Japan - 10 of the Best Summer Holidays

Words by Kirk Owers

From December to March it barely stops snowing on Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island. They sweep the airstrip so your plane can land. Mountain roads are banked 15 feet high in pure white. You go to bed, it’s snowing. You wake up, it’s snowing. Ski the same run twice and fresh powder has covered your tracks. Visit an outdoor hot springs and you’ll be steaming but it’ll still be snowing. Some resorts around Niseko average sixteen metres of light white every year. To a non-winter-sports enthusiast this means little. To a powder-hound it means heaven. Every summer thousands of Australians travel to frozen North American and European snow resorts where they gather in overpriced bars, chug down the local spirits and talk about anything except the question on everyone’s mind: Is it going to snow? Am I getting my money’s worth? In Japan the answer is always: hai.