Hidden Hokkaido | Advanced Hokkaido Snowboard Tour 2027

Who It’s For

Hidden Hokkaido is for strong intermediate through expert snowboarders who see a great mountain trip as an opportunity to do more than simply collect powder days.

You should arrive comfortable making controlled turns on black groomed terrain and ready to explore beyond it. Depending on conditions and the goals of the group, our days may include trees, powder, variable snow, ungroomed terrain, sidecountry routes, natural features, and plenty of unfamiliar terrain. You don’t need to be an expert in all of it—that’s where the opportunity for progression begins.

For more experienced riders, progression doesn’t have to mean going bigger or taking more risk. It might mean reading terrain earlier, finding better lines, adapting faster to changing snow, improving flow, expanding your technical options, or discovering something entirely new in familiar skills.

Just as important as ability is mindset. Hidden Hokkaido is built for snowboarders who are curious, adaptable, and invested in the experience of the group. Come ready to exchange ideas, explore unfamiliar places, celebrate someone else’s progression, and occasionally let the mountain—or another rider—change your plan.

This is also a trip for people who want to experience Japan, not just its snow. We’ll eat together, spend time in smaller communities, explore local culture, and share plenty of road miles along the way. You’ll have your own room and space to recharge, but the heart of Hidden Hokkaido is shared.

If you love snowboarding, still believe there’s more to discover, and want to share that pursuit with good people, you’ll fit right in.

Inclusive from the Start

We take care of the details so you can stay focused on the riding, the experience, and the people you’re sharing it with.

• All in-country transportation — private airport transfers and transportation between every destination throughout the session

• 9 nights of lodging with single occupancy — your own space to recharge each night; couples sharing a room will receive a larger accommodation

• Up to 8 days on snow with Progression Sessions educators — small groups with a maximum 1:4 educator-to-rider ratio

• Lift tickets at every destination — mountain access is included throughout the itinerary

• Daily breakfast and curated group dinners — from easy travel-day meals to memorable local dining experiences

• On- and off-snow progression — terrain-based education, individual goals, video analysis, group discussion, and opportunities to learn from the riders around you

• Cultural experiences — including Chinese New Year celebrations and the opening of the Asahikawa Winter Festival

• Local support and seamless logistics — thoughtful planning, communication, and coordination from arrival through departure

• A custom Progression Sessions gift — something to take a little of Hidden Hokkaido home with you

Not included: airfare to/from Japan, lunches on the mountain, personal alcoholic beverages, and personal expenses.

Eight potential mountains. Ten days. One journey designed to build as it goes.

Hidden Hokkaido begins small and progressively expands into bigger terrain, greater variety, and new challenges. Each mountain gives us something different to explore, while conditions, individual goals, and the group help shape what we do with it.

Day 1 — Monday, February 1

Arrive in Hokkaido | Welcome to Japan

Arrive at New Chitose Airport (CTS), where we’ll take care of the rest. After your airport transfer and hotel check-in, we’ll gather for our first dinner together, meet the team, talk through the days ahead, and start getting to know the riders we’ll be sharing them with.

Tonight is intentionally easy: settle in, eat well, recover from travel, and get ready to ride.

Stay: Chitose

Day 2 — Tuesday, February 2

The Other Side | Kamoidake Kokusai

We leave Chitose early and point the vans north toward Asahikawa, stopping at Kamoidake Kokusai for our first turns of the trip.

Well off the Western radar, Kamoidake is a mountain of contrasts—past and present, developed and wild, obvious routes and possibilities hiding just beyond them. It’s the perfect place to kick off Hidden Hokkaido and begin looking at a mountain a little differently.

Our first day is about acclimation and discovery. We’ll get our legs underneath us, learn how the group moves together, and begin identifying individual goals—while Kamoidake gives us our first opportunity to look beyond the obvious and start carving our own path.

After riding, we continue north to Asahikawa, settle into our hotel, and reconnect over a hosted group dinner.

Theme: Acclimation & Discovery
Stay: Asahikawa

Day 3 — Wednesday, February 3

Look Around | Kamui Ski Links

After yesterday’s introduction, Kamui gives us room to open things up.

A short drive from Asahikawa, Kamui combines bigger terrain, long runs, open slopes, trees, and some of Central Hokkaido’s famously light snow. With more mountain to work with, today we start paying attention not only to where we’re riding, but to everything influencing the choices we make along the way.

Snow, terrain, visibility, other riders, changing conditions—even the people we’re following—can all change the best way through a run. We’ll explore how becoming more aware of those variables can create better decisions, better lines, and ultimately better riding.

