We need a shorter variant of this tour & it was such a breath of fresh air to hang out with Waka and Nobi. This tour provided local ski-jo experiences, nice Japanese food, some backcountry ski touring, and lovely local guides.

Rather than taking a cat shuttle, on our first day we went backcountry ski touring on Yudonosan. The approach was mellow and long before we got to some pitchier sections in the trees, and then up to the vast alpine area. It was a spectacular fine day which is rare in winter, and we could appreciate the vastness of the three mountains and the many backcountry options, and it was easy to see why people would worship these mountains. The snow was nice in the morning but by the afternoon it had gone a little sour. We got a few nice lines in which probably weren’t as pitchy as we’d like, although conservatism is somewhat common with Japanese guides and we probably should have made more suggestions to see what was feasible. It was a holiday weekend and considering the nice weather, there were lots of locals out ski touring and snowshoeing so the ski-out was very tracked.

We also visited two little ski-jos where we could mingle with the locals. Yudonosan was teeming considering the holiday weekend, but there were fresh lines in the off-piste areas. It’s a mostly mellow ski area but it was still fun.

Asahi Shizenkan was really quiet and we had the lovely tree skiing to ourselves.

We also went to local ski area in Miyagi, Sumikawa, where we had a play and took a snowcat shuttle and skinned up to the top of Mt Zao to see the rime covered shrine which was pretty cool.

Staying at Pole Pole was part of the very personalised boutique experience and the staff were incredibly warm and hospitable. The cottage was lovely and it was great to have a table and living area and kitchen, although we didn’t use the latter much, other than to make a coffee, have a drink, and to eat the prepared breakfast. The twin beds were very comfortable, which is not something you take for granted in Japan, and there were both western and Japanese style pillows. Dinner the first night started with sashimi and a few other treats which then morphed into shabu shabu with wagyu beef. The bar had a nice selection of beer, sake and whiskey. Dinner the next night was also impressive and included wagyu steak, fish, rice and other accompaniments, topped off with ice-cream and more beautiful hospitality. One afternoon we had a soak in the onsen bath which was a relaxing after a day out backcountry touring.

This was a great tour to get away from the hordes and off the beaten path of international ski destinations, to experience the lesser known real Japan.
See our video here