Snowboarding in Hokkaido - Snowboarding Forum

AlexS · 03-30-2012, 03:18 PM

I'm taking a year off school and next year I am spending a few months in Asia. I thought it would be nice to spice up the trip with some snowboarding. I only know two things about snowboarding in Japan, one being the huge amounts of snow and the other being the lightness of the snow. Both things I'd really like.

So basically where should I go? I'm looking to spend around 10-14 days snowboarding so a mix of resorts would be great, and proximity between resorts would be nice too.
Also what month will I find the most powder days?

ETM · 03-30-2012, 08:40 PM

In Hokkaido 10-14 days can be spent at the one resort without getting bored, you could mix it up between 2 or 3 if you wanted. If it is your first trip I would say stick with Rusutsu and Niseko, they are both very close to each other and have more area than you could ever hope to explore in that time.
Keep an eye out later in the year, I will be posting my travel itinery and organising some meet ups with locals and other tourists at various mountains as I work my way from Tokyo to Hokkaido throughout jan and feb. Anyone is welcome to join in for all or part of the journey, share the stoke and keep the accom costs down for single travellers.

AlexS · 03-30-2012, 08:47 PM

Yup awesome those were the two I was looking at. I think I'll be there in late January so yeah I'll keep watch of what's going on.

ETM · 03-30-2012, 09:40 PM

You really cant go wrong in jan or feb. Japan will blow your mind, then there is the snow!
PS dont come without a real powder board.

AlexS · 03-30-2012, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ETM

You really cant go wrong in jan or feb. Japan will blow your mind, then there is the snow!
PS dont come without a real powder board.

Damn that was my next question. Figured I'd need a different board. Would they have decent powder board rentals around or am I best off buying myself a board?

dreampow · 03-30-2012, 10:02 PM

You can rent but for such a long trip (2 weeks) it will be expensive.
Maybe you can find a deal on a long term rental.

They do have good powder boards to rent here.

Oh and we are still getting great powder. 70cm this week in Nagano

.

AlexS · 03-30-2012, 10:07 PM

Oh man I cannot wait. Yeah I think I'm just going to buy a powder board. It would probably make more sense rather than renting. I'll find me something from last year to save myself some cash..

ETM · 03-30-2012, 11:07 PM

Riding in Japan is like surfing, you wont want to be doing park style tricks everywhere, the powder stoke is just too great so keep that in mind when choosing a board. I am building my own board for next year, here is a screen shot of the design. 180cm

JVee · 03-30-2012, 11:33 PM

You want to have a day's boarding in Moiwa as well. Place is absolute class. Niseko is always good. Spend a little time in Annupuri..should keep you smiling. Rusutsu is known for its tree lines, Quality. You could always do a catboarding tour. Try Black Diamond Tours. Even the crew at NOASC are good. They will take you to Iwanai. Its a deserted old resort packed with incredible untracked pow. ETM, you have to keep me in the loop with the construction of your boards. Are you on facebook?

ETM · 03-31-2012, 01:37 PM

I have a facebook page for my business (unrelated to snowboarding)but I really dont use it for anything other than posting work pics etc, it's ETM Turbocharging if you want to have a stalk lol.
I will probably make one up for the boards when they become a reality. Iwanai sounds good btw.

03-30-2012, 03:18 PM	#1 (permalink)
AlexS Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: MICH Posts: 280	Snowboarding in Japan I'm taking a year off school and next year I am spending a few months in Asia. I thought it would be nice to spice up the trip with some snowboarding. I only know two things about snowboarding in Japan, one being the huge amounts of snow and the other being the lightness of the snow. Both things I'd really like. So basically where should I go? I'm looking to spend around 10-14 days snowboarding so a mix of resorts would be great, and proximity between resorts would be nice too. Also what month will I find the most powder days? Last edited by AlexS; 03-30-2012 at 05:13 PM.

03-30-2012, 08:40 PM	#2 (permalink)
ETM Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Hokkaido in my mind Posts: 1,392	In Hokkaido 10-14 days can be spent at the one resort without getting bored, you could mix it up between 2 or 3 if you wanted. If it is your first trip I would say stick with Rusutsu and Niseko, they are both very close to each other and have more area than you could ever hope to explore in that time. Keep an eye out later in the year, I will be posting my travel itinery and organising some meet ups with locals and other tourists at various mountains as I work my way from Tokyo to Hokkaido throughout jan and feb. Anyone is welcome to join in for all or part of the journey, share the stoke and keep the accom costs down for single travellers. __________________

03-30-2012, 09:40 PM	#4 (permalink)
ETM Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Hokkaido in my mind Posts: 1,392	You really cant go wrong in jan or feb. Japan will blow your mind, then there is the snow! PS dont come without a real powder board. __________________

03-30-2012, 10:02 PM	#6 (permalink)
dreampow Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Kyoto Japan Posts: 1,056	You can rent but for such a long trip (2 weeks) it will be expensive. Maybe you can find a deal on a long term rental. They do have good powder boards to rent here. Oh and we are still getting great powder. 70cm this week in Nagano.

03-30-2012, 11:07 PM	#8 (permalink)
ETM Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Hokkaido in my mind Posts: 1,392	Riding in Japan is like surfing, you wont want to be doing park style tricks everywhere, the powder stoke is just too great so keep that in mind when choosing a board. I am building my own board for next year, here is a screen shot of the design. 180cm __________________ Last edited by ETM; 03-30-2012 at 11:13 PM.

03-30-2012, 08:47 PM	#3 (permalink)
AlexS Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: MICH Posts: 280	Yup awesome those were the two I was looking at. I think I'll be there in late January so yeah I'll keep watch of what's going on.

03-30-2012, 10:07 PM	#7 (permalink)
AlexS Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: MICH Posts: 280	Oh man I cannot wait. Yeah I think I'm just going to buy a powder board. It would probably make more sense rather than renting. I'll find me something from last year to save myself some cash..

03-30-2012, 11:33 PM	#9 (permalink)
JVee Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 179	You want to have a day's boarding in Moiwa as well. Place is absolute class. Niseko is always good. Spend a little time in Annupuri..should keep you smiling. Rusutsu is known for its tree lines, Quality. You could always do a catboarding tour. Try Black Diamond Tours. Even the crew at NOASC are good. They will take you to Iwanai. Its a deserted old resort packed with incredible untracked pow. ETM, you have to keep me in the loop with the construction of your boards. Are you on facebook?

03-31-2012, 01:37 PM	#10 (permalink)
ETM Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Hokkaido in my mind Posts: 1,392	I have a facebook page for my business (unrelated to snowboarding)but I really dont use it for anything other than posting work pics etc, it's ETM Turbocharging if you want to have a stalk lol. I will probably make one up for the boards when they become a reality. Iwanai sounds good btw. __________________

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