Tonight we return to Asahikawa and head out for a unique local dinner together.

Theme: Environmental Awareness
Stay: Asahikawa

Day 4 — Thursday, February 4

Find Your Way | Pippu Ski Area

Today we leave Asahikawa and begin working north, stopping at Pippu along the way.

Pippu is another mountain that rewards curiosity. It’s local, approachable, and easy to underestimate—but tucked into its compact footprint are steep pitches, natural variation, powder terrain, and plenty of different ways to connect one part of the mountain to another.

That makes it a great place to explore route finding. Rather than simply following the obvious way down, we’ll start looking farther ahead: reading terrain, connecting features, anticipating transitions, and experimenting with how different choices can completely change the experience of the same run.

After riding, we continue north to Nayoro for a hosted dinner and an onsen—the perfect way to reset before tomorrow.

Theme: Route Finding
Stay: Nayoro

Day 5 — Friday, February 5

Go Find It | Nayoro Piyashiri

By Day 5, we’ve made our way deep into northern Hokkaido—and well outside the usual Western powder circuit.

Nayoro is known for serious cold and exceptionally dry snow, and Piyashiri gives us a mix of open slopes, natural terrain, and dedicated tree-run areas to explore. But today isn’t about following a predetermined route through any of it.

We’ll take the awareness, terrain reading, and route-finding skills we’ve been building and turn the responsibility over a little more to you. Look around. Follow an idea. Find an interesting line. Share it with someone else. Today is about using the mountain as a playground and seeing what you can discover.

After riding, we turn south and return to Asahikawa, checking into our downtown hotel just as the city comes alive for one of its biggest winter weekends.

Theme: Exploration
Stay: Downtown Asahikawa

Day 6 — Saturday, February 6

Change the Pace | Ride, Rest & Asahikawa Winter Festival

After four consecutive days on snow, today the pace is yours to choose.

Sleep in, explore Asahikawa, give your legs a rest—or join us for optional morning laps at Santa Present Park, a small local hill overlooking the city. Sometimes progression means pushing; sometimes it means recognizing what will help you get the most from the days still ahead.

By afternoon, our attention shifts from the mountain to where we are. We’ll experience the opening of the Asahikawa Winter Festival before gathering for a big Chinese dinner celebrating Chinese New Year.

It’s a day to recharge, experience the city, and spend time with the people who have now shared four very different mountains with you.

Theme: Recharge & Connect
Stay: Downtown Asahikawa

Day 7 — Sunday, February 7

Let the Mountain Decide | Asahidake or Furano

Today we head south—but exactly where we ride depends on what Hokkaido gives us.

If weather and conditions align, Asahidake opens the door to an entirely different mountain environment: volcanic terrain, minimal infrastructure, and a landscape that rewards awareness and adaptability. If the mountain says otherwise, Furano gives us a completely different canvas of developed terrain, trees, and opportunities to explore.

Choosing well is part of riding well. We’ll evaluate the conditions, consider the group, and make the decision that creates the best opportunity for the day.

After riding, we continue south to Minamifurano, where we’ll settle in and share a very relaxed dinner together.

Theme: Adaptability
Stay: Minamifurano

Day 8 — Monday, February 8

Make It Yours | Sahoro

By now, we’ve ridden a collection of very different mountains, made decisions in changing environments, explored unfamiliar terrain, and probably borrowed a few ideas from the people around us.

Sahoro gives us room to start putting those pieces together.

Today becomes increasingly personal. Maybe there’s a technical change you want to solidify, terrain you now see differently, a line-choice habit you want to challenge, or simply a way of riding that has started to feel better. We’ll use the mountain, the group, and our educators to keep exploring whatever direction has become meaningful to you.

Tonight we slow things down over a private Korean BBQ dinner for a structured debrief that’ll set the stage for our final day on hill.

Theme: Integration
Stay: Minamifurano

Day 9 — Tuesday, February 9

One More Mountain | Tomamu

Our final riding day takes us to Tomamu as we begin the journey back toward Chitose.

After a week of intentionally looking for more, today is also about appreciating what we found. There’s no final exam and nothing that needs to be proven. Ride with the people you’ve connected with. Revisit an idea that stuck with you. Chase an interesting line. Or simply enjoy one more day of snowboarding in Hokkaido.

After our final turns, we return to Chitose and close out Hidden Hokkaido over a private izakaya dinner together.

