People who have been skiing in japan- Need help, pls.

i went to niseko last year for a week and a half.

id go at the end of january, stay at the black diamond lodge in niseko, and get an international drivers license so you can rent 4wd vans like this...

http://japansnowboarding.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/4x4-van-in-Niseko.jpg

its possible to get around with busses and shit, but it kind of sucks to figure out and renting a van will be as cheap and that shit is everywhere. we got around via bus and skied rusustsu, kiroro, and a bunch of days at niseko. would recommend skiing all those resorts, plus anywhere else you can get to. PM me if you need more infos

In Niseko, I'd say its worth making reservations. It's usually very busy through the peak season so it's worth having some accomodation reserved.

Outside of there, you can usually get a room without too much trouble. As you've already got a room in Sapporo for your first few days, spend those days hitting the Sapporo hills like Teine and Kokusai. I'd get something booked in Niseko after that, and use it as a base to ski Niseko, Rusutsu and Kiroro. Rusutsu also has a few small guesthouses that would make a decent base for that area if you don't need the nightlife/hussle and bussle of Niseko.

After that, if you want to hit Asahidake, you should stay in Asahikawa City. You can get cheap rooms in the city there without needing to book too far in advance. You can then travel from there out to Asahidake and also maybe Kamui Ski Links, Furano or Kurodake depending on which part of the season you're here.

Transport - it's pretty convenient in the Niseko area as there are buses around the resort and to Rusutsu and Kiroro, and all arranged in English. In Sapporo and Asahikawa there are buses although not so much English is used. For convenience, I'd recommend hiring a car. Plenty of cheap options and cars will all come with AWD, snow tyres and usually English GPS.

Nightlife in Sapporo and Asahikawa is awesome. Great food and drink and if you're outgoing you will always make friends with people. In Niseko, there is a lot of nightlife. It is definitely more rowdy and western (Australian) and more expensive than anywhere else in Hokkaido. Girls - I couldn't possibly comment, as I'm married! But, as a westerner, if you like the Japanese girls, you will no doubt enjoy yourself.

Food is relatively cheap. The Yen is weak now against the dollar, so things will seem very good value. Niseko is more expensive, especially in the posher Hirafu restaurants. You can survive really cheaply on convenience store food if you're on a tight budget. But in the cities there are lots of cheap restaurants where you can get a decent meal for Y600-800.

Yes, in 2 weeks in Hokkaido, you'll have a good chance of choking on pow!

You don't need to go through a booking agency, it is getting a lot easier now to make your own arrangements.

If you need help, I'm more than happy to give any more advice about any part of a trip to Hokkaido. I've been living here for 5 years now so hopefully have a good idea of how to get the best out of a trip here. If you want to PM me, please do!

There's lots of good info in this thread already and the only thing I feel like I can add to is that my friends and I used airbnb when we were in sapporo for a few nights which worked out extremely well. So that is a possible option.
I guess we really could've been closer to some resorts..we took public transportation everywhere and it worked out well for us, you just have to make sure you are on time (we messed up one day and ended up not skiing because of it).
But we wanted to explore different resorts, downtown sapporo itself and do everything as cheaply as possible so I think it worked out relatively well.
I think we skied at sapporo-tiene and snow cruise onze. We went late march so the snow wasn't that great…but it was a blast. They both had fun parks too.

Niseko is like 3 or 4 hours from Sapporo. There is a daily bus that is pretty easy to figure out. There are also buses from the city to the smaller, closer resorts like kiroro and kokusai, which are filthy. Public transportation in Japan is legendary. As long as you aren't a dick, Japanese people love to help out the American tourists. Yes, you can literally choke on pow. I was there this season and have traveled to Japan a few times before that. Message me if you need more info.

thanks for the solid advice! We're going the last week of february/first week of march so hopefully the snow will still be fluffy. Even if it's not, I'm stoked to go ski and experience somewhere so different from the average.

Last question, what's the best way to get your skis there? I've flown in the US with skis, are international oversize bag rates the same? Here in the US, they generally just make you pay an average extra bag fee for skis instead of using their official oversize calculations which would cost a ton more. I really don't want to have to drop and extra $200 each way just to get my skis there and back if shipping them is the way to go.

and thanks to you guys, we're just going to decide on renting a car or using busses when we get there.

L_Bthanks for the solid advice! We're going the last week of february/first week of march so hopefully the snow will still be fluffy. Even if it's not, I'm stoked to go ski and experience somewhere so different from the average.

Last question, what's the best way to get your skis there? I've flown in the US with skis, are international oversize bag rates the same? Here in the US, they generally just make you pay an average extra bag fee for skis instead of using their official oversize calculations which would cost a ton more. I really don't want to have to drop and extra $200 each way just to get my skis there and back if shipping them is the way to go.

When I went this year, I flew ANA/Air Canada. The Air Canada people used the same system of paying for baggage as all of their flights, so not too much extra. It was maybe like 50 dollars at most. On the way home, the ANA people couldn't care less about our ski bag. It was a huge 4 ski roller thing that my buddy borrowed from the ski shop where he worked, and was borderline overweight, which is where they will really screw you over on costs. The ANA lady didn't even weigh the thing, so we stuffed a ton of stuff in at the last second. Probably weighed like 75 pounds and they counted it as a standard checked bag. Idk if thats common or the lady we happened to get was just lazy, but I would say to just check your skis.

There are still other travel or skiing agencies that could surely help you. Look for a trustworthy ski agency then, search through reviews of the company. It's a great help.

I would recommend renting a car (you need to get & bring an international drivers license, they're easy to get), which will really free up your options for finding affordable accommodation.

