Ski the world

Powder, powder everywhere!

The first thing someone who has skied Japan says ‘The powder is amazing’. That’s because it is widely known that Japan offers some of the most amazing skiing and snowboarding in the world precisely because of its reputation for excellent powder conditions, all levels of terrain and literally hundreds of resorts to choose from including traditional Japanese-style living on the snow and more Westernised resorts.

The second thing they mention is the ‘onsens’ or the hot springs and baths that attract visitors after a day on the slopes.

The third thing is ‘I don’t suffer from jet lag because it’s not that long to fly from Australia to Japan – about 10 hours from memory. Vancouver direct from Sydney is 14 hours and if you go via LA or San Francisco in the United States (also about 14 hours), add another six or seven hours minimum with customs to go through, changing flights and the inevitable time spent in airport land.

Experience Amazing Powder Snow

So where does all this great powder come from? The prevailing cold winds from Siberia hit Japan and fall as quality powder snow from November to April. The Nagano, Niigata and Thohoku areas on Honshu also receive consistent high-quality snow throughout the season.

The problem for most Australians is that skiing powder is not familiar to them. It can take a while to get used to the experience even if you are a good intermediate skier. That’s why many Japanese ski resorts have English-speaking instructors who can help new powder skiers to get the most out of their ski or snowboarding holiday.

Where to go for powder in Japan

Here’s a couple of ideas but there are plenty of resorts to choose from.

Niseko, Hokkaido

Think powder snow, think Japan!

Many powder hounds head to the northern island of Hokkaido in search of deep powder, off-piste runs and challenging terrain. Hokkaido is the coldest and most northern Japanese island and receives some of the best snow in Japan. Probably the most popular resort, and one of the most well-known on Hokkaido, is Niseko.

Nagano, Honshu

Hakuba, about an hour’s drive from Nagano, is arguably the most popular winter sports region in Honshu and has lots of snow resorts set against an impressive backdrop of a 30km stretch of mountains.

There’s more than 200 runs for skiers and boarders of all ski/snowboarding levels. Hakuba features 14 ski areas joining together to form six large ski resorts. For example, Hakuba Alpen Resort has three resorts – Happo-one, Hakuba Iwatake and Tsugaike Kogen – serviced by one lift pass. can ski all the three ski areas on the same pass on the same day and a free shuttle bus connects all ski areas.

Located one hours drive west of Nagano is Hakuba – One of the best ski resorts in Japan. Hakuba is ideal for skiing and snowboarding.

Nagano is best remembered by older skieres for hosting the 1998 Winter Olympics. The Olympics promplted the fast Shinkansen link to Tokyo making access to the ski area fast and very easy to manage.

Shiga Kogen resort near Nagano

Shiga Kogen is a ski resort set in the Joshinetsu National Park near Nagano. It is one of the largest ski areas in Japan with over 21 ski fields and 70 plus lifts, gondolas, ropeways and tows.

Myoko Kogen on Honshu

Under an hour’s drive north of Nagano City is Myoko Kogen which has an annual average snowfall of more than 13m of deep powder.

With 25 ski areas in the Myoko Kogen ski region, Myoko has been a ski resort since the 1930s, making it one of the oldest ski resorts in the world. At Myoko, it’s like being in a traditional village rather than some of the more modern resorts.

These are just a few of the Japanese ski fields which will be coming to life in mid-November when the 2011–2012 Northern Hemisphere ski season takes off.