HOKKAIDO, JAPAN POWDER SAFARI

POWDER SAFARI 

Riding powder in Hokkaido is a bucketlist experience.  Japan is so much more than just a snow trip, it's an explosion of fantastic experiences from the food, the landscapes, the people and their culture.
 

Our main goal is to show you some of the best spots to ride pow in Hokkaido.

Our trips offers a very flexible schedule that allows us to follow the best snow and weather conditions everyday. Obviously the island has a lot more to offer than what we can possible cover in 6 days or even in 2 weeks, but we will show you some of our secret spots.

For private groups we can customize the program to your wish. Get in touch to discuss more details. 

Come ride with us!

We customize each week to our guests needs. Whether your group is a mix of skiers and snowboarders, with or without skins, snowshoes or splitboarders only, we guarantee lots of powder runs. We don't have any pre arrangement for what resorts or which areas we will bring our guests on any given day. We follow the best snow conditions on the island.

We move around in mini vans and with our flexible schedule comes the possibility of change of accommodation on a daily basis. We advise you to travel light. 

Accommodation can be both classic private Japanese tatami style and western styled rooms (subject to availability). 

We will go to the onsen(hotspring bath) every day after riding and before we head out for dinner together. 

The last night of the trip you will be in a hotel at the airport with onsen and restaurant to enjoy a last night before flying back home early in the morning.
 

During the 6 days riding you will experience the famous powder of Hokkaido. Each of the days we will be riding lift accessed terrain in resorts with some daily hiking/touring outtabounds to access more powder. Somedays we might just skip the resort and go full touring depending the group.

Our daily objective is to ride as much powder as possible. For the best experience we recommend guests bring splitboard, snowshoes/verts or touring skis for pow only.

We can organize full days of touring if group prefers more untracked days (please note that snowshoe rentals are not included for riders without splitboards).  

On demand we can organize a special day of Heli, Catski or sled accessed day of riding at extra cost.

DAY 1:
GROUP PICK UP 2PM @ New Chitose Airport in Sapporo, Japan. Important everyone respect this as we have a couple hours drive to reach our hotel.
If you cannot get a travel plan to arrive before 2pm we suggest you arrive the night before and we can help you book a hotel at the airport or close by for extra cost.
Depending all arrivals are going as planned we will go for a classic Japanese Onsen followed by welcome dinner.
 

DAY 2-7:
On a typical day after breakfast we will drive to the resort of the day usually we will be within a 30-45min drive to where we plan to ride. Some days the drive can be an hour or so. Lunch is on mountain either at a restaurant or we stop on road to mountain to shop for lunch bag if we are touring. After riding we will go to a local traditional Japanese onsen(hot spring bath) before we go for dinner. 

Change of accommodation is possible on a daily basis and you will of course be notified in due time. This is all part of the adventure and gives us the freedom to chase the best conditions for your trip. 

Remember you are here to ride pow;-)
 

DAY 7:
DROP OFF around 6-8PM @ New Chitose Airport in Sapporo. Where you will be checked into a hotel and enjoy a last onsen and dinner(not included) before your flight departure early the next morning. (Subject to availabilty, sometimes we stay in a hotel 10min drive with shuttle bus from the airport).
 

DAY 8:
Don’t be late for your flight;-) Make sure you order your wake up call and shuttlebus if needed at the reception. Ask your guides for help and advice if needed.

Average January temp from -12 to -4°C depending elevation, wind and distance from ocean. In Central Hokkaido you can expect upto -20°C So Layer up & Bring a facemask!

Beacon, Shovel & Probe is a must have on all our trips and a minimum knowledge of use is good to have. But we will run a few beacon clinics during your trip.
 

You will receive an equipment packing list shortly after your deposit has arrived in our account.

Your guides speak English, German, French, Norwegian, Swedish and Danish.

Some useful phrases:

arigatou (thanks)
arigatou gozaimasu (thank you very much)
sumimasen (exuse me)
ohayougozaimasu (good morning)
konnichiwa (good afternoon)
 

All of the above program is subject to change and weather conditions

7 Days accommodation in twin room with breakfast

6 Days riding with private guide in group of max 6 

- Liftpasses
- Private return airport transfers
- Beacon Search clinic and basic backcountry skills training
- Daily hosting by Vistas Tours guide to restaurants and bars

Flights
Personal insurance (Mandatory)
Off piste insurance/ Mountain Rescue insurance (Mandatory)

*Snowshoe hire, Cat skiing or Sled access days is always extra cost
Lunch and dinners
Equipment hire

If you wish to combine your trip with some days in Tokyo or Sapporo let us know and we can help you plan the trip.

HOKKAIDO is the magical powder island just north of the mainland of Japan that you probably already heard of. The annual average snowfall is between 8-11 meters some years A LOT more...and trust us when we say that this is a powder heaven, we are actually convinced that this place was created by the powder gods and we are excited to invite you to our unique POWDER SAFARI sessions.

This week is for intermediate to experienced riders that want to ride powder.
This is NOT for beginners...

Let us show you around this snowy island we like to call Japowadise. 

By Plane
Fly to New Chitose Airport (CTS) in Sapporo, Japan.