Hokkaido Jan 2025

[coral dune]

sheesh no one going to hokkaido? Dates changed, I think I will be there from Jan 8th to early feburary for the Yuki Matsuri

[coral dune]

bump, still looking for folks i might rent a car and hit up some ski resorts too, up for driving and carpool

[delicate python]

I was considering Hokkaido to ski, but I recently broke my ankle about two months ago 😭
I'll probably be travelling in the opposite direction of you, from Tokyo to southern Japan (27m). My plans may change though, your trip sounds really fun

[reef atlas]

I'll be traveling to Hokkaido around those dates though nothing solid yet. Would definingly like to meet up if possible. Went last January spent mostly in Sapporo and really enjoyed my time there. Except when United forgot my luggage in San Francisco, and so had no winter shoes only converse

[jolly delta]

that sounds sick, i plan to come to japan around jan 20th to mid feb, first time and solo traveling. a cool winter festival or snowboarding trip in hokkaido would be nice, i just didnt want to go up there alone with very little japanese 😅

also im 23M from the U.S

[coral dune]

Sounds good! Definitely hit me up once December hits man, let's keep in touch for sure, I should land in Sapporo around Jan 5th to Jan 8th.

[coral dune]

Idk if it's a really good idea to go to sapporo first time, I am fluent in Japanese, but if you plan to travel down from Sapporo to Tokyo and stop along the way like that with the Shinkansen, we can probably meet up in Hokkaido and grab some munchies along your way down, i think that would be a cool trip and just land in Sapporo first and stay few days then ride shinkansen to aomori or something.

[reef atlas]

Most definitely, I will message once I have some more planning done around the December time frame

[jolly delta]

sounds good, yea im still planning things out. So far i think i wanna visit and stay couple of days in Tokyo, Osaka, Yamanashi, and Yamagata. But still open to exploring other areas too. Are there usually any cool festivals around the jan/feb time?

[coral dune]

yuki matsuri in hokkaido is really famous in early feburary.

[coral dune]

bump

[coral dune]

My friend, have you bought your ticket to Hokkaido yet? My ticket is booked on Jan 9th, lemme know if you are all set to go then we can exchange contacts.

[reef atlas]

What area's are you planning to go to/ activities?

[coral dune]

i'm thinking just checking out sapporo for few days, probably 2-4 days? then potentially somewhere else, maybe a ski resort for few days, idk im pretty open to everything, i am going to take a ferry to maizuru around early feburary though

[reef atlas]

I'll be landing in Sapporo on January 12. I'm open for a ski resort, no experience

[coral dune]

👌 sounds like a plan, lol i've only skiied for like 4 days in the past too. I will shoot you my info.

[reef atlas]

Bet 😂

[coral dune]

🫡bump for more folks for the Hokkaido crew

[coral dune]

Sheeesh any more folks coming to Hokkaido?

[rich tree]

I am in Hokkaido already and will be till mid February. So yeah I would be down for a meetup or smth else too

[coral dune]

awesome man, once i land on january 9th, let's meet up in sapporo for sure

[misty ginkgo]

sapporo resident so, hope ya'll dont mind another one joining the party

[reef atlas]

I don't mind
Do you know any good bars in Sapporo?

[misty ginkgo]

Not a bar guy and never been to one but theres a lot in Susukino

I know cafes tho

[coral dune]

heck yeah, i don't drink either but sounds good, love to meet up with a resident as well.

[reef atlas]

How long do you expect the trip in Sapporo and ski resort to be?

[coral dune]

I probably land around Jan 9th settle down for few days, then around Jan 13th or so go to ski resorts for like 3 or 4 days I think.

[reef atlas]

Should work for me want to get a flight to Osaka by the weekend

[coral dune]

I'm taking the Sapporo to maizuru ferry lol, it's more fun.

[fresh vine]

I'm planning to hit Hokkaido in January!

