I am planning a trip to Japan and it will be my first. I have a few friends who have made a few ski trips to Niseko, Furano and Hakuba and they recommend Furano. It seems their reasoning is that Niseko is getting too busy these days and even on good powder days it gets tracked out really quickly. Also there is the Aussie factor. I am Australian but would prefer to go somewhere where I can experience some of real Japan and it sounds like Furano could be the place. I was steered away from Hakuba because I heard that the snow is not as good as Hokkaido. My friend was there 2 years ago and it was warm enough to ski in shorts and it was only February.
Anyway, if anyone has any recommendations that would be great. I think my preference is for Furano, but I need some ressurance that it is a worthwhile place to go before I commit. Thanks for any recommendations.

Hi Charles Broad and welcome

Not any particular recommendation but apart from searching through the Forums, have you read through our Resort Reviews section?

http://www.snowjapan.com/e/voice/review.php

Might be lots of opinions there of interest.

Good luck.

If you're good enough / looking to ski powder, then Furano may not be for you. Limited off piste in comparison with the Niseko Resort Area, Rusutsu, Kiroro, Kokusai, Teine.

I was in Hokkaido (niseko) at Xmas 2 years ago and it was raining A one time experience tells almost nothing about a resort. You'd get a much more objective view if you look at the daily reports on this site for several years. Hakuba is not known for lack of snow or skiing in shorts in February nor is niseko for raining in January.

In fact, if you search through this site you'll see that there are many people who prefer hakuba to niseko.

Your are definitely on track for the best powder in the Furano - Central Hokkaido region. Because Furano is so far inland, the snow that falls is almost moisture free. I have read that it is regarded as the lightest and driest powder snow in Japan, if not in the world.

I have spent just over a week in Furano, I loved it.. stayed a few minutes away from the kitanomi zone (I think that was it).. about a 15 minute walk into town.. a few nice bars there.. there is an aussie bar there if thats your thing.. But there are also plenty of nice little izakaya's around as well. From memory we couldn't really find a park thre so if that is something you need I don't think Furano has it.

Yeah but that preference is not about snow quality. It's normally about terrain and the amount of foreigners (although I think Hakuba is going to see it's fair share of foreigners this season). Plus when taking into account preferences of people on this forum you should also take into account that many local contributors can be a little biased or have business self interests involved.

Coldcat does raise a very good point though that one experience of a friend who came for a short period in one season is no basis for judging the normal conditions at a resort.

Furano does get some of the best quality powder in Japan. It doesn't get the same quantities as Niseko but it's damned good quality. There is the issue that Furano resort is pretty strict on off-piste skiing though. I would suggest spending a couple of days out at Asahidake as well. There's a nice youth hostel there and it's mostly off-piste skiing, awesome place.

and equally many who love Niseko for what it is. SO what is that saying?

What I wanted to say is that since there are plenty of people who prefer hakuba to niseko (as there are plenty of people who prefer niseko to hakuba) it means that the difference is not as extreme as (I understood at least) the person who asked meant i.e. "Hokkaido, powder paradise VS hakuba, ski in shorts and bad quality snow". If Hakuba were like his friend told him, then no-one would prefer hakuba to niseko.

However, since both are good, you have people who choose one or the other. They are both competitive.

I hope this explains my point better.

GN, I really agree with you on that point. I think, especially these past seasons, people are getting really sensitive about what other people write about their resort in these forums. I think it's not secret to anyone that a website like this, and particularly what people say on these forums, will have a considerable influence on the amount of visitors that each resort gets.

The debate Niseko vs Hakuba is a really good example of this, although obviously not everyone who writes on that topic is doing it out of fear of losing customers, but I do believe a few do.

I personally prefer hakuba, although to be frank with people, if they come to Japan and want to experience the true Japan snow experience they should visit both if they can, because each has its own good and bad points.

True, but not that many on reflection I think, which is good. And some are more extreme and transparent than others are. It is only natural in a way I suppose when people have a concern in these things.

Heads up for the SJ people themselves alway refraining from recommending any one place over another.

The daily reports is such a good resource for knowing about a resort. So much more reliable and accurate than subjective views of people.

"Pretty strict" is possibly an understatement, GN. (HI, by the way! - we met at Niseko 4 years ago) The piste is groomed to within inches of the off limits ropes, leaving just a very small area ungroomed. They are also VERY strict about the out-of-bounds thing.

As an option, you could always have a day trip to Kamui Ski Links, where they are MUCH more relaxed about out of bounds. (Check out other posts on this matter elsewhere in the fora) You can trade in a day's ticket at Furano for a coach trip to Kamui, day lift ticket and coach back. Well worth it!

As for Furano, the piste is varied, plenty of runs to try out, fabulous views from the ropeway and the gondola, and the town is quite near the resort and some excellent restaurants to try.

Be warned, though, There is limited snow in these places!! Just 13 or 143 metres over the season!! Almost not worth the trip
Now for the disclaimer - I have been to Furano just once, in January 08, and one day only at Kamui. OTOH, I've been to Niseko twice, had a ball both years!

Two seasons ago was the worst season in living memory (ie in the last 80 years) I've been in Hakuba 9 seasons and trust me, February is NOT warm!

If you want the highest possibility of well below zero temperatures I hear Oymyakon is your best bet

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pole_of_Cold

Furano Ski Area has expanded its lift ticket exchage system to include Tomamu Resort as well as Kamui Ski Links this season. Regular buses run from Furano to these other resorts.

They offer an opportunity to ski epic powder. The great thing about the Furano - Central Hokkaido region is that there are much much fewer vistiors than other "popular" Japanese resorts...this means that you can ski untracked powder all day long (assuming mother nature has deliverd). High vistor numbers have definitetly deteriorated the powder snow opportunities at places like Niseko as the poster mentioned in the original post.

nice answer

Well, thanks for all the information. Certainly has made the decision making a lot easier to hear from so many informed people. Anyway, you probably would like to hear where I will be going? I thought that I would do a week in Niseko and a week in Furano to get the best of Hokkaido. I have heard so many good things about the Hokkaido snow and I didn't want to risk another holiday in bad snow conditions. I have probably done about 10 ski holidays abroad and on quite a few of them got quite poor snow conditions. Coming from Australia we get a lot of ice and slush, so for the money I am spending, I want powder. From my research it seems that Niseko gets the most, but Furano gets a high quality of snow. I guess between them both I should get a few days of good powder skiing. Lets hope.

Charles,

If you are used to Thredbo in September, you are in for a real treat!! More snow each year than the Oz 'resorts' get in a bunch of seasons. If you get to be disappointed anywhere in Japan, I'd suggest that your expectations are waaay too high!

Charles - assuming you'll be here in January or February, you won't be disappointed. Having been to both Niseko and Furano, I'd vouch for most of the comments here. Furano's a beautiful place in winter, and definitely colder than Niseko, but both have powder that'll blow your mind.

Great. I hear there is some sort of live volcano that I can ski from Furano. Anyone have any info about it? And what is the best way to stay ahead of the crowds in Niseko?

The live volcano is at Asahidake. There are (longish) day trips available from Furano. I haven't been, but researched it recently. The Asahidake Ropeway leads from Asahidake Onsen to within a two hour hike of Mount Asahidake's summit. Only a couple of runs, but there is an attractive, 30-60 minute circular trail from the ropeway's upper station, past some ponds and sulfurous vents. There are some wacky photos of steaming pits next to pistes if you search online.