Mountain Weekly News ~
There, just outside the window of my room in the snow bum lodge in Hakuba, Japan, stood some of the most magnificent peaks, snow-glazed ramps and spires rivalling the European Alps after which they’re named. Yes, Japan is truly an amazing place to play in the snow on snowboard or ski. The peaks are awe-inspiring, the terrain is worthy of a poem, and the snow will make you giggle like the first time you fell in love.
When you’re done sliding downhill for the day, though, you’re in Japan, a place where the culture is rivaled only by the food; where beauty unfolds every day and seemingly always has if you’ve read any of Basho’s haikus. It’s familiar to everything you know and yet so different you can’t help but return home changed.
Don’t get it twisted, though: a Japan ski trip isn’t like going to Colorado, or Europe, or any of the longstanding ski destinations. There’s a lot more at play, especially if you want to do a Japan trip on your own terms.
Best Way to Get to Japan for a Ski Vacation
Let’s start with the obvious: Japan is far. From America, you’re talking about a 13-hour flight from the West Coast. Singapore Air has been voted the top airline in the world by SkyTraxx for several years running, and having just flown from LAX-NRT on them I have to second that.
As it goes, the easiest way to get to the land of the rising sun is to fly to Tokyo. There are two airports there: NRT (Narita) or HND (Haneda). Your best bet is to fly there and then continue on to your ski destination (though you should take some time in Tokyo because, you know, it’s Tokyo). There are a couple places in Japan to ski but if you’re taking your first trip to the island, you should start at Hakuba or Hokkaido. Or maybe both.
To get to Hakuba, you have a few options. Either take the bullet train (Shinkansen) from Tokyo to Nagano or you can take a bit longer of a commuter train directly to the Hakuba Valley train station. If you go to Nagano, you can either get the ski bus or rent a car. I rented a car, which was amazing because I could drive resort to resort, though it should be noted they do drive on the other side of the road.
To get to Hokkaido, you fly into Sapporo (airport code CTS). Coming from the US, you’ll have to connect in Tokyo. Meanwhile I rode a few days in Hakuba, then flew from Toyama to Hokkaido on one of the nicest domestic flights I’ve ever taken. From Sapporo there are buses to Niseko or, again, you can rent a car and really open up the possibilities.
A Few Tips to Travelling on Trains in Japan With Skis and Boards
To start, don’t carry your skis and board on the train. Just… don’t. Most of the trains don’t have much storage. There’s no storage if you have to use local metro. But if you want to take the bullet train – highly recommended – you’re going to piss everybody off if you lug your board bag onto the train and block up all the overhead storage.
So ship your skis and board to your first hotel in Japan; I used ShipSkis.com. Sent it off a week before I left, they were waiting for me when I arrived. Or you could fly with them and then use Minato to ship them to your next destination (though it usually takes at least a day to ship them between nearby cities, and it will be longer to the northern island). I shipped my bags from city to city my whole time there. The fee was about $30 and then you don’t have to worry about dragging them on public transportation.
Get money from 7-11. And pork buns. And onigiri and fried chicken. Seriously. You can eat like a king for, like, $20 a day.
Go to onsens. Yes, you’re naked in a bathhouse with other dudes. But floating around naked in an underground hot spring has to be one of the greatest apres rejuvenations ever.
Learn to use chopsticks. And at least some Japanese. The only place I went where everybody spoke English was the Ritz-Carlton Tokyo. And for sure download Google translate.
Then you’ll be ready for your epic shred trip.
Hakuba Skiing & Snowboarding, What to Expect
Hakuba is on the main, south island. The Hakuba Valley is ringed in by mountains known as the Japanese Alps. Hakuba is known for having the most technical terrain in Japan. I’m talking big lines. Some of them remind you of AK. And while it’s not as famous as it’s North Island compatriots for epic loads of Japow, I caught a storm that dropped 2 feet in a day in mid-March and it was one of those dream days you get just a few times in your life.
Hakuba Valley feels like a massive US ski town but a long time ago, before everything got all Disneyfied. It’s a conglomeration of towns spanning over 18 km, comprising 10 resorts all with a distinct personality. And with their Hakuba Valley pass, you can jump resort to resort, satisfying your rotten little guts with a buffet of insane terrain and inimitable snow. Most of the gondolas are old, round small things that sway in the breeze, making the gondy ride almost as fun as the descent. And it’s really never crowded.
Happo One is arguably the flagship, with lots of big wide fun runs but the backcountry access is next level. Though before you go to Happo One, you should check out Iwatake. From the summit, you can look over and see the heart-tickling smorgasborg of couloirs and stiff peaks proceeding up the ridge from the top of Happo One.
Just down from Happo One is Goryu, a big fun ski hill with one slope open at night (check that out if you want to do some moonlight hot laps and get your jib on with all the cool kids).
On the West Side sit Tsugaike and Hakuba Cortina. Tsugaike has some of the best slackcountry in the valley, with endless tree runs and their DBD Club – a special card you have to “apply” for at the resort that allows you to ski a gated lift-serviced slackcountry tree and rocky section. It also has a cool little base village and something I’ve never seen before, a full Burger King about 1/3 of the way up the hill. Hakuba Cortina, though, is considered the tree skiing mecca. Plus it has one of the raddest slopeside hotels I’ve ever seen, a wild white and red thing that Stephen King would have written about but Stanely Kubrick would have made an amazing movie from.
Habuka Lodging Options
If you’re looking for any Holiday Inns or Hiltons, you’ll be out of luck. The Hakuba Valley has a lot of great lodging choices but you won’t find many American chains. I stayed at Hakuba Powder Lodging, a classic “ski bum” lodge with bedrooms, shared bathrooms, an equipment room in the basement, and shared living rooms, kitchen, and dining room. Owned by a Canadian and his Japanese wife, if you want a place where you’ll get epic backcountry beta and maybe even find somebody who might want to join you on an OB escapade, this is the spot. It’s centrally-located in the valley, near Hakuba Station, with a breathtaking view of the mountains.
