Can you road trip Hokkaido?

[Brock 0]

Hi

Looking for some advice from those that know. If ever you come to Switzerland I can return the favour :-)

 

A group of us are going to be out in Hokkaido at the beginning of March. We want to ski as much as possible, find the best snow and terrain and see a bit of Japan. We are only interested in Back Country skiing, if there is a rope we'll duck it, if the best skiing means a 5hr skin then we will skin.

 

Thoughts at the moment are head to one spot and use it as a base to explore. I wouldn't normally use guides but for a short trip like ours it might be worth it. Local knowledge goes a long way and takes a long time to build up so this makes me think a guide might be worth the money, at least for part of the trip.

 

In terms of location and ease of access to lots of terrain, is Annupuri a good option? What about Furano?

 

Does the idea of using one place as a base make sense and if so where would you recommend? Can you get about with public transport? One thought was to hire a car and just follow the snow finding last minute accommodation and working out the ski logistics as we go. Is this feasible? Are there the equivalent of the Bureaux des Guides in France or is it hard to find guides in resort? What about accommodation, is it easy to find reasonably priced accommodation?

 

Lot's of ideas and questions going around in my head but enough for now. If anyone can offer some advice, I'd be very grateful and will by you a beer. If anyone wants to play tour guide for a couple of weeks, I'll buy you a lot of beer.

 

Cheers

James

[gozaimaas 61]

I recommend you base yourself in or near the daisetsuzan national park. Sounkyo is a stunning town with fantastic bc terrain.

[Slippery Jim 65]

May help: http://www.snowjapanforums.com/index.php/forum/4-japan-avalanche-backcountry/

[Tubby Beaver 209]

At that time of year, rocking up to a town and getting accommodation shouldn't be much of a problem

[Go Native 70]

I recommend you base yourself in or near the daisetsuzan national park. Sounkyo is a stunning town with fantastic bc terrain.

 

I love Sounkyo but not sure if I'd base myself there for an extended period. There's not a whole lot open there in winter. I'd base myself in Asahikawa as it is a good transport hub for getting to many places in the region, including Soukyo/Kurodake, Asahidake, Furano, etc.

[gozaimaas 61]

I recommend you base yourself in or near the daisetsuzan national park. Sounkyo is a stunning town with fantastic bc terrain.

 

I love Sounkyo but not sure if I'd base myself there for an extended period. There's not a whole lot open there in winter. I'd base myself in Asahikawa as it is a good transport hub for getting to many places in the region, including Soukyo/Kurodake, Asahidake, Furano, etc.

Sorry thats kind of what I meant with the "base yourself in or near the daisetsuzan national park" comment

[Brock 0]

Thanks for the advice. Asahikawa seems to be a place that is coming up a lot from various people on this forum and elsewhere.

What would you expect to pay for a accommodation, nothing flash, simple, Japanese style with a good breakfast. I guess it is easier and cheaper to eat in town than in a hotel?

[agillgren 13]

We stayed in one of the standard middle of the range hotels (western room with japanese breaky) last year for around 8000 yen per night twin share (so 4000 each) in the centre of Asahikawa Was nothing flash but did the job. You can probably find cheaper if you look around.

 

We were 5min walk from a heap of restaurants. So loads of good value choices for dinner. When we went looking for coffee/other breaky options not many places were open till after 8am.