I’ve been on this trip twice (1 x Standard and 1x Mint Chicks) and cannot recommend Mint Tours highly enough. The owners are lovely and all the guides that I’ve had are both knowledgeable on the slopes and great company at the pub at the end of the day.

You will not regret having a Mint Tour Guide when hitting the slopes in Japan. They know the mountains well and will take you to mountains and spots that you simply didn’t know existed. Forget the busy slopes of Hirafu, you’ll be hitting a range of mountains and will be riding back and side country. heck, sometimes you’ll just be cutting through the thick trees right in the middle o the resort which open up into the powder stash of the trip. Having a guide who knows when to bail on a run is also worth it’s weight in gold. Cutting out to the right after the tower, versus a 45 min walk out, across a stream, that ruins your mood and your day… priceless.

For the ladies, get yourself on the Niseko Freeride Mint Chicks tour – there’s nothing more empowering then hitting the slopes with a crew of girls then hightailing it to the best local onsen, you’ll have an absolute ball.

If you're thinking of heading over to Japan, get ready to get POW and get nude.
And the crew at MINT tours can help with both. But mainly with the POW.

Let's start with the POW. Aizu is nuts. It's one of those places that you're amazed no one knows about but are 100% thankful that no knows about it. In a lot of ways it's somewhat of a cliche. Amazingly stunning tree runs, great powder, no lift lines and FA people. And even if there are few others about, your guides will whisk you out of view and like well trained drug dogs, will sniff out the finest powder that Nekoma, Minowa, Alts or Inawashiro has to offer on any given day.

All the guides are great people, great riders and know their way around all the resorts. If you want to cruise then you can cruise and carve around, if you want to smash it all day and forgo your Pork Katsudon for lunch, then they're more than happy to accomodate that as well.
Having your own transport around here is great too. Being able to pick and choose your mountain each day means you get the best of the conditions. And more importantly it means you can stop at the local breweries and saki houses on the way back from riding.
The Aizu trip is fully immersive Japanese experience. And the Urabandai Lake Resort is no exception. It's a great mix of not what you'd probably think of as traditional Japanese, yet at the same time it's fully Japanese. From the crazy massage chairs or actual masseurs to the virtual golf, or ice fishing, and hallways that are straight outta The Shining. Not to mention how much time you end up spending nude with your mates and strangers. The Onsen at the hotel is 10/10 and a must after each day in the powder. Be sure to don your traditional robes and head on down for a soak and take in the beautiful surrounds.

As much as I don't want you go, you should definitely go.

Went on the Canada road trip 2018. Was so epic to see and snowboard this beautiful part of the world, but to also have top notch local knowledge on hand to get us to the best spots on the day, really topped it off. Hayden the local guide took us to some rad terrain, that would've taken weeks to find on our own.
Dave, our other guide from NZ was a mad addition to have along too, really knowledgable on all aspects of snowboarding, and his tips had people shredding way above the level they started at the beginning of the trip.
Both fellas were really chill, down for a laugh, and good fun to share the road with. Would absolutely recommend this trip to anyone wanting explore and shred some of the more epic places in Canada, while having a rad time doing it!

First time in Niseko & thought to go on a tour (first time experiencing a tour). Best decision we made. From the point of first contact with Jarred & the team at Mint Tours, right through the trip with Hayden, our guide, everything was awesome. We were intermediate to advanced, but the guide can cater for anybody. It was so good not having to think of the best runs to go on, Hayden just took us to the best pow and boosters on the mountain. Highly recommend, & I think all my trips will now include a Mint Tours component. Thanks to the team & happy shredding!

I did the all rounder tour and it was an epic week! We had amazing conditions, the crew were always so helpful and guided us around the mountains and the town which is incredibly beautiful. The accommodation was great too and walking distance to the town. I also did the optional activity heli-skiing and it was one of the best days of my life. I loved this tour so much I went on and did a heli skiing tour with mint the following week in Methven. I'd 100% recommend this tour, It was a fun time so book it!

This is one of the best boarding/skiing getaways going! Fantastic value for money and you get to see all of the major resorts in one week, as well as being picked up and dropped off from the Airport. Based in Queenstown, the Mint Tour crew drive you to the local resorts of the Remarkables and Coronet Peak and also to Wanaka to board/ski in Cardrona and Treble Cone. For someone that has never boarded in NZ before it was great to get a taste of all that Queenstown and Wanaka had to offer. The itinerary is flexible depending on weather and which resorts will have the best conditions. Nights out were also fun and everyone had input into which restaurant we'd like to go to. I also added the Heli as an optional extra through Mint Tours. I'd never done this before and had an absolute ball with four others tour members, having the whole mountain range to our self for the day. Highly recommend the Heli and I've already booked in for my next tour as it is just so easy having accommodation, airport transfers, lift passes and private transport to and from the mountain organised for you. Highly recommend.

My husband and I did the Freeride tour in Feb 2017. We hadn't been to Hokkaido before so we were looking for a good taster tour. This was just what we were after.

Mint Tours are great to deal with - super friendly and helpful both planning your trip and while you are there. The guides are great for making sure the group gets what they want out of the tour - whether it's a laid back day or from the minute the lifts start til when they stop hunting the freshest pow.

Mint also hooked us up with access to Nitro powder boards which was great!

Browny was a super knowledgeable guide - knows all the good spots and will make sure you are hitting the best possible locations each day. Browny even went out of his way on several occasions for the group - trips into the nearby hardware store for superglue for a pair of broken boots and pointing some of the rest of the group in the right direction for their time in Niseko after the tour.

Will definitely be booking with Mint Tours again.

