One departure · January 2027
11 days across Hokkaido
- Dates
- 13 → 23 January 2027
- Length
- 11 days / 10 nights
- Ski days
- 9 to 10
- Stages
- Niseko, Otaru, Furano
- Level
- 3/5
€5,350per person, excluding flights
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Japan · Hokkaido · 11 days
Japan ski holiday: eleven days of Hokkaido powder, with five nights in Niseko
This Japan ski holiday runs for eleven days, from 13 to 23 January 2027: five nights in Niseko, one in Otaru, four in Furano, and nine or ten days of skiing in Hokkaido powder. It costs €5,350 per person, based on six skiers, flights not included. It is the safari for those who like time: time to settle into each place, and time on the snow almost every day.
Price€5,350per person, excluding flights
The trip at a glance
Japan ski holiday, 11 days€5,350
Heart of the Hokkaido winter · departure 13 to 23 January 2027
- ArrivalNew Chitose Airport, Sapporo
- Length11 days / 10 nights
- Ski days9 to 10
- Group6 skiers per guide, 3 groups at most
- Skiing level3/5 check my level
- Fitness2/5 check my fitness
- Climbsup to +800 m on skins on the biggest days
- The stagesNiseko 5 nights, Otaru 1 night, Furano 4 nights
- Highlighta day on Mount Yotei, weather permitting
You’ll enjoy
- five nights at the ryokan in Niseko
- a day on Mount Yotei, weather permitting
- the canal at Otaru by night
- Tokachidake and Asahidake from Furano
- a different restaurant every evening
Japan ski holiday: eleven days, with an extra night in Niseko and in Furano
The route is the one our nine-day Japan ski trip follows, Niseko, Otaru, then Furano, with one more night in Niseko and one more in Furano. Those two nights give you time for a day on Mount Yotei and for the volcanoes of the interior. Mid-January, the heart of the season, is a fine time for ski touring in Japan.
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Other dates, or your own group
The eleven days can be reserved for your group alone, priced by the number of skiers. If mid-January doesn’t suit, the nine-day Japan ski trip sets off on 30 January, and our fifteen days in Hokkaido run on dates you choose.
Write to us with your dates and the size of your group, and we’ll reply within 24 hours.
Five nights in Niseko, with Mount Yotei in view
Niseko is your base for the first five nights, at a ryokan whose onsen draws on the hot springs, in twin rooms with breakfast. Five nights let the guide wait for the right day: when the weather allows, the group sets off on skins up Mount Yotei, a volcano of 1,898 m.
The other days take you across Niseko United, from Annupuri and Hirafu to Hanazono and Moiwa, with Rusutsu or Kiroro when the night’s snowfall favours them. By the third day the jet lag has faded, and the days belong to the snow.
Otaru, one night facing the marina
Otaru is a port on the Sea of Japan, and you spend a single night there, on the sixth day, at a hotel facing the marina. Before that comes a day at Teine or Kokusai, whichever has the better snow, skiing above Ishikari Bay.
The evening is for the town itself: dinner in an izakaya, a glass from one of the local whisky distilleries, the lights along the canal. Sapporo lies forty minutes away.
Your ski days
Ski touring in Japan: from the lifts to the skin track
Each day starts at the lifts, chairlifts or cable cars for the height, and you ski off-piste as soon as you pass the rope. Much of it threads through the trees, birches spaced wide enough to let the skis run in the light powder.
When the guide wants untracked slopes, or a volcano, the skins go on: up to 800 metres of climbing on the biggest days, at a moderate effort. Eleven days give you more of those days, Mount Yotei from Niseko, then Tokachidake and Asahidake from Furano.
Four nights in Furano, among the volcanoes of the interior
Furano is a ski town at the heart of Hokkaido, and you spend the last four nights there, at a warm, welcoming place in the centre of town, with its own onsen, in twin rooms. The extra night makes room for the volcanoes: Tokachidake, 2,077 m and still active, where fumaroles break through the snow, and Asahidake, 2,291 m, the roof of Hokkaido, reached by cable car before a climb on skins between columns of steam.
Inland, far from the sea, the air is drier and colder, and the snow lighter. Furano, Tomamu and the Daisetsuzan range also see fewer skiers than the west coast.
Back from the snow, the onsen
The minibus brings you back in the late afternoon, and the first stop is the onsen. Boots off, a wash, then the hot water, with the cold still on your face and the day’s best run still in your head.
Dinner follows, somewhere different every evening: ramen one night, an izakaya the next, sake and the cooking of the island. Over ten nights, those evenings become one of the quiet pleasures of the trip.
The programme
Day by day: an eleven-day Japan ski holiday
Day 1 · Wednesday 13 January
Arrival at New Chitose Airport, Sapporo. Domestic flights from Tokyo arrive in the late afternoon; depending on your connections, a night in Tokyo on the way out can help. The minibus takes you to Niseko, about two and a half hours away.
Days 2 to 5 · Niseko
Four days on Niseko United and, when the night’s snow points there, Rusutsu or Kiroro. If the weather allows, one of them goes to Mount Yotei, on skins.
Day 6 · Monday 18 January
Niseko to Otaru. A day at Teine or Kokusai, depending on the snow, then the evening by the canal.
Day 7 · Tuesday 19 January
Otaru to Furano, at the centre of the island, skiing on the way when the snow allows, then four nights in town.
Days 8 to 10 · Furano
Three days between Furano, Tomamu and the Daisetsuzan range, with Tokachidake and Asahidake when conditions allow.
Day 11 · Saturday 23 January
Transfer to New Chitose Airport and the flight home.
The programme may change with the snow, the weather, the level of the group and your wishes; the guide decides each outing and can always turn back from a slope, whatever the plan says.
