How to ski Japan next winter with 5 vacation days and $2500
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Over the last few years, Hokkaido — Japan’s northern island — has begun to emerge as a world-class destination for skiing and snowboarding. We’re not just talking your run of the mill mountain experience here — people travel to Hokkaido from far and wide in search of one thing and one thing only: powder. Averaging over 6" per day during the month of January — and somewhere around 800" per season — few if any places on earth rival Hokkaido if guaranteed deep turns are on your wish list.
I traveled to Niseko during January 2017 with my brother and 3 close friends. The trip was about a year in the making, and while more and more information continues to pop up on the Japanese ski experience, I thought it would be helpful to pull together a concise guide for those looking to embark on a similar journey next season and beyond.
As a caveat, I visited Hokkaido for 1 week during a more expansive 2-week trip throughout Japan. If time and money are plentiful, I absolutely recommend venturing to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and the many other spectacular destinations throughout Japan. This guide focuses exclusively on the Niskeo part of our trip and how to fully experience Japow within 1 week and for under $2500.
When to go
The heart of the season lasts from late December through mid February. January is the absolute sweet spot. While it may require some delicate strategy to duck out of the office, you’re in this for powder, and January historically delivers most of it. If you can’t swing that, late December through mid February are relatively good bets. Geek out with these charts to see what you’re likely to be working with.
Day 0–2: Travel (Sat AM-Sun PM)
Getting to Japan
We traveled direct on Japan Airlines (JAL) from JFK (New York) to Narita (Tokyo). The other major airport in Tokyo is Haneda, which works as well. We booked in August for approx. $800 and traveled on a brand new Dreamliner. We saw 1-spot connecting flights dip below $600 on low cost airlines such as China Eastern, but given our tight schedule — and the fact that a direct flight is nearly 15 hours in its own right — we felt it was worth ponying up a couple hundred bucks more for a direct flight on a trusted airline.
Getting to Hokkaido
Japan Rail sells a week-long unlimited rail pass that I recommend purchasing for added convenience. This takes additional planning up front — you must activate at either the Airport or Tokyo Station — but allows you to simply walk onto trains without purchasing additional tickets at most stations throughout the country. This saves a ton of time and stress dealing with the general language barrier, ticket machines that only accept local credit cards and yen, etc. when you’re trying to enjoy the short time you have at each station (not-to-mention, make your connections).
Once you have your JR pass, you could decide to either spend a night in Tokyo or head directly North. If you’ve never been to Asia — or Tokyo in specific — I implore you to factor in an additional day on one or both ends to explore this world-class city. If you’re truly fiending snow, however, I would re-fuel with a quick bite to eat then start the journey right away.
From Tokyo Station, where you must check out world-renowned underground Ramen Street, board the Hokkaido Shinkansen train to Hakodate. This new link launched in March 2016 and enables you to travel directly to doorstep of the Northern island in just 4.5 hours. Upon arriving in Hakodate, 2 final 1.5 hour legs will bring you through Oshamambe to Kutchan, from where you can take a $10–15 cab to most accommodations.
If your itinerary allows for a stopover in either Hakodate, it’s absolutely worth factoring in 2–3 hours. In addition to its rich history as the first Japanese port open to international trade in the 1850s, the main attraction is seafood; namely, uni, ikura, scallops and king crab (as seen in a glorious pile below).
The JR trains are modern, comfortable and reach speeds of up to 200 MPH, forever tarnishing future Amtrak experiences to come. The journey could take as little as 9 hours, with the initial leg long enough to get some additional shut-eye if needed. There are some useful tools online to help you plan this aspect of your trip, which probably sounds daunting but is relatively straightforward with bit of research up-front.
Day 3–6: Skiing and boarding (Sun PM — Thurs PM)
Our resort experience was confined to Niseko United, a group of 4 base areas accessible via one lift pass — Niseko Hanazono, Niseko Grand Harifu, Niseko Village, and Niseko Annupuri — and the largest resort in Hokkaido. Niseko is located in the shadow of Mount Yotei, an inactive volcano towering 6K+ feet above the valley floor, which provides for a sweet view from the slopes. That is, when you’re not stuck in the white room.
Passes are insanely cheap based on US standards, with a full-resort ticket priced at around $60. If you’re dead-set on skiing just one part of the mountain — which you could absolutely do and keep yourself entertained for days — pricing drops closer to $30.
Other options to check out are Rusutsu and Kiroro, which are smaller than the Niseko United but both said to be epic in the right conditions (which occur frequently).
Snow
We arrived to Niseko during the worst start to the season in 5+ years. We were at first pretty disappointed given the hype that had been built up over the past few years. That said, even 1+ week after the last major dump, we were able to find soft and fresh turns with minimal effort. Like anywhere else, the further you trek off the beaten path, the more likely you’ll find what you’re looking for. Each day, we were surprised again and again with how little effort this took.
