Trip Report: Sampling a New Country with the Taste of Japan Ski Safari

Our adventure was a variation of our popular Taste of Japan Ski Safari, which features the country's most famous ski resort - Niseko - and cities - Kyoto and Tokyo. But we also added a stay in Furano, a lesser-known resort which offers a real Japanese experience.

I was joined by Assistant Operation Manager Anna and Sales Consultants Alec and Phoebe. This was the first time in Japan for all of us, so this couldn't have been a better itinerary.

We're also all intermediate skiers and snowboarders, so it was the perfect opportunity to test Japan Product Manager Andy Knights' claim that the country is not just for experts!

By Archie Hampshire, Marketing Executive

The flight from London to Tokyo took roughly 11 hours, but it flew by for us as the excitement grew with every passing hour. From Tokyo, we took a short 1-hour connecting flight to Sapporo, where we were greeted by our friendly taxi driver.

The transfer is a beautiful two-hour drive following the Chitose River through pretty woodland areas. The passing scenery was covered with a thick blanket of snow that got thicker the closer we came to Niseko. As the sunlight began to fade, we reached our destination, The Green Leaf Hotel.

By the time we pulled up to 4* The Green Leaf, the sun had set and the journey had taken it out of us, so what better way to unwind before bed than diving (figuratively speaking) into our first experience of Japanese culture - soaking in a traditional onsen.

The Green Leaf is home to both indoor (Naitou) and outdoor (Rotenburo) hot springs, which are separated by gender and are open 23 hours a day, so despite our evening arrival, we could float in the rich mineral water until we pleased.

The following morning we got more of an idea as to why The Green Leaf has been a Ski Safari favourite for many years and is our most booked hotel in Niseko for the 2024/25 season.

The extensive selection of food at the breakfast buffet catered to every mood and every palate. From fresh croissants and fresh fruit to fried chicken and spaghetti bolognese, the choice is yours. It's worth noting you don't have to have it all on one plate like Anna...

Another huge tick for The Green Leaf is the convenience of having the rental shop onsite. All of us were amazed at the swift and friendly service of the English-speaking staff, plus all the equipment fit perfectly and was clearly well-maintained. Being December, the rental store was practically empty, which meant we were geared up and ready to hit the slopes within minutes.

Quick access to the slopes wasn't purely down to the efficiency of the rental store; The Green Leaf is also ski-in ski-out, with the Upper Village Gondola metres away from the rental shop exit.

As the Upper Village gondola was right on our doorstep, it would've been silly not to hop on and find our ski legs on day one on the network of green runs surrounding the beginner area.

Niseko had had a huge helping of snow the previous two days, and because the slopes were quiet, we experienced a small sample of 'Japow' in the little untouched stashes to the side of the pistes!

However, as the group was comprised of intermediate skiers, it wasn't long before we all wanted something a bit steeper. Our search led us to the Banzai chairlift, where at the top, we found our favourite run of the morning, Don't Blink.

A fabulous morning of first turns in Japan concluded with us skiing down the cruisy green trail Boomerang to the Hilton Niseko Village for a spot of lunch in the Melt Restaurant. The teriyaki burger was particularly good and the panoramic views of Niseko Village that accompanied the meal were wonderful.

By having lunch in the Hilton, we were able to hop on the shuttle bus afterwards as the bus stop is right outside. Niseko's excellent bus system conveniently links all four resorts - Niseko Village, Grand Hirafu, Hanazono and Annupuri. Plus, all fares are covered with a Niseko United All Mountain pass!

Because it was already past 1pm, we decided to visit Annupuri. It’s the closest ski area to Niseko Village, only 15 minutes on the bus.

As I've previously mentioned, we all consider ourselves to be intermediate-level skiers and the mixture of green, red and black runs coming off the Jumbo Hooded Quad Lift was ideal for us.

The snow had been cascading down across Niseko all day (and the previous three days), which meant there was plenty of powder to play in. We had the most fun in between the trees just below Paradise Hut on the run "Family" which feeds onto "Dynamic".

Apart from Anna, none of us had really skied powder or off-piste before, and lapping the area off the Jumbo Hooded Quad Lift in Annupuri was the perfect introduction! Transitioning from on-piste to off-piste was effortless thanks to the large gaps in the trees. Once we were in the area of untouched snow, skiing and snowboarding felt like cutting through butter with a hot knife because of the incredible snow quality. Finally, we were never surprised by any hairy terrain, as it was all consistent and free from rocks and rogue trees.

