What is it like for a non-japanese to go skiing in Japan?

Great ! I know Swedes who travel all the way to Japan to ski. Japan has some of the best skiing in the world.

Japanese ski resorts are generally much more strict about not allowing skiers and snowboarders to go off trail into the trees or go beneath the lifts.  Also, in central Japan, it seems like there are more beginners crowding the slopes than you would find in North America or Europe.  Japanese ski resorts often have a haphazard-looking layout for their lift system.  Few of them have a single lift or gondola which takes you directly to the top of the mountain.  You usually have to take two or more lifts to get to the elevated spot to start your initial run.   There is less tension between skiers and snowboarders than you sometimes find in North America.  Also, you never get heckled from the lift like happens in North America.  North American skiers often wear old or worn clothing or equipment.  In Japan if you do so, you may feel a little out of place because Japanese usually sport new clothes and equipment.   Japanese ski resorts usually don't have a roomy lodge that you can hang-out in, like you find elsewhere in the world.  At a Japanese resort, people who are resting during the day usually sit around in the cafeteria or in one of the restaurants that customarily dot the slopes.  There is rarely a bar in a Japanese ski lodge.  To find a bar, you would likely need to hike down the street a ways into the nearby village.  The bars often don't open until after 5 p.m. and many of them are Japanese izakaya style.   The apre-ski nightlife in Japan is very different.  Many Japanese drive back home after skiing.  The ones who stay the night near the slopes will often go as a group and stick with their group in the evening- usually having a private dinner and party in their small inn.  Thus, if you hit the western style bars in the ski town you may mainly encounter other foreigners.   Nevertheless, skiing in Japan is very enjoyable.  The snow conditions are usually excellent, with a wide variety of terrain.  The staff and ski patrollers are very helpful and friendly, although they may not speak English.  There is a lot of competition among inns and hotels near the ski slopes, so you can find some really good deals on lodging that can also include package deals for lift tickets and transportation from the lodge to the ski slope.