Skiing Japan

My week long Japow adventure was with a group of journalist/writers and guided by the boys from Snowlocals, a small but dedicated US-based tour operator/guiding company. Brothers Charlie and Jake Cohn started SnowLocals after visiting Japan for the first time in 2011 and they now use their extensive local knowledge and relationships with local resorts to create “custom trips to the deepest snow on earth”. While Japan is not the only destination SnowLocals will take skiers to, it certainly is one that they specialize in. The Cohn brothers take all the guess work out of organizing a ski adventure to Japan and can show you the well known resorts if that’s your thang but what they really specialize in is finding those out-of-the-way, hidden gems that no one has discovered yet. If uncrowded, powder-laden resort skiing is your quest then Snowlocals has the beta. With over 500 ski resorts in Japan (there reportedly used to be 1,000) it pays to know when and where to go. The SnowLocal team ensures that everything goes smoothly, their local knowledge is invaluable and the fact that they can show you secret stashes as well, that alone is worth its weight in gold.

The reason Japan get so much snow each winter comes down to simple geography. The cold arctic winds from Siberia blow across the Sea of Japan and pick up moisture, then when they hit the mountains of Hokkaido this moisture falls in the form of snow—and lots of it. While it never dumped snow at a crazy rapid rate while I was there, large storms are not uncommon. It did snow continually for the 5 days I skied which meant fresh turns every morning. What more could you want really? The Hokkaido region of Japan sees between 750 and 1,300cm of snowfall per season with an average winter temperature at Resutsu resort ranging from -5.2  to -6.6 over the months of December, January and February. Combine these tow stats and you can see why you are pretty much guaranteed coldsmoke pow most days.

Over the course of the week we spent our days shredding pow at two hidden Japan gems, Rusutsu Resort which in 2017 named the “Best Ski Resort in Japan” beating out more popular and well known resorts such as Niseko. The second was Mount Racey which is a much smaller resort but didn’t lack for snow nor personality. Lets look at each of these resorts in a little more detail

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A 90min drive from the city of Sapporo on the island of Hokkaido you’ll find the ski resort of Rusutsu which boasts the largest network of trails and most lift capacity of any resort in Hokkaido. With 18 lifts (including 4 gondolas) and 1,949’ of vertical, this is one big resort by Japanese standards. The massive terrain and network of high-speed chairs and gondolas mean that Rusutsu isn’t nearly as busy as the better known resorts in the area. Even though it snows pretty much non-stop, there are no lift lines and fresh tracks are super easy to find. 

The backcountry touring is easily accessible just off the resort but there was literally no one taking advantage of the terrain. I spent a full day ski touring off East Mountain and didn’t see another person all day, our tracks were the only ones on the entire back side of the mountain.

If the terrain on Rusutu’s three mountains isn’t enough then you can always consider Mt Shiribetsu Heli-Ski which is a new Heli-Ski operation that launched last year just next door to Rusutsu. If skiing isn’t your thing then there are also lots of other activities to enjoy such as swimming at the indoor wave pool, chilling at one of two onsens or perhaps snowmobiling, snow rafting and dog Sledding are more to your liking.

Runs: 37
Beginner: 30%
Intermediate: 40%
Advanced: 30%
Longest run: 3,500m
Vertical: 1,949ft / 594m
Lift: 18, including 4 gondola
Tickets: 5,800 Yen
Season: Dec - April 
Three mountains: Mt. Isola, East Mt. and West Mt.
Location: 90km from Sapporo

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After an incredible three days skiing at Rusutsu we headed for the more reserved ski hill of Mt. Racey in the quaint town of Yubari. Mount Racey just happens to be the closest ski resort to the new Chitose Airport which means you can be on the hill within an hour of departing the airport. There’s plenty of ski in/ski out accommodation at Hotel Mount Racey located at the foot of the Gondola station. With a total of six lifts, night skiing and plenty of trees protecting the mountain’s powder stashes, Mt. Racey is not a resort to be missed. While short on stature compared to other resorts in Hokkaido Mount Racey is big on character. 

The nearby town of Yubari once boasted a population of 120,000 thanks to its coal-mining industry but since Japan now relies on nuclear energy the population barely cracks 11,000 residence. This simply means more pow per person!

Stats:
Runs: 18
Beginner: 20%
Intermediate: 40%
Advanced: 40%
Longest run: 3,500m
Vertical: 404m
Lift: 6, including 1 gondola
Tickets: 5,000 Yen
Season: Dec - April 
Location: 60km from Sapporo

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Both Rusutsu and Mount Racey offer up great skiing but the resorts are quite different in many ways so if you can it’s ideal to visit them both. Rusutsu has much more terrain and vertical drop than Mount Racey and also gets more snow over the season. its huge infrastructure of lifts, hotels and restaurants makes it feel like a true Disneyland resort ideal for hardcore skier and families alike. Mount Racey, on the other hand, is much more humble, with one hotel at the base of the gondola and not nearly the number of runs or lifts. While the vertical is much smaller, Mount Racey has plenty of treed powder stashes to seek out and play in as well as a relaxed family atmosphere. It’s hard to say one resort shines more than the other as both have their unique features that make then both worth a visit.

Hokkaido is Japan’s second largest island and sits between the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific Ocean. The capital city of Sapporo was host to the 1972 Winter Olympics and is a great launching point for a ski adventure especially since Hokkaido is home to the most ski resorts in Japan. You’ll find many smaller resorts located in this region of Japan but also some of the largest as well and of course, plenty of that legendary coldsmoke pow that Japan is famous for. If you make it to Sapporo be sure to check out their Ice Festival in early February, it takes over the downtown and has so many unique things to see and do.

Experiencing the legendary JaPOW was made possible by my good friends at Snowlocals and the trip was sponsored by Spyder, Allied Feather and Down, Popticals, Nordica and Shred helmet and goggles. A big thanks to all of these great companies. 

If you are planning a ski adventure to Japan then consider giving Charlie and Jake at SnowLoocls a call, they’ll be able to show you the goods and send you home smiling. For more info on skiing in Japan read our latest post here.

Photos by Guy Fattal Photography.