Have you skied Japan Yet?

If not, you really should consider travelling to Japan; in particular, the Japanese renowned ski towns of Niseko and Hakuba. 

Why?

Japan is a truly different skiing experience with  a unique and wonderful atmosphere, and it’s a great  place for everyone to enjoy. Whether you are a novice or expert, skier or snowboarder, you’ll find:

• amazing fresh powder days
• exhilarating tree skiing
• picturesque alpine scenery of mountains, rivers and lakes
• an exotic, colourful and ancient Eastern culture
• warm friendly locals and ex-pats who love to showcase their slice of powder heaven with you.
• A wide variety of terrain: cruisers, bowls, steeps, tree skiing and board parks
• Wonderful Japanese and European cuisine and lots of restaurants
• Great après ski with wine bars, sake bars, karaoke bars, nightclubs, pizza bars
• the largest night skiing area in the World at Niseko

We've skied Japan:

Yes, we’ve been there, and skied there. Our entire team of ski travel consultants went to Japan earlier this year to experience the skiing and the resorts for themselves, and they’d love to share their experiences and first hand knowledge with you.

Plus you get all the advantages of  the best prices and special deals, the best airfares and flight connections, the best service and the best advice, all from 1 place.

We’d like to share a few observations with you, that you won’t find in any website:

• Language:  If you don’t speak Japanese, don’t worry! Most ski resorts have English speaking staff in hotels, in restaurants and on mountain. And if they don’t speak English, most will at least understand it and be able to help you. If you book through Dive Fish Snow Travel, you’ll be staying in reputable hotels with English speaking hosts/concierges who are only a phone call away and are there to help you in any way they can.
• Accommodation: Some accommodations in Japan are very different to what you are probably used to. Rooms are  smaller than elsewhere, with small bathrooms and a lot of Japanese rooms are smoking rooms. But there is a great mix of accommodation styles: hotels, condos, ski lodges, apartments and Japanese pensiones (like a B+B, backpackers hostel and old country style hotel all rolled into 1. They are great value for money , if you choose the right one!). Our staff can explain to you the differences between them all, and find the most suitable place for you, including non smoking rooms.

Accommodation Options in Japan

• Transportation: We think of Japan as being a high tech modern country, with nice new cars everywhere. This is the case in metropolitan cities, but far away from the Big Smoke in the ski resorts, most transportation between airports, ski resorts and accommodation are run by Ma and Pa operators who often speak little, or no, English.
  
  If you’re not careful, you can find yourself going to the wrong location, or spend an unscheduled  night at an airport!

Make the right choice by booking through Dive Fish Snow Travel and you’ll be met at airports, transferred to/from  the ski resorts in comfortable buses or vans with friendly, obliging drivers,  shown to your accommodation and given all the help and advice you’ll need by English speaking hosts/concierges, plus our packages includes help with transportation to/from european style super markets.

Japan has over 500 ski resorts, both on the northern island of Hokkaido and the main island of Honshu.   Watch Ski Video on Japan

Hokkaido

Ski resorts in Hokkaido experience more snow than anywhere else in Japan, as the sub Arctic storms race out of Siberia across the Sea of Japan  to dump vast loads of nice dry powder across Hokkaido. And it is some of the lightest, driest powder snow found anywhere in the world.

On Hokkaido we recommend two ski areas: Niseko and Rusutsu

Niseko is located within the Abuta District of Hokkaido Island and is two hours drive from Sapporo. Mt Niseko is one of Japan's most popular ski resorts for international skiers and riders. The mountain is home to 5 different resorts: Annupuri, Higashiyama, Hirafu, Hanazono and Moiwa, but just think of it as 1 BIG mountain. Your lift pass is interchangeable at all, except the smallest resort of Moiwa.

A very efficient lift system  of  gondolas and chairlifts (some covered) will get you to the top of each mountain quickly and in comfort. The resort has an abundance of tree runs and, being at a low altitude, it rarely experiences true whiteout conditions. Although when it is snowing, visibility is reduced to around 200m.

The terrain at Niseko is varied. There are legendary tree runs like Strawberry Fields and Miharashi, and there are huge powder fields off The Peak which will "blow your mind". There are some great steep runs at the Alpen Super Course and under the Kogen gondola. For beginners, there are beautifully groomed slopes all over the mountain. Most of the runs are long and the 900m vertical drop ranks Niseko up there with other world class resorts

Stay in Hirafu township, where there is plenty of accommodation, restaurants and bars, plus easy access to Annupuri, Higashiyama and Hanazono ski fields.

If you have any energy left at the end of the day, Niseko has the largest night skiing in the world.

Accommodation options in Niseko

Chalets in Niseko

Less than 3 kilometres from the Grand Hirafu snowfields, on the outskirts of Hirafu Village, you’ll find 23 individual chalets. They are comfortable, spacious chalets designed for the discerning holiday traveller while complementing the quaint Japanese Village of Hirafu. The Chalets sit aside the Shiribetsu River and enjoys panoramic views of nearby Mount Youtei.  Each of the chalets has a quality fit-out and is fully furnished, including modern western appliances and a fully equipped kitchen

All chalets feature:

• Contemporary furniture and entertainment systems – LCD TV’s, DVD players and a wide selection of international TV Channels
• Fully equipped kitchen
• Central heating with temperature control in each room
• High Speed, wireless internet connections
• Separate Laundry with washing machine and dryer
• Generous Drying room for your skis and boards or other outdoor gear
• Linen and towel service
• Private shuttle service to the Mountain

Western Style Ski In Ski Out Apartments in Niseko

This property is ideally suited for families or small groups who are after luxury and convenient self-contained, Western style accommodation. These apartments have Flat Screen TVs, DVD player, stereo, full kitchens with microwave, dishwasher, gas stove & oven, modern furniture and deluxe appliances and fittings. This is nicely located ski in ski out accommodation in Niseko and have 1, 2 & 3 bedroom apartments.