No dates yet, totally flexible so I can plan around the rest of the group

experienced skiier here, down to ski with people who are new though

[misty ginkgo]

i would love to git gud at skiing

but knee injury hahah

getting a knee injection soon tho it should help

[reef atlas]

If/when we meet I'll be asking for some tips

[fresh vine]

Let's do it! 🙌⛷️

[coral dune]

i got the international driver license and i'm planning to drive so, will do a meet up in sapporo around the 10th-13th of janaury and we can plan from there

[coral dune]

Guys, I have a rough plan now, we will meet up on Jan 10th, in Saporro(meeting place and time TBD), I figure we can sightseeing Sapporo for 1 or 2 days, then start the ski trip for 4 days or so starting on the 13th or so. It'd helpful if anyone else(residents or drivers who are comfortable driving in winter with IDP like me) also have internaitonal driver license/and winter driving experience, I'm from Colorado and have driven extensively in winter.

I have the following ski resorts in mind since we are mostly all beginners(ski+onsen at night):

1. Kiroro Ski Resort+kiroro onsen
2. Sapporo Kokusai Ski Resort + Jozankei Onsen
3. Rusutsu Resort + Rusutsu Onsen
   Also open to other suggestions, rough costs estimate, all rentals+lift ticket about $100 USD per day per person, lodging/gas/car rental costs will be divided evenly.

[fresh vine]

From Utah here, no IDP though :/

Count me in though

[zinc grove]

18M from NZ, imma be in hokkaido from 15th to 22nd

I'd love to do ski trip though, was planning to go, but since I'm solo, rental and stuff seemed like a pain

[reef atlas]

Works for me

[coral dune]

Just booked my lodging in Sapporo, checking in on Jan 9th, checking out Jan 13th, figger once we reach late December, 2024 I will post a cafe/restaurant and time for us to meet up for dinner then maybe Karaoke on January 10th, departing Sapporo Jan 13th morning for the Ski Resort chosen(to be determined).

[reef atlas]

I'll be landing in Sapporo in the afternoon of the 12th

[rich tree]

I will be joining for the 10th and maybe 11th and 12th, but not for skiing. As I will be skiing in dec already with the smother discord group. And I have to work in January.
But meetup on those earlier days will work 🙂

other*

[coral dune]

Yeah, I figure those who just want to just meet up could just show up on the 10th at the cafe/restaurant, and we already have two people wanting to go ski( @reef atlas and @fresh vine ) we could probably only take about 2 more people due to space in the car, we'll decide the restaurant and time once date approaches, but for my peeps deciding to go skiing, remember to check out of your lodging January 13th morning :))

already booked my lodging in sapporo Jan 9th to Jan 13th, but also down to stay in sapporo for 1 or 2 more days for more peeps to join.

[fresh vine]

How's the snow up there currently? Has it started to build up powder yet? or still quite dry?

[coral dune]

https://www.kiroro.co.jp/dashboard/ snow condition report

[rich tree]

Niseko was really snowy, otaru and Sapporo, are a bit meh, at the moment. Like it snows a lot, but it doesn’t stay. I think the ground‘s still a bit too warm. But that’s for down in the city. The mountains look like they have some snow. Not too much either though

[fresh vine]

Makes sense. Should be good in a month

[reef atlas]

My vote is for Rusutsu

[reef atlas]

@coral dune, when we're leaving the ski resort, are you heading back to Sapporo? The reason I ask is that I plan to go to New Chitose Airport for a flight to Osaka.

[coral dune]

I have to, I have visa application for other countries I will visit.

[reef atlas]

I know it's a bit early, but are we leaving in the early morning on the 17th?

