Our Hokkaido Powder Safari takes you to the snowboard the best powder in Japan from two base areas; Niseko in the south-west and then Furano in central Hokkaido.
Join us for some of the best lift-accessed off-piste that Japan has to offer, riding some of the deepest powder on the planet! You will spend 9 days hunting out Japan’s legendary light & deep powder, chasing big winter storms around Hokkaido. Our itinerary will allow you to ride the best conditions each day in a diverse range of different ski resorts, including Niseko and many of the off-the-beaten-track resorts, where Japan’s best secret powder stashes lie.
Your trip will start with 4 nights in Niseko, Japan’s most famous ski resort. Niseko is known for it’s continuous snowfall and as such is every snowboarders dream, a huge powder playground! From a base in Niseko you will go on day trips to explore the resorts of Rusutsu and Kiroro. Rusutsu Resort has an incredible average annual snowfall of over 14 meters, which mainly falls as dreamy dry powder. The resort is relatively uncrowded and offers some of the best tree riding in Japan. Kiroro is a medium sized resort with fantastic uncrowded off piste and more abundant snow.
You will then head to Furano in central Hokkaido for 5 nights. Furano itself has plenty of off piste riding with quality powder, but is also a great base for day trips to some of the smaller, low key resorts. An hour away is the uncrowded resort of Kamui Ski Links, which has a huge amount of sidecountry areas that are easily accessible from the lifts. Your next stop will be to the powder paradise of Asahidake, which is essentially a backcountry resort serviced by a single cable car. Asahidake is an active volcano and also the highest mountain in Hokkaido so the snow stays light and cold.
This is an advanced level trip where lifts are used to access the backcountry of each resort (although expect some hikes too) in search of fresh & deep Japanese powder! You are guaranteed to have a snowboarding trip of a lifetime on our Hokkaido Powder Safari!!!
9 guided days riding different resorts around Hokkaido, Japan
6 to 1 client to guide ratio
The Hokkaido Powder Safari 2019 is suitable for advanced level riders with previous off piste experience. This should include riding a variety of terrain and snow conditions, including tree runs and steeper slopes. You have a good level of fitness, enabling you to do continuous full days of riding as well as the ability to hike to reach good lines.
If you are interested in joining us in Japan but are not yet an advanced rider please let us know. We will be running off piste snowboard courses in Japan at wider range of levels in 2010.
Day 1: Monday 7th Jan – Arrival Sapporo Airport. Transfer to Black Diamond Lodge, Niseko
Day 2 – Ride Niseko
Day 3 – Ride Rusutsu
Day 4 – Ride Kiroro
Day 5 – Ride in Niseko. Drive to Furano after riding.
Day 6 – Ride Furano
Day 7 – Ride Kamui Links
Day 8 – Ride Asahidake
Day 9 – Ride Tomamu
Day 10 – Ride Furano. Drive to Sapporo airport hotel after riding
Day 11 – Departure from Sapporo Airport
The exact itinerary of this Japan snowboard tour remains flexible to allow for variations with the weather and snow conditions.
In Niseko you will be staying at the Black Diamond Lodge, renowned as the powder hunters lodge in Niseko, Japan. It’s friendly staff help create a relaxed atmosphere and a great vibe, making it the place for serious powder lovers! There is a bar and restaurant serving daily specials and traditional Japanese food.
In Furano you will be staying at Pension Lavendar. This Japanese-style Bed & Breakfast inn provides fantastic homely & comfortable accommodation, a perfect place for relaxing after a day of charging powder! It is conveniently located just a 5 minute walk to the Kitanomine ski lifts. At this friendly, family-run pension you can look forward to fantastic home-made breakfasts.
At the end of your trip you will spend a night at the Crowne Plaza Hotel close to the airport before your departure the next day.
All accommodation is in twin shared rooms.
Based on twin shared rooms
Please scroll down. Prices are shown below
I’ve been snowboarding a couple of years but after a fall I’d lost confidence on a board, after a 2 hour lesson with Tammy I got that confidence back and found my love for snowboarding again; she’s an absolute legend an amazing instructor I have been singing Tammy’s praises to everyone……I will be back in Morzine next season and I will be booking Tammy for private lessons again 5* instructor and absolute legend!!! Thank you so much!!!
I can’t recommend the Technical Performance Course highly enough. I have been riding for 15 years and the skills I learned during this week have moved me on further than I could have hoped.
From the initial booking, Tammy and her team were great and helped with everything. On the course Toni our instructor was patient and encouraging and helped whenever it was needed which made the trip fun and exciting.
The other people on the course were great and we all got along really well which made for a great trip, I would highly recommend to anyone whatever your ability!
Me and a couple of mates had a private lesson with Toni. We can all board but wanted to progress. I have had experience of a number of instructors in France and Switzerland but Toni was by a mile the best. Why? He was fun, but firm and kept us safe. He gave us all time and rather than ‘focus’ on our weaknesses, looked at the positives and helped us to build on those. We’ve given up on being professional (!) and our goal is not to be technically brilliant but to have a bit of fun and ‘try’ new things. Toni tuned into that straight away and from start to finish, we all got something valuable and memorable. In just 5 hours, we ‘mastered’ the ‘dark arts’ of switch, freestyle, the parks (safely!) – we cracked ‘the green’ and were lucky enough to get a real good go at some powder off piste. We loved it and would highly recommend MINT and especially Toni.
Thank you! I had an amazing time! Valerio was incredible…
I was quite scared to even start, but he was very calm and patient. He was encouraging and always there.
Really, you have amazing instructors… Be proud of him!
My instructor, François, was excellent from start to finish. With around 22 years of Snowboarding experience, 14 of which coaching, he really understood the mechanics of snow boarding and was able to communicate them.
He kept it fun and was very up beat. But most important of all he cared about our group getting better and did everything he could to ensure we did.
Our instructor Laura was excellent, she rebuilt my wife’s confidence after an incident that made her decide that she was never getting on a snowboard again. Laura was extremely patient and made the lesson a fantastic experience for both of us, I received some pointers to improve my techniques and my wife life left with tears of joy and happiness rather than the tears of fear from 2 days previously. Will be booking some more lessons next year!
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