Rockwood Hotel & Spa - Aomori Spring Resort

AOMORI SPRING RESORT
Hokkaido

08 February, 2025

We have returned from our Japan trip. I just want to say a big THANK YOU for your help with organizing our stay at Aomori Spring Ski Resort. We had a wonderful time there. The resort was fantastic, it is a hidden gem and should be promoted more. The dinner was delicious, way above my expectations. The facilities were maintained and best of all, not crowded so we had the best time on the slope.

Highly recommend the pizzas from Cafe and bar Paradiso. 

Looking forward to planning our 2026 trip with you. Could you let me know when new pricing will be available? 

Thank you!

Shirley

01 February, 2025

Thanks again for organising our accommodation at the Rockwood Hotel and Spa.  Everything went smoothly and we had great time once Qantas delivered our luggage that was left behind in Melbourne!

Cheers
Annie Morris

30 january, 2025

Aomori Springs was a good introduction - the hotel was good - Onsen indoor and outdoor in the snow - good Buffet. The slopes only have a little bit of steep with a lot reasonably flat - it is renowned for back country skiing in the National Park above the lift high point. Also a huge half pipe.

Not much else around apart from the hotel and a Ramen house for lunch

Would only recommend for back country skiing

Jenny Danks

We took a taxi in from Aomori town. On departure, we took a taxi to Hirosaki then JR train to Shin-Aomori then Shinkansen 

We found the Japan transit planner app very good

Jenny Danks

29 January, 2025

JSA
You were brilliant as usual
I think we have been travelling with you for 10+ years (and some of us much longer) and there has never been a glitch. I don’t think you could say that about many travel booking services.
Especially enjoy your research into less well known uncrowded places

Rockwood Hotel & Spa
This was my second stay
Good quality 3 to 3.5 star accommodation
Rooms are spacious and housekeeping was fine.
Rooms were on the slope side of the corridor with great views of the mountains
Reception staff always helpful and there was enough English speakers to solve more complex issues
Locker room works well
Buffet meals were better than last year. More choice and more higher cost selections.
The Bar hours are strange. There is nothing more profitable to sell than drinks but it always seems to have minimal staff and minimal hours open.

Aomori Springs
It was a heavy snow year and we had good snowfalls every night and most days. 
Great skiing.
Grooming was good on the piste
Off piste wasn’t getting skied out
I managed Falls Creek Lifts for 5 years and Thredbo for 10 years. They close the gondola at lower wind speeds than would be the case in Australia or the USA. You won’t change that but just a comment. The ski racks on the gondola doors simply don’t fit powder skis. That means trying to get them inside which means under loaded gondola cabins and lots of fluffing about to get them through the door. There are plenty of after market suppliers of wider ski racks. You see them all over the USA. I don’t know why they don’t fit them. They are not expensive.

Transport
Taxi company was good
On time
Stopped at a supermarket
It was expensive but he did have a 6 hour round trip so …..

David Osborn

29 January, 2025

we LOVE the Rockwood and all of its staff … simply Awesome people!

Cheers

Tony

26 January, 2025

We enjoyed our stay @ Rockwood especially the ski in & ski out convenience. We loved the northern coastal vistas. The off piste skiing was excellent as the trees are well spaced (for me).
We were very lucky with the snow conditions & would recommend Aomori Springs to friends.

Thanks as always for your assistance.
Warm regards,

Cristina & Richard
(I will forward photos)

14 January, 2025

We had a great time in Japan and probably saw the most snow this year!

Rockwood is always a nice place to visit (now our third time) as it is convenient to ski in and out of.  The accommodation and food has been consistently good, in the dining room, and also at the little ramen cafe on the slopes, and cafeteria at the gondola.

One negative is that once you are there, if you don’t have transportation and want to visit somewhere else, you have to organise that. But in saying that, we are happy to just stay there for our time, whether relaxing or snowboarding/skiing.

Having the outdoor onsen as well as indoor is great.