There are affordable busses that connect Sapporo and most of the ski resorts, so getting from Sapporo to Niseko or Asahikawa is no problem without wheels. But the best-priced accommodation is usually farther away from the resorts themselves, meaning having a car is very convenient - and you'll want to have that flexibility and mobility. Waiting around for a bus can take up valuable time on a short trip.
Staying within walking distance of a resort can often cost you upwards of $100/night. But with a car, you can find hotels in nearby cities for as cheap as $20/night.

Trying to dial in hotel reservations early will help you save cash. You can always find something while you're there - but you might have to pay more.

Bus service is easy. As soon as you get off the plane in Sapporo, there are numerous bus service desks in the terminal with regular connections to all the ski areas. You can also buy a a local Sapporo subway ticket (I recommend the SAPICA pass) for getting around Sapporo. Tip: There's a ski area called Sapporo Tiene right outside of the city that you can get to with public transportation.

Finding the right information and struggling with the language can be tough, but if you're persistent you can find everything you need.

Food and most everything else is surprisingly affordable. If you like good food, prepare to have your mind blown.

Nightlife in Sapporo is next-level.

Yes, you will choke on pow.

There are numerous booking agencies (check out SASS Japan) that run organized trips, and if you're looking for the most bang for your buck without having to worry about logistics, that may be your best bet. You might pay a bit more, but you're paying someone to find the best snow and bring you straight to it every day. But putting together your own trip is very viable, you can do it for cheaper, and it's more of an adventure.

Just keep in mind that there will be Aussies everywhere you go. so go before January 26 which is Australia day. It's like 4th of July in Australia and everyone will be traveling to do that northern hemisphere skiing

I would recommend making hotel reservations but look into staying in pensions (hostels) if you can, they are way cheaper and you'll meet loads of other travellers. Niseko is especially busy so will definitely need to book for Niseko. Look into staying in Kutchan (the local town, ~15min drive from lifts) if you have your own car this is ideal, everything is about half the price in Kutchan as opposed to Hirafu (the main village). Rusts only has one hotel so you will have to stay there but it is usually dead quiet so don't know if you would need to book but would be worth it just in case.

The public transport in Japan is insanely good, buses and trains run on time everywhere no matter the weather and yes you can get a bus between most resorts, although you may have to go via Niseko to get between some of the smaller ones.

The night scene is very different in Japan, not many clubs, only bars, great for darts and pool etc. Karaoke is a good blast definitely give that a go. Japanese girls are not like western girls (don't expect to pick up on the first night) but there are tonnes of tourists in Niseko at least.

Food is dirt cheap, Seicomart will be your best friend, ready made meals for about 4 bucks each and a decent fill. When you are in Niseko make sure you get some of Lawson's Spicy Chicken.

The pow is unthinkabley deep, everyone tells you it is but you will never be prepared for it. NIseko is getting pretty popular in the last few years so I would recommend staying in the smaller resorts like Kiroro and Rusutsu for the majority of your trip, you will get way more powder there but Niseko is still deeper than most other places in the world.

I never travel through an agency, i think it takes the fun out of it and you will never have those unplanned trips or surprise discoveries which are often the best parts of any trip.

If you are into backcountry and touring, it would be well worth giving up a day to hike Mt. Yotei, the volcano opposite Niseko, it takes about 4-6 hours to get to the peak depending on your fitness/speed, then you can ski the crater and then hike back out and ski down. By far the best skiing in the area and insane views. 'Black Diamond' will do guided trips for a very reasonable price and have gear too if you need to rent.

What ever you end up doing, you will have a sick time and will never see powder in the same way again, have a good trip!

Also check out http://www.skijapan.com, they are the best travel company for Japan and will help you will all aspects of your trip, they are also the only company to have an airport desk in Sapporo, which is always handy!

L_BJust got my final paycheck that will allow me to buy some plane tickets to Japan for next winter. However, from doing my own research, it's been really hard to figure out what information is trustworthy and updated and what is resort-company-speak.

Myself and a friend are planning on flying into sapporo for 2 weeks, and we plan on trying to ski Asahidake, Niseko, Rusutsu, maybe Kiriro or one of the many other medium powvilles on the north island.

So now for some questions:

Do you have to make hotel reservations? We're already getting a few nights in sapporo so we have somewhere to crash as soon as we get there, but we weren't sure about the resorts. Here in the US you can often find the best deals at motels outside big resorts, is this the case in Japan? Or should we be booking all our hotels too?

What is the shuttle/bus service like? Everything mentions it vaguely but I'm wondering what the logistics of getting around are really like.

What are clubs/bars/girls/nightlife like?

How expensive is food?

Anything else we wouldn't think of?

Did you really choke on pow?

Is it better to go through a booking agency that will handle everything, or put it together yourself?

Thanks NS, I'm sure I'll get lots of serious replies.

If you do stay in Sapporo, rent a car, and ski at Sapporo Teine. Sick little mtn with sick views.
When you go to the Niseko area, book rooms ahead of time. I would recommend getting continuous stays at one or two places, rather than jumping around lodge/hostel to the next. You can ski all the Niseko resorts with shuttles. Getting to Kiroro will require a train, and may be worth the overnight trip. PM for me ski details.

Food is cheap in Japan, as are drinks (compared to the US), but Niseko is definitely more expensive. Niseko is filled with Aussie and Kiwi tourists, and very few Japanese residents, but if you're into the skiing and snow and little cultural experience, you'll do fine here.

You'll find lots of deep snow. Do some night skiing if the conditions merit-I didn't and regret it.

Don't go through a booking agency. Start now looking for cheap flights, rent a car, find cheaper lodging and stay there for a few nights at a time. Nothing is crazy expensive once you are there.