After spending weeks monitoring the weather forecast, upon arrival and chatting with locals we quickly learned that locals take these very much with a grain of salt . While the forecast is typically good for tracking the arrival and departure of major systems (of which there were none during our stay), on 2 of 4 nights we woke up to a surprise 8+ inches on the ground when nothing had been forecasted.
While this wasn’t the insane Japow we had been hoping for, it was straight up the lightest best snow I have ever experienced in my life. Those days were 2 of the best I’ve ever had on a mountain, and gave us all a taste of what ‘typical’ Niseko could offer, leaving us longing for an inevitable return during better times.
Terrain
Mountains in Hokkadio are not generally known for their steeps, but don’t let that discount the awesome array of the terrain accessible with a lift ride and short hike. While many resorts throughout Japan are quite strict in terms of side country and backcountry access, Niskeo’s policy closely mirrors that of many North American resorts. There are a handful of gates accessible via short traverses that provide access to epic side-country terrain.
Most of Niseko’s slopes cap out at 30–35 degrees, which along with the nature of the snowpack limits the likelihood of avalanches (though you should always be prepared with necessary gear when venturing out of bounds)! The best way to describe the terrain is playful — there is no shortage of super fun 5–20 feet drops, which are all the easier to stomach when you’re bombing into feet of untracked superhero snow.
Off Niseko Hanazono (skiers left), a massive area of wide open bowls dumps into a super playful section of trees and drops, all of which funnels down to a regularly maintained cat track that is a 20–40 minute uphill walk back to the nearest trail. Off Niseko Annupuri (skiers right), an expansive and steep treed face feeds into a large ravine, that eventually filters directly back to the base. The beauty of the resort’s layout is that you can comfortably traverse quite far off-piste without serious concern of getting lost, which goes all the further to guaranteeing fresh turns should you arrive during a dry period.
Nightskiing
A huge portion of Niskeo Grand Hirafu is lit up every night. While we didn’t have the fortune too much on-piste powder — and therefore couldn’t experience our romantic dream of wide-open powder skiing under the lights— it was still a cool experience to get right on the slopes upon our evening arrival. That said, as the illumination seeps into a few steeper wooded areas, we were able to find some soft snow, a sweet experience that I won’t soon forget (caveat: again, do this at your own risk).
Tours
We budgeted for 1 day of catskiing at Chesinpuri with Black Diamond Tours. Chesinpuri is one of a number of abandoned resorts from Japan’s economic boom of the 1980’s where everybody and their mother was building ski hills. As a result of the subsequent bust, in addition to the high sulfur content from the omnipresent hot springs, many of the smaller resorts went belly up. This one in specific has been given a new lease on life as a result of a deal struck between Black Diamond and the local government (which still runs regular military training on-site).
All-in-all, our full-day of catskiing was a great experience for about $280/person, which bought us approx. 10 runs plus lunch and round trip transportation. While the terrain was quite mellow and certainly did not compare to Niseko, more difficult options were typically priced accordingly (most we saw ran $500+). I’ll add that while heli-skiing exists, given the frequency with which it dumps, I’ve heard stories of people waiting days to weeks to get up in the air.
Gear
We rented high performance gear from Rhythm Niseko, which allows you to reserve your setup online in advance to your trip which allowed for an overall very streamlined experience. They even offer clothing rentals, which was helpful for a few of the guys in our group. Most importantly, the gear was high quality and they were super chill about allowing you to swap our boards according to conditions. I went through 3 boards in 4 days, for example, which perfectly suited the unusual array of conditions we experienced.
Eating and nightlife
One of coolest parts of the Japanese ski experience is hands down the food. If you’re a foodie like me, you could understand how a top notch bowl of ramen or plate of curry could blow away the best chicken fingers or burger money can buy in the states. Same goes for the pork bun shack where you would typically find a waffle hut.
Off the slopes, there is a thriving food and nightlife scene in the town of Hirafu at the base of Niseko United. As a rule, we found TripAdvisor to be a solid resource throughout our trip. That said, I have included a few memorable recommendations below.
In terms of dinner, there are a ton of great options across the cost spectrum. I would plan for at least one night an authentic Izakaya experience, which consistent of cheap, no-frills grilled meats along with your choice of sake, beers, or liquor. I would reserve the same for seafood, especially if you didn’t have a chance to sample elsewhere in Hokkaido.