What’s included
Included
- Guiding by a BEES-qualified ski instructor specialising in off-piste, and/or a UIAGM mountain guide, with six skiers per guide and three groups at most
- Lift passes for every ski day
- Avalanche airbag pack, transceiver, shovel and probe
- 10 nights in accommodation rated four-star by Japanese standards, twin rooms, breakfast included: 5 at the ryokan in Niseko, 1 at a hotel facing the marina in Otaru, 4 at a hotel with its own onsen in Furano (single room on request)
- A private minibus that stays with the group throughout
- Transfers from and to New Chitose Airport, and between stages
Not included
- Flights, around €1,200 from major European cities
- Lunches, dinners and drinks
- Cancellation and repatriation insurance
- Ski touring kit: skis at least 100 mm underfoot (110 mm recommended), skins, ski crampons, poles with powder baskets, a helmet and your clothing
- Tips and personal spending
Payment: a 30% deposit on booking, then the balance no later than two months before departure, by bank transfer or card. Departures are guaranteed with a minimum of four skiers. Bring two bags, one for travel and one for your skis. Full details are in our terms and conditions.
Eleven days in Hokkaido, in pictures
Photographs taken on our January safaris, between Niseko, Otaru and Furano.
A word from our founder
Picture the third morning in Niseko: the jet lag forgotten, fresh snow on the birches, and the group already at ease in the trees. With five nights there and four in Furano, we have time to wait for the right day on Mount Yotei and to keep a clear one for the volcanoes. If mid-January is free in your diary, this is the trip we suggest.
Boris Malesset, founder of PowderWeGo, holder of the French BEES ski instructor diploma, the Swiss level 3 ski instructor patent and the Austrian Schiführer diploma
What our travellers say
“Boris had crafted a fun and varied trip to exploit the best opportunities for experiencing Japan’s famous deep-powder snow, for ski touring with spectacular views of Asahi Dake volcano range and free-riding through so many scenic landscapes.”
Alain J. · Hokkaido · Google review « Ça vaut le voyage pour les 7 jours de poudreuses, les découvertes d’itinéraires loin du monde, tout en sécurité, les petits dîners dans les auberges typiques, les bains traditionnels (onsen) le soir. »
Translated from French: It’s worth the trip for the 7 days of powder, discovering routes far from the crowds, all in complete safety, the little dinners in traditional inns, the traditional baths (onsen) in the evening.
Diane S. · Hokkaido · Google review « Une expérience mémorable de snowboard safari sur Hokkaido. … de belles lignes, de belles personnes, de l’énergie et de bonnes ondes nippones »
Translated from French: A memorable snowboard safari in Hokkaido. … beautiful lines, beautiful people, energy and good Japanese vibes
Christophe B. · Hokkaido · Google review, 2026
A standard you can feel
Ten nights on the island, a guide for every six skiers and a briefing each morning before the minibus leaves: the eleven days follow the snow from Niseko to Furano, with time kept for Mount Yotei and the volcanoes. We provide the avalanche airbag pack, transceiver, shovel and probe, we plan all our ski trips from Val d’Isère, and we’ll reply within 24 hours.
Questions about the eleven-day Japan ski holiday
When is the best time for a ski holiday in Japan?
Mid-January, at the heart of the Hokkaido season that skiers call Japanuary. Our eleven days run from Wednesday 13 to Saturday 23 January 2027, the longest of our fixed-date trips to Japan.
How much does a Japan ski holiday cost?
€5,350 per person for the eleven days, based on six skiers, excluding flights, which come to around €1,200 from major European cities. Lunches, dinners and drinks are extra; guiding, lift passes, ten nights with breakfast, the minibus and the transfers are included.
How do the eleven days differ from the nine-day safari?
One more night in Niseko and one more in Furano, on the same route. That means nine or ten days of skiing instead of seven or eight, time for Mount Yotei if the weather allows, and a fourth night among the volcanoes of the interior. The nine-day trip runs from 30 January to 7 February 2027.
Where will we stay?
Five nights at a ryokan in Niseko, its onsen fed by the hot springs; one night in Otaru, at a hotel facing the marina; four nights in Furano, in the heart of the ski town, at a place with its own onsen. Everything is rated four-star by Japanese standards, in twin rooms with breakfast, and a single room is available on request.
What level of skiing do I need?
Technical level 3/5 and fitness level 2/5: you ski deep snow off-piste with ease, you have done a little ski touring, and you are comfortable with climbs of up to 800 m on the biggest days. To check where you stand: your off-piste skiing level and your ski touring fitness level.
How do I get to Hokkaido?
Fly to New Chitose Airport, Sapporo, where the trip starts and ends; the minibus covers the two and a half hours to Niseko. Flights from Tokyo land in the late afternoon, so you may want a night in Tokyo on the way out. The Hokkaido Tourism Organization has more on the island.
What is included in the price?
Guiding with six skiers per guide, lift passes, the avalanche airbag pack, transceiver, shovel and probe, ten nights in twin rooms with breakfast, the private minibus, and every transfer from the airport, between stages and back. Flights, meals other than breakfast, drinks, insurance and your touring kit are not included.
How do I book?
Send us an email or a WhatsApp message, +33 6 51 66 58 53, and we’ll reply within 24 hours. A 30% deposit confirms the booking, and the balance is due no later than two months before departure.
Useful before you go: Hokkaido Tourism Organization · Niseko Avalanche Info · Japan Meteorological Agency, forecasts in English.
Of our trips to Hokkaido, this is the longest with a fixed departure; the nine-day route, the fifteen days built with you and our weeks in Niseko and Furano are all on our ski Japan page.
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Trip11-day ski safari · 13–23 January 2027Private trip for my group
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