We set off bright and early on Sunday morning, with our first stop at the ZRH Club for breakfast. This new ZRH Comfort service from Zurich Airport offers food and drinks in the ZRH Club in addition to the priority security check. At 6 a.m. we didn't feel like champagne yet - so we had croissants, Bircher muesli and a coffee. Well fortified, we flew via Vienna to Tokyo and then straight on to Chitose. Our guide was already waiting for us in Chitose. Everything was already white at the airport! And this picture continued throughout the entire journey.
On the way to Niseko, we naturally made a mandatory stop at the convenience store. You can find everything there. And all the snacks were good - even if a strawberry and cream sandwich sounds a little unusual.

The next morning, after a hearty breakfast with Asian and Western dishes, we set off into the powder snow. As it hadn't snowed much in the last few days, we followed our guide's advice and went on a ski tour on Shiribetsu. Just touring through the bamboo and birch forests is an impressive experience. We were then rewarded with knee-high powder snow. What a start to the trip!

It snowed for the next few days and we did another tour that ended in a natural onsen. The other days we used the lifts to help us up the mountain and swept through the gates in Niseko Hirafu and Annupuri as well as the forests of Rusutsu. An absolute highlight is the single chairlift in Niseko - also known as the pizza box lift. The contrast between state-of-the-art chairlifts with heated seats in Hanazono and iconic lifts without safety bars can probably only be found in Japan.

During the day we were spoiled with fantastic powder snow and in the evening with delicious Japanese food. The variety is huge with a wide range of ramen soups, lots of fresh sushi, teriyaki, shabu-shabu and table grill dishes with the finest Wagyu beef. By the way, shabu-shabu is the Japanese version of fondue chinois.

After a week, we had earned a day off, on which we drove from Niseko to Furano. On the way, we stopped at a sushi restaurant and on the beach to enjoy the sun. Then we went on.

Like Niseko, Furano is a larger ski resort on Hokkaido, but there are fewer Australians and New Zealanders there. On Monday we made the gates here unsafe and for once didn't find much good powder snow. We took this as an opportunity to call it an early night, as the weather forecast for the next day indicated sunshine and no wind.

Our plan: up to the highest mountain in Hokkaido, Asahidake. The volcano looks impressive in pictures and is even more so in real life. We first went up by gondola and then climbed the last 600 meters of altitude on touring skis or a splitboard, before descending through the U-shaped crater to the hot columns of smoke. A unique experience!

Our guide said that he had never seen such good conditions at Asahida in the last 5 years. So it takes a bit of weather luck to be able to fully enjoy the Asahidake. The powder snow in the crater was not very deep, but it was still very easy to ski. The second part of the descent was through the forest, where we again found great snow. What a successful day!

On the last day of skiing, we went on a ski tour followed by a visit to the onsen. The warm spring is extremely pleasant after a cold and exhausting day of skiing. The next day was our transfer day to Chitose and we had another ace up our sleeve: Ueli had spotted a few avalanche barriers on the outward journey to Furano. Anyone who knows Ueli knows what comes next... That's right, we used the snow-covered obstructions for jumping. There's no better way to end the trip.

The 11 days flew by and we all loved the snow, the Japanese culture and the great food. Back to the initial question: In January and February, there is actually a lot of light powder snow falling from the sky - so pack your snorkel!

We can only recommend a trip to Japan. And if it's your first ski trip to Japan, Niseko and Furano are the perfect starting points. Of course, we also have tips for returners who want to experience something new and original. A guide is also an advantage, especially if you want to go ski touring to get even more out of your ski vacation in Japan.

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