There is only one washing machine & dryer available for guests, which was Y 500 per load (the most we paid in a hotel) and this year we had to get in line to use it!  Mostly it was the westerners using it, and there were quite a few more there this year. 

All in all a good resort.

Elizabeth 

Februaruy 02, 2024

We enjoyed Aomori Springs.As our first skiing experience to Japan and not having been in the snow for 17 years, we felt pretty comfortable here. The hotel as a ski in ski out was nice. The ski in, ski out chair was not open all week though which was a bit of a pain at times. Great onsen.

Nice facilities - there was a lounge area for guests to use there was also a bar coffee lounge that was nice to visit apres ski.

The lunch area was basic but good value. The ramen house on the mountain had great food for lunch. 

Staff were friendly but it was more difficult to converse - they did not speak as much english. We were not great with "translator " at the time.

Rental gear was ok. There were two rental areas - hotel and near the gondola. Overpriced for what you get and although you could swap, it was only one time.

The room was really nice and the view out onto the mountain was good.

It was isolated so there was nothing to do other than ski.

Getting there was actually pretty easy - fly from Tokyo to Aomori and then hotel shuttle to the resort.

Getting out was more difficult as there were no hotel shuttles going in the morning to make the connecting shin so we had to take a taxi which was  a bit more expensive. Then to go elsewhere it was a long way by shin.

Skiing: Because we had not been to the snow for a long time, it was a great re-introduction. The runs were beginner to intermediate with only 1 advanced area. (I don't think that opened much this year, if at all - which would make the area very limited). Only problem was when the access chair was closed the top of the gondola was a little steep if you were not at least intermediate. There was enough terrain to keep us happy for about 4 to 5 days. Not a big place though. There were a few flat spots, so when it had new snow on you had to really carry a lot of speed to get through or kick out. It snowed a good amount . It was not crowded at all.

We probably won't go back because there is not enough terrain for us now.

Grant Edwards

Early Feb 2024

 David

Early February,  2024

Early Feb 2024

We had a great time at both Appi and Aomori Springs.
Appi had great piste skiing and good powder on a couple of mornings. Not deep but great quality. Found old ski lift lines and on a windy day, untracked snow under a lift that couldn’t run because of wind at top. Loved the outside Onsen! Great coffee opposite the gondola base. The hotel was fine, pretty busy meal times but plenty of foods to choose from.
Aomori had more tree skiing and so many pistes with lovely snow on the edges. Loved the Ramen house for lunch. Just had to pick a less popular time.Your transport help was perfect. Hotel was fine, food very adequate with less variety but good quality!

Cheers 
Tony 

Early Feb 2024

Cheers
Tony 

Late January 2024

We were unlucky with the snow there

Late Jan 2024 

 We had another very enjoyable visit at Rockwood. The meals, friendly staff just added to our lovely stay. The snow was great. Easy access to meals on the slope as well. Thanks for all your help in organising.

Daryl 

Late January 2024

Rockwood resort Hotel was a great resort in many ways. It would be perfect for those who don’t want to leave a location for shopping or go to a different restaurant every lunchtime or want to wander around a city at endless streets looking at local culture and building etc - because that’s not an option here. However, if you want to stay at a great location with great atmosphere and fantastic rooms (top level rooms) views along with a satisfying sense of calm and relaxation- Rockwood is the place to go

The meals were surprising with a lot of variety and options, even for those who are not adventurous with their eating - there was plenty choices.

Of course this experience was only made possible with your help and assistance- thanks for also organising transfers, shuttles and other info - much appreciated.

Drew

February 2023

We enjoyed Aomori Springs Rockwood again the resort and Hotel again very comfortable enjoyed skiing there as much as last time 

The food was very pared back from last time but still good (I guess COVID has affected Japan much the same as Australia in that everyone has to tighten there purse strings so they can stay in business)

We will be looking at staying again next year so again let us know when the deals are out

Thank you again 
looking forward to hearing from you later in the year
Kind regards Kay ,Robert, April and Tim

1st February 2023

We booked a 7 night package at Rockwood Hotel & Spa in Aomori.