More information on skiing in Niseko »

Rusutsu

Rusutsu is one of Japan's most popular year round resorts, located 90 minutes by bus from Sapporo's Chitose International Airport and one hour from Niseko Ski Resort. As part of your Dive Fish Snow Package, day trips can be arranged to Rusutsu from Niseko, including transfers and Lift Passes.

Rusutsu has 3 main mountains - East, West and Mt Isola. Together there are 42 kilometers of runs, including a long 3.5km cruiser. Here you’ll find untracked powder runs,  an amazing variety of terrain and some awesome natural terrain features. It has the best tree-skiing in Japan and the backcountry is superb. The uncrowded groomed runs are amazing,  resembling gigantic freeways with long consistent fall-lines, yet often not another skier/ rider in sight. 

For the kids there is a host of activities including tubing, dog sledding and snowmobiling. There's also night skiing till 8pm.  Add to this one of the best half-pipes and snow-parks in the area and you’ve got a resort that offers everything you could ever want in a ski resort.

West Mountain has a great terrain park and halfpipe, and some superb backcountry: hike for 20 minute and you can access long steep chutes or a myriad of amazing  tree runs. The runs are often short but quite steep.
 
East Mountain  is quite a flat hill with only 2 runs. It is mostly used as an access point to Mt Isola, but there are two secret runs off this mountain which are worth the effort.

Mt Isola.  This is Rusutsu's best mountain. It's furthest away from the hotels, but it’s a treasure trove of incredible tree skiing and perfect groomed pistes.

Either stay at Rusutsu, or do a day trip from Niseko. The small town of Rusutsu comprises the Rusutsu Resort Hotel and a handful of pensiones, restaurants and a new sports bar serving pizzas and boutique beers.

Of interest, the World's top 8 Presidents, Prime Ministers and officials all stayed at Rusutsu for the 2008 G-8 Summit. Such is the reputation of it's stunning alpine scenery.

More information on skiing Rusutsu »

Hakuba, Honshu Island: Host to 1998 Winter Olympics

10 Ski Resorts 1 convenient location

Located in the heart of the awe inspiring Japanese Alps, just 1 ½ hours west of Tokyo by bullet train (a great experience in itself), Hakuba is home to some of the best and biggest ski resorts in Japan. The combination of world class skiing and accessed by a variety of lifts and gondolas, plus excellent grooming facilities made Hakuba a perfect place to host the 1998 Winter Olympics.

Boasting a long season from mid-November to early May, Hakuba is a huge valley with 10 different ski resorts and hundreds of kms of trails spread over a huge variety of terrain. Hakuba boasts the longest vertical in Japan and runs exceeding a whopping 6 km.

The skiing is awesome.

With 137 Lifts and 3200 hectares of ski-able terrain, 4 halfpipes and 3 terrain parks, there is something here for every skier or boarder. You’ll find perfectly groomed long cruisy wide open runs ranging from beginner to expert level,  super long meandering trails for beginners, plenty of waist-deep powder bowls for high alpine riding and powder laden forests for the more advanced.

For boarders, there are 4 terrain parks with jibbers and super pipes, endless halfpipes,  gullies, hits  and jump parks, plus heaps of freestyle opportunities.

The alpine scenery is truly spectacular with huge rugged peaks towering above Hakuba township below. There are a mutitude of excellent hotels, restaurants and bars,  shopping and onsens in Hakuba.

And if you are looking for something other than skiing or boarding, you can try cross country  skiing, snowshoe tours, snow tubing, tobogganing, snow rafting, heli skiing and hot air ballooning. Enjoy a relaxing hot spring or onsen, or take a trip to Nagano or the snow monkeys at Jigokudani.

Accommodation Options Hakuba

Spoilt for Choice

This is the best way to describe the vast array of accommodation options available in Hakuba. You'll find everything from backpacker style B+B's (called pensiones in Japan), self contained condos/apartments and stand alone chalets surrounded by snow covered forests, to this stylishly remodelled Japanese style boutique hotel catering for the more discerning western client.

The well appointed rooms come complete with plasma cable TV, high speed internet and ipod docks. In keeping with Japanese custom, the rooms have tatami mats and the very best futon bedding.

The atmosphere and ambience here will keep you in at night with Japanese Western style cuisine and a cosy wine bar.

More information on skiing Hakuba »

When travelling to any international destination it is advisable to research and plan before leaving to prepare yourself for any differences in culture and customs. This is particularly true for first time visitors to Japan. If you have never been to Japan before this ebook can be really helpful. The checklist is given to each of our clients who book a Ski Japan Holiday with us and receive the checklist as part of their travel documents. PDF requires Adobe® Acrobat Reader, click here to get Acrobat Reader

Open on Saturdays: 0900-1230 hrs Ph NZ: 09-479 2210 Toll Free NZ: 0508 348 334 Freephone AU: 1-800-042-195 Email: snowtravel@divefishsnow.co.nz