Winter Adventures in Hokkaido

Hokkaido is a winter wonderland from mid-December to mid-April. Masses of dry powder fall around the island. In this section of the website, I share some of my trips into the Hokkaido backcountry in winter. Mountain huts, GPS route files, and trip reports.

16419978623_59b973131a_h — Mt. Fuppushi (1,102m), around 60km due south of Sapporo City, is the oft-overlooked big brother to his shorter sibling Mt. Tarumae (1,041m). But while everyone gapes at Mt. Tarumae’s smoldering cork, Mt. Fuppushi awaits the more intrepid climber, keen to tackle something steeper and more off the beaten track; it […]

Hokkaido Back Country Skiing: Mt. Fuppushi (Kitaone Route)

17039204541_204e395d8c_h — Mt. Yoichi (1,488m) is the highest peak within the Sapporo City limits. Despite this, it is extremely accessible – it overlooks Kiroro Ski Resort, so take the ski lift to the resorts upper reaches, and you’re more or less there. But to truly experience Mt. Yoichi’s enchanting snowy wilderness, the […]

Hokkaido Back Country Skiing: Mt. Yoichi (Akai-kawa Route)

17201646748_541d80b326_h — With a gradual approach and nothing technical, Mt. Shakotan (1,255m) is a beginner back-country skier’s dream. And being the highest spot on the sprawling Shakotan Peninsula, the views are some of the best in western Hokkaido. Perfect for a very late spring season trip to the mountains, only a few […]

Hokkaido Back Country Skiing: Mt. Shakotan (Fumi Route)

snowshoe — “It feels like the depth of winter in January!” Rick exclaimed as we set off into the hills, wading through deep, soft snow. Rick had suggested this trip, leaving from the Nakayama Pass rest area 2 hours southwest of Sapporo City, in order to see what the early winter conditions […]

November snowshoe trip towards Kimobetsu-dake (Nakayama Pass, Hokkaido, Japan)

avalanche — Since moving to Hokkaido here in northern Japan, I’ve been getting more and more into enjoying the winter backcountry hills here. So, I finally got around to attending a two-day avalanche awareness course, run by Whiteroom Tours in Niseko. Overall it was an extremely professional, thorough course with an instructor […]

Whiteroom Tours Avalanche Awareness Course (Niseko, Hokkaido, Japan)

climb — Given it’s close proximity to Sapporo City, I had expected Ginreiso Hut, at the foot of Mt. Haruka, to be bustling for our overnight trip on the 3rd of January. In the end, our group of four were the only ones to make the short 3 hour climb. We had […]

Overnight backcountry ski trip to Ginreiso Hut (Mt. Harukayama, Hokkaido, ...

heavybranch — The Yama-no-ie Hut, tucked below Mt. Okuteine on the outer reaches of Sapporo City, is everything you can expect from a mountain hut managed by largely ambivalent Japanese university students: dingy, messy, and a glowing red-hot potbelly stove kept that way by the intrepid first-year students who hauled the coal […]

Hokkaido Ski Touring: Mt. Okuteine, Yama-no-ie Hut and Mt. Tsuge ...

23902682344_864036173d_h — Introduction The vast majority of photos that I take are taken outdoors, during human-powered adventures. My style of photo in particular is one that captures humans in natural environments, engaged in some form of movement or activity in those natural environments. It might be dusty, cold, raining, or snowing. Regardless […]

Adventure Photography: Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mirrorless Camera Long Term Review

tokachi — Dirk looked at me with wide eyes. “You have your PhD defense on Monday, and you want to go ski touring in the weekend?” But how could I not. The boys from France would be nearby, and they were up for exploring. And what can be better to take one’s […]

Hokkaido Ski Touring: Mt. Sandan-yama and Maetokachi-dake (Tokachi region)