DATES: 2025 // Jan 8-18 (JP25-1); Jan 19-29 (JP25-2) SOLD OUT – subject to change
PRICE: 2025 // $4950 CAD ($3850 USD)
PAYMENT SCHEDULE: 50% deposit secures your booking; 100% due October 8, 2024.
Japow
Ski the Land of the Rising Sun
Now Booking 2025
2025 // Jan 8-18 (Niigata/Myoko/Hakuba – JP25-1) SOLD OUT / Jan 19-29 (Hokkaido: Niseka/Furano – JP25-2) SOLD OUT
2026 // Jan 8-17 (Niigata/Myoko/Hakuba – JP26-1) / Jan 18-27 (Hokkaido: Niseko/Furano – JP26-2)
Japan has formed a legendary reputation for deep powder skiing in early winter. The saying “Don’t Leave Powder to Find Powder” is common in western Canada – why leave Canada when we have the best skiing in the world? Well, Japan is a strong contender, and when you add the incredible cultural experience to the mix it rises to the top of any serious skier’s bucket list.
In 2025 we are offering two Japan ski trips: JP25-1 starts in Yuzawa, a short train ride north of Tokyo, and finishes in Hakuba town. JP25-2 starts and finishes at New Chitose airport and explores the iconic Niseko zone and finishes in Furano. Take your pick! Or, if you can’t decide between the two, join us for both!
One of the side-effects of the strong popularity of skiing in Japan has been the erosion of the cultural experience. Hearing complaints of “I was skiing tracks with a bunch of Australians” I decided to seek the advice of Japan-born Whistler-based Jun Yanagisawa. I met Jun heli-skiing in northern BC and immediately admired his gracious Japanese manners, sense of humour, and powerful elegant ski technique. Born and raised in Tokyo, Jun was an avid skier from childhood. In search of wilderness, Jun eventually immigrated to Whistler, British Columbia where he has worked for close to 30 years in the ski and tourism industry, moving between his native Japan and western Canada’s heli- and ski-touring.
A couple of years ago I said to Jun, “Let’s do a Japan trip together, but let’s see some weird funky Japanese culture!” Jun said, “Leave it to me Tom-san!”
video by Zev Heuer 2018
In January of 2020 I ran a trip along with Jun in the Land of the Rising Sun. With a group of 15, including my wife and two kids, and a bunch of my favourite long-time clients, we based out of the town of Echigo-Yuzawa. Yuzawa did not disappoint. The Minshuku (hostel with onsen) we stayed in, Densuke, was the real deal — sleeping on futons in a room lined with grass tatami mats, with cozy Kotatsus to warm you to the bones after a chilly day on the slopes. In fact we were the very first western / Caucasian clients the Denuske has ever hosted in over 40 years of operation! The town is filled with fantastic authentic Japanese restaurants: sushi, ramen, izakay, yakatori, tempura, tonkatsu — you name it, there’s a tiny cozy restaurant that serves it. One of the highlights was walking to the train station for a visit to the “Sake Tasting Shop”. With coin-operated sake dispensers, 500 Yen (about $5 USD) will get you 5 shots of the best sake in Japan. In fact, Yuzawa is famous for its rice and sake industries.
But we came for the skiing, didn’t we? The ski hills we visited had amazing skiing and were the epitomy of quirky. Japan actually has the most ski hills by area of any other country in the world — over 350 of them! With the lull in the Japanese economy after the 80s recession, many of them have never quite recovered and consequently are relatively empty of skiers. A bad thing for the ski business, but great for skiers as lineups are short and the powder is plentiful.
One of the quirkiest has to be Tenjindaira. You get there via the local Joetsu Line train which stops at Doai Station. Doai station has the distinction of being one of the deepest train stations in the world, the northbound line requiring you to walk down (fortunately not up) 486 steps into the bowls of Mount Tanigawanike — a surreal experience to say the least and a highlight of our trip strangely enough. Tenjindaira is famous for its steep off-piste skiing: a kilometer-long ridge of steep trees takes you 450 m down into the valley to reconnect with a gondola station that could have been a set for The Twilight Zone. Tenjindaira is also known for the mountain that looms overhead, Mt. Tanigawanike. We climbed it only to find out later on that it has the reputation for being the “Most Dangerous Mountain in the World”! Actually, the fact that it’s claimed over 800 lives has more to do with its proximity to Tokyo and the dangerously loose rock on the opposite side of the mountain. It is, in fact, a gentle, enjoyable ski peak from the top of the chairlift on the Tenjindaira side!
