If you’re a skier or snowboarder with social media, chances are your feed is overflowing with Japan content. Mine certainly is. As evidenced by the nonstop digital deluge of nipple-deep powder turns and artsy vending machine shots, the world-renowned powder hub has never been more popular. Unfortunately, as more and more powderhounds descend upon the Land of the Rising Sun, scoring your dream trip is a little trickier these days. Fortunately, you’re in the right place to navigate the madness.
Post-powder stoke after a day of exploring central Hokkaido with Whiteroom Tours.
In this skier’s guide to Hokkaido, I’ll share a few guided trips, family-friendly hotels, trustworthy ski shops and tips to help you plan your own adventure. And because gear can make or break a trip, I’ll also share a few gear picks, including Hokkaido-ready skis, snowboards and more that’ll help you make the most of your time.
One thing to remember before we dive in? Timing is everything. Time your trip early or late in the season (yup, it’s not too late to plan a trip this spring), and you might just ditch the crowds. Time your planning early (read: get a jumpstart planning next year’s powder pilgrimage) and you’ll have your pick of guided trips and lodging during peak season.
Why Japan? A Land of Deep Snow, Mouthwatering Cuisine And More
Japan is high on most powderhounds’ bucket lists namely because of its world-famous snow. The snow is so deep, light and consistent, in fact, it’s got its own sobriquet: “Japow”—a mashup of “Japan” and “powder.” The snow is, as I’ve personally confirmed trip after trip, well worth the flight. But don’t take my word for it.
According to Paul Ellis, a guide with nearly two decades of experience in Japan and the founder of Whiteroom Tours, the island nation is battered by blizzards thanks to frigid storms that sweep in from Siberia. “That super cold air will suck up the moisture from the Sea of Japan, and then the first landmass it dumps on is Honshu [the main island of Japan]
, and then Hokkaido, which is why Hokkaido gets the drier air and the drier snow,” says Ellis.
The author enjoying the “white room” in central Hokkaido on a backcountry tour with Whiteroom.
“Of all the ski areas and mountainous areas in the world, Japan is probably the most consistent, the most dependable,” he continues. “We’ve got a saying here—even a bad season in Japan is your best season in the rest of the world.”
Ski trips aren’t one-dimensional, though, and snow isn’t the only allure of Japan for the visiting skier or rider. Culturally rich, generally enchanting and overwhelmingly beautiful, Japan is the perfect ski destination because even on the off-chance that you don’t enjoy fantastic ski conditions, you’re guaranteed to have a good time.
This, after all, is a land of succulent sushi, expletive-inducing ramen and a million other mouthwatering delicacies, from sizzling yakitori and bubbling shabu-shabu to shockingly delicious gas station fried chicken. As far as après refueling goes, Japan rivals the Alps, which is saying something.
Tucking into a traditional shabu-shabu dinner at Mori in Niseko—a must-visit joint that dishes up … [+]
And then there are the steaming onsens—hot springs, with a Japanese twist—my favorite way to relax tired muscles after a big day on the mountain. Nothing caps off a day of skiing like soaking in a steaming natural hot spring pool while snowflakes drift down from a stormy sky. It’s the ideal way to reset, relax and get ready for another powder day.
In short, everything from the tranquil temples and the buzzing karaoke bars to the people who call Hokkaido home add to the ski experience. “You come to Japan for the powder, but the culture is what you keep on coming back for,” sums up Ellis.
Where To Go: 7 Trip Ideas For Every Skier And Rider
IFMGA guide Mal Haskins leading the Whiteroom crew to another backcountry stash.
For The Powderhound: Exploring Hokkaido With Whiteroom Tours
Whether you’re an intermediate skier looking to step up your game in powder or an expert backcountry traveler excited to hit the skintrack, Whiteroom Tours has a guided trip for you. Whether they have space is another question, as the tour operator’s trips sell out quickly. If you’re planning a trip for next season, it doesn’t hurt to start doing your research now.
Below, we’ll break down Whiteroom’s four main guided options, all of which include comfortable hotel stays, mission-critical transport to the mountain and cultural elements woven into the itinerary.
Progression Tours: Learn The Ropes Of Deep Powder Skiing
If you’re not well-versed in deep snow, consider White Room’s Progression Tours. The guides won’t just show you around some of Hokkaido’s most renowned resorts and their favorite secret stashes, but they also play double duty as instructors, sharing tips and tricks for skiing and riding in deep conditions. The first half of the tour focuses on instruction, with a max ratio of four clients to one instructor, allowing participants to slowly work their way into shredding deep powder.
“Getting into that deep powder is a different mindset, a different way of skiing, different technique,” says Ellis. He recommends the Progression Tours for skiers who are immediate to advanced on-piste, have some powder experience, but actively want to progress. “If you want to perfect your turns and gain confidence, especially in trees, which is predominantly what you’re skiing in Japan, that tour is a great place to start.”
