Furano Resort

Furano Resort is the second largest ski resort in Hokkaido after Niseko united. It's located above the Furano town, in the very center of Hokkaido.

Furano and Furano Valley are well known for having what could be the driest snow of Japan. As it is located in the heart of Hokkaido the moist sea storm dries as it crosses the land towards Furano. Recently with the raising of temperature all over the world Furano is experimenting and extraordinary fenomen as it is raising its snowfall average. Back in the past Furano was not receiving as much snow as today because the temperature was too low to precipitate a big amount of snow. Today's temperature is still very low all season long but not as cold back in the days allowing huge snow dumps and a season average up to 12m per winter. Normally the storms coming North, NorthWest or West being the most favorable ones the NW. Usually it will reset every 2 days and there will be from 15cm to 60cm of new snow up in the mountain. Quality as said is fluffy, super powdery and cold smoke, always at its best.

In terms of terrain Furano is quite steeper than Niseko or Rusutsu. Suited for those who like speed. Furano has quite more tide trees, asking for people to be fast in turning. Then lots of wide open patches are hidden all around. Those are really chased for the riders but are easy to identify from the lift or just hire a guide to show the best of the area. The mountain itself faces East, and having a wide range from North east to south east will let you choose where the snow has deposited. We can also mention that the run outs are tricky and not always going back to the resort letting people get lost if they drop. Gate C on top of the Kitanomine area is not going back to the slopes, so we highly recommend to drop with hiking skins in your backpack. Also the whole backside of the Resort and extending south towards Mount Ashibetsu are great options for Backcountry activity day.

On the skis set up we recommend wide planks from 100 underfoot to 120 are worth using. Those skis need to be easy and fast to turn on to be able to sneak in between the trees. For the snowboards, wide nose, rear back set up, longboards ending in fish tails are the ones that are gonna make you float on that deep powder. Avalanche safety gear should be mandatory for everyone dropping out of the slopes, and having your powder bud always at some contact range to keep the safety standard at its best. Then we highly recommend to bring one extra down jacket in your backpack plus one warm thermos filled with hot beverage.

Early season from 20 Dec to 5 Jan are great times in the resort as crowds had not become yet and there is lot of untracked powder to shred. It's also likely that most of the run outs and the gates are not really open yet.

High season goes from 5 Jan to 20th Feb. Snow at its best, resets almost every night and a good base to ski on are what to expect. Then also quite a big amount of people are all looking for that precious powder.

From 20th Feb to 31 of March. Longer days, more stable weather and slightly warmer temperatures are the conditions. Some glide cracks are going to be formed at this time of the season being something to care about. Then the resort is going to be super quiet giving a huge opportunity to get tons of fresh tracks on the hill as competition is not there. Definitely a great time to be around.