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First of all, thanks very much to SnowJapan, and to Tomamu for the lift tickets. I have been meaning to head out that way for a couple of years, so winning the SJ Giveaway was the push I needed!

 

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We hit Tomamu on Saturday. There had been maybe 5cm overnight, but up on the hill the snow that had fallen midweek was still fresh and untouched. It was also alot lighter than the snow at Teine and other ski jo's closer to the sea.

 

Looking up from the base.

 

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Looking up at the highest point once the sun came out

 

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Most of the decent powder stashes were accessed from a single chair that goes up to just below the summit

 

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Also had alot of fun hitting the park. Probably the best park in Hokkaido at the moment. A very good kicker line, 3 large hits in a row. A well shaped halfpipe and a load of jibs and smaller jumps lower down.

 

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The ski area was fairly extensive, definitely enough for a few days. The only downside being the common complaint at Japanese ski jo's, that the ski out to the base of the lifts is long and flat!

 

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I'll definitely be back though.

 

We stayed Saturday night at Yorkshire Farm, a pension and sheep farm close to Sahoro.

 

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Sahoro was a fair bit smaller than Tomamu, but totally deserted. There hadn't been any fresh snow overnight, but we still got fresh tracks all day. The few people that were there seemed to be beginners, so we had untouched powder, even in very obvious spots.

 

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We also found a nice steep zone in the trees with lots of pillows, similar to Strawberries at Hanazono, but without the crowds!

 

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Looking out over the Tokachi plain from the top

 

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A great weekend, checking out two new hills. Thanks SnowJapan!

 

Here's the video

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Sweet vid, Tomamu is a jem for the size of the mountain. Great out of bounds policy, that actually lets you access some great tree'd areas (without getting your pass confiscated like at Furano). You can actually go straight over the back from the top of that small parrot chair and it's an easy traverse back to the main trails. Always find some untouched powder days after a fall. Nice score.

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  • 6 months later...

We didn't stay at Tomamu, just the one night at Yorkshire Farm. I think it was around 8,000 for the night including dinner and brekkie. I'd recommend it, a really cosy place and the owners were cool. I think the lift ticket is just under 5,000 (but its covered by the K Pass so I didn't pay that).

 

I'll be heading back that way this coming winter for the odd trip, especially to Tomamu.

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We didn't stay at Tomamu, just the one night at Yorkshire Farm. I think it was around 8,000 for the night including dinner and brekkie. I'd recommend it, a really cosy place and the owners were cool. I think the lift ticket is just under 5,000 (but its covered by the K Pass so I didn't pay that).

 

I'll be heading back that way this coming winter for the odd trip, especially to Tomamu.

I can't really speak Japanese other than Hallo, how are you, and counting from 1 to 100, very simple japanese, can the owner of Yorkshire farm speak some English?

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My personal ranking would be

 

1 Teine

2 Kamui

3 Kokusai

4 Tomamu

5 Sahoro

6 Bankei

 

I'm sure that'd be different for everyone you asked though! I've spent lots of time at Teine and Kamui so know lots of good spots. If I knew some of the other places better, they might be higher on the list. Bankei is really small though and not in the same class as the other 5 hills, so is in last place.

 

At Yorkshire Farm, I'm pretty sure they had someone who spoke English as we communicated by email in English to make our reservation. But then in (basic!) Japanese when we were there.

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