- Izakaya: Bang 2
- Seafood: Ezo Seafoods
- Hot Pot: Ryunabe
In terms of going out, there are 4–6 spots that we visited out during our time there. Drinks are reasonably priced but like anywhere else, pregaming is the way to go if you’re trying to save money. That said, I recommend checking out the following:
- Speakeasy: Bar Gyu+ (AKA the fridge door bar)
- Pregame/Dive Bar: Barunba
- Fun bar: Wild Bills
- Late night: Big Foot
For drinks, main local beers include Sapporo and Kirin. Japanese whisky has recently experienced a huge boom, and while not cheap I would highly recommend sampling Hibiki, Nikka and Suntory. Upon return, you’ll notice that these are readily available and reasonably priced at liquor stores and more and more restaurants throughout the US (and in my opinion, competitive with their American and Scottish counterparts)!
Vending
There is a prominent vending culture all throughout Japan, which extends through your journey up North. You’ll find hot and cold coffee, tea, soda, and juice at every train stations and in every city along your journey. Better yet, some lift lines throughout Niseko have vending machines, which is the perfect way to hydrate, warm up or caffeinate for less than $1 without heading into the lodge — it’s a shame we’ll never see anything like this stateside!
Onsens
As Hokkaido is home to many volcanos, ‘onsens’ — bathhouses fed by natural hot springs, are a cultural staple. These exist in many versions — from spa-like experiences in 5-star hotels to a $3/person spots on the countryside. We opted for the latter while in Niseko, which was nicely complemented with Kirin vending machines featuring $1 beers. Most provide a gender-specific experience, however we heard that some are mixed-sex. Regardless of where you visit, the experience typically goes as follows.
- Remove shoes
- Pay for access, which typically includes a towel and/or access to locker
- Locate the appropriate locker room
- Get naked and find the shower stalls
- Pre-shower yourself while sitting on a small plastic stool
- Find hot spring, relax, and get drunk
- Post-shower, again on a small plastic stool
- Get dressed
- Find shoes and exit
The onsens provide a unique taste of local culture that checks the box for a hot-tub-ish offering after a long cold day on the slopes. That said, you have to be comfortable showing your skin and, in peak hours, getting up close and personal with both friends and strangers. Let’s just say certain members of our party weren’t (no photos for this section)!
Lodging
We stayed in an Airbnb and had a fantastic experience. This modern home was about a 10 minute walk from the heart of Hirafu or 20 minutes from the base of Grand Hirafu (both very uphill). That said, it was just around the corner from a shuttle stop for a bus that arrived every ~15 minutes during the morning and afternoon to shuttle you either into town or to the mountain base of your choice. Most food and nightlife was within a 10 minute walk, so we never required a car or cab to get around. Our unit comfortably fit our 5 person group at approx. $150/person/night and could have easily squeezed 1–2 in common areas to save cost.
There are a number of hotels throughout Niseko — from the familiar Hilton Niseko at the base of Niseko Village to the boutique Ki Niseko at the high end to a handful of options at the more affordable end of the spectrum. Given our experience and if you’re with a larger group, I would recommend AirBnb if remotely possible. If you’re traveling with just 1–2 other people, or are looking to shave another $300–500 off the cost of your trip, a hostel may be most attractive from a pure dollars and cents standpoint.
Day 7–8: Return (Fri AM-Sat PM)
Grab an early AM cab from your accommodation to Kutchan station to initiate you journey home. Travel back down south Friday through Hakodate and into Tokyo — try to rally whatever energy you have left and grab one last epic meal before you leave. Spend the night in Tokyo at an accommodation of your choosing (another chance to save additional cash) and catch a flight back Sunday morning. Remember, you’re 13 hours ahead, so you’ll back home just a few hours after you depart and make up for what felt like lost time on your journey out.
Day 9: Sunday
Unpack, do laundry, re-acclimate to the time zone, eat a hamburger or bowl of pasta, and start planning next year’s trip.
Overall Cost
Round Trip Direct Flight
$800
1-week Japan Rail Pass
$250
Airbnb ($100/night/person for 5 nights)
$500
Tokyo Hotel ($100/night/person for 1 night)
$100
Food and drink ($40/day (x7))
$280
Lift ticket ($60/day (x4))
$240
Gear Rental ($35/day (x4))
$140
Overall
$2360
5% (Contingency/Omakase sushi budget)
$118
Grand Total
$2,478
Look, this is by no means cheap — but you could easily spend this amount and more on a week at [insert commercialized Western US resort name here]. We had some of the best turns of our lives during a dry spell in one of the worst seasons in recent memory. Beyond this, as our group’s first trip to Asia this doubled as an unforgettable cultural and life experience.
If skiing in Japan is on your radar, I highly recommend you look into making a trip ASAP. The Auzzies are taking over and luxury real estate development is in full swing throughout Hirafu and beyond. While this isn’t all necessary bad, I wouldn’t be surprised if what’s left of the authentic Japanese ski experience becomes gradually diluted in years to come.
*****
Thanks for reading — feel free to reach out with any questions!
-Bryan
Co-Founder @ SnowSearch
bryan@snowsearch.io
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