honshu powder trip

MYOKO, HAKUBA & NOZAWA, JAPAN

honshu
trip

MYOKO, HAKUBA
NOZAWA
JAPAN

3390 EUR

9 Days of Skiing
10 Nights of Lodging

70% Lift Access
30% Ski Touring

Free skis/snowboards and avalanche kit

Season from Dec 27th
to Mar 7th

RESERVE

The best Honshu Island has to offer

We spent some time crisscrossing Honshu Island and came up with what we think are the best options the island has to offer.

For most of the trip, we will base ourselves in Myoko, tackling six resorts in the neighborhood. We will visit the lesser-known resorts around Hakuba Valley, and check out Nozawa Onsen or Naeba before finishing up with a party in Tokyo 🙂

There will be 6-7 days of lift-access off-piste skiing (with short hikes) and an optional 1-2 days of backcountry ski touring.

HONSHU TRIP

3390 EUR / person

Guiding

Ski Passes

10 Nights of Accommodation

Breakfasts

Transportation in Japan

Avalanche Training Session

Ski Technique Coaching (optional)

RESERVE

DATES

2024/25 season

Feb 1 – Feb 11

Custom dates for bigger
groups and private trips

EXTRA

not included

Lunch and Dinners

Flight ticket to Tokyo (Europe to Tokyo costs around 790 EUR)

Travel & Cancel Insurance (approx. 100 EUR)

Optional Cat Skiing (get in touch for more details)

We can help out with flight reservation and insurance.

Contact us if you have a group of people and prefer a private trip with tailor-made itinerary, private guide and van. Shorter trips are available.

Itinerary

Flexibility is the key and in this sample itinerary, you can find out what we do. We will adjust this itinerary according to weather conditions and requirements of our guests.

DAY 1 _ Arrival to Tokyo, Japan | Private transfer to our lodge in Myoko

We will get you to our lodge, set up the equipment and take you to dinner.

DAY 2 _ Madarao + Tangram | Evening: Avalanche Awareness Presentation

Two interconnected resorts offer easy access to freeride skiing with the potential of short hikes to some longer backcountry lines. After skiing you will learn how to navigate safely through backcountry terrain so we can go ski touring in upcoming days.

DAY 3 _ Seki Onsen + Avalanche Rescue Practice ater skiing | Evening: Onsen

Seki receives up to 20 metres of snowfall a season. Powder skiing gem with two lifts, one of which is the famous Pizza Box. Great backcountry options. You would be sharing the resort with a bunch of locals and a few foreigners who go off the beaten path enough to reach it.

We will practice beacon search after skiing.

DAY 4 _ Backcountry day in Mr. Myoko area

Fancy skiing inside of the crater? Let’s do it.

DAY 5 _ Lotte Arai or other resorts in the area | Evening: Karaoke Night (optional)

Lotte is the most modern out of Myoko resorts. Fast lifts take you up to the main bowl, only a short hike away from an epic powder line. Plus backcountry of Lotte is a whole different playground.

DAY 6 _ Unguided day in the resort you already know or a Day off

Our guests are asked to cover a one-day ski pass if they decide to ski on this day. You can enjoy the Myoko Kogen area unguided, take the day off and chill, eat famous soba in town or visit a shrine in Nagano.

DAY 7 _ Nozawa Onsen| Evening: Onsen

Nozawa Onsen offers some great lines straight from the lift-accessed ridge. You will end up right on the slope, ready for another run. After skiing, we will check one of the countless onsens and sample hot buns in the streets of this historical village.

DAY 8 _ Backcountry day in Mr. Myoko area

Undisclosed location 🙂

DAY 9 _ Akakura Onsen

Ski as many laps in powder-filled trees as you can possibly handle.

DAY 10 _ Happo-One

We will pay a visit to the famous Hakuba Valley and ski some of our favourite lines with the longest vertical in the area in this resort which is still out of sight of crowds heading to the main Hakuba resort

DAY 11 _ Fly back home OR Stay in Japan for more days

Please note that DAY 1 of each trip is your arrival to Japan. Flights to Japan from Europe take 2 days (due to time difference). If you need assistance with your flight booking, feel free to ask us.

Accommodation

Our accommodation

Our guests are staying in a traditional japanese hotel which has amazing hot springs, or so called onsen right on the premises. We will be staying in rooms with tatami to experience the real, authentic housing. Guests sleep in comfortable futon bedding, while amenities include yukata robes, a washstand and an attached toilet. Bathroom facilities are shared.

skis/snowboards and avalanche kit

Equipment

Avalanche Equipment (Backpack, Beacon, Probe, Shovel) – we can ship these from our Hokkaido base for 100 EUR per trip)

Rental of Skis and Boards – we can ship these from our Hokkaido base for 200 EUR per trip)

Skis:

Kastle BMX and FX (115mm and 105mm underfoot), Scott Scrapper (120mm underfoot) and Punisher (105mm – 110mm underfoot), Armada JJ (117mm underfoot) in various lengths for men and women

Snowboards:

Nitro Slash (powder specific), Gara Splitboards

Ski bindings:

Fritschi Tecton (tech binding) and Tyrolia Adrenalin (frame binding, classic binding with hiking option)

Avalanche equipment:

Shovel, probe, beacon from Pieps, Non-Avalanche backpacks from Pieps

plus telescopic poles and snowshoes for short hikes for snowboarders.

We do not provide cartridges for avabackpacks. Please bring your own.

You can reserve all this in the booking form after you sign up for your trip.

We do not provide ski boots, helmets, snowboard boots or snowboard bindings.

Details

Ski resorts

Freeride resort options include Myoko Kogen (Akakura Kanko, Suginohara, Akakura Onsen), Seki Onsen, Lotte Arai, Madarao, Tangram, Happo One, Tenjin, Naeba and Tsugaike.

We can ski tour in Mt. Myoko area, the backcountry of Lotte Arai, Tenjin or Seki Onsen. Backcountry skiing is limitless.

Vertical meters

Tours usually take up to 3 hours (around 900m – a total of multiple runs). The pace is adjusted to the needs of the group.

Who is it for

For the Honshu Trip previous ski touring (or split boarding) and freeriding experience is necessary.

You should have a reasonable level of fitness to be able to follow the itinerary (no activities are mandatory, you can always take more days off).

Our trip is for individuals, couples or bigger groups. If you travel solo – don’t worry, you will get to know fellow skiers/riders and have a good time.

Group size

The group size is a maximum of 6 people.

Thinking about the trip, but not ready commit?

Leave us your email, and we will let you know when the trip is about to be sold out.

Check FAQs for more details

Extra options for:

Private trip

Do you want a private trip with a tailor-made itinerary, a private van a guide? Get in touch.

16100 EUR (max 6 people)

(i.e. 200 EUR per person discount)

Expert skiers and snowboarders

Our classic trip is already pretty packed and we can adjust it to different ski/snowboard levels.

However, do you want to take it further? Cover more vertical? Hit avalanche barriers or pillow lines? Ski all the way to the ocean or have your line filmed by the drone? We can put together an expert-level program for you. Ideally, get 5 or 6 friends together and get in touch. Alternatively, we can pair you with other expert skiers or snowboarders who are coming in a season.

Safety is the priority for us. If the conditions are not right, our guides will pursue more conservative options for each day.

GET IN TOUCH FOR EXTRA OPTIONS