Off The Beaten Track Powder Tour

What’s included?

Skill Level: Intermediate – Advanced Skiers, Snowboarders and Telemarkers

2012 Tour Dates: Sun 29 January – Sun 12 February 2012

Price: £2600 per person

Included:

• 14 Nights Accommodation (breakfast everyday & 6 evening meals)
• Direct transfer from Tokyo Narita Airport to Hakuba
• Return transfer from Myoko to Tokyo
• 2 Day CAA Avalanche Course Training & Qualification (AST I)
• Guiding and powder skills coaching
• Insider local knowledge
• Transportation
• Lift Tickets
• Snow Monkey Onsen Day Trip
• 1 Night in Tokyo & guided tour
• Snow Season Japan t-shirt & more!

Awesome accommodation in powder heaven

We have hand picked our favourite ski lodges at each stop of the tour, for their welcoming and friendly Japanese service, great facilities and of course their location – close to the ski lifts!

Tsugaike, Hakuba Norikura & Cortina resorts (Nagano Region)

Fantastic ski in ski out accommodation, which has a European alpine feel but with wonderful Japanese hospitality. Plenty of space to relax, wood burning stove, western style beds, free wi-fi. Both breakfast and dinner is included here.

Charmant Hiuchi, Myoko Akakura & Seki Onsen resorts (Niigata Region)

Located only a few minutes from the lifts of Myoko Akakura resort, the lodge has a great atmosphere. Western style beds, free wi-fi and breakfast included everyday. Step outside into the heart of the village with it’s several meter high snow walls… to discover some great little bars, restaurants and onsen hot springs.

Meet your tour guide!

Your tour guide and host for the 2 week powder tour is Snow Season Japan owner, Andrew Kelly. He will be driving your from location to location, showing your all our favourite lift accessed powder stashes at the 6 resorts we will cover on the multi-location tour, taking you to the best traditional restaurants and onsen hot springs and lots more. Andrew brings with him 8 seasons of experience riding in Japan, not to mention several more in France and Canada. He’ll be taking you to our favourite lift accessed secret powder stashes and incredible terrain in Honshu’s hidden gem resorts. Progress your powder skiing and snowboarding with our powder skills coaching along the way. Snow Season Japan will take you on an adventure deep into real Japan and it’s mountains that you won’t forget!

We have some epic hidden gem resorts to show you!

This tour is all about making the most of the incredible lift-accessed powder and terrain available at some of the smaller or lesser known and uncrowded resorts across the Japanese Alps on Japan’s main island Honshu. This means lots and lots of powder laps and no hiking!

Norikura & Cortina resorts

These two linked resorts are real hidden powder gems, located at the northern end of the Hakuba valley in Otari village. Situated very close to the Japan Sea, snow storms literally engulf these mountains and they receive bigger dumps of fluffy fresh powder than anywhere else in the valley. Are you ready to experience the deepest powder of your life? We hope so, because waking up to discover 1m+ of fresh overnight is not unusual in these parts! Mind blowing off-piste tree riding, open fields of untouched powder, steep terrain and two amazing onsen hot springs to choose from at the end of the day.

“At the summit of Cortina resort, we follow Andy (from Snow Season Japan) off the piste and into the forest. Quite simply, it is the best tree run I’ve ever ridden in my life.” Ed Blomfield, Whitelines Magazine Editor

Tsugaike Kogen resort

With unrivalled and endless backcountry terrain, we’ll be heading above the resort and into the high alpine for the field day of our Avalanche Skills Training I course. Incredible up close views of the Japanese Alps peaks in Hakuba from up here too!

Charmant Hiuchi resort

Travelling through winding mountain roads and road tunnels, through a landscape of traditional farmhouses buried deep under snow, we’ll head from Nagano to Niigata, and explore deeper into Japan’s mountains. Charmant is hidden up a valley where you can literally watch snow storms blowing in from the coast. You definitely won’t have to queue for your powder here, this resort is usually empty. The lack of people isn’t the only thing we love about Charmant. You won’t find groomed trails here either, just 3 lifts and endless powder and fun terrain. Been dreaming about powder heaven? This is it.