Powder Tours: Chase Japow Like A Pro
If you’re already more than familiar with the fluffy stuff, Whiteroom’s most popular tour, the “Powder Tour,” is a solid option.
These trips skip the instruction and don’t require touring skis or a splitboard. Instead, the focus is on using resort chairlifts and bootpacking to access in-bounds and out-of-bounds powder.
Whiteroom offers three Hokkaido Powder tours (Central, Southern and Explorer tours), as well as an option on the mainland (the Tohoku Powder Tour), and an enticing, two-week Inter Island tour that splits time between Honshu and Hokkaido.
Lift-Accessed Backcountry Tours: Maximum Vert Without Maximum Effort
Touring, especially in the deep snow of Japan, can be hard work. Whiteroom’s Lift-Accessed Backcountry Tours take advantage of chairlifts and gondolas when possible, and make use of touring skis and splitboards when appropriate. This mix of lift- and human-powered access is a smart way to maximize your vertical and make the most of a trip to Japan. It also allows you to enjoy the fun and funky vibes you’ll find at many Japanese ski resorts while still exploring backcountry zones and chasing fresh tracks. Whiteroom currently offers two lift-accessed backcountry options, one in central Hokkaido and one in Honshu.
Earning turns near Niseko with Whiteroom.
Backcountry Tours: Primed For Human-Powered Powderhounds
If you’re interested in ditching the resorts and exploring on foot, check out Whiteroom’s Backcountry Tours. You’ll explore everything from classic touring zones to hidden gems, putting in long and satisfying days on the skintrack and reaping a reward of endless Japow turns.
I went on the Hokkaido Backcountry Tour with Whiteroom last season, and I was blown away by the quality of the guided experience. It’s worth noting here that just because Japan is the recipient of consistent snowfall doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to find powder. Dry spells—or worse, rainy spells—can occur. And if they do, it pays to be with a guide who has an excellent grasp on the microclimates and minutiae of Hokkaido’s weather patterns.
Our trip last season coincided with a stretch of warm weather and rain in Central Hokkaido. While other crews were getting skunked, our guides were paying attention to weather systems and sniffing out mind-bogglingly good turns an hour or so away from where we were staying. Knowing where to go was invaluable, and the difference between boom and bust. After that trip, I can’t recommend this operation more highly, and I’ll definitely be booking a trip with them again in the not-so-distant future!
Relaxing slopeside at Club Med Tomamu.
For Families (Or Skiers Who Hate Planning): Going All-Inclusive At Club Med In Japan
When most people hear the phrase “all-inclusive,” they think of beaches, tropical weather and colorful cocktails. But Club Med has a handful of all-inclusive resorts at ski destinations across the world, most of them located in the Alps. However, a few of them are located at the base of prime resorts in Japan, including two locations I checked out on my last trip to Japan: Sahoro and Tomamu. I highly recommend both.
Surf, sand and daiquiris aside, I’d argue that the benefits of an all-inclusive stay are even more attractive in wintry locales than at the beach. First off, these properties are all-you-can-eat, offering a mix of local Japanese and international cuisines—perfect for fueling up after a long day on the slopes. And they’re all-you-can-drink, too, if you want your après to evolve into a full-on party. Speaking of après, these properties include access to Japanese baths, so you can soak away the soreness after shredding powder.
The biggest allure of a winter stay at a Club Med in Japan, though, is the access to skiing and ski-related amenities. Forget driving. Once you’re at the Club Med, you’re in true ski-in, ski-out accommodations, so you can shred, refuel, sleep and repeat. Slopeside lockers enable you to stash your gear and boot up comfortably before heading out for the day. And speaking of gear, rentals are included in your stay as well, mitigating the need to travel with bulky ski bags. Additionally, you’ll find excellent childcare, ski lessons and programming for kids and teens (all included, mind you) to keep the family stoked on and off the hill.
The author working off a sumptuous Club Med buffet breakfast on the slopes of Sahoro.
Adults can sign up for group lessons, too, all of which are separated by discipline and skill level. If you’re an advanced skier or snowboarder, the lessons are still worth checking out. Chances are the group won’t be big, and it’ll turn into a tour of your instructor’s favorite stashes on the mountain. In Sahoro in particular, we scored some of the best turns of our trip just by following our instructor to hidden glades we wouldn’t have discovered on our own. In Tomamu, we became such good friends with our instructor, he actually came and visited us in Tahoe a few weeks later. We even invited him to our wedding (true story).
All things considered, if you’re traveling with your family, learning to ski or simply hate the idea of bouncing around (or planning in general), going the all-inclusive route at Club Med is relaxing, fun and easy as can be.
A Rhythm Rides guide banks a turn into the valleys of Niseko United.
