Trip Includes:

• 6 Nights Lodging with Breakfast Included

• Dinners with private chef at the lodge

• Private Van Transport to/from skiing and travel destinations

• 6 Days Skiing, 5 Days Guided, including lift tickets to access backcountry terrain.

• Lift Tickets if we decide not to tour

• Shuttles from Train Station in Myoko

Trip Exclusions:

• Transportation to/from Tokyo

• Dinners at Local Restaurants in Akakura or Myoko Kogen

• Alcohol during meals

• Onsen Fees (Hotsprings)

• Lunches on Mountain

• Gratuity for Guides

Lodging:

Gozan Lodge

Lodge is comfy, Japanese style but with some things we've found that really stand out compared to other accommodations including easy lift access, western style beds spacious drying room for gear, neighboring onsen (hotspring) is 25 meters walk, solid wifi, and warm central heating and a wood stove compared to kerosene heat that many lodges use.  In addition our hosts are super friendly folks dedicated to our enjoyment of the trip.

Terrain:

The Myoko backcountry is easy to access from the top lift of Myoko Suginohara which is the highest lifted point in Myoko at 1855m. There are two main peaks you can ski from the top of Myoko Suginohara resort: Mitahara and Akakura-yama. For the adventurous, Mt. Myoko’s West Face and Kurosawa-dake accessible by full (long) day tour and overnight tours to Hiuchi-san, Yakeyama and Kana-san are possible via hut access.

Myoko Mitahara-yama Backcountry Zone

The peak of Mitahara-yama (2347m) is the highest point of the crater ridge of Mt. Myoko and is accessible by a ~1.5hr hike from Myoko Suginohara. Mitahara-yama has one of the best mountain views in the whole of honshu and on a clear day, Myoko backcountry zones such as Myoko-san, Mae-yama, Kana-san, Kurosawa-dake, Kurohime-san, Hiuchi-yama, Yake-yama, Takatsuma/Otsuma, Togakushi-yama, Sadoyama, can be seen. Resorts accessible by a day trip such as Lotte Arai, Madarao/Tangram, Kijimadaiara, Shiga Kogen & Nozawa Onsen are also easy to spot. Some of the most spectacular vistas look across to Hakuba and the Northern alps to the west, the Sea of Japan to the north, Mt Fuji to the south east and Naeba/Tanigawadake to the northeast.

Mitahara Calderra Myoko Backcountry

We like to ride the north facing lines into the caldera crater of Myoko-san. It’s not only a picturesque and unique experience riding into a volcano, but it has some of the deepest and steepest lines on the whole mountain. From the crater, you can hike back up and do 2-3 laps in a day depending on the speed of your group, the final run is EF or SF back into the resort. It is possible to head to Mt. Myoko Peak or Maeyama and finish in Akakura Kanko resort.

Mitahara South/West Face Myoko Backcountry

One of the best sustained fall-line tree skiing in Honshu. From 2347-1341 over 3km. It is one of the most satisfying lines in the area if you can get the right conditions. Be careful not to get sucked into deep gullies or terrain traps. Mitahara West FaceA bit of a hike to get in and out but very good for days when only west facing or terrain above 1900m will hold good conditions. Make sure you do not follow all the way into the steep Kurosawa river as it is quite dangerous to navigate. Once you hit 1900m it is time to turn back unless you have scouted a good access or know the terrain well.

Maeyama Myoko Backcountry

Mae-yama is the most crowded backcountry zone due to it’s base location at the busiest resort area of Akakura where a lot of season staff riders also live. It has some epic tree skiing and although Maeyama only peaks at 1932m it still gets abundant snowfall. Due to the crowds and abundance of terrain traps, please use extreme caution when riding in this area, especially on warmer days where the snowpack is affected easier than higher elevations in the area.

Myoko Backcountry Maeyama NF Ridge 

Starting as a nice mellow ridge line, you can either dip straight back into Akakura Onsen or ride the very active avalanche paths into Tsubame onsen and finishing at the traverse towards the famous “tunnel run”

Seki Onsen Myoko Backcountry

Seki onsen rarely has backcountry travelers due to the lower altitude and the large amount of snow it gets almost daily. It is a very dangerous location and there are some epic lines above the resort and on nearby Mount Kana. There is no snow safety or control work at Seki Onsen, so please ask the staff what they think the conditions are like on the day and also permission to ride the zone you have in mind, Usually the most knowledgeable staff are working on the weekend. Seki Onsen has the advantage of the closest proximity to the sea of japan and one of the first places of orographic lift snowfall occurs on the mountain. If there is 40cm at the bottom of the lift, there is usually more than 1m just 300 vertical meters above, so please take this into consideration before traveling out of the resort boundaries.

Food:

We eat hearty western breakfasts at the lodge so power up for the day. Mid day lunch on the mountain at any number of noodle shops and we eat out at night to take advantage of the small local restaurants that have everything from sushi, kebabs, omelets, to the best pork cutlets and wagyu beef.  We Include 3-4 group dinners and during these dinners serve as cultural experiences eating with the many local families that run restaurants in town. Often times we are sampling rice and veggies from the restaurant family’s own farm where they grow and forage for local delicacies.

Transport:

We can provide help with transport from Tokyo to Myoko and highly recommend the Shinkansen Train (Bullet) as an efficient way to travel. We also recommend that you use a transport service for your ski bags and travel light. These services will send your luggage ahead which will be waiting for you at the lodge. Once in Myoko we provide private shuttles from the lodge to various skiing, dining, and travel destinations. Many Onsen and restaurant options are within walking distance of our lodge in the evenings. Travel time from Tokyo to Akakura Onsen where we stay is about 3 hours via bullet train. 

Style of Trip:

We keep our groups small (4:1 Ratio) to allow for flexibility of finding good snow and adapting quickly to the crazy amounts of snow that tends to blanket the region. We work as a team to get out in the morning... Often times last year we would have over a meter fall in 24 hours... sometimes hard to even open the lodge door in the morning. The focus is on skiing and we plan to ski all day, hit an Onsen for a soak in the evening, grab dinner, rinse and repeat.  

We require that you have skis with a touring binding and comfortable boots or splitboard.

You are welcome to treat it as a working vacation if needed we have good wifi and office access at the lodge.