[coral dune]

🤔 I was thinking the 13th/14th for the day of departure driving to the ski resort, lol i already booked my lodging to check out on the 13th, but i figger if someone needs one more day we could check out on the 14th. (p.s. i know you arrive on the 12th but we can meet up the 12th night and introduce you to other skiiers too on the 12th night)

we will do a general meet up on the 10th of janaury for anyone who just wants to chat and meet up, plus i think we can take 1 to 2 more folks to go ski with us

[reef atlas]

I was referring to the 17th when we leave the ski resort

[coral dune]

OHHHH, yes, 4 days at the ski resort, yesssir, January 13th/14th to January 17th/18th tentatively

[reef atlas]

Yeah, the question was, are we gonna leave early in the morning of the 17th? so I can get a flight at noon.

[coral dune]

probably a late afternoon/or next day flight is ideal since winter weather is unpredictable and also unexpected road conditions

[reef atlas]

Ok, I'll most likely then go with a flight in the evening of the 17th

[reef atlas]

Would you say a flight at 6PM on the 17th seem reasonable?

[reef atlas]

@coral dune I’ll take that as a yes

[fresh vine]

@dense jacinth

[reef atlas]

@coral dune have we decided on which resort we're staying at?

[coral dune]

So far it's just me and you and @fresh vine, anybody else set on going? If not we can vote on the resort we wanna go.

I'm going to list the car rental cost gas estimation and resort fees(and ski gear rental costs) and hotel lodging in about 7 days here.

[fresh vine]

I'll be free after January 7th to up to Hokkaido.

I have family coming to Japan for a bit and I'll be with them until they leave on the 7th then I can head up to Hokkaido

How long are you thinking of being there for?

with this mega snow dump, I might end up staying there longer than initially anticipated

[coral dune]

I think ski trip just from the 13th to 17th, but I need to be back in Sapporo for errands for another 2 to 3 days. I will arrive at Hokkaido January 9th at 4pm, think we should all meet up January 10th and we can leave early January 13th morning so we can check in leave our stuff at lodging at noon, then go for afternoon ski session, ski until 17th morning then depart back to Sapporo.

[coral dune]

We can meet up with @reef atlas the 12th night of January when he lands but I will see you on the 10th for the general meet up with everyone(including folks who don't wanna ski)

But yeah us three can probably jump in a call before end of December for lodging booking and planning.

P.S. we can probably take one more person going skiing with us if anyone else wanna join just ping me.

[fresh vine]

that works

[fresh vine]

this snow dump going on is glorious

Headed to Arai next week

[reef atlas]

Works for me

[dense jacinth]

hey folks. Unforutnatley I won't be able to join with y'all but i'm trying to go up to hokkaido and ski niseko right after new years. Do y'all have recommendations for places to stay near niseko, but not on resort? (not tryna pay $500/night for rooms 🤣)

I do have an IDP so I can get a car if necessary. But public transit would be preferable.

[coral dune]

@reef atlas @fresh vine bois, we got some time for a video chat on the 30th? we should get some of our stuff booked before our trip on the 11th, what time zones are we in and when are we avaliable?

[reef atlas]

I'm in MST, preferably in the evening

[fresh vine]

Sorry fellas I had some plans move around. I'm going to be in Thailand from Jan7-15 now and won't make it up to Hokkaido until later in January... so I won't be able to join 😦

I did get to ski in Joetsu last week and it was incredible!! I can only imagine how it is up in Hokkaido.

[rich tree]

Was skiing the last two days in Hokkaido. It’s insanely nice. Super fluffy, soft powder everywhere and even in midday sun it doesn’t get muddy

[coral dune]

😂 okay now we only got 2 and logistically that's gonna be super costly, i'm gonna play it by the ear and just see who shows up on the meet up on the 10th night.

[reef atlas]

Do you have an estimate on cost?