In 2025 we are offering two separate itineraries — join us for one or, why not, both of them! One is based in the Niigata/Myoko/Hakuba areas of Honshu, north of Tokyo, where the skiing is steep and varied. The second is based on Hokkaido, famous for its beautiful powder skiing. You can’t go wrong witih either one!
2025 Proposed Itineraries
JP25-1 Jan 8-18 (11 days)
Jan 8: Konichiwa, welcome to Japan! Arrival day on the island of Honshu. The trip begins at an authentic ryokan (inn with an onsen/hot spring) in Yuzawa, which is 80-90 minutes by bullet train north of Tokyo station. Our ryokan will be within walking distance or a short taxi ride from Echigo-Yuzawa train station.
Jan 9-11: Skiing around Yuzawa, a really funky Japanese town with very minimal western influence and a lot of great restaurants and close to epic old school Niigata ski resorts with steep tree and big mountain skiing in addition to classic JaPOW.
Jan 12-14: Myoko National Park. We’ll stay and a quirky yet elegant ski lodge in this classic powder ski zone.
Jan 15-18: Hakuba Town. We’re staying at a classic backcountry ski lodge just north of town.
Jan 18: The trip ends with a shuttle to the train station!
JP25-2 Jan 19-29 (11 days)
Jan 19: Konichiwa, welcome to Japan! Arrival day on the island of Hokkaido. The trip begins at the New Chitose airport where a shuttle bus will pick you up and transport you to Niseko.
Jan 23-28: Skiing in the Furano area, we will stay in the town of Furano for a few days and finish off the trip at a high mountain ryokan (inn with onsen).
Jan 29: The trip ends with transport back to New Chitose airport.
What’s included:
10 nights of accommodations with two meals/day, except in Yuzawa (JP25-1 / Honshu) and Furano (JP25-2 / Hokkaido)
All necessary transportation from the trip start to the trip end
Guiding fees
Taxes on above items
What not included:
International and domestic flights
Lift tickets
Transport to trip start and from trip end locations (JP25-1: starts in Yuzawa, finishes in Haukba Town; JP25-2: starts and finishes at New Chitose airport)
Lunches
Beverages
Personal expenses
Getting to Japan
JP25-1: It’s an adventure but not too tricky. Flying to Haneda airport is a bit more conveniently located to downtown Tokyo and access to the bullet train (Shinkansen), etc. But if you can get an efficient flight from your home/hub airport to Narita (e.g. San Diego) that is a great option to consider since Narita only adds 30 mins to an hour of travel time locally. We will be meeting at Hotel Futaba on the evening of Day 1 — walking distance or short taxi ride from Echigo-Yuzawa Station which is reached in about 80 minutes by Shinkansen from Tokyo Station.
To make life easy for yourself while travelling by train you can ship your baggage by courier to the hotel. See the FAQ tab for details!
JP25-2: We’ll pick you up at New Chitose airport at 14:00 (exact location TBD) and transport you to Niseko. Easy.
Getting home
JP25-1: We’ll drop you off at the train station in Hakuba immediately after breakfast on Jan 18., Trains from Hakuba town bring you to Haneda or Narita in about 4 hrs give or take. Again, you can get your gear shipped via courier and pick it up at the airport (see FAQ section for details).
JP25-2: We’ll drop you off at New Chitose airport by around noon on Jan 29. Easy.
JaPOW Equipment List
PACKING NOTES
You need to bring all of the following personal equipment. Please don’t bring extra equipment. If you have any questions at all about gear please do not hesitate to contact us.
CLOTHING
- Wool or synthetic socks and liner socks
- Long underwear top – synthetic or wool
- Light fleece or wool sweater
- Wind shell – nylon or ‘Schoeller’ type jacket
- Waterproof breathable jacket
- Warm insulated jacket – down or synthetic
- Long underwear bottoms – synthetic or wool
- Multipurpose stretch nylon or ‘Schoeller’ type pants
- Waterproof breathable pants
- Warm hat – wool or synthetic
- Brimmed cap for sun protection
- Face warmer – scarf, neck tube or balaclava (optional)
- Light gloves – wool, synthetic or leather
- Insulated gloves or mitts with waterproof outer shell
- Spare gloves or mitts
- Handkerchief for blocking the sun (optional)
SNOW SAFETY EQUIPMENT
- Avalanche beacon with good batteries (and spares)
- Shovel
- Probe (2.8 m or longer preferred)
TRAVEL EQUIPMENT
- Skis (100 to 125 mm in the waist recommended) or split board (a powder board of course!)
