JAPOW! - Niseko Snowboarding (Japan), February 2025
After a few years of persistent "encouragement" from Ben, I finally relented and joined him on a snowboarding trip to Japan. I'd been to the country once before, but that was as a kid with my parents during the summer-hardly the same experience. Ben, on the other hand, had gone on a snowboarding trip a couple of years prior and had nothing but praise for it. In fact, Japan has more or less become a rite of passage for snowboarders around the world. Bring your pow board for all the bottomless goodness-along with the occasional annoying crust-and, more importantly, bring your slope-management A-game, because the secret is very much out. These days, the legendary powder of the Land of the Rising Sun is no secret to anyone with a passion for the not-so-steep and very deep.
We boarded an ANA 787 direct from Vancouver to Tokyo Haneda, enjoying every minute of the roughly 10-hour flight. The complimentary upgrade from Premium to Business on the return leg was especially appreciated by Team Verdina. A short Air Do flight from Tokyo to Chitose brought us to Hokkaido, where we stayed at an onsen-style hotel and spent a day exploring Sapporo - taking in the sights, soaking in the baths, sampling Sapporo Classic (brewed specifically for Hokkaido), and, of course, indulging in the food. Incidentally, Sapporo is consistently ranked among the snowiest cities in the world, and judging by what we saw flying in and travelling around, the entire island of Hokkaido was well blanketed.
The following day, we met up with our EVO/Burton crew and bussed it to our nearly slope-side onsen-style hotel-our home base for the next week. We sorted out our rentals that same day: a pair of Burton Fish boards for Agata and me, thank you very much. The next morning, after a fresh dump overnight, we promptly ditched the guides and struck out on our own. Free of the proverbial umbilical, we made a beeline for the infamous "pizza box" chairlift and boot-packed to the summit of Mount Niseko-Annupuri for a fantastic descent down the East Face. The zone hadn't opened yet for the season, so conditions were about as good as it gets.
Another standout came a few days later with a top-to-bottom descent from the summit down the east and south-facing slopes to the Annupuri base-an absolute ripper. There was no shortage of incredible terrain to explore, though also no shortage of others chasing the same lines. We spent one day riding nearby Rusutsu Resort, but otherwise divided our time between the main Niseko ski areas, always with the striking cone of Mount Yotei dominating the skyline.
With a few days left after our week on the slopes, we squeezed in a whirlwind tour of Kyoto and Tokyo before heading home. Yes, the legendary Japanese powder absolutely lives up to the hype-and yes, everyone seems to know it now. All told, a fantastic trip to a country that's as organized and impeccably clean as it is fun to explore.
So, Ben... Hakuba Valley next?
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