Theme: Appreciation
Stay: Chitose

Day 10 — Wednesday, February 10

Until Next Time | Departure

After breakfast, we’ll provide transportation to New Chitose Airport for departing flights.

Ten days. Up to eight mountains. A lot of turns, a few unexpected discoveries, and probably more than a few stories worth bringing home.

Hidden Hokkaido ends here.

Where your shred story goes next is up to you.

Is Hidden Hokkaido right for me?

Hidden Hokkaido is for snowboarders who love riding but don’t need every day to look the same.

Come curious. Be adaptable. Bring goals, but leave room for them to change. Be willing to share ideas, celebrate someone else’s breakthrough, explore an unfamiliar mountain, eat something new, and occasionally follow a line you wouldn’t have chosen yourself.

You don’t need to arrive with something to prove—just something left to discover.

What ability level is required?

Hidden Hokkaido is designed for strong intermediate through expert snowboarders. You should be comfortable making controlled turns on black groomed terrain and ready to explore trees, powder, variable snow, ungroomed terrain, and other off-piste environments.

You don’t need to arrive confident in every type of terrain we may encounter. Part of the experience is developing greater adaptability as we move through different mountains and conditions.

I’m an advanced or expert rider. Will there still be enough for me?

Absolutely. Progression at an advanced level doesn’t necessarily mean riding something bigger, steeper, or more dangerous.

Depending on your goals, it might mean refining terrain reading, line choice, efficiency, adaptability, flow, technical options, decision-making, or finding entirely new ways to interact with familiar terrain.

The goal isn’t to manufacture difficulty. It’s to create situations where there is still something worth discovering.

Is Hidden Hokkaido snowboard-only?

Yes. Hidden Hokkaido is intentionally designed as a snowboard-only experience.

Snowboarders often share more than equipment—we share a way of moving through terrain, interpreting features, exchanging ideas, and experiencing mountain culture. Keeping this session snowboard-specific allows our educators to make terrain choices, create learning opportunities, and build group dynamics around that shared perspective.

Are we guaranteed to ride every mountain listed?

No—and that’s intentional.

Hokkaido weather can change quickly, and conditions don’t always cooperate with an itinerary written months in advance. We’ll evaluate snow, weather, mountain operations, road conditions, and the needs of the group throughout the session.

Our itinerary represents our intended route, but we maintain the flexibility to change plans when doing so creates a better or safer experience.

What happens if it doesn’t snow?

We ride.

Fresh powder is always welcome, but Hidden Hokkaido isn’t dependent on getting a storm every night. Different snow surfaces and conditions create different opportunities to explore terrain, movement, decision-making, and adaptability.

One advantage of moving through multiple mountains is having options—and our educators will work with whatever Hokkaido gives us.

How are groups organized?

We keep groups small, with a maximum ratio of one educator to four riders.

Ability matters, but it isn’t the only consideration. We also consider individual goals, preferred terrain, riding style, pace, and group dynamics. Groups may evolve throughout the session as goals and conditions change.

Do I need travel insurance?

Yes. Travel insurance is required for all participants.

We recommend a World Nomads Explorer Plan or comparable policy that provides appropriate medical, evacuation, and snowboarding coverage for the activities included in this session. It is your responsibility to confirm that your chosen policy provides appropriate coverage.

Should I bring my own snowboard equipment?

Yes. Please arrive with a snowboard setup you know and trust.

We recommend equipment appropriate for freeride and powder conditions, but your everyday all-mountain setup may be perfectly suitable. Once we know more about you and your riding goals, we’re happy to discuss equipment choices before the trip.

When should I arrive and depart?

Plan to arrive at New Chitose Airport (CTS) on Monday, February 1, 2027. Airport transportation, lodging, and our welcome dinner are included that evening.

Departure is Wednesday, February 10. We’ll provide transportation from our Chitose hotel to New Chitose Airport.

Recommended arrival and departure windows will be provided as the session approaches so airport transfers can be coordinated efficiently.

A Short List by Design

Most of the details are covered once you arrive. You’ll just need to plan for:

• International airfare — flights to and from New Chitose Airport (CTS)
• Lunches — giving you the flexibility to choose what works for you each day
• Alcoholic beverages — available at your own expense
• Travel insurance — required, we recommend a World Nomads Explorer Plan or comparable policy that provides appropriate medical, evacuation, and snowboarding coverage for the activities included in this session.
• Snowboard equipment — please bring your own setup
• Staff gratuities — never expected, always appreciated
• Transportation outside the scheduled itinerary — personal trips or transportation separate from planned group activities