Furano
Furano in Central Hokkaido has seen a large surge of Australian skiers and snowboarders as they seek an alternative to the busy
Niseko. This resort has many advantages over Niseko such as weather, with more blue-ski days to enable you to admire the magnificent views. It’s not busy in Furano, and there aren’t many rowdy Australians! The snowfalls are not as consistent in Furano, but are still pretty good with an average of 9m of snow per season. For powderhounds, a major downside for the resort is the prohibition against tree-skiing and out-of-bounds skiing, which is policed very strictly. It’s a shame that Furano hasn’t followed suit of its neighbouring resorts to accommodate a wider scope of riders, and as such this mountain is predominantly more suited to families and those who want to remain on the piste.
Furano can serve as a good base, and those who want to find the deep powder can travel less than an hour to other resorts such as
Kamui Links,
Asahidake or
Tomamu. That being said, if you are naughty, are good at ducking ropes, and can appear invisible, there is some amazing terrain to revel in at Furano. Of course you need to be aware that there are risks associated with skiing off-piste and out-of-bounds.
Furano is a large resort with a lot of vertical which has enabled the resort to be put on the map through hosting world cup ski races. This vertical provides for great cruising down long groomers, some with pitch at just over 30 degrees, and there’s plenty of variety. Furano resort is made up of the Kitanomine and Furano areas. The main lift at Kitanomine is a gondola and at Furano, the main lifting infrastructure is a cablecar (ropeway), which is the fastest in Japan taking only 5 minutes. If your legs aren’t super fit, you’ll be wishing the lifts were a bit slower.
The town of Furano is 5 minutes by bus or taxi from the resort, and is largely untouched from outside influences, with a delightfully quaint feel to it.