The snow in Hokkaido is not like snow in the Alps. It is lighter, drier, and more abundant. The Japanese call it 'Japow,' and it is the reason skiers from around the world fly to this northern island to ski in waist-deep powder that feels like floating through cold smoke. I had come to Hokkaido to ski tour, which means climbing up the mountain on skins attached to my skis and skiing down through untracked snow. It is harder than resort skiing, slower than heli-skiing, and more rewarding than either. On my first descent in the backcountry near Niseko, I made twelve turns in snow so deep that it flowed over my shoulders. I fell twice, laughing both times, and when I reached the bottom, my guide, a Japanese man named Kenji, looked at me and said, 'You understand now.' I did.
Why Hokkaido Has the Best Powder
Hokkaido's snow quality is the result of geography and climate. Cold air masses from Siberia cross the Sea of Japan, picking up moisture, and dump it on Hokkaido's western mountains as light, dry powder. The snow-to-water ratio is among the lowest in the world, meaning the snow contains very little moisture and feels like feathers. Niseko, the most famous resort, receives an average of fifteen meters of snow per season. I skied there in late January, when the base was four meters deep and the daily snowfall was measured in tens of centimeters. The visibility was poor, the temperature was minus fifteen degrees Celsius, and the skiing was the best I have experienced.
Ski Touring vs. Resort Skiing
Ski touring, also called ski mountaineering or backcountry skiing, involves climbing under your own power using skins, strips of synthetic fur that attach to the bottom of your skis and grip the snow on the uphill. At the top, you remove the skins, adjust your bindings, and ski down. It is physically demanding. A typical tour involves five hundred to one thousand meters of vertical ascent, which takes two to four hours, followed by a descent that lasts fifteen minutes. I toured with a guide service in Furano, a less crowded area than Niseko. The guide, Kenji, carried a transceiver, shovel, and probe, and taught me how to read avalanche forecasts and identify unstable snow. Safety is the priority in the backcountry. The powder is only fun if you survive to tell the story.
Onsen Culture
After a day of skiing, there is nothing better than an onsen, a natural hot spring bath. Hokkaido has hundreds of them, ranging from outdoor rotenburo baths with views of the mountains to indoor baths in ryokan inns. I stayed at a ryokan in the village of Jozankei, where the baths were fed by sulfur-rich water that smelled of eggs and turned my skin red. The etiquette is specific: wash thoroughly before entering, do not wear a swimsuit, and be quiet. The water was forty-two degrees Celsius, and after twenty minutes, my muscles felt like they had been reset. I ate kaiseki dinner in my room, drank sake, and slept for ten hours. This is the Japanese ski experience, and it is unlike anything in the Alps or the Rockies.
Costs and Logistics
Flights to Sapporo, Hokkaido's capital, are frequent from Tokyo and international cities. I flew from Tokyo for two hundred dollars round trip. A rental car is essential for accessing the backcountry trailheads. I paid sixty dollars per day for a four-wheel-drive vehicle with snow tires. Ski touring equipment can be rented for fifty dollars per day. A guided backcountry day costs three hundred dollars per person. Accommodation ranges from fifty dollars for hostels to two hundred dollars for ryokan with dinner and breakfast. The total cost for seven days was two thousand four hundred dollars. Hokkaido is not cheap, but the combination of world-class powder and Japanese hospitality is unique.
