Published on April 15th, 2013 | by Japan Snowtrip Tips
0Skiing & Snowboarding in Japan: powder submersions + cultural excursions
With hundreds of ski areas scattered across one of the planet`s most mountainous landscapes, there`s never a reason to stand in a lift line during your skiing & snowboarding trip to Japan.
Aside from busy school-breaks and holiday periods, the domestic population of Japan sparsely skis or snowboards. Although snowboarding has in recent years definitely found a place in the hearts of Japanese youth constituting noticeable increases of enthusiastic domestic participants, countless under-used ski-lifts are still left to the whims of far-traveling foreigners hoping to submerge in deep, dry, overhead Japow.
The secret is out on Japan`s premier-status as an international shred destination in Niseko (Hokkaido), Hakuba (Nagano) and a few other spots in the country, but there are still hundreds of uncrowded, quiet little stashes waiting to say ohayo gozaimasu (Good morning) to visiting international pow junkies.
Will you have the ski trails completely to yourself? Maybe not… it`s a country of 125million. But will you ever feel claustrophobic, especially off-piste in Japan? Not likely.
Likewise, the opportunities for cultural exploration away from the ski hill abound in all of Japan`s snowy regions profiled below. Transport infrastructure is excellent, allowing snow trippers to experience blower Japow faceshots day-or-night while easily soaking in vibrant urban life, ancient historical sites, modern marvels and cultural traditions unique to the Japanese Islands with minimal need of private transit.
If your goal is to mix epic pow submersions with memorable cultural excursions during your Japan snow trip, dipping off to snow resorts in the wintry regions highlighted below is a great way to do it.