Dates 28 January - 7 February 2025
Duration 11 Days
- 9 days guided skiing
Outline
I’m delighted to be launching the GZBA ski trip to Japan. Over the past 15 years I have been a regular visitor to this wonderful country and its magical mountains.
The 2025 ski trip will be a powder road trip of Northern Honshu, the main island of Japan. As always our aim is to combine the main ingredients that are the essence of Japanese skiing; unrivalled powder, fascinating cultural history, memorable food and end of the day relaxing in thermal pools known in Japanese as ‘onsens’ and most importantly local Japanese support, in recent years backcountry skiing has soared in popularity in Japan and local knowledge is key to getting off the beaten track. I have teamed up with my friend Koichiro Awano, a brilliant skier with a passion for seeking out the wild side of Japan.
The mountains of Japan usually receive huge quantities of light powder each winter and the snow-choked forests are beyond idyllic for skiing, each winter is different and although late January - early February is generally considered to be the prime time as we are all aware these days there are no guarantees where weather is concerned. The emphasis on this holiday will be on lift accessed ski-touring, using lifts to gain height access at the beginning of the day enabling us to venture further into the wild Japanese backcountry but from then on it’s skins on to earn your turns!
Japan’s huge snowfalls are a result of deep depressions of cold temperatures tracking from Siberia and picking up moisture from the Sea of Japan before dumping on Japan. The mature birch and pines provide excellent snow anchoring and the deep snow-pack promotes good stability. We ski as many descents as we have time for finishing the day soaking in the many thermal springs.
Our goal is to discover the best of Japanese backcountry skiing whilst immersing ourselves in the fascinating culture of the country. There will be 9 days guided skiing, I’m currently planning our itinerary with Koichiro and will update you once we have made our area and accommodation choices. No trip to Japan is complete without a visit to Tokyo, Japan’s extraordinary capital and we end the tour with our last evening here.
Dates 28 January - 7 February 2025
We will meet at Tokyo Haneda airport - if you plan to arrive in Tokyo on the 28th please aim to arrive by early afternoon so we have time to travel to our first ski area. Note that many International flights to Tokyo fly to Narita airport which is 50km outside the city. There are good connections between Narita and Haneda but you should factor in the transfer time of about 1 hour
Suggestion - Arrive early
The flight from Europe to Japan is at least 15 hours, if you can, consider arriving a day or two early to minimise the risk of Jet lag effecting your skiing.
Equipment
A full kit list will be sent out with joining instructions. Ski hire is possible and there is an efficient postal service for returning kit.
Price
As we don’t yet know our hotel itinerary I have not included accommodation or meals. These will be paid for as we go, with the group covering the costs for myself and Koichiro.
Swiss Francs CHF 2600.- * (based on a minimum of 6 guests)
The price includes:
- Trip Organisation
- Local Japanese support
- IFMGA Mountain Guide for trip leading and 9 days guiding
- Guide International flights & travel costs
- Hire car transport between ski resorts & accommodation
Not included:
- International flights
- Accommodation, meals & drinks
- Insurance - mandatory as all payments are non-refundable
- equipment hire
- All ski passes
- Car hire fuel
As a rough guide 2024’s trip cost £4375 excl flights
* GZBA is a Swiss Registered company. You will be invoiced in Swiss Francs and payment is by bank transfer