I'd primarily recommend this resort to families with young kids that are learning to ski. Most of the runs are gently sloping and are a perfect training ground for beginner skiers/snowboarders. I also saw several children's classes being run during my visit. There are also other activities for children, including a fenced bunny slope with a magic carpet lift and children's ski/snowboards/sleds/inner tubes that can be borrowed for free.
I think it might also be a good place for adults learning to ski, but if you're an intermediate or advanced rider there's not really enough variation in terrain to keep you occupied for a full day.
The facilities are a bit old but there are sufficient food and drink options for a decent lunch.
There's also an old train that you can take shelter in (or play in if you're a kid).
Considering it was the New Year Holiday and quite crowded, I think the staff did a reasonable job of crowd control and the slopes were adequately covered with artificial snow.
My criticism of the ownership is their horrendous cutting of healthy old trees around the Parallel Lift. I understand it's necessary to trim trees that may directly impact lift operation. But it's downright criminal to cut so many more trees than necessary leaving huge piles of wood and bulldozing trails through the trees leaving ugly scars in what should be left untouched.
Naeba used to be mad crazy!
Massive lines of people waiting for ski lifts. Lots of ski lifts (many more than there are now). You almost couldn't see the snow due to the amount of skiers. It was a super fashionable place to be. That was the ski boom of the 1980s into the early 1990s.
Since then, Naeba has definitely calmed down. It's still popular, but at just more realistically manageable levels. In recent decades there was a gradual downscaling going on, with various lifts closing and less facilities available. At one point, to this reader at least, it was actually starting to feel a bit... sad.
In January 2024 I visited for the first time in about 10 years. It felt much more lively than the previous visit, which was good to see. It was busy for a weekday and there were a lot of 'inbound' visitors around. The snow was good and I had a very enjoyable day.
I felt like the ski area and town area of Naeba still have something of a 'tired' feel lingering, but hopefully things might get more genki once again. (Not as busy as the 80s though, please!!)
This ski area used to be known as Kijimadaira.
Very silly new name aside, it feels pretty much like it used to, just with new logos and a few other brush-ups. There's no new ski lifts or anything like that. Perhaps they have further plans if things go well...
The one feature that Kijimadaira is famous for is the top steep course. Joint holder of the 'steepest in Japan', even. And it is a whole lot of fun too, especially if you time a visit with friendly snow conditions. Only go up there if you are confident that you can safely get down!
Other than that, it's a fairly anonymous feeling ski area. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, of course. If you are visiting the nearby Nozawa or Madarao or perhaps even Shiga Kogen, it might be a good choice for a day (or half-day) trying something different. Probably not as busy as those places too!
Kusatsu Onsen has changed quite a bit over the years.
When I first went to Kusatsu, probably in the mid 1990s, it was a pretty big area. It had a reputation as being a 'classic' Japanese ski resort and was indeed called Kusatsu Kokusai.
It had a long and thin layout, with three main sections linked together. The most interesting part for me being up at the top of the gondola. The best snow was up there too.
Unfortunately, a volcanic eruption closed off that area and Kusatsu has rebooted itself as more of a family place, concentrating on the base area. There's even a new (short) pulse-gondola.
I get the feeling that compared to decades ago, it now struggles for snow (certainly more than it used to).
The town area of Kusatsu is pretty cool, with the onsen and all. It's a nice area.
There's a really good background about Kusatsu, along with neighbouring Manza Onsen, on the SnowJapanHistory website. I highly recommend taking a look at that. There area links on the site within the Guides section.