Japow Freedom 2.0 - New for 2026
The Japow Freedom Tour 2.0 from Life In White Adventures is a guided and hosted tour where your guides will help you fulfil your expectations for Japow hunting with no attachments to accomodation bookings.
Like the
Japow Freedom Tour 1.0 which is in motorhomes or camper vans, the Japow Freedom Tour 2.0 has plenty of freedom except you'll stay in accommodation with plenty of comforts instead of in a van. Whilst other tour operators have to book hotel accommodation well in advance and are then wedded to this booking, LIWA own accommodation in the beautiful city of Otaru and also in Central Hokkaido, and can decide which base/s to stay depending on where the conditions are better.
Your guide has been exploring the mountains around Japan for more than 10 years and knows exactly where to go during stormy days and on the precious bluebird ones too. This is the ultimate Japan powder chasing trip!
You can see
reviews for Life in White here including reviews for the Japow Freedom 1.0 trip.
Powder Hunting Areas
It took Life in White a couple of years to find the best 2 bases to buy accommodation that are exactly in the right locations for the preferred powder hunting grounds on the island of Hokkaido.
The first is Otaru in southwest Hokkaido, which is a very snowy zone that includes a couple of ski resorts that are in the
top 5 snowiest in Japan, along with some lesser known ski areas that are also blessed with plenty of snow. The other powder hunting base is in Asahikawa where nearby ski areas and touring areas have sublime snow quality. Asahikawa gives access to the Central Hokkaido ski areas, of which there are a couple of big names, and also to Northern Hokkaido where there are small gem ski areas and it's delightfully cold.
Naturally, your guide will have a plan about how the week could look, but it’s totally open to the group preferences, conditions and forecasts. This is what makes it an adventure, not knowing what to expect on the next day but being sure that whatever happens, you are in the best hands and that you will get fed up of powder (or at least get fed lots of powder!).
Terrain
The Japow Freedom Tour 2.0 is mostly about lift accessed backcountry freeriding, with some short hikes here and there. Ski touring and splitboarding is recommended to get to even better spots when the resorts are tracked, however it's up to the group to dictate and shape what the terrain focus will be. For mixed group trips, it's typically the first person to book who sets whether the trip will involve touring or not, so if there's a date that's of interest
please get in touch to discuss the likely terrain focus.
If you want to guarantee the earn-your-turns component, get together a group of up to 3 friends and you can make it a private tour so that you can ride the type of terrain that you like.
Please get in contact to find out about availability.
Lodging
The accommodations are freshly rebuilt Japanese houses in prime locations. Each guest room is twin-share with new Japanese style futon beds and bedding. Bathrooms are shared and each house has 2 bathrooms. Each house has a living area to chill out, a dining space and a kitchen.
Western style breakfasts are included and include fare such as eggs, toast, fruit, oats, and coffee.
The lodging is in close proximity to restaurants, convenience stores and onsen, and you'll also have your guide on hand to drive the group to dinner or a special onsen.
The Experience
Life in White is loyal to their roots that developed on camper van trips which embodies the motto of P.O.R, which is Powder, Onsen and Ramen. This is well attained goal for each day.
Naturally there is much more incredible food besides ramen, and each evening you'll go to have dinner at different restaurants that your guide will have visited over the years. Similarly, the onsen experiences will be well tested as well.
Ability Level
You need to be at least an advanced skier or snowboarder, with some freeride experience in powder and other off-piste snow conditions. Snowboarders need to be able to hold a traverse well and read the terrain so as to maintain speed in mellow areas and not slow down the group. You also need to have a good level of fitness. If you have any questions about ability level
please get in touch.
Equipment
You will need a backpack with shovel and probe plus an avalanche beacon. These can be rented. It is optional to have a helmet and airbag backpack.
If the plan is to go ski touring or splitboarding, you'll obviously need touring gear. If you don’t have this, the guides can assist with rental of equipment.
It is mandatory to have travel and mountain rescue insurance.