For the final run of the day, we wanted to push ourselves by tackling the first black run of the trip - Fukayuki-Rinkan. This steep run is nestled between the trees and holds plenty of snow. Tight turns and skill are required to reach the bottom. Anna was the only one of us to successfully make it down without flopping into the powder!

As soon as the lifts stopped for the day, we caught the bus back to The Green Leaf to swap our salopettes for eveningwear. The helpful staff at the hotel arranged for a taxi to take us further into Niseko Village, where we found the first authentic yakiniku restaurant in the Niseko Village area, Hokkaien. Here we cooked a range of fresh meats and vegetables on the grill in the centre of the table. I think I can speak for the whole team when I say the Wagyu beef - a cut from a particular breed of Japanese cattle- was the highlight of the meal.

We were up early on our second ski day to hop on the bus from outside The Green Leaf Hotel to Grand Hirafu Resort, a journey that took just over half an hour.

Niseko was off to a phenomenal start to the season, with snowfall exceeding expectations. Little did we know, we were witnessing history - a 68-year-old December snow record being broken. Since our arrival, 65cm of fresh snow had already fallen, and as we made our way to Hirafu, the flakes continued to pile up with no sign of stopping. Hirafu is the biggest of the four interconnecting resorts and there was a fantastic variety of runs accessible from the Ace Quad Lift #2.

With its excellent selection of runs and legendary powder, this resort can get busy during peak periods. However, December is typically quieter, and with abundant snowfall allowing more of the mountain to open, skiers were spread out across the resort. As a result, we enjoyed the best of both worlds -plenty of snow and plenty of space to enjoy it too.

The terrain in Hirafu varied from narrow steeps to wide groomers, but I noticed everyone's ability jumped up a level after adapting to the ever-changing conditions on the snaky, narrow Rinkan Trail directly down from the King Hooded Quad Lift #3.

Following a challenging day, we were all in need of some sustenance in the form of a hearty meal. Hirafu Resort is the most vibrant area in Niesko, and there is no shortage of restaurants.

Having previously worked in Niseko, Sales Consultant Gwen recommended that we try a fusion of French and Japanese cuisine at Méli Mélo, located in the 5* Setsu Niseko. Three out of the four of us went for the lobster bisque, and we all owe Gwen a huge thank you for pointing us in this direction because it was delicious.

We couldn't leave Hirafu without sampling the town's vigorous nightlife, so we paid a visit to Wild Bill's - the bar where many of the 'seasonaires' working in Niseko choose to socialise. If you're keen to check out the vibrant side of the resort and meet the people who know it best, this is where you'll want to go.

Top Tip: If you do end up missing the last bus home (which we may have done), download an app called "Go". This is essentially the Uber of the resort.

Arriving just days after Niseko had opened its doors to the public meant we weren't expecting every run to be open. But because of the tremendous early-season snowfall, more lifts were opening up every day. On our fourth day, we were all extremely excited to find out the Niesko Gondola open for business.

Located outside of the Hilton in Niseko Village, the opening of this gondola meant we had direct access to more intermediate and advanced terrain straight from the Green Leaf Hotel. From the top of the Niseko Village Gondola, it is usually possible to ski to neighbouring areas such as Grand Hirafu and Annupuri, however, the connecting runs weren't open yet. This didn't stop us from having a blast all day as we carved our way through the newly opened terrain across Niseko Village.

That evening we headed back into Hirafu to experience more Japanese cuisine at Koharuya. While there are heaps of Japanese restaurants in Hirafu, this is the place to go if you're looking to try something a bit different from the staple Western meals of pizza or burgers. We didn't hold back with our orders and tried as much as we could, including fried chicken skin and sashimi. It was handy the menu was in English so we could conduct the standard procedure for Brits abroad - pointing at the menu and saying, "That one".

We couldn't leave Niseko without skiing all four areas, and Hanazono was the last one we wanted to tick off. The bus journey from The Green Leaf Hotel took around 40 minutes, but without question, it was worth it.

The heated seats on the Hanazono Hooded Lift #1 were the first pleasant surprise of the day. The second was the amount of fresh powder at our disposal to dip in and out of on the pistes. Although there are only 12 runs across the resort, the length and variety of each run left us with the opinion that it would be difficult to get bored even if we spent more time here. Plus, we didn't even touch the terrain parks - a huge draw to Hanazono for intermediate and advanced skiers and boarders.

Our favourite run was "Silver Dream", a long, cruisy run starting with a short descent and angling down 20 degrees at the midway point. After lapping this a few times, it was time to grab a hot dog and brownie from Cafe 308 and head back to Niseko Village via the bus to catch our transfer to Furano.

