Furano Japan
The Furano Ski Resort in Hokkaido finds a great balance for a Japan ski or snowboard holiday. Furano ski resort has well developed amenities and services, but unlike some Japan ski resorts such as Tomamu, Kiroro or Rusutsu, Furano doesn’t feel too “resortified”. The nearby town of Furano is rather authentic, and both the town and resort provide adequate creature comforts including the ability to cater to English speaking guests, without losing the essence of Japan.
Furano Japan is a fantastic all-rounder with ski and snowboard terrain for all ability levels, off-piste riding, and quality Central Hokkaido powder.
Pros and Cons of Furano Ski Resort
Pros
- Furano Japan is very well suited to on-piste riding for beginners through to advanced riders and is a decent sized resort (by Japanese standards).
- Furano is family friendly and caters reasonably well to English speaking children.
- It makes a great base to explore nearby ski resorts that are great for powder hounds and guided day trips from Furano are available if booked in advance. And nearby are backcountry areas such as Furano-dake and Tokachidake.
- Most Japanese ski resorts don’t have enough on offer to keep the interest of advanced and expert riders for more than a few days, yet a powder hound could play at Furano for a while, especially considering the number of day trip options to chase powder.
- It isn’t fully westernised. It provides a good Japanese cultural experience particularly in the town of Furano, and there are lots of different Japanese restaurants.
- Furano accommodation offers reasonable value for money and kids 12 and under ski free.
Cons
- As Furano ticks a lot of boxes, it’s not surprising that it’s become more popular. Lift queues are sometimes problematic, and there are now more people heading into the trees and less freshies on offer.
- There are very limited Furano onsen opportunities compared to many other ski towns.
Pro or Con Depending on Your Perspective
- Due to its central Hokkaido location, the quality of the Furano snow is generally even better than the coastal resorts such as Niseko. The volume of snow is somewhat less, but the upside is more fine weather days.
Furano Ski and Snowboard Terrain
Furano Ski Resort is a large ski area by Japanese standards (so it’s not huge!), with 9 lifts and 28 courses (ie marked runs) and 839 metres of vertical (235 - 1,074m), which enabled the resort to be put on the world cup ski racing map.
Furano Japan is renowned for the long groomed runs for beginners through to advanced riders, and whether you like to cruise or want to zoom down runs at Mach 2 until your eyes water, if you like groomers then
Furano skiing is rather good. And the lift infrastructure is reasonable, so you’ll get in plenty of skiing or snowboarding each day.
Furano Ski Resort also has piste that are left au naturel. The “Premium Zone” is the steepest run, although the resort doesn’t officially classify this as a course/piste. For advanced and experts the main attraction is the very good off-piste terrain and amazing side-country (easily accessed backcountry) for those
with avalanche gear and the know-how.
Furano Snow
Furano receives 9 metres of snow per season on average, which is less than some of the coastal Hokkaido ski resorts such as
Niseko and
Kiroro. Nevertheless the Furano snow is still often knee deep, commonly waist deep, and we’ve even experienced it neck deep! And the powder is generally delightfully light and fluffy – this is what Central Hokkaido skiing is all about!
The Furano weather is generally more pleasant and there are more blue-sky days than at ski resorts such as Niseko.
Where is Furano Ski Resort?
Furano is located in Central Hokkaido, Japan. Furano is 59km south of
Asahikawa (about an hour away) and 141km (by road) northeast of
Sapporo.
Furano makes a good base for a ski holiday from which nearby ski areas can be accessed for a day trip such as
Kamui,
Asahidake,
Tomamu, and
Sahoro. Or Furano Hokkaido makes a great base to head out on a guided ski tour to nearby backcountry areas.
Airport to Furano shuttles:
See the Furano travel page for more location and travel information.
Furano Accommodation
Furano accommodation consists of mostly western style hotels and pensions. Furano also has a range of self-contained accommodation options such as apartments/condos and houses. Furano is less expensive than Niseko accommodation or Rusutsu accommodation, and there are lodgings to suit most budgets.
Furano accommodation listings – see map, pros and cons of different zones, availability and pricing
Family Friendly Japan Ski Resort
As outlined on the family ski holidays Japan page, Furano is somewhat unique in that it can cater for English speaking kids. Child care is available with English speaking staff and ski lessons for children are available with English speaking instructors (either group lessons for ages 6 and up or private lessons). Furano also has various other family friendly activities on offer. As a bonus, kids 12 and under ride on the lifts for free.
Activities
A Furano ski holiday can be well supplemented by a range of activities including backcountry ski tours, snowmobiling, onsen tours, ice hole fishing, or dressing up in a kimono if that’s what takes your fancy!? See the Furano activities for more information.