Japow Freedom Tour
The Japow Freedom Tour from Life In White Adventures is a guided and hosted tour where your guides will help you fulfil your expectations for Japow hunting with some freedom. Your accommodation and transport will be a warm and cosy motorhome (don’t worry, the heating is awesome) and you’ll drive yourself around following your guides in their motorhome.
In some previous seasons, the tour has been around Nagano, Niigata and Gunma, and it may possible to
request a private tour for Honshu. For the 2024/25 season, the tour will be around the very snowy Hokkaido.
With a maximum group size of 4 and living in a motorhome, there is plenty of freedom to make last minute decisions depending on the weather because you’re not tied down to a hotel reservation.
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 vanping trip!
Powder Hunting Areas
The preferred powder hunting grounds for 2024-25 are zones in Hokkaido that receive plenty of snow.
Ski resorts visited might include some high profile ski areas, along with some lesser known gems.
The Japow Freedom Tour is mostly about lift assisted backcountry freeriding. Ski touring or splitboarding to get to even better spots is possible on request, and 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. You can
make a booking request to find out about availability.
Naturally, your guide will have a plan 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. Be sure that whatever happens, you are in the best hands and that you will get fed up of powder.
Travelling in a motorhome in Japan is pretty good and a safe and convenient place to do it. You'll have a new 4x4 Toyota Camrod Motorhome with parking heating and equipped with all the necessary accessories such as blankets, pillows, and towels, etc. The motorhomes have charging ports, an equipped kitchen, and a toilet (or you can go to 7-Eleven) and and you’ll want to go to have onsen each day anyhow as it is far superior to a shower. See our information on the joys of the
onsen ritual here. And in the evening you probably don’t want to cook, so your guide will show you where to get a good ramen. It sounds like a great plan that after a powder day, you’ll have a bath in natural hot springs, then a good ramen and then go to sleep in your warm van remembering the faceshots of the day and dreaming of the ones you’ll do on the next day.
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 you can
ask a question here.
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 and a valid international drivers license. Check your local authorities on how to get this before you travel to Japan, but it is usually a simple and inexpensive procedure.