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, 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. A powder hound could play at Furano for 10-14 days, especially considering the number of day trip options to chase powder.
- It is one of only several Japanese ski resorts to have self-contained accommodation (e.g. apartments) as well as hotels, pensions and a couple of backpackers.
- It isn’t overly 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
- Furano Japan doesn’t have much in the way of premium or luxury accommodation.
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.
- The prohibition of off-piste and sidecountry skiing has been lifted. Whilst you can hit the powder without fear of losing your lift ticket, there are now more people heading into the trees and a lot less freshies on offer.
Furano Ski and Snowboard Terrain
Furano Ski Resort is a large ski area by Japanese standards (so it’s not huge!), with 10 lifts and 23 courses (ie marked runs) and 839 metres of vertical (235 - 1,074m),
which has enabled the resort to be put on the world cup ski racing map.
Furano Japan is renowned for the many 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 most of the Furano lifts are fast, so your legs will need to be super fit to last the day!
Furano Ski Resort also has on-piste runs that are left au naturel, with pitch at up to 34 degrees. 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 used to have a reputation for the prohibition of off-piste and tree skiing, and a history of this being policed very strictly. Thankfully this is no longer the case, and off-piste skiing is now permitted in most parts of Furano so you no longer have to appear invisible.
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
Rusutsu. 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 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 resorts 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 information on airport to Furano transfers and other transport information.
Furano Accommodation
Furano accommodation consists of mostly western style hotels and pensions.
Furano is somewhat unique for a Japanese ski resort in that it also has a range of self-contained accommodation options such as apartments and houses. Furano is less expensive than
Niseko accommodation, and there are lodgings to suit most budgets, although high end accommodation is somewhat limited.
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. Furano also has various other family friendly activities on offer.
Activities
A Furano ski holiday can also 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.