For an epic stay at about the most unique ski hotel you’ll ever see, stay at the Hotel Green Plaza Hakuba at Hakuba Cortina. Of course if you want some good old-fashioned American amenities and stylings, though, there is a Courtyard by Marriott Hakuba in “downtown” Hakuba. It’s a gorgeous hotel and don’t worry, even though it’s an American hotel you’ll still know you’re in Japan.
Skiing and Riding in Niseko
Then there’s Hokkaido. Hokkaido is known for its Japow. I managed to get a rare bluebird week for my stay but there was still plenty of soft pow everywhere the whole time. Any other place I’ve been to would have been skied out; instead we were hucking and slashing to our hearts’ delight.
Hokkaido has been a famous destination for longer, as evidenced by the most famous Japanese ski hill, Niseko United. Niseko is a good 3 hours or so from the Sapporo airport yet it’s the ski resort that would be most relatable if you’re used to skiing out west in the US. I mean, except for the fact that it’s a volcano with an awe-inspiring view of another volcano, Mt. Yotei. And it has single-chair lifts (just Bing “Japanese pizzabox lift”).
Plus it’s a Mountain Collective and Epic Pass resort so the already-low (by US standards) ticket prices are sliced and diced if you have either of those. Niseko is divided into 4 resorts that all converge towards the top of the volcano (and are connected by traverses and runs throughout). Each has its own personality. Niseko Hanazono is known for its ski school and terrain park.
Grand Hirafu is the “scene”, with a popping base village, a terrain park and some epic off-piste tree runs. Niseko Village is considered the toughest, with long steep runs and endless gullies, though unlike Hakuba all the gullies aren’t riddled with creeks and rivers. We hiked a little bootpack from the top lift and dropped into some beautiful slackcountry down to a wide, gorgeous gully before landing at Annupuri, a mellower more family-feeling hill. Niseko is world famous for good reason; so much fun. And its neighbor Rusutsu, a hill I first started dreaming of in Absinthe’s “Pop,” is another epic resort nearby.
That said, if you choose to stay in Sapporo, there are a bunch of great resorts nearby. I’ll even give you a tip for the best sleeper hill I went to on my trip: Sapporo Teine Highlands.
The in-bounds stuff is great, with off-piste pow, trees, and rocks for days. There’s a mostly-locals vibe but the real gold is found in the little hike-to area. Pass the giant towers. And the non-running tram. And you’ll enter ridges, bowls, and shots enough to fulfill your dreams. All with a breathtaking view of the city of Sapporo reaching out to the Sea of Japan.
Hokkaido Lodging
The most obvious choice in Hokkaido is to stay in Niseko, especially if you’re going for that full-luxury slopeside Japow ski trip. Hanazono has a Park Hyatt at the base (for point of reference, the hotel from “Lost in Translation” is the famous Park Hyatt Tokyo). Grand Hirafu has the Aya Niseko, a brand-new and gorgeous hotel. The cavernous Hilton sits next to the gondola at Niseko Village, right by a shopping and food area modeled after a traditional Japanese Village (and there’s a Green Leaf there, sister hotel to the property I mentioned at Hakuba Cortina). There’s also the Higashiyama Ritz-Carlton Niseko Village. Though I stayed in Sapporo for a few reasons.
To start, it’s closer to the airport and so with a car I could drive 2 hours to Niseko and when it was time to leave, only an hour to the Sapporo airport. Even more, as the largest city in the North Island you get a blend of big city with overhead snowbanks; screens as big as Tokyo, a street called ramen alley with 15 ramen joints (ramen was invented on the north island), and big mountains all around. Teine Highland is just one option more open to you when you stay in Sapporo (only a half-hour drive). There I stayed at the Onsen Ryokan Yuen Sapporo, a truly breathtaking urban spa hotel with an onsen, the traditional Japanese bathhouse, in the basement. Perfect after a day of skiing.
And again, if you’re looking for an American hotel in Sapporo, the Fairfield by Marriott Sapporo is a beautiful hotel, possibly one of the best Fairfields I’ve ever seen. Either way, for an urban ski trip, it’s hard to beat Sapporo.
Why Taking Ski Trip to Japan is a Must Do
The most famous Japanese poet, Matsuo Basho, who lived from 1644 to 1694, was a naturalist. He wrote about nature. While it’s impressive that he was doing it hundreds of years before Thoreau, it also speaks to the beauty of Japan.
The mountains can compete with anywhere in the world. The culture is an even blend of the past and the future, with centuries-old tradition and dignity and craftsmanship as well as heated toilet seats literally everywhere. The people are friendly, and there’s some serious backcountry though the park riders are insane. They do luxury well, service is unbeatable, and even “basic” is a clean, well-lighted place.
And of course, yeah, Japow.
Plus the dollar is strong compared to the yen and lift tickets are like $40.
Yeah, from the first time I watched the Japan Sequence in Travis Rice’s “Community Project,” I’ve dreamed of Japan. And it lived up to the dream and then some. If you hunger for insane terrain, unbeatable culture, legendary snow and attention to the good life, you literally need to book your trip to Japan for next winter. Like today.
Related Ski Articles
- Colorado’s Hidden Gem, Loveland Ski Area Review
- Deciding Whether To Take A Ski Trip to Jackson Hole this Winter?
- Hellroaring Powder Guides Offer Deep Untracked Powder Skiing
The post Going Big in Japan: A Snowboarder Skier’s Guide to Your Great Japanese Ski Adventure appeared first on Mountain Weekly News by Ryan Ariano.