Preplanning is the key to a stress-free, seamless, multi-destination holiday and our journey from Niseko to Furano exhibited this perfectly.

After a morning skiing Hanazono, we arrived back at The Green Leaf and jumped in the onsen for a quick 10-minute soak before meeting our private transfer outside the hotel.

Transfers can often be seen as a negative, but for much of the three hours, we hugged the shoreline of Lake Shikotsu and watched the sun slowly dip behind the mountain across the opposite side of the lake.

Our accommodation whilst staying in Furano was a 2 Bedroom Premier Apartment in the 4*+ Fenix West. Although our group would be maximising the occupancy of the apartment, the sizable twin room and living room with a shoji bedroom meant there was enough space for us to comfortably move around without feeling on top of each other.

By the time we rolled into Furano, tummies were rumbling. So we dropped our bags at the Fenix West, where the concierge kindly booked us a taxi across the Sorachi River into Motomachi in Furano town.

Despite only just praising how planning can improve a holiday, sometimes heading out with the attitude of "let's see what we find" can lead to the best meal of the trip.

In our case, we strolled for 30 minutes through the compact alleys all lit up with restaurant signs before stumbling across a tatami restaurant called CThree. Whilst sitting on the floor (this is traditional tatami dining; they hadn't run out of furniture), we ate a mixture of pork fried rice, Japanese-style fried udon noodles and fried sirloin steak. This was complemented perfectly with a glass of sake - a traditional Japanese rice wine. It may sound like an expensive meal, but it came to around £80 for the four of us - incredible value!

We were very lucky to come across this establishment that didn't require cash or a reservation. If we revisit Furano, prebooking or bringing a wad of yen would be a top recommendation of ours, especially in the early portion of the season.

The next morning, we opted for a quick grab-and-go breakfast consisting of toasties and cinnamon buns from the Ronin Café located at the bottom of the Fenix West. This was a great option as we had to wake up early and walk ten metres across the road to Rhythm to pick up our equipment and make the most of what was a stunning day.

We were in and out of Rhythm within 20 minutes thanks to their slick service. If our trip had been a week later, we could have walked 30 metres up the road to the Kitanomine Gondola, but sadly it wasn't open. This was only a minor inconvenience, as the solution was a 5-minute taxi ride from Rhythm to the Furano Ropeway Gondola. This is one of the biggest gondolas I’ve ever ridden and it whisked us 900 metres up the mountain in next to no time.

At the top, there was a wonderful mix of long intermediate groomers and gentle beginner trails. By the end of the morning, our confidence had grown and we were whizzing down the wide, open runs, taking in the beautiful wooded surroundings as we went.

We had worked up quite an appetite by the time we stopped for lunch at the 3*+ Shin Furano Prince Hotel. The restaurant is located on the 12th floor and offers sweeping views of Furano. The food isn't bad either - Anna, Alec and Phoebe all chose the katsu curry, whilst I went for the first ramen dish of the trip! All hearty and did a great job of fuelling us for an afternoon back on the slopes.

We wanted to finish our last few hours of skiing with a flourish. So we decided to take advantage of Furano's phenomenal off-piste powder. As we made our way into the trees by the A1 trail, we encountered the deepest snow of the trip. It may not have been the most graceful skiing and boarding, but it was heaps of fun!

All too soon it was time to head back to Rhythm and return our equipment. We may have been sad as the skiing had come to an end, but there was still lots to look forward to, including dinner across the street from the Fenix West at Nozo Hotel.

Furano may be less westernised than Niseko, but it's still possible to order more familiar foods, much like we did in the Shirakaba Restaurant. I highly recommend the set menu consisting of a crisp salad followed by the Teppanyaki Saibi Beef Filet - steak and steamed vegetables.

And just like that, our time in Furano had come to an end. It was a fantastic blend of an authentic Japanese town and epic powder conditions on the slopes. Although we were sad to be leaving, we had our next exciting adventure in Kyoto.

The next morning we were driven two hours to Sapporo airport to fly the short distance to Osaka Airport. The plane journey lasted around an hour and if you can book a window seat on the left side of the plane, do it! The bird's-eye view of the densely built-up city landscape was staggering.

Our day continued running smoothly once we landed safely. It's incredibly easy to buy tickets for the bus to Kyoto at Osaka Airport and cheap too - a one-way ticket costs ¥900, which works out to be roughly £4.68 (at the time of purchase).

The bus wound through the streets of Osaka before we joined the Keihan Highway for 45 minutes until we reached the bus station in Kyoto. As it was a nice day, we opted to walk rather than take a taxi to our hotel, the Rihgha Royal.

