Ever had ski envy?
You've spent another season skiing on expensive, subpar, overcrowded, slushy snow. Your friends, however, return from trips with stories of unlimited powder on beautiful mountains. Ski envy!
Over the years, my envy has grown to the point I knew it was my turn for a long-awaited Japan ski trip!
My 2020 Japan trip was my first time traveling to Asia. I was worried I wouldn't have the stamina to ski for multiple days in a row, and I was nervous about not speaking the local language.
Thankfully, my excitement for skiing in powder for days on end, eating yummy ramen, and finding unique candies in Japan outweighed my nerves!
My plan for this Japan ski trip was to hit Tokyo as a quick weekend stop on our way to Hokkaido, Japan’s northern island. Hokkaido has two must ski destinations: Sapporo and Niseko, and is also home to Otaru.
I like to hit major cities in a new country, but I also like to find places off the beaten path. I had a couple of days open on my trip between Tokyo and meeting a friend in Sapporo. So where to?
Do I visit Akita or Otaru?
(1) Akita
The birthplace of the samurai and also well known for onsens - natural hot springs, Akita is located in the northeastern part of the main island, accessible via a one hour flight from Tokyo.
(2) Otaru
An interesting port town in Hokkaido. Otaru hosts their annual Snow
Light Path Festival in February every year, and also has onsens! Otaru has lots of delicious, fresh seafood - not surprising given it is a port town on the Sea of Japan. Otaru is accessible via a one hour train from Sapporo, Japan.
Logistically it is more complex to get from Akita to Sapporo with my itinerary, so I chose option 2, Otaru.
Otaru is a great escape after spending a few nights in Tokyo. My boyfriend, Justin, picked the Dormy Inn Premium Natural Hot Spring for our hotel stay because it has a natural onsen and is located conveniently across from the train station.
Not that being located close to our hotel mattered too much once we discovered the joy of "hands free travel" in Japan.
Hands free travel means your hands are free from carrying your luggage. Japan airports and travel partners offer a luggage delivery service for a comparable price to checked baggage fees. When your luggage is collectively two large ski bags, two large suitcases, and one boot bag - and you have to navigate the subway, airport, buses, and hotel moves ... huge bonus!
After getting lost on the efficient, but complicated Tokyo subway, my boyfriend and I found ourselves at the airport while transferring hotels. After several unsuccessful attempts to arrange a pick-up from a travel partner before our check-out time, our detour did wonders for our travel experience because we successfully dropped off our gear at the Tokyo airport. Our stuff was shipped to Sapporo, bypassing our stay in Otaru, for approximately the same cost as checking a bag.
The Snow Light Path Festival in Otaru was magical.
Otaru's Snow Light Path Festival lasts for ten days compared to the Sapporo Snow Festival, which is only seven days.
I was happy I could experience the Otaru festival because the Sapporo festival ended while we were in Tokyo. The sculptures reminded me of my childhood in Iowa and the fun we would have building forts and snow creatures.
The one disappointment about traveling to Otaru in the winter of 2020 was the abnormally warm weather. It was over 40°F/4.4°C, and a lot of the snow and snow sculptures were melting. This melting snow could be considered a bad sign just as we embark on an eight day ski vacation.
When booking this Japan trip, I did not expect the 2019-2020 season would be one of the worst (in terms of snowfall) in Hokkaido in 30 years!
While I planned this trip because of the snow envy built up over the years, I didn't let it put a damper on the overall experience. This trip was a blast!
One of the best parts about choosing Otaru was its proximity to Nikka Distillery.
Nikka Distillery, where I truly felt we had stumbled off the beaten path in Japan to find a prized gem.
Nikka distillery is located in Yoichi, a 35 minute bus ride from the Otaru train station - right across from our Hotel, the Dormy Inn & Suites.
Self-guided or DIY tours are offered at the distillery. I really enjoyed the whiskey sampler room - trying a ton of whiskey that would cost a ton of money in the U.S. - but was relatively inexpensive.
What's really cool about Sapporo is the bars go up!
That's right, literally up. Instead of lining a street as bars and clubs do in most cities, Sapporo's bars (and other parts of Japan, I am told) are located on several floors in a tall building.
Not having any idea of what a "good bar" was, we tested our options by pressing every button on the elevator in a tall building near the city center. As the doors opened, my friends and I stood quietly to listen. Was there a good party vibe coming from the floor? If so, we stepped out to find our potential home for the night. We turned the corner to find our winner. We walked into this hole in the wall bar where the ceilings and lights were low, and karaoke was in full force. .
The son of a family that could speak English ushered us to a red booth in the corner where we had a good view of the bar. The sister of this family started on our drink order, which was simple: Sapporo Classic. The father was dressed more like the mother in a red dress, wig, and messy red lipstick. It was hard to tell if the father or mother was more keen on my friend, Keith (who joined us for the ski trip in Sapporo!)
The last family member was a son who couldn't speak any English, but man, he could rap to Snoop Dog.
Sapporo was the first ski destination on our trip.
At Tiene Resort, you have a great view of the city of Sapporo and the Sea of Japan. Tiene Resort is accessible from Sapporo by taking a train to a bus stop.
Don't forget to bring a cover for your ski/snowboard gear or you won't be able to make it on the subway.
Niseko was incredible. I love ski towns!
Walking around town, or should I say slipping and sliding, is more treacherous than you may expect. There is something irresistibly funny about watching a lot of people fall on the same ice patch on a busy street corner.
The good, positive thing about these perilous adventures around town was that it was snowing. The relatively dry spell had ended, and we got plenty of fresh powder. I was stoked I got to ride my new DPS powder skis. The math worked out that buying a used pair of demo skis and lugging them to Japan was cheaper than renting skis.
Powder skis are a must in Japan. Without them, I would fall apart as my legs give out and my heart gives up. Powder skis are longer and wider than all-mountain skis and help you stay afloat on the snow.
Where and how to ski in Niseko?
The options are almost as limitless as the powder. If you are an avid skier like me, you probably have a season pass already. Check out your pass resort access to see if any of the resorts in Niseko are included too.
I was skeptical of doing lavish excursions because I didn't want to break the bank. I was convinced it would be worth it so I shelled out a lot of money to do a cat skiing excursion and a guided backcountry tour with Hokkaido Back Country Club. At the end of the trip, my wallet and I were disappointed I spent so much on these activities.
- The cat skiing trip was cool because we were the only ones skiing this deserted ski resort. The lifts had rusted over, it had actually closed years ago, but was open for cat skiing.
- The guided tour was a great experience, leading us to lots of fresh stashes of powder, but my legs and mental perseverance were giving out since we did it after skiing six days straight.
When you aren't breaking the bank on lavish excursions, Japan's skiing is affordable. You just have to get there first. The resorts in Niseko are reasonably priced ($35-60 USD per day). Niseko United's pass lasts all day long because the resort turns into night skiing!
Fun fact! Hokkaido is known for its dairy. Heaven for an ice cream lover like myself
Given how 2020 shaped up, it's hard to believe I was in Japan back in February 2020. A cruise ship with passengers who had contracted the COVID-19 virus was docked at the port south of Tokyo when we were still there.
Thankfully, we were in Hokkaido before they opened the gates and let the passengers disembark! I highly recommend an island during a global pandemic. It’s a great place to be.
I'm serious, keep your eyes out for my next post, Stuck in Paradise, about my adventures in Hawaii during the shelter in place orders.
Time to book your own trip? Download my 2020 Japan Itinerary!
More videos of me enjoying the unlimited Japan-pow-pow to build your ski envy up!
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