For Skiers With An Ikon Pass: Visiting The Ski Hub of Niseko And Exploring With Rhythm Guides
If you’re an IKON pass holder, you probably already know that you have access to Niseko United. Unfortunately, this isn’t a secret amongst your fellow IKON pass holders. Niseko is subsequently as busy as it gets during the peak season (more on that below), and Niseko United is one of the more crowded and famous resorts in the entire country. However, you can certainly score untracked snow—so long as you explore with the right folks.
If you’re heading to Niseko, my advice is to link up with Rhythm Rides. Rhythm Rides is the guiding arm of local shred shop Rhythm—my go-to for ski and snowboard tunes and, most importantly, pre-shred donuts and coffee. Whether you’re looking to get shown around the resort, hike to the summit of Mount Annupuri or explore other resorts nearby Niseko (like Rusutsu and Kiroro), Rhythm has you covered.
If you already have your accommodation dialed, you can book Rhythm Rides for day trips. Or, if you’re hoping to stay in Niseko and have your whole trip and itinerary dialed ahead of time, check out evoTrips. Evo recently bought Rhythm, and offers weeklong tours in the zone that take advantage of Rhythm’s expertise in the region.
Vehicles are important if you want to ditch the crowds and score the best snow!
6 Tips And Tricks To Make The Most of Your Japow Trip
1. Go With A Guide
Whether you’re booking a guide for a day or embarking on a weeklong trip, exploring with a guide will allow you to dive deeper into Japan. Not only will you have a much better (and, hopefully, safer) experience when it comes to snow, but a solid guide will point you to out-of-the-way onsens, hole-in-the-wall restaurants and so much more.
2. Be Mobile
If you aren’t going with a guide—or staying at all-inclusive, ski-in, ski-out accommodations—I highly recommend renting a car so you’re more mobile. Why? Namely because traveling by public transportation in the mountains can be tricky at best, and renting a car will allow you to chase the best snow, or flee from crowded resorts to explore lesser-known zones.
Another bonus tip regarding mobility? Get a ski or snowboard bag with wheels. Trust me on that one.
3. Be Avalanche Aware
While guides can and should help you avoid avalanches, it’s important to note that Japan doesn’t have the same guide accreditation standards we do here in the United States.
With that in mind, it’s critical that you do your research. Are your guides well-trained? What are their certifications? For instance, if you go to Whiteroom’s team page, you can check out all of their guide’s profiles and see their certifications ahead of your trip.
Furthermore, if you are exploring the backcountry, it’s essential that you have avalanche safety equipment and know how to use it. If you are planning a trip to Japan for next season and want to explore outside of resort boundaries, start by booking an avalanche safety class this spring or early next winter. Even if you are going on a guided adventure, it’s smart to have some education so that you can voice concerns, ask questions and be prepared to participate in a rescue in the event of an emergency.
The author enjoying the fruits of a February storm with Rhythm Rides.
4. Time Your Trip With Intention
Just like the word “Japow,” “Japanuary” is another word that you’ll often see when planning a ski trip to Japan. Mid-January to mid-February is the busiest stretch of the winter in Japan, as this is when the snow is most consistent. If you’re hoping to score deep snow, have a limited window and want to book a trip in those dates, jump on it sooner rather than later. By November and December, most of the best lodging options and trips for those dates will already be sold out.
According to Ellis, though, booking ahead of these dates has its perks. “Some of my deepest days—the days when there’s no one around and you’re just getting lap after lap of over-the-top snow—have been in late December or early January. It can be super, super cold, with lots of snow coming in, and very few people around to ski it.” While there are plenty of holiday goers and families over Christmas and New Years, he says, these are mainly resort skiers and riders, and the backcountry and sidecountry can be less busy than you might anticipate.
Spring, Ellis also points out, is another smart time for backcountry skiers to take a trip to Japan. “There’s hardly anyone there, our rates are cheaper and the accommodation is more readily available.” Not only that, he says, but the snowpack tends to be more stable and the days are longer, enabling bigger days and steeper objectives. And spring doesn’t necessarily mean that cold, fabled Japow is off the menu, either. “We had a cold March last March. It was on. It was fantastic. It was sitting around negative three (Celsius), so the snow was staying cold, especially if you hunted those southerly aspects,” reports Ellis.
5. Plan Ahead—Or Don’t Plan At All And Watch The Forecast
As mentioned above, if you’re planning a trip, it’s best not to procrastinate. Lodging and guided trips can book up fast.
On the other hand, you can always choose not to plan at all, watch the forecast and jump on flights and lodging if storms materialize.
Granted, this strategy is difficult in high season, but in December, late February, March or April, it’s certainly worth staying vigilant and keeping an eye on the weather.
6. Make Reservations
Lodging and guided trips aren’t the only things that book out weeks in advance. Popular restaurants are similarly slammed. If you’re rolling with a guided tour, they’ll typically make reservations for you. If you’re rolling solo and you’re traveling during the busy season, you’ll want to make reservations in advance. Of course, if you can’t find a restaurant for the night, you can always drop by a convenience store for a cheap and delicious dinner.
