Snow, Soaks, and Snacks: The Ultimate Hokkaido Snowboard Trip

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from traveling, it’s that any place worth going requires a ridiculous amount of effort to get there. And after my recent snowboarding trip to Hokkaido, I stand by this statement more than ever. The journey? A logistical masterpiece (or disaster, depending on how you look at it). The reward? Unreal powder, top-tier onsens, and some of the best snacks I’ve ever had on a mountain.

Getting There: A Test of Patience (and Poor Planning)

Like any good adventure, this one started with me not booking my train early enough. Instead of hopping on the direct JR Hokkaido Resort Liner from the airport straight to my hotel, I got to experience the scenic route. That meant:

✈️ Flight from Incheon, South Korea to Sapporo, Japan (New Chitose Airport) 🚆 Train from New Chitose to Otaru 🚆 Transfer in Otaru to another train to Niseko 🚕 Finally, downloading the GO Taxi App so I could call a taxi to the KANRONOMORI Hotel.

By the time I arrived, I felt like I had completed The Amazing Race: Japan Edition. But at least my suffering came with a silver lining: Japan’s train system is immaculate. Everything was on time, clean, and eerily quiet—except for the one American in my car, chatting the ear off my neighbor about his last ski trip.

Luxury Onsen Life: Why Didn’t I Do This Sooner?

After all that travel, the only thing I wanted was a hot shower—so imagine my delight when our hotel, Kanronomori, had an onsen right on-site. And not just any onsen—an indoor/outdoor one where I could soak in steaming hot water while watching the snow fall around me.

If you’ve never done an onsen before, here’s a quick rundown:

🔥 Step 1: Get completely naked. Yes, completely. No swimsuits allowed. It’s a public bath, and everyone is just out here living their best naked lives.

🧼 Step 2: Scrub yourself at the shower stations before even thinking about getting in the water. Hygiene is serious business.

💦 Step 3: Sink into the steaming bath, let all your stress melt away, and contemplate moving to Japan permanently.

After one soak, I was a changed woman. My friend Kaite and I made it our post-snowboarding ritual, and let me tell you—there is nothing better than boarding in freezing conditions all day and then thawing out in an onsen like a defrosting rotisserie chicken.

Shreddin' the gnar on Mt. Niseko-Annupuri

The Snowboarding: White-Out Conditions & Perfect Powder

Hokkaido is famous for its fresh, fluffy, powdery snow, and it delivered. Our first day, we took the hotel shuttle to Grand Hirafu, which should have been a quick ride but turned into a 1.5-hour journey because the bus stopped at every resort before finally dropping us off. The bus was a standard public transit electric bus, not designed for skis or snowboards, so we were lucky to get seats.

The next day, we got smart and went to Niseko Annupuri Ski Area, which was only one bus stop away and just as incredible. Annupuri had wider runs, dreamy tree paths to board through, and the kind of soft powder that makes falling down a massive hill almost enjoyable. The snow didn’t stop the entire time we were there, and at some points, we were boarding in complete white-out conditions—which really adds an element of surprise when you can’t tell whether the slope drops off in front of you or not.

The real MVP, though? Mount Yotei. Every time the clouds cleared, we had the most insane view of this perfect, cone-shaped, Mount-Fuji-esque volcano. It was like nature's way of rewarding us for surviving the white-out.

The Snacks & Après-Ski Life

Every good trip has an equally good snack lineup, and Niseko came through:

🥟 Steamed meat buns from Bears Café halfway up the Annupuri ski resort—because nothing says “peak performance” like stopping mid-mountain to inhale some delicious carbs.🍫 Godiva hot chocolate and cookies near the Niseko Tokyu Guran Hirafu resort, where I 100% justified paying premium prices for fancy melted chocolate.🍸 A speakeasy bar hidden behind a refrigerator door, where we sipped cocktails while watching the snow fall outside. (Because apparently, I like my drinks with a side of mystery and drama.)

Oh, and did I mention hotel massages? Because yes, after a full day of snowboarding and soaking in the onsen, we put on our hotel-provided kimonos (peak luxury) and got massages that made me question every life choice that had led me to not get massages after every workout.

Final Thoughts: Worth the Struggle

At one point during this trip, I told Kaite that snowboarding in Hokkaido is like eating crab—it takes an absurd amount of work to get to the good stuff, but once you do, it’s completely worth it.

Between the planes, trains, and way too many buses, getting to Niseko wasn’t easy. But the powder, the onsens, the food, and the ridiculous amount of fun we had made every step worth it. If you’re thinking about a snowboard trip to Japan, just book the direct train (learn from my mistakes), embrace the struggle, and get ready for one of the best snowboarding experiences of your life.

And if nothing else—at least do it for the onsen life. 🔥🏂♨️