Hokkaido’s 5 Best Ski Resorts Off The Beaten Path

Hokkaido. Deep Powder Faceshots, Onsens, Sushi, Beer and more

Tracked? Untracked?

When you think of skiing in Japan, the first images that comes to mind is clouds of endless billowing powder, as lucky skiers and boarders rampage between the perfectly spaced trees. And it’s true: it snows in Japan like nowhere else on Earth! The sheer amount of angel dust that can fall from the sky is completely and utterly mind-blowing. It’s like waking up in a dream or your own ski movie with the perfect powder snow. Considering how light and dry the snow is, the amount of it that can accumulate is truly insane. It just blankets everything. It needs to be seen to be believed.

The problem is, the secret is well and truly out now. While once Japan was only truly known to the Japanese it was only the dedicated travelling powder hound that had heard about, the powder through whispers  in hushed tones over late night beers in cheap  dimly-lit ski bars. But it seems like every pro skier and their Mum were filming in Hokkaido this season. It’s not just the pros either: Niseko’s Grand Hirafu now feels more like a slightly snowier outpost of Australia  and the ski area gets tracked almost as quickly as  quickly as the snow falls.

So in these times where over-enlightened ski bums seemingly chase the snowy dream halfway around the world to get their powder fix. So can you find enough untracked powder runs to keep the dream alive?

Of course you can you just have to venture a little away from the famed Niseko and get off to the hundred of other ski grounds that are scattered all over Hokkaido. So here are a few favoured by the Ninja Powder team .And of course to get the most you might want to book a guided tour with them to get the best

#4: Rusutsu

Rusutsu is only a 30-40 minute drive around Mt. Yotei from Niseko, but that’s just about far enough to escape most of the crowds. While the area is becoming more popular following Nimbus Independent and Salomon Freeski edits, you’ve still got a far greater chance of scoring first tracks here than in Niseko.

Head up Mt Isola for the best of the tree skiing, where you’ll find long fall line descents through the glades to the base of the resort. The lack of traverses from the lifts makes Rusutsu one of the better resorts on Hokkaido for boarders, but everyone can get their tree jib and pillow pop game on. If you want the freshest of fresh snow then consider earning your turns on Shiribetsu-dake, adjacent to West Mountain – you’ll be rewarded for your hike with 360° lines off the top (take the south facing slopes if you want to get back to the resort.

#3: Kiroro

Ah, Kiroro! The scene of my most obscenely deep ski day to date, Kiroro is one of my favourite resorts of all time. Around an hour’s drive north from Niseko, Kiroro benefits from slightly different weather patterns, which means it can be over the head deep and still dumping when Niseko is bone dry.

Kiroro isn’t exactly quiet, but most of the guests tend to be Japanese piste skiers, so you have very little competition for some fresh lines. Whilst not the steepest mountain on Hokkaido there’s some gorgeous and easily found tree skiing right next to the pistes, and if you look a little harder there are some awesome ‘mushrooms’ to be dropped, and a few steeper stashes tucked away out of sight. In theory you’re not allowed to leave the resort boundaries, but, ahem, if you should accidentally get lost and end up on the wrong side of the ropes, you’ll find a few treats skier’s left off the top of the Asari No.2 Express chairlift – just don’t miss the track traversing back to the lift at t.com)

#2: Asahi-dake

Asahi-dake is in the Daisetsuzan National Park, smack bang in the middle of Hokkaido and roughly 5 hours from Niseko, so is best accessed from somewhere like Furano (which also has some great skiing, especially if you make the 30 minute bootpack to the peak). It’s well worth the effort though – Asahi-dake is essentially a backcountry ski area on a live volcano, but with a tram up to mid-mountain. The upper mountain is ski tour only, and often storm-bound, but when it’s on it’s on: Asahi-dake is the highest mountain on Hokkaido, which when combined with the distance from the ocean often results in the driest powder found on the island.

There’s an abundance of terrain at Asahi-dake, both in the alpine and the trees. Though you won’t find any super steeps, there are some incredible bowls and chute-type lines, with more than enough mushrooms and cliffs to huck lower down. Be aware though, the whole area is uncontrolled and unpatrolled, so you need both backcountry experience and equipment. Watch out for cracks and fumaroles emitting volcanic gas too!

#1: Teine Highland

 Teine is the best kept secret  resort on Hokkaido. It’s just outside of Sapporo, but has by far the best lift-accessed terrain on the island. Being so close to Sapporo means that Teine can pick up quite a lot of crowds on weekends, but during the week there’s more than enough lines to go around. Another bonus is the view from the top, with the grid of the city juxtaposed against the snowy mountains and frigid ocean.

For the best of the goods take a short walk to skiers’ left of the quad chair, where you’ll find a selection of steep chutes and slopes leading down to some great tree skiing. If you traverse further along the ridge you’ll find another few bowls that tend to remain untracked for a good while, and the whole area is peppered with fun cliffs, mushrooms and trees to drop. The left side of the piste map generally holds mellower terrain, but a few short bootpacks access some really fun pillow fields. After a great day skiing it’s well worth heading into the city for authentic Japanese food, and a night out in Sapporo is likely to be one of the more memorable of your life!