¥2,000 on every date. Anyone riding the ropeway with skis or a board must buy a lift ticket, inside the ski area or out. When the Tajirizawa course is open, riders get unlimited uphill ropeway rides.
These passes cover days here
- Ikon PassIkon Pass: 7 days at each of the ten Japanese mountains, no blackouts. Ikon Base Pass: 5 days at each. Ikon Session Pass: Niseko United only (2, 3 or 4 day options).
Get thereアクセス
From Tokyo Station
- Train
- Joetsu Shinkansen from Tokyo to Jomo-Kogen, about 75 minutes. From 5 December 2026 to 4 April 2027 a direct bus leaves Jomo-Kogen at 7:58 and reaches Mt.T at 8:33 for about ¥2,000. At other times the Kan-etsu Kotsu Minakami line runs from Jomo-Kogen through Minakami station to the Tanigawadake Joch stop in about 45 minutes, for ¥1,600.
The direct bus runs outbound only. Kan-etsu Kotsu revised the Minakami line timetable on 1 April 2026 and its fares on 1 October 2025.
The nearest station is Jomo-Kogen, 35 minutes from the first lift. Joetsu Shinkansen; minutes are the direct bus time in 2026/27. The Kan-etsu Kotsu bus takes about 45 minutes.
Doai station on the JR Joetsu line sits a short walk below the ropeway base, but few local trains stop there.
Mt.T is the winter name for the ski area on the Tanigawadake ropeway, above Minakami in northern Gunma. Hoshino Resorts bought the ropeway company in 2022 and renamed the old Tenjindaira ski area for the 2024/25 season. The ropeway climbs from the Doai-guchi base to Tenjindaira at 1,319 m, and the chairs above it reach Tenjin-toge at 1,502 m. The resort publishes 1,500 cm of snowfall a year.
The marked terrain is small. Pistes run from 15 to 38 degrees, and on a good snow year the 3 km Tajirizawa course carries you all the way down to the base station. On those days your ticket covers as many uphill ropeway rides as you like. When Tajirizawa stays shut, every run ends back at the ropeway and you download at the end of the day.
From 9 January to 28 February 2027 Mt.T lets in only 150 riders a day on the ¥14,000 Ultimate 1Day Pass. Bookings open in December, and Ikon Pass holders can turn up on any day without one. Outside those weeks a day ticket costs ¥9,000, and spring riding from 10 March drops to ¥6,000.
Most riders come for what lies past the gates. The resort lists slopes of 30 to 50 degrees out there and leaves them unmanaged, so a guide makes sense unless you know the mountain. The slopes on both sides of the Tajirizawa A course are a Forest Office no-entry zone. Anyone who calls for rescue from outside the boundary gets the bill for the whole search.
Worth knowing
- Take the 6:36 Joetsu Shinkansen from Tokyo and the 7:58 direct bus from Jomo-Kogen. It reaches Mt.T at 8:33, runs from 5 December 2026 to 4 April 2027 and goes one way only, so come home on the Kan-etsu Kotsu bus.
- Book the Ultimate 1Day Pass the day reservations open in December if you plan a January or February trip without an Ikon Pass.
- The rental counter hires a beacon for ¥2,000 or a full beacon, probe, shovel and pack set for ¥3,500 a day. It takes rentals from 8:30 to 13:00.
- Parking on floors 1 to 5 of the base plaza is free in winter, and the open sixth floor costs ¥1,000.
- Read the Japan Avalanche Network bulletin for Kagura, Tanigawa and Hotaka before you head through a gate.
Quick answers about Tenjindairaよくある質問
Is Mt.T on the Ikon Pass?
Yes. Mt.T joined the Ikon Pass, and Ikon holders skip the reservation every other rider needs from 9 January to 28 February 2027.
Can I reach Mt.T without a car?
Yes. Take the Joetsu Shinkansen to Jomo-Kogen, about 75 minutes from Tokyo, then the 7:58 direct bus or the Kan-etsu Kotsu Minakami line bus to the Tanigawadake Joch stop.
Is Tenjindaira open all year?
Tenjindaira opens for part of the year. The ski area opens on 19 December 2026. The ropeway itself runs for winter sightseeing from 5 December 2026 to 4 April 2027, and everything including the car park closes from 16 November to 4 December 2026.
How steep is Tenjindaira?
The steepest mapped pitch at Tenjindaira is about 33.6° over 60 m. We measure it from OpenStreetMap's run lines and the elevation model. Its advanced and expert runs add up to 1.3 km of the mapped total.
Can you ride off-piste at Tenjindaira?
At Tenjindaira: Mt.T opens its backcountry through designated gates, and the terrain beyond them is unmanaged, with slopes of 30 to 50 degrees by the resort's own figures. Under its terms of use, anyone rescued from outside the managed area pays every cost of the search.
How much is a lift ticket at Tenjindaira?
An adult day ticket at Tenjindaira costs ¥9,000, about CAD 81 or USD 57 (October 2026 rates) in the 2026/27 main season and ¥6,000, about CAD 54 or USD 38 (October 2026 rates) early or late in the season. Ikon Pass holders ride here too.
When is the season at Tenjindaira?
Tenjindaira usually opens 19 December 2026 and closes 4 April 2027. The deepest, most reliable snow comes 9 January to 28 February 2027, when entry is capped at 150 riders a day.
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In the journal and guides
Read more about Tenjindaira特集
Practical guide · 10 min read
How do backcountry gates and rescue costs work at Japan's ski resorts?
Japanese resorts let riders out only through designated gates once a climbing plan is filed, and every resort here that publishes a rescue rule bills the rider. Zao bans riding off its courses altogether.
Practical guide · 8 min read
How much does a ski trip to Japan cost?
One adult sharing a room spends about ¥90,000 on a budget week in Yuzawa and from about ¥178,000 for a mid-range week in Hakuba, before flights and rental. A ryokan-hotel week in Myoko runs to about ¥286,000.
Practical guide · 7 min read
Is the Ikon Pass or the Epic Pass better for skiing in Japan?
Ikon gives seven days at each of ten Japanese mountains for 2026/27, eight of them on Honshu. Epic gives five back-to-back days across Hakuba's ten resorts, plus Rusutsu in Hokkaido.
Practical guide · 9 min read
When is the best time to ski in Japan?
Mid-January to the end of February brings the most snow on Honshu and in Tohoku. Book around New Year and the 2027 holiday weekends, or wait for March and April, when the days run long and spring prices kick in.