Photo TR: Hokkaido 1/12-1/27

I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so.

Awesome TR. Japan is on the bucket list. This TR makes me want to knock it off the list repeatedly and often.

Just an FYI for people poking into the Japan threads- I've been living in Central Japan for nearly 10 years now and the last 5 years has seen an explosion of pow riders as new tech has come on scene.

I firmly believe the days of endless pow at JP resorts is near its end. Get it now.

I used to have forests to myself. Now I share them with about 25 regulars, not to mention a hundred or so tourists each saturday. We're all friends, and it's a welcomed change as it stabilizes the snow pack, but it is also a harsh reality.

All-day-long chair-accessed fresh stashes won't last forever in this booming industry. You should really bump Japan to the top of your bucket list. It's going off and it's all ROCKER'S fault.

:)

*That said- there are endless mini-golf, easy-to-access skinning zones all over the place. Just get off a train anywhere out of the city and play I Spy. My first winter here I used to take a taxi from my apartment out to the hills in my ski boots. The taxi driver always laughed at me but it's just so damn easy.

Appreciate all the compliments! Hopefully it inspires some more to experience Hokkaido.

Just finished the video from the trip..

4.40 FTW

Fabulous.

Ugh, SO EPIC. Thank you for this, I will be re-reading through this regularly.

Man that was a dope TR :yourock:

Awesome TR report! I was there over New Year and did a few days with BDT also (Did you ski with Gordy at all? Man did he go big... But then again, when you've got endless pow, everything is easier!)

Your pics and video are definitely way better than anything that I got.. Sugoi!

Re: trip price - flights are pricy, but stay at the hostel in Kutchan. It's way cheaper than anything in Hirafu village and super clean/nice

Great trip dude, what lens kit? Looks like a 10-20, a 50 prime, and a 70-200?

Awesome processing, and great use of that D800. I wish I had that kind of dynamic range ... well freaking utilized.

Oh yeah, the skiing looked sick too ;)

Excellent. :smile:

Nice work!!

Great work Benk! We have done basically the same trip twice and I know those logistics are not easy to arrange. Or maybe you speak Japanese. And it's always a gamble to plan ahead to fly halfway around the world and hope for good conditions. Though Hokkaido is about as safe a bet as there is. In about 25 ski days we've had about 0.5 bluebird days, but all 25 were waist-deep fluff.

Kamihoro is the sweet spot - Ryonkaku is dumpy and no meal plan at Hakuginsu. Did you find Fukiage onsen while in Tokachi?

Wow. Great TR!

Awesome! Thanks for sharing. Everyone should go to Japan at least once!

I'll second what noflyzone said. Stayed at Tokachidake Ryounkaku two years ago. The food was not good, which is really hard to mess up in Hokkaido.

For anyone planning the Niseko/Tokachidake combo, check out rental car rate from BDL to get to TD and back. 4WD wagon was pretty affordable when we did it. Much easier than bus transit IMO.