 Poster: A snowHead
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Spring is definitely here! The weather has been awesome this weekend. Sunshine and temperatures in the mid teens even up in the hills. We were at Teine and Yubari enjoying the sun and slush. Not really any new snow on the horizon, but we can expect another solid month or more of spring skiing.
Put together a little edit from 'Locals Only March'
https://vimeo.com/123530871
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Snow this morning. Big heavy flakes and starting to settle even down here at sea level.
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Great photos.
Enjoy the pow 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Wow, what a thread ....  would someone "local" mind sharing some advice pls?
Would 1st half of January be OK to go to Niseko?
What is approx budget once in place, say for 10 days - average accomodation, skipass, ski rent?
Is there specific changeover days like in Europe?
Accomodation - from what I read, there is no ski-in/out type of accomodation in Japan? How far from the lifts people usualy stay?
Thinking of doing DIY, any advice is mostly welcome (appologies if it is repetitive, went through the thread and did not find this info).
Thanks a lot!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Hi @mooney058. Yeah, first half of January would be a good time to be around. Usually very regular snowfall, and enough of a base built up to make the off piste areas very accessible. Sorry, I'm not really a Niseko local, its been a couple of years since I've been there in the winter. I can give some info though:
I'm not sure the average cost for accomodation in Niseko, prices seem to be going up quite steeply. It really depends on what kind of accomodation you're looking for. There's anything from hostels up to luxury penthouses. An all day, all area lift pass for Niseko United is around 6,000. Not sure about ski rental though I'm afraid.
Don't think there's a specific changeover day per se. I assume overseas visitors would usually do weekend to weekend trips, but I don't imagine its as set in stone as with many places in the Alps.
There are a few ski in ski out properties in Upper Hirafu in Niseko. They're definitely more on the luxurious/expensive side of the spectrum. There is plenty in Hirafu that is walking distance to the lifts, and also shuttle buses that do the rounds from more distant areas.
If you're DIYing, I'd definitely recommend hiring a car to get out of Niseko for a few days. Both to beat the crowds, and to get outside the Aussie/Western bubble.
There's a fair bit of info on Japan if you search the Trip Reports section of SH. But if you have any specific questions, feel free to ask me here or by PM!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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We had ski in/out at Furano for very reasonable prices in the old Furano Prince Hotel. Not up market but clean, friendly, breakfast included and a number of restaurants within easy walking distance. Center of town was only 150 yen on the bus for lots more food choices. A mainly Japanese resort well worth a few days.
In Niseko Hirafu the free bus service will get you to the lifts in just a few minutes no matter where you stay so location is not really an issue and depending on exactly where you stay there is the possibility of skiing in at the end of the day. We paid about $1500 NZ for seven nights in an apartment in Niseko, seven nights in the hotel in Furano with seven breakfasts, six days skiing at Furano, transfers from Sapporo airport to Niseko, Niseko to Furano (via airport) and transfer back to the airport. Each transfer leg was about 3hrs by bus. All in all very reasonable. We self catered in Niseko and found eating out cheap, tasty and filling.
We all absolutely loved the whole trip. This was in early Feb so missed the very busiest time.
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@MagSeven, @Sarge McSarge, thanks to you both! My family ski for next year is under big question mark, so instead I though why not to make two consecutive weeks with my friends, and why not in Japan? I mention Niseko as this is what I mostly see/read on here. Other suggestions to Japan 'virgins' would be mostly welcome, although flying into Sapporo looks like the best option. Hiring a car sounds interesting, but as I come from Belgium driving on the 'wrong' side scares me a bit Although one guy from our company have lived in Ireland for some time so should in principle be able to drive also in Japan ... to be checked.
What would be areas/resorts falling into Aussie/Western radar - as it would be my first time in Japan, trying it for several days would not be a problem, but visiting more 'local' areas would be certainly interesting. Also getting into local envirenment outside skiing for a day or two would be fun too. I know this is not very specific, trying to put my head around as it would be a novel experience, new area - each name is googled to see where/what/how.
