Japan · Hokkaido · Furano, 8 days
The backcountry skiing Japan offers on the volcanoes of central Hokkaido sets the rhythm of this week: eight days based in Furano, a guided ski touring day out every day, from €3,950 per person, flights not included. You choose the dates with us; the snow and the long runs back down do the rest.
Pricefrom €3,950per person, excluding flights
Backcountry skiing Japan, from Furanofrom €3,950 per person
Dates on request
You’ll enjoy
We base you in Furano, in the centre of Hokkaido, for eight days of ski touring in Japan on the volcanoes of the island’s interior. Each morning the group heads out on skins, and each evening it comes back to the same town.
One base · dates on request
from €3,950per person, excluding flights
The Furano week runs on the dates you set with us, and it can be reserved privately for your own group, priced on the number of skiers. The departure is confirmed from four skiers.
A question about this ski touring week in Japan? We’ll reply within 24 hours.
Furano is your base from the first day to the last. You stay in a hotel with its own onsen, rated four-star by Japanese standards, in a twin room, with breakfast. Each morning the group sets out from town towards the volcanoes in the centre of the island, and each evening it comes home to the same streets under fresh snow.
A whole week in one place gives you time to get the feel of the snow. Yesterday’s slopes are compared with today’s, the group finds its rhythm, and the skin track flows a little more easily each morning. For a look at the Furano ski area before you go, the lifts are on our Furano ski map.
The day begins quietly. Skins on, you follow your guide’s track through firs bowed under the snow, and the view opens a little more at every kick turn. You talk little and look a great deal.
At the top the pause is short and cheerful: skins folded away, boots locked, and the run is waiting. Hokkaido’s snow is light and dry; it lifts at the first turn and settles softly behind you. In winter, cold air from Siberia gathers moisture over the Sea of Japan and lets it fall on the island as powder, and the Japan Meteorological Agency publishes its forecasts in English, if you like to follow the weather before you fly.
Your ski days
Furano skiing on this week means a ski touring day out every day, at technique 3/5 and fitness 3/5. You are at ease off-piste and in deep snow, and you enjoy a full day on skins, six or seven days running, at the group’s pace, with the run you came for at the end of each climb.
Your guide chooses each outing for the snow and the weather. Tell us about your recent ski touring when you write, and we’ll help you see whether the week suits you.
Back in town, boots come off, jackets go up to dry, and the evening is yours: time to warm up, a stroll through Furano under fresh snow, dinner, then an early night before another day out.
You sleep in a twin room, breakfast is included each morning, and a single room can be arranged on request.
The volcanoes of central Hokkaido give the week its character. Tokachidake and Asahidake rise within Daisetsuzan National Park; on Asahidake, at 2,291 metres the roof of Hokkaido, a cable car takes you up before the skins carry you on between the fumaroles.
We choose each day’s outing with the snow and the weather, so the week takes shape as it goes. On a clear day, with steam drifting off the slopes and the powder light underfoot, you will understand why backcountry skiing in Japan draws skiers back winter after winter.
The programme
Flight to New Chitose Airport, Sapporo. We meet you on arrival and take you to Furano by minibus. Check-in, and dinner.
After breakfast, your first ski touring day out from Furano, on a volcano chosen that morning for the snow and the weather.
Five more ski touring days on the volcanoes of central Hokkaido, with outings such as Tokachidake or Asahidake when the snow and the weather allow.
Transfer to New Chitose Airport and flight home.
This programme is indicative. It may change with the snow, the weather, the level of the group and your wishes, for everyone’s safety and enjoyment; the guide has the final word.
Payment: 30% deposit on booking, balance no later than two months before departure, by bank transfer or card. The departure is confirmed from four skiers. Plan on two bags, a travel bag and a ski bag. Full details are in our terms and conditions.
Pictures from our ski touring days in Hokkaido.
Picture a morning in Furano: skins on, your guide’s track winding up between firs heavy with rime, and steam drifting off a volcano across the valley. By midweek the routine becomes a pleasure of its own, out each morning, back in town each evening, the snow a little more familiar every day. We choose each outing with you, for the snow and the weather, and on the right day Asahidake, the roof of Hokkaido, opens its long slopes to the group.
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
“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.”
« On a découvert le Japon, la Japow ❄️ et surtout une expérience incroyable où chaque jour est différent. … Comme un onsen traditionnel entre deux runs de poudreuse bien fraîche. Juste magique. »
Translated from French: We discovered Japan, the Japow ❄️ and above all an incredible experience where every day is different. … Like a traditional onsen between two runs of really fresh powder. Just magical.
« 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.
Every ski touring day is led by a BEES-qualified ski instructor specialising in off-piste, and/or a UIAGM mountain guide. Six skiers per guide, each outing chosen in the morning for the snow, the weather and the avalanche information published by the Japan Avalanche Network, avalanche airbag pack, transceiver, shovel and probe provided. When the snow or the weather calls for it, the guide changes the plan, and that call always comes first. We plan all our ski trips from Val d’Isère, and we’ll reply within 24 hours.
Yes. Our eight-day week in Furano is guided ski touring on the volcanoes of central Hokkaido, with a BEES-qualified ski instructor specialising in off-piste, and/or a UIAGM mountain guide, six skiers per guide.
On the dates you set with us. Tell us the week you have in mind and we will build the departure around it; January and February are the heart of the Hokkaido season.
From €3,950 per person for eight days, flights not included; the final price depends on the number of skiers. Allow around €1,200 for flights to Sapporo New Chitose from major European cities, plus lunches, dinners and drinks.
For this week, technique 3/5 and fitness 3/5: at ease off-piste and in deep snow, and happy to tour every day, six or seven days running. To check where you stand: your off-piste skiing level and your ski touring fitness level.
You fly into New Chitose Airport, Sapporo, where we meet you; the transfer to Furano and back is included, and only the flights are yours to book. In Furano you stay all week in a hotel with its own onsen, rated four-star by Japanese standards, in a twin room, with breakfast included.
Guiding, lift passes, accommodation with breakfast, airport transfers and the safety kit (avalanche airbag pack, transceiver, shovel and probe) are included. You bring your touring skis (at least 100 mm underfoot, 110 mm recommended), skins, ski crampons, poles with powder baskets, a helmet and suitable clothing.
Choose Furano for a ski touring day out every day on the volcanoes, on dates of your choosing. Choose Niseko skiing, from 23 to 30 January 2027, if you would rather use the lifts and add shorter climbs on skins, with a ryokan and onsen all week.
Write to us by email or on WhatsApp with your dates and the number of skiers, and we’ll reply within 24 hours. The booking is confirmed with a 30% deposit, balance due no later than two months before departure; the departure is confirmed from four skiers, and the week can be reserved privately for your group.
Useful before you go: Hokkaido Tourism Organization · Niseko avalanche information · Japan Meteorological Agency.
Eight days of ski touring in Furano is one of our five ways to ski Japan, alongside eight days in Niseko and our 9-, 11- and 15-day safaris across Hokkaido.
Tell us when you’re coming and how many of you there are, and we’ll reply within 24 hours.
Or email us at infoskitravels@powderwego.com
You can also write to us from our Contact page.