- Ski strap
- Ski or snowboard boots
- Poles
- Climbing skins
- Skin wax (or a candle)
- Binding repair kit to fix your personal travel setup
- Ski helmet (optional)
PERSONAL EQUIPMENT
- Pack (25-30 litres will work fine, but you’ll want something larger for getting to the Wada Goya mountain hut)
- Sunglasses (both orange and dark lenses help a lot for travel in all conditions)
- Goggles (orange lenses)
- Sunscreen and lip cream (SPF 30+)
- Head lamp with good batteries
- Insulated water bottle or thermos (1-2 L)
- Lunch bag or container
- Personal blister kit (i.e: Leukotape-P and Compeed/Second Skin blister pads)
- Pocket knife (optional)
- Camera (optional)
- Binoculars (optional)
- Prussik cord – 5m x 6mm (optional, for contributing to emergency toboggan construction)
APRES SKI, HOTEL/RYOKAN, ETC.
- Duffle bag to contain your clothes in your room
- A larger backpack to get to the Wada Goya mountain hut (e.g. 40-45 L)
- Shoes
- Comfortable clothing for travel as well as some nice clothes to wear to the restaurants
- Personal medications and toiletries
- Ear plugs
- Reading material
- Chargers & adapters for electronic devices (Japan AC power is 100V and should work to power your device chargers, see this page for details)
- You should have some Japanese yen in cash in advance or exchange maybe 20,000 yen or so at the airport as there are still many places that a credit cards are not accepted in Japan.
NOTE THE FOLLOWING ARE PROVIDED:
- Pillows, duvets, bed linen and towels supplied at the Ryokans and hotels
- Slippers at the Ryokans are available
GROUP GEAR (SUPPLIED BY THE GUIDES)
- Altimeter
- Map and compass
- GPS
- Snow study kit
- Snow and/or bush saw
- First aid kit
- Emergency tarp
- Emergency toboggan
- Group repair kit
- Radio & satellite phone
Snowpack and Climate
Expect a LOT of snow and mild temperatures in the negative single digits Celsius.
Our JaPOW trip provides options for both Classic and Relaxed paced groups.
- Expect mostly pure backcountry skiing, with the addition of lift-accessed touring to alpine and treed ski runs as well as inbound skiing on the deepest JaPOW days when the backcountry hazard is high
- Tours range from near sea level (ca 200 m ASL) to 1200+ m ASL
- Touring days are up to 8 hours and often there will be options for early return. Total vertical can really pile up if we use lifts to get bumped back up into the alpine
- Non-glaciated terrain
- Easy ski mountaineering (bootpacking, etc.)
- Steep tree skiing
- Deep powder skiing
Staff
Photos of our staff can be found on our Guides and Partners page.
Tom Wolfe (Mountain Guide ACMG/IFMGA) has been guiding since moving to Canmore in 1995, the place he calls home with wife, son and daughter. He guides year around, with winters being a mix of ski guiding at lodges, heli-ski operations, and remote backcountry destinations throughout western Canada.
Conrad Janzen (Mountain Guide IFMGA/ACMG) – Conrad started climbing and skiing in 1994 on a Yamnuska Mountain Adventures Semester in Canmore, Alberta. Following this he attended the University of Calgary, graduating with a Degree in Kinesiology and a Minor in Outdoor Pursuits in 1999. Conrad has been guiding climbing, skiing and paddling trips since 1997 throughout the mountain regions of Alberta and British Columbia, into the Yukon and Northwest Territories, and occasionally guiding international trips as well. In addition to setting up private guiding adventures for individuals and groups, Conrad has guided for a variety of outdoor companies including Canadian Mountain Holidays , Yamnuska Mountain Adventures, and the Alpine Club of Canada. He is also part of the Parks Canada Visitor Safety team in who create daily avalanche hazard bulletins, carry out highway avalanche control, and provide the mountain rescue services in Banff, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks.
Satoshi Kawano – born and raised in the Powder Belt of Niseko, Japan, Satoshi will join us as our local fixer and driver for JP25-1
Aaron Bryant – A Canmore native, Aaron is working his way through his ACMG ski guide courses and will join us as an assistant and driver for JP25-2.
Q- Can you remind me what meals are provided?
A – all breakfasts and dinners are provided
Q – How about lift tickets?
