We could not have had a better trip. While planning this trip, we hoped to (1) ski deep powder, (2) ski Japanese trees, (3) learn knife-making from some Japanese masters, (4) eat great food, and (5) experience Japan. Takuma Kobayashi, our guide, was able to make all of these things happen. He is extremely attentive to what we wanted, knows skiing details on all of the local mountains, and knows all of the local restaurants worth visiting. I would be very happy to do another trip with him.

For some background, we live in Colorado and are used to big mountain skiing. The Japanese resorts we visited were very different than US resorts. Instead of one resort spreading across multiple mountains, one mountain contains multiple smaller resorts. These resorts tend to be long and narrow. Many resorts have fantastic-looking tree skiing, but it is out of bounds. You need a guide to get you on the terrain you want. If there is a particular type of skiing, I suggest talking with Takuma. He was able to navigate the snow conditions and variety of resorts to get us into the terrain we wanted to ski.

Kawaratei Ryokan, the hotel, was incredible. It is a very traditional Japanese hotel, where you will take your shoes off, use an onsen, etc. I would travel back to Japan just to stay at the hotel and have breakfast.

Day 1: We arrived in Myoko mid-January. It had been a few days since they had a good snow, so I was somewhat worried that we may miss out on powder. Skiing at Suginohara was similar to skiing Colorado in May -- slush and occasional ice. Not a day for wide skis. We were able to get some trees in.

Day 2: We made kitchen knives with three Japanese masters.

Day 3: Ikenotaira had about 12" / 30 cm of snow and our favorite tree skiing of any resort.

Day 4: We were at Akakura skiing the steepest Japanese runs. This was another icy day. The two steepest runs in Japan were ice moguls. Not my favorite conditions, but it was novel to ski the hardest runs in a country.

Day 5: Start of a major snowstorm. At the start of the day, we had >17" / 40 cm of fresh snow, so we decided to head back to Ikenotaira for the great tree skiing. The skiing was incredible. As the day went on, we probably had an additional foot (30 cm) of powder fall. As the storm picked up, lifts eventually shut down from the wind. Skiing down was a zero visibility whiteout. We couldn't tell if we were still or moving!

Day 6: The biggest part of the snowstorm hit, and we headed back to Suginohara. 27" / 70 cm of fresh snow in the morning and at least 36" / 90 cm by the end of the day. This was a fantastic deep powder day.

During the Day 6 blizzard, we had problems with our goggles icing over on the inside. At the same time, our eyelids would freeze shut if we tried to ski without goggles. Finally, I bought a cheap pair of yellow goggles from the resort. These did not freeze up. If you are having this problem, buy goggles there. I have never had my goggles freeze up in Colorado, but the high humidity of Japan may have caused some problems. Buy goggles sooner than I did if you are freezing up.
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Powpow Japan delivered everything as promised and more. It's hard work for a guy to babysit foreigners like us, sometimes for long days from dawn until dusk. We did a more personalized tour than what he offers groups, so we paid a little more. But it was not much money considering the value. I don't think we could've pulled off such a great trip without him. If he's not already booked for your travel dates, you should get on it now. Oh, he was also very flexible as we were somewhat indecisive on certain elements, and we shifted gears a few times seamlessly.
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I was looking for a Japanese style of an experience, and Taku our friendly, service-oriented guide, more than delivered. He selected our comfortable accomodations in a Japanese Ryokan with a wonderful Onsen and guided us on three days of amazing skiing on the lightest snow imaginable at a different resort every day. Since English speakers aren't found often in these parts, Taku's translation and guiding skills were much appreciated. He is a local from this region of Japan, and I felt I received a great overview of a Japanese alpine experience.
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Taku at PowPow Japan provided a top notch experience from start to finish. In the planning phase he was very helpful and patient answering our endless questions and customizing our trip. We (group of 3 adults) were thrilled with our Japanese style accommodations, the ski guide and local tour guide service, transportation and restaurant recommendations that he provided. The snow was great and the selection of resorts perfect. We had a wonderful time.
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I used Powpow Japan on two occasions. I heard about heliskiing in Yakeyama from a friend, but all the information was in Japanese. I contacted Takuma who called the organisation and booked on my behalf. He guided us through the beautiful back country. The helicopter ride and off piste riding on Yakeyama is by far my favorite snowboarding experience.

Takuma also took me for spring boarding in Chartmant Itoigawa. He picked us up early and drove us to the resort.
Takuma is a very experienced skiier and knows the mountains well. I will recommend Powpow Japan to any English speakers visiting the area, he is fluent in English and will help translate or book things for you.
I will be booking Takuma to be my tour guide for next season too.
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