Japan Ski Touring 2024

Our 2024 Japan Ski Touring trips include a foray into the Japanese Alps around the lesser known area of Tenjin, a trip to the lesser known Aomori Springs area combined with the popular Niseko zone and lastly a trip to central Hokkaido to explore more amazing powder, natural hot springs and smoking volcanos. Each week is set-up to run as a stand-alone trip but if you wanted to join for more that one just let us know!

This year we're starting in the more southern area near Hakuba in the small town of Minakami for what we're calling our Tenjin trip. From there we move further north on the main island of Honshu for a few days before jumping over to the popular Niseko zone in southern Hokkaido for week 2. Then, for week 3, we'll continue to head north into central Hokkaido to ski the areas in and around Asahidake National Park.

Trip 1 - 8 Day Tenjin Tour:

Home based will be the small town Minakami, found a few hours north of Tokyo by train, at Micasa, a cozy family owned hotel. From there we’ll make forays into the local mountains using the various ski lifts to gain access to some amazing backcountry ski runs through picturesque Japanese forests. We allways spend a few days at the Tenjin Ski Resort as it offers some amazingly long ski runs that are easy to access but Kagura Snow Resorts is also a must do with great micro-brew beer vending machines and the "Dragondola", oh and it has some great storm skiing as well!

Trip 2 - 10 Day Aomori Springs & Niseko Tour:

About as far north as you can get on the main island of Honshu is Aomori city, the snowiest inhabited city earth! We'll be based out of Aomori Springs on the northern slopes of the Mt. Iwaki. Hokkaido type powder combined with some steep tree skiing make this volcano an amazing zone to explore. The latter half of the trip will find us in the Niseko area. Volcanoes coated in world renown "Japow" will await us there along with steaming onsens (hot springs) and seafood that's about as fresh as it gets.

Trip 3 - 8 Day Central Hokkaido Tour:

We’ll hit the inland powder highway on Hokkaido for some amazing skiing, beautiful natural onsen pools and of course some great food. With stops at various locations including Asahidake for a few days with fingers crossed for a bluebird summit day. The Hakuginso zone skiing peaks such as Tokachidake, Maetokachidake and Furanodake. And, depending on weather, a stop at Furano or Kamui for some storm skiing or Tomamu for some amazing backcountry. This package will get you a well rounded look at what the less-touristy areas of Hokkaido have to offer.

Sign up for any week depending on your preference – a bit steeper (Tenjin), a bit deeper (Hokkaido) or something different (Aomori Springs). Or better yet, join us for couple of weeks! But be warned, these areas get a massive amount of snowfall. Additional details can be found in the Itinerary tab.

The Scene:

Now half the fun of a Japan ski touring holiday is checking out the local culture and of course the local food. Japanese apres ski culture always involves a long soak in an Onsen, a traditional natural hot spring, to ease tired muscles. That is followed by an amazing meal. Sushi, ramen, okonomiyaki, takoyaki, omo-rice and more might not mean much to you now, but they’ll soon become favorites!

Of course no foreign vacation is complete without sampling some of the local beer and spirits! Not to worry, Japan’s famous for its amazing Scotch and Sake, but of course it also has a booming craft brewery scene that begs to be sampled as well. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Foodie, fine beverage connoisseur or an avid skier just looking for some filling food at the end of a big day you will be more than happy with the local offerings.

Waiver & Risk Management:

As you know, outdoor activities involve numerous hazards including, but not limited to, avalanches, crevasses, rockfall, slips and falls, equipment failure, poor weather, etc. And while we do our best to anticipate and mitigate these hazards we cannot completely eliminate them. So, as with anything fun, you will be required to sign our Participant Release to take part in one of our courses or trips.