Firstly, it absolutely dumped snow for the 7 nights were were there and we had the best snow of our lives.

We caught the shinkansen to Aomori and the local trains to Ajigasawa and then a taxi to Rockwood. But, on the way home we just caught a taxi direct to Aomori Station, which was much easier and worth the extra cost. JSA booked the taxi for us and our driver was waiting for us at the train sation. Some other people didnt have a taxi booked and were stuck at the train station, so I reccomend booking the taxi. The hotel booked our return taxi.

The hotel itself is very spacious and has a clean minimilistic Japanese design. Everywhere you go you seem to have an amazing view of the mountains. I felt it had a younger more casual atmosphere. This is the home mountain of Olympic half pipe gold medalist Ayumu Hirano and there is a massive half pipe & big snow park.  The Japanese junior snowboarding team were staying at the hotel & training while we were there and they were going pretty big in the half pipe.

Facilities wise there there is an amazing outdoor onsen, pool table and table tennis table, but to be honest all we did was snowboard, eat and sleep.

The room itself was a standard size with 2 single beds and a couple of chairs by the window to enjoy the amazing view. But, it had the same clean design as the rest of the hotel. No complaints.

We had the buffet breakfast and dinner included in our package. Compared with Appi & Shizukuishi Rockwood had the best buffet. They even had sushi. The design of the restaurant was also very stylish and comfortable. 

As for the mountain there there seemed to be a lack of steep runs. A lot of core snowboarders and skiers hiking off piste with guides. So. if you are an advanced level this would be what you come for. Not sure on the resort policy on this. But, if you are an intermediate or beginner I think this would be a great resort as there are so many runs to suit you. 

Another thing I noticed was a lot of Americans in big groups. I think they were on guided tours and generally going off piste. 

The hotel staff are very relaxed and friendly, but they didn't speak a lot of English.

Aomori was great and I definately go back. 

Pete

29th January 2023

The best hotel out of 4 we stayed in over 3 weeks in Japan. True ski in ski out. Great meals and the best bedroom. All rooms have a great view.

Thomas

10th January 2023

January 2023

Late Jan 2019

We had an amazing time staying at Rookwood Hotel.

Our western rooms were very comfortable and the meals were amazing, with a wide variety of western and Asian food. Both breakfast and dinner were buffet style. The staff were very helpful and friendly. We utilised the shuttle service from Aomori station and again to Ajigasawa station at the end of our trip. 

Aomori Springs ski area had a great range of runs which would suit every level of skier. We were lucky enough to find fresh snow on a number of days during our stay. The ski in/ ski out location of the hotel was fantastic and we also utilised the ski waxing within the hotel which was very convenient.

Would highly recommend staying here and for those who love back country skiing there is also the opportunity to experience it also at Aomori Springs.

Sharon

Late January 2019

We really enjoyed our time in Aomori Springs it was a 

Late December 2018

Marc

Feb 2018

Mid January 2016

We had a great time, hotel was good, but one chair only opens weekends and another chair was closed due to lack of snow but opened on the 25th Jan. We are looking at next year so will get hold of you when we decide where we are going.

Thanks again.
Regards Scott

Mid January 2016

We loved Rockwood Hotel & Spa. The service was fantastic, and we really appreciated the transfers from the train station and to the airport. We loved the layout of the resort - it was quick and easy to get around and the views were spectacular. The accommodation was great as well as the food at the hotel and the daily onsen was absolutely necessary. We'll be back again and hope to explore even more of the mountain then (some areas were not opened up).

Thanks
Alison

Western twin room with en-suite  (25 SQM)
From ￥19,000 per person per night for twin share including breakfast, dinner and lift pass
Sofa bed available for 3rd guest at an extra cost.

Deluxe king room with en-suite  (29 SQM)
From ￥22,000 per person per night for twin share including breakfast, dinner and lift pass