Another epic adventure to Hokkaido. We have had such a good time and look forward to our next trip.
Furano food
We have had sampled some fantastic local food since we have been in Furano. It has been very handy having Stef and Adam to show us their favourite spots. The sushi train restaurant in the above photo served up the most amazing sushi I have eaten.
Very cold on the mountain today with temps around -20. Lots of stops were required to go inside and warm up. The snow quality continues to be excellent.
The snow continues
This video was taken from a window in our apartment. The last few days have delivered a heap of new snow and we have loved the Hokkaido winter experience. The visibility on the mountain has been a bit challenging but the skiing has been epic. A beer (or 2) and a spa bath have helped rujuvenate our tired bodies
Furano powder
The photo says it all. We had a great day on the mountain enjoying the super light Hokkaido powder. The snow was so consistent that our tracks were filled in as we rode the chairlift for the next run. The reason we keep returning to Furano is to ski in snow like this.
Sapporo Snow Festival
We caught the bus into Sapporo today to check out the snow and ice sculptures in the famous annual Snow Festival. The bus trip was a real adventure and we went through lots of little Japanese towns.
The sculptures were absolutely amazing and looked great after dark with spectacular lighting and very cool entertainment. We got pretty cold and had to retreat into an underground shopping mall to warm up.
Lots of small food vendors were keeping the large crowds happy with a huge variety of local cuisines.
Love this place
Had a great day at Tomamu with Adam on Sunday. He drove me over there and showed me some great off piste skiing. We also checked out the bizarre indoor beach area at Tomamu … an indoor heated wave pool and staff dressed in Hawaiian shirts and boardshorts. Check the short video clip Adam took of me skiing off piste in Tomamu.
We have had the usual mix of weather here … heavy snow, wind and bluebird days. The temperature has hovered around -10. This is an extraordinary place with so much snow.
Furano bluebird days
It’s great to be back in our favourite ski resort. We have been lucky enough to get two consecutive days of cold temps and blue skies. The groomed runs have been great for a fast carve and getting our ski legs going. Not many other skiers on the mountain at the moment. We met up with Stef for a couple of hours of skiing this morning. Adam is still away with his clients but will be back in town tomorrow.
We had a delicious duck hotpot at Sanjin restaurant last night. A bit of local draft beer helped in fluid replacement from our hard day of skiing. Furano has lots of great little restaurants with plenty of local cuisine to sample … and really inexpensive.
We have really fallen in love with this place and look forward to plenty more experiences on this trip.
Furano 2018 