A – Lift tickets are not provided in the trip price. This is because of the uncertainty around how much we’ll be using the lifts, something determined by conditions and objectives.
Q – How do I get from the airport to the trip start location?
A – For our Hokkaido based trips, there are many different options to travel to Sapporo from either Haneda or Narita. Jetstar, Japan Air and Air Nippon Airways (ANA) are three with Jetstar being a quality budget airline. There will be two pickup locations: New Chitose airport at 14:00 or Cross Hotel in Sapporo at 15:00 (Jan 19). You can also make your way to Niseko on your own. We will be staying at Moiwa Lodge, Niseko (see below for address). Please let us know what you decide.
For our Honshu based trips, from either Haneda or Narita you can take the train / Shinkansen (bullet train) to Echigo-Yuzawa train station, which takes about 2 hrs plus a bit depending on your timing. The choice of whether to fly to Narita or Haneda comes down mainly to your connections, cost of tickets, and efficiency of travel. Train from Haneda is only a bit shorter than Narita (30-60 minutes) so take this into consideration when looking at the total travel time. First night is at Hotel Futaba, Yuzawa (see below for address) and check-in is after 16:00. The hotel will offer a shuttle service from the train station at 16:00 and 17:00, contact us if you want to take advantage of this service (info@sawback.com).
Q – I don’t like the idea of traveling by train with all my luggage — is there any other option?
A – Japan has an outstanding luggage transport service so you don’t have to drag your luggage along with you while traveling by train. For $15-25 per bag you can drop it all off at the airport and find it waiting for you at your destination. Visit Yamato / Black Cat Luggage Services
For our 2025 Hokkaido trips send your bags to Moiwa Lodge: 451-6 Aza Niseko, Niseko-cho, Abuta-gun, Hokkaido, 048-1511
For our 2025 Honshu trips send your bags to Hotel Futaba Yuzawa: Oaza, Yuzawa 419, Yuzawa Town, Minamiuonuma County, Niigata Prefecture, 949-6101
Q – Can I do laundry at the hotels we’re staying at?
A – Yes, various options from coin operated laundromats to laundry service exist depending on the specific hotel
Q – Should we have avalanche training before joining this trip?
A – We recommend that guests have taken an AST-1 course prior to this trip. If you regularly take part in professionally guided trips each year then you should have the basic skills of performing a companion rescue. If in doubt, contact us. We offer AST-1 and AST-2 courses at the start of each season (November-January typically).
Q – How will I get to the airport at the end of the trip?
A – Hokkaido trips: On the last morning of the trip, Jan 29, there will be two shuttle departure times. An early shuttle will depart at 7:30 am and a later shuttle will depart at 9:00 am. We will drop you off at New Chitose Airport (included in trip price) — early shuttle will arrive around 10:00 and the later one by 12:00 noon. This gives you time to fly back to Tokyo and catch an evening flight home. If you need to get to the airport sooner (e.g. the night before) the there are shuttle and taxi options.
Honshu trips: We will drop you off at a train station after breakfast (around 9:00 am; included in trip price). From there you can catch your train to Haneda or Narita airports.
Luggage: if you don’t wish to travel with your luggage then consider forwarding your bags using Yamato / Black Cat Luggage Services
Q – Do you have any other travel tips?
A – We recommend you fly with your ski pack as a carry on and your boots as a personal item. Take as much of your ski clothing and gear (e.g. transceiver, sunglasses, etc) as possible in your pack but be sure to put your probe and shovel in checked bags or you might have trouble at security. You can bring multiple pairs of skis with you — we can accommodate lots of gear in storage and for transport — but of course the less you have the easier it is to travel.
Q – What happens if I have a gear problem (e.g. bindings break, skis get lost, etc.)?
A – There are options to rent or purchase gear in Japan. Not ideal, but also not likely a catastrophe either.
Q – Can I bring my FRS radio transceivers to Japan?
A – Japan has strict laws about radio devices. Be sure to check that yours is legal. We can’t advise any further than that.
Our standard booking conditions apply. Please read our Payment & Booking Conditions fine print carefully.
DATES: 2025 // Jan 8-18 (JP25-1) SOLD OUT; Jan 19-29 (JP25-2) SOLD OUT
PRICE: 2025 // $4950 CAD ($3850 USD)
DATES: 2026 // Jan 8-17 (JP26-1); Jan 18-27 (JP25-2)
PRICE: // $4950 CAD ($3850 USD)
PAYMENT SCHEDULE: 50% deposit secures your booking; 100% due October 8.