“The quality and quantity of powder is insane!“ Richard Draisey, 2011 Snow Season Japan client

Myoko Akakura resort

Follow us into a silver birch tree forest and enter the whiteroom. Myoko receives some of the biggest snowfalls in Japan and the world. Each winter the village is buried under more snow than it seems possible to imagine, with snow banks lining the roads reaching several metres in height. It’s quite a sight to behold! Akakura is Japan’s oldest ski resort and offers a huge variety of terrain and riding options.

“I fell in love with Myoko instantly. There’s nothing better than skiing epic powder stashes all day with new friends, getting straight into the onsen and chatting about the best day ever on snow!“ Camilla Stoddart, Action Sports Photographer

Seki Onsen resort

This little gem has a powder only policy. You won’t find any grooming at this tiny family run resort.

“Seki Onsen was my favourite resort in Japan. Two lifts and one million square feet of powder!“ Posy Dixon, Burton UK team rider

Off The Beaten Track Powder Tour 

Sunday 29 January – Sunday 12 February 2012

Sunday 29 January – Arrival at Tokyo Narita International Airport. Direct transfer to Pension Andes in Otari village in Nagano (10 minutes north of Hakuba).
Monday 30 January – Guided Riding Day 1, Norikura & Cortina resorts.
Tuesday 31 January – Avalanche Skills Training I Course, Day 1 – Classroom day with avalanche transceiver rescue practise in evening.
Wednesday 1 February – Avalanche Skills Training I Course, Day 2 – Field day at Tsugaike Kogen resort.
Thursday 2 February – Guided Riding Day 2, Norikura & Cortina resorts.
Friday 3 February – Guided Riding Day 3, Norikura & Cortina resorts.
Saturday 4 February – Guided Riding Day 4, Norikura & Cortina resorts.
Sunday 5 February – Guided Riding Day 5, Charmant Hiuchi resort. Travel to Myoko in the evening.
Monday 6 February –  Snow Monkey Onsen Day Trip.
Tuesday 7 February – Guided Riding Day 6, Myoko Akakura resort.
Wednesday 8 February –  Guided Riding Day 7, Myoko Akakura resort.
Thursday 9 February - Guided Riding Day 8, Myoko Akakura resort.
Friday 10 February – Guided Riding Day 9, Seki Onsen resort.
Saturday 11 February – Depart for Tokyo in the morning. Afternoon tour of Tokyo and group dinner at Izakaya restaurant which was the inspiration for the famous fight scene in Quentin Tarantino’s film, Kill Bill.
Sunday 12 February – Time to say farewell! Onwards travel in Japan or depart Tokyo Narita Airport for home countries.

What they say about us…

“My experience with Snow Season Japan was awesome. 10/10.”

Chris McKinley, 2011 client

“The trip was perfect because I was planning to travel alone, so I was keen to make sure I ended up with other like-minded people, who spoke English! Having travelled fairly widely, I can confidently say the holiday I booked with Snow Season Japan has been my favourite of all. The effort put in by Sarah and Andy really made the experience memorable, and I’d recommend Snow Season Japan to anyone. These guys offer an outstanding level of customer service.”

Ben Kendrick, 2011 client

“Great people, great food, loved the onsens. And the snow… I’ve never seen anything like it! As a lone traveller booking with Snow Season Japan provided a nice little safety net of some friendly faces on the other side of the world. And very friendly they were! Sarah and Andy from Snow Season Japan were absolutely brilliant. So friendly, knowledgeable, organised and generous with their time.”

Lucie Crichlow, 2011 client

“I would recommend Snow Season Japan to anyone, mainly because you have two great people running it, that really know a lot about Japan and do their best to offer you the best experience possible.”

Alastair Buckle, 2011 client

“I would highly recommend Snow Season Japan without a doubt. It’s a very unique experience, and Sarah and Andy were so on top of everything. They made the whole experience that little bit more incredible. My overall experience was something I will never forget. Apart from the insane powder everyday, Japan is such an interesting culture and I loved learning about it’s history and ways.”

Kate Merrall, 2011 client

“I had heard rumour about the quality of the powder in Japan and was delighted that they were, if anything, understated. Experience Japan’s unique culture was amazing!”

Richard Draisey, 2011 client