So far Niseko-Furano combo looks like a perfect plan (except driving). I'm surprised of how 'low' JPN mountains are ... but vertical is +/- as in Europe. Also lots of old(-er) infrastructure as I can see.
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You know it makes sense.
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Driving really is quite simple, even on the wrong side of the road! The roads are well marked and as long as you leave plenty of time for your journey and don't travel if there are blizzard warnings, then you'll have no problems.
I'd say a Niseko-Furano combo is a good idea. Niseko is a good base for 5/6 days, but also visit other nearby resorts - Rusutsu, Kiroro, Moiwa. Then when you travel up to Furano, Sapporo is also worth a few days, mainly for its larger ski areas - Teine and Kokusai, and also to spend time in a really fun city. Then finish up at Furano, with trips to Kamui or Asahidake/Kurodake, and potential touring in Daisetsuzan if you're into that.
You could also then fly out of Asahikawa airport to return to Tokyo. Asahikawa itself is a fun city and worth a night.
More and more westerners are getting to the smaller places now, but they still definitely feel more Japanese than Niseko. The good thing about having a car is that you can explore as much as you want. There are dozens of smaller ski areas all over the place, so if you're driving and see one, you can just stop off and ski for a couple of hours, usually lift tickets don't cost much at all.
You can still quite easily do a Niseko and Furano trip using buses or trains, plus a few trips to other resorts. There are shuttle buses from Niseko to Rusutsu and Kiroro now, and also from Furano to Kamui. Although I do think they can fill up. Of course, using buses and trains would avoid the potential stress if you're not comfortable driving, but you'd be a lot less flexible with where you could visit and when.
Yes, mountains in Hokkaido are significantly lower than in Europe. The tallest mountain is just under 2,400m. But most of the ski areas top out between 1,000 and 1,500 metres. Many are lower, and the bases can be as low as sea level! Most people who visit are suprised at how flat the island is between the mountains.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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Getting really warm this weekend. Very sunny today at Nakayama Touge. Very slushy and tough to get speed in the park.
This guy not struggling too much though:
From Nakayama we had a good view of Mt Yotei, which looked very tempting. Weather is looking great tomorrow, so we're going to get an early start and have a crack at the summit.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Had a very early start yesterday, for probably my final day of the season, and my final day skiing in Hokkaido this time around.
Left home at around 3:00am to get to the foot of Mount Yotei for 5:30 just after sunrise.
Surprisingly we were able to skin straight from the parking lot. We made our way up the approach through fairly rotten and debris covered snow onto the lower slopes.
The snow turned firm higher up, and we bootpacked from around half way.
Around 2/3rds of the way up we paused for about 30 minutes, waiting to see if the wind would die down as forecasted. It was very gusty early on, but fortunately it slackened off, so we were able to continue to the summit.
View down to Niseko resort area from just below the top.
Kampai at the top, looking over the crater. The climb took us about 6 hours.
My mate Peter was knackered so rested at the top, but I couldn't resist skiing into the crater. I skinned around the rim
And dropped this line in the centre of the shot.
After a 20 minute hike out the sun was really warming things up. (It turned out to be the hottest day of the year so far, temps of 29 recorded in Sapporo!) Time to head down. The snow was really great for most of the long decent, nice spring corn almost to the bottom.
Me
Peter
A really awesome day.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Grainy video of the line into the crater
Skiing into the crater on Mt Yotei from Andy Evans https://vimeo.com/126251660
So that's probably it now as we'll be leaving Hokkaido this summer after 5 years here. 406 ski days over the 5 winters. It's been incredible. Thanks for following!
Feel free to contact me on here in the future if you want any info or advice on skiing or general travel to Hokkaido. If you want to keep following and see what we get up to over the summer months, keep an eye on www.ezopow.com
Stay tuned for the next adventure - we'll be returning to the UK by bicycle. Leaving here in August, getting to Europe by early 2017, hopefully in time to get some skiing in the Alps!
It's going to be tough leaving. But we'll be back.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Very well played.
Great to ski with you.
Safe cycing.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Stay tuned for the next adventure - we'll be returning to the UK by bicycle.
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Looking forward to your reports on this trip. Good luck.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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