Kyoto is home to over 1,800 temples, shrines and famous gardens, so there was no shortage of cultural treasures for us to explore. Since we had less than 24 hours in the city, we decided to prioritise seeing the Fushimi Inari Shrine, arguably the most important shrine dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. Its vibrant orange gates are synonymous with Japan and it was everything you would expect; tranquil, beautiful and unique. One thing you wouldn't expect is the friendly cats dotted around the shrine!

Unsurprisingly, the Fushimi Inari Shrine is incredibly popular and wandering around at this time of year made me realise why December is a fantastic month to visit. we were all comfortably strolling about temples in jumpers, and the crowds were pretty minimal for such a renowned spot.

Although we were pushed for time, Kyoto's brilliant transfer system was key in helping us maximise our time in the city and once we left the temple, we caught the subway to Shijo Dori Street.

We ended our night in a cosy bar nestled in the narrow alleyways in Nakanocho with a cocktail in hand. Japanese whisky is highly regarded as being the best in the world, so trying an Old Fashioned (my favourite cocktail) with a Japanese whisky as a base was a special treat for me!

The team retired for an early night as we had our final transfer in the morning - a ride on the world-famous bullet train to Tokyo.

Before hopping on a bus to the station, we treated ourselves to a French-themed breakfast at the Rihga Royal Hotel Kyoto. The restaurant is at the top of the hotel and slowly rotates, giving endless views of the city and possibly the best breakfast scenery we experienced on the trip.

There aren't many transfers that would truly deserve a spot on your bucket list, but riding at speeds of 217mph on the bullet train from Kyoto to Tokyo is one we were all over the moon to say we'd experienced.

As we pulled out of Kyoto, we saw traditional rooftops and temple spires nestled among urban architecture. This then transitioned into the picturesque countryside, with snow-capped mountains, rice paddies, and small towns dotting the landscape. Approaching Tokyo, the scenery shifted one last time to the bustling metropolitan skyline of Japan's vibrant capital.

We then checked into our final accommodation of the trip, The Knot. The location of the hotel was fantastic, as we were a 10-minute walk from Tokyo Opera City Tower, where we stopped for dinner on the fifty-thrid floor. The uninterrupted views over the city were out of this world, and the food at Matsusakaushi Yoshida was superb (I'm running out of superlatives for this country!).

After combining stunning scenery with cow’s tongue and other tender meats, it was time to explore the streets of Tokyo… via go-karts!

This was a thoroughly enjoyable way to spend an hour. The guided tour on the roads was a great way to see the city if you're short on time and want to be away from the crowds on the pavements. The tour lasted an hour and our guide was fantastic. He helped us safely navigate the busy streets and highlighted points of interest on the way - the main highlight was driving through the Shibuya Crossing, considered the busiest pedestrian crossing in the world.

The costumes are optional, but why would you not want your 15 seconds of fame with thousands of people watching you rumble through the streets dressed as Nemo or one of the aliens from Toy Story?

We all felt like we could do with a refreshing drink after such a thrilling experience and there's no better place than in Golden Gai’s snug taverns. Golden Gai is a legendary spot with six alleys home to hundreds of small bars. The cosy layout of these bars can make you feel as if you've accidentally stepped into someone's living room, but their intimate design and limited seating create the perfect atmosphere for meeting locals. And thanks to the invention of Google Translate, or if you're accompanied by a friend with a talent for charades, it's effortless to navigate the language barrier and make the most of the good vibes with everyone inside!

You can't go to Tokyo and not grab a drink in these taverns, but a top tip would be to make sure you have cash with you and book in advance whenever possible. Although there are hundreds of bars to choose from, it can be difficult to secure a spot in peak times.

We spent the final hours on our last night sinking Saporros (the local beer) and took a moment to reflect on what had been an unforgettable trip across Japan.

Record-breaking December snow in Hokkaido, iconic temples in Kyoto, and go-karting through the streets of Tokyo, this itinerary was the perfect way to introduce four first-timers to Japan. We never felt out of our depth culturally, as we had the luxury of dipping in and out of Westernised aspects as we pleased.

The skiing was perfect for intermediates as well. There was a fantastic range of gentle warm-up runs, steeper groomed trails and easily accessible off-piste sections too.

If you want to experience powder, culture and cuisine for the first time, the Taste of Japan Ski Safari is the trip for you!

To find out more, enquire online or speak to our friendly and knowledgeable team on 01273 224060 (Monday to Friday). We're always happy to help!

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