Thanks Jarred and Browny!

I am so grateful to have done this tour with Mint. Everything was organised really well from the pre trip planning to the very end. Had an awesome guide (Browny) who took us to all the best spots and was a fun dude to be around. I cannot speak highly enough of this tour. If you are thinking about booking this, stop thinking and pull the trigger- hope you have as much fun as I did!!

Would never feel anymore welcomed or any safer under the guides at mint tours. Have gained the bedt memories and learnt some of the the best knowledge from my 2 tours, being the all rounder tour in New Zealand and the niseko free ride tour in Japan. Honestly wouldn't bother with any other tour crews and I'm sure I can name at least 3 other people that would vouch for me.

Absolutely mint!

We wouldn't have been happier for our first trip over to Japan from the United States for skiing. Jared, Claire, Browny, and the crew were a pleasure to work with and made everything from booking to finding the best lines in the morning as easy as could be.

During 2017 I was fortunate enough to grab a spot on the much sought after Mint Tours Freeride Tour. Having heard some really solid reviews about their operation up north I decided to try score myself a place, luckily there was a spot left so I jumped on it.

Haven ridden Hokkaido on a number of different occasions I had a fair idea of what was awaiting.....but I was wrong.
The terrain that we were shown on the Freeride Tour, with local legend Browny, dead set blew my mind. Fresh turns quite literally all day, I mean it was that good, we barely stopped for lunch in 8 days...
The fact that the crew was small and the rider ability was good meant that everyone had the same mindset and were there for one thing...get balls deep in the pow!
From un-tracked bowls, to basically deserted resorts, to back and side country that produced the best turns of my time snowboarding anywhere in the world, this tour is a must for anyone wanting to stray from the overcrowded Niseko scene, but still get the world renowned Hokkaido Powder!

In January I joined mint tours in Japan and rode the niesko free ride tour. I had an absolute blast, it was great having browny there to take us to some secluded spots and we got to experience the back gate which was amazing. My boyfriend and I loved the tour so much we hope to come back next year to do it again.

This Tour not only met it's description, but exceeded it and my expectations. The ratio of us to coaches was often 2:1, and guaranteed 3:1. The coaches were not only knowledgeable, but had a wealth of experience and were from all different backgrounds. We were kept well informed and updated throughout the week with regards weather, and subsequently which resort we would be boarding at. The Mint Tours coaches and guides on the ground had an in-depth knowledge of the local area and had build solid relationships with people and businesses there. The pre-trip details are concise and accurate, particularly with advice on money, atms, credit cards, etc. In short, I am already looking at my next Mint Tour!

What an incredible trip! We arrived at this lovely lodge which would be home for the trip and was greeted by Jarred and Nick. Nick prepared a feast for dinner. In fact, every night was a feast topped off with some tasty NZ wine. He did an amazing job catering to our groups dietary requirements.

First day on the snow at Mt Hutt was a great warm up day for the next day of heliboarding! We got very lucky and had a heavy dump of snow that night. The next morning we headed off to the helipad. We got up into the mountains and those first few turns.. Wow - sunshine and deep powder - truly amazing. Our guide was top notch, Methven Heli gave us a day filled with pow, smiles and deep turns. We headed back to the lodge, everyone grinning from the day we just had.

We were lucky enough to have the same conditions the next day and half the group went up for Heli day #2. We were taken to a different mountain range - we were all beaming! The last day we went up to Porters for some fun in the sun. After our usual feast at the lodge we headed for some beers at the local pub.

Jarred and Ris put on an awesome trip. If you want a trip where have great fun on the mountain, meet a group of awesome people and smiles all round - go with Mint. Thanks Mint Tours!

I had the most amazing time on this tour! Such a great experience with awesome coaches and a great group of girls. My riding definitely improved and the daily pilates with Fi helped alleviate any soreness.

It was a late booking and Ris was super helpful in organising it all at such short notice.

I would definitely recommend anybody wanting to experience snowboarding in Japan, then Mint are a great company to go with.

All I can say is this trip was epic! My first trip to Japan and what better way to experience it than with Mint Chicks!

Great girls, coaches, hosts, lodgings and food. Not to mention the powder and outdoor onsen. 20 out of 10 for sure!

I had been on other trips to Japan (mainly Niseko) organised through other tour companies prior to booking a trip with Mint Tours. I can honestly say Mint Tours trips are superior to the rest. The people that work at Mint are awesome and dedicated to making sure you have the best time.

Myoko Kogen and Madarao are unreal spots - I have been to a few other areas around Japan but these two are definitely my favourite. They get awesome snow and have a really cool vibe - they don't get as busy as other resorts such as Hakuba and Niseko but they still have good nightlife and less people on the slopes! You also get more of an authentic Japan experience.

I really can't wait to go back, can't rate these tours highly enough!

I did the mint chicks Myoko tour in February and it was amazing!! I had the most epic time on and off the snow.

Mint tours were super helpful from the time I enquired to do the tour to when I left japan. We had amazing coaches and hosts, the snow was amazing and each night was always a good time exploring the town!

I rate this tour very highly, loved it!!

This was such an EPIC tour! It was awesome to be able to ride with so many other like-minded chicks, and it was like we'd known each other for years! Everything on the tour was really well organised with great accommodation in Queenstown and Wanaka and heaps of local tips on the best place to eat, drink and shred.

The highlight of our tour was definitely Snow Park! The coaching gave us that little extra confidence to hit the boxes and rails, and even the halfpipe!

I definitely recommend a Mint Chicks tour for any girls wanting to shred some awesome terrain, progress in their riding and meet some new friends to ride back home with!