[coral dune]

around 500-700 bucks each for two, for 4 days, if we have three it would be around 300-500 ish.
Car Rental: ¥24,000 to ¥40,000
Gas: ¥14,000 to ¥20,000
Ski Equipment Rental: ¥16,000 to ¥24,000
Lift Tickets: ¥24,000 to ¥32,000
Lodging: ¥48,000 to ¥80,000

[reef atlas]

If it’s just gonna be 2 of us then maybe just 3 days

[short pasture]

yo yo yo whats up guys ill be in north for a bit, either early in trip (Jan 14-18) or later in trip (Jan 23-27) also planning to ski, sorry im so late to the party, uni and work yk but either way lemme checkout whats been talked abt here and see if i could tag along if you guys dont mind

[short pasture]

awesome do you still have room?? i could make it by the 12 i believe so we could still leave on the 13th as needed!

can disregard my first msg, replanned it out and i could get to sapporo to meet up with you guys (just would get there probably late at like 10pm on the 12th haha) then we could head out as normal if that works for you

[reef atlas]

Yeah it should definitely work out and nice to meet you as well

[short pasture]

right on! ill wait till Sai gives me the final all good yk but ill plan on meeting up with you guys, also lmk if yall still wanted to call on the 30th to talk abt the plans

[reef atlas]

Yeah just wait for @coral dune to respond then we can go from there

Do you have any ski experience?

[short pasture]

yesyes, ive been skiing since i was little, havent done it in about a year and never got to do it often enough to get wayyy good but i enjoy the black diamond(s)

hbu

[reef atlas]

Absolutely none 😂 I live in a desert state so no snow

[short pasture]

bahaha what state you from

im from cali so could be any environment depending how vague you are yk lol

[reef atlas]

AZ

[short pasture]

woahhh yea man thats desert, used to date a girl from Phx, crazy dry heat but i hope ur ready for hokkaido man bc jeez itll be cold, skiing is awesome though! ill teach as best i can but i imagine sai will probably be the better teacher haha!

was originally gonna visit numatacho takaho ski hills which is a bit more north yk but we'll have to see when we all end the trip bc thatll be a big maybe for me after, just cool bc its so cheap and lesser known

[coral dune]

Hey awesome! Welcome

[short pasture]

Hello!

[coral dune]

13th definitely work that was our initial plan so let's all meet up on the 12th night?

[short pasture]

yesyes that should work for me, ill just get there a bit late yk but ill make sure everyone gets to know me before we go

[coral dune]

I posted the budget too so take a look and see if you feel comfortable with it, not including meals.

[short pasture]

alright lemme look

[short pasture]

is it this one? and including me do yk if itll be three or four of us?

[coral dune]

Just 3 of us I figured if we have a small car four of us would be too much equipment to fit in the trunk

[short pasture]

but yea man idm chipping in for my time with you dudes, hell of a lot cheaper than skiing here in the states

mammoth day passes are damn near $300 alone just for the lifts 😭

[coral dune]

Great!

[short pasture]

haha alright man that works for me, im just bringing a backpack but i get wym with the skiis and poles n such

[coral dune]

I'm from Colorado so, also a beginner but skiied for about a week in CO before I left for my trip in Asia currently traveling in Taiwan

[short pasture]

awesome man, i skiied in CO once, broke my collarbone in a totally stupid way but that was like pffft idk 5 years ago

otherwise amazing spot

but yea ill lyk how it all goes when im there ofc and totally up to get together for a call on the 30th to lock in some plans among us

[coral dune]

@short pasture @reef atlas y'all here available for a video call tomorrow at the same time now?

For me it's 10:23AM now.

[short pasture]

i should be good for that yea

its about 6:23pm for me rn

[reef atlas]

Time works for me it’s 7:23 PM

[coral dune]

Cool beans! Awesomeese 😆

[reef atlas]

Tho my PC doesn’t have a camera

[coral dune]

Alright so tomorrow at 6:30PM for steppa 7:30PM for shin, then 10:30AM for me. See y'all tomorrow.

[short pasture]

mine doesnt either but i can hop on my phone/laptop, unless you guys just want a selfie haha

[short pasture]

sounds good

[reef atlas]

Yup yup

[short pasture]

btw idk if you guys knew but i think @ vtyo is gonna be in rusutsu at the same time as us haha, if we are going there ofc i mean