| There is quite a bit of debate about this topic and | | | | and very deep”. |
| sometimes people are lucky to strike the magic | | | | Tomamu, Rusutsu and Kamui Links also offer |
| powder day in a resort making it seem like the | | | | fabulous powder skiing and all have a more relaxed |
| perfect powder skiing resort. | | | | approach to tree skiing than Furano. Where they lack |
| In search of the perfect powder stash, the | | | | however is in the steepness of the terrain and also |
| Powderhounds have ventured to a number of | | | | fall short on vertical (which isn’t really a huge |
| Japan’s top ski resorts in Hokkaido and Honshu | | | | deal; I would personally rather ski 300 metres of |
| to try and find the answer to this question. Our ideal | | | | perfect powder with the perfect pitch as opposed |
| powder skiing resort is one where you can get fresh | | | | skiing down 1,500 metres of “elephant |
| tracks for at least a 2 – 3 days after a snow fall | | | | snot”). |
| (without having to hike any more than 10 mins from | | | | Another little gem is Asahidake which is located o an |
| the lifts). The quality of the snow should be light and | | | | active volcano. This is a semi unguided backcountry |
| dry and be a minimum of 150 cm (6 inches) deep | | | | experience and there are lots of powder stashed |
| (but preferable knee to waist deep). | | | | however the entire area is serviced by a single cable |
| If you are lucky enough to ski Japan, you will | | | | car. Crowds are generally not a problem; it there can |
| certainly get the depth and quality of snow with | | | | be a bit of waiting around for the next cable car to |
| average snow falls of many Japan ski resorts | | | | arrive and leave meaning your day of skiing can be |
| receiving in excess of 10 metres (360 inches) of dry | | | | limited to half a dozen quality runs. |
| powder. The most popular ski resort in Japan for | | | | The Powderhounds haven’t spent enough time |
| foreigners is Niseko and for good reason. Niseko is | | | | on Honshu to provide any comparative information |
| reported to receive over 15 metres (540 inches) of | | | | apart from Hakuba in the Nagano prefect. There are |
| snowfall annually and although it is a coastal mountain; | | | | actually 8 ski areas in the Hakuba Valley that can be |
| its northern latitude ensures constant cold | | | | accessed off the one lift pass however most of |
| temperatures. Our experience of Niseko is that it | | | | them are not interlinked via lifts. |
| seems to snow just about every day. And when it | | | | Hakuba has a big vertical of 1,000 metres and has a |
| snows, it dumps huge amounts of deep, dry, | | | | huge snowfall averaging 11 metres. Our experience of |
| bottomless powder. | | | | Hakuba was that the quality of powder snow was |
| The downside of Niseko is that because of this | | | | heavier than that of the Hokkaido resorts (however |
| incredibly good snow falls and its fabulous terrain and | | | | this could have been an anomaly given we were only |
| vertical of over 1000 metres (3,000 feet), it is being | | | | there for 1 week in January). The other negative |
| totally inundated by Powderhounds from around the | | | | about Hakuba is that like Furano, they have very |
| world. The chance of getting fresh tracks even after | | | | strict policies about skiing out-of-bounds. When it |
| a day from the last snow fall (without having to | | | | does snow however, the ski area is quite large and |
| really work the backcountry) is diminishing as the | | | | getting fresh tracks on and around the piste is |
| crowds increase. It is just lucky that they receive a | | | | possible for several hours after a snowfall. |
| fresh dump nearly every day. Another resort in | | | | So where is the best powder ski resort in Japan? |
| Hokkaido that receives good snowfalls (up to 9 | | | | For our money, if you only have limited time and |
| metres) is Furano. The advantage of Furano is that it | | | | want to get the most out of your powder skiing |
| tends to have very low numbers of visitors | | | | holiday you can’t go past Niseko. You can easily |
| compared to Niseko. It is not uncommon to have | | | | spend 10 – 14 days in Niseko without being bored |
| fabulous skiing in knee deep powder on the piste at | | | | of the terrain. If on the other hand you do have a bit |
| Furano however one of the setbacks is that tree | | | | of time (say 2 weeks or more), it is well worth |
| skiing and off-piste is frowned upon by the resort. | | | | spreading your time across several resorts to |
| They are however reportedly lightening up on these | | | | experience the variety of terrain on offer within the |
| rules allowing skiers into designated off-piste areas | | | | various ski areas. Driving around in Japan is quite |
| within the resort boundaries. There are a couple of | | | | straight forward as long as you have a GPS and |
| backcountry tour operators that operate in Furano. | | | | there is also an incredibly good public transport |
| These guys have access to areas not available to | | | | system of buses & trains making it pretty easy and |
| the public. The Powderhounds have skied some of | | | | inexpensive to get around. |
| these areas and they are nothing short of “steep | | | | |