Hokkaido Powder Guides
Hokkaido Powder Guides
5
About
Hokkaido Powder Guides are the specialists for ski guided trips in Japan combining culture and adventure with Japan’s fabled deep powder.Trips are focused on guided resort off-piste, backcountry trips and avalanche course instruction.
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Hokkaido Powder Guides
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
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5.0
10 reviews
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Melissa M
1 contribution
Feb 2020
We had a very memorable day backcountry skiing with Will. He made us feel at ease and safe, being guided backcountry for the fist time. Considering it was not a great season he still managed to find us fresh tracks between the trees and made us feel like it was amazing. All the gear and day was well explained and we were completely taken care of from pick up to drop off. We will definitely return to experience more Hokkaido powder on a longer trip with HPG. Highly recommend HPG. Thanks HPG team :)
Written 19 April 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jason H
2 contributions
Jan 2020
Chuck took us around Rusutsu with kids and 6 hours up Yotei with adults and was brilliant on both days. He is knowledgeable, positive and caring of those who are maybe not as experienced as others. Couldn't recommend it enough.
Written 21 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Michael MacDonald
Singapore, Singapore13 contributions
Jan 2020 • Friends
We did a 4 day guided trip in the furano area. The trip was organised flawlessly. Our guide Will was a great guy. Very experienced. 2 days touring and 2 days on side country. Highly recommended. Will be booking for next year.
Written 14 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jack Z
1 contribution
Mar 2018 • Friends
Chuck and Phil were excellent. Their strong safety standards took care of our group and they found some great turns on and off-piste for us. Thank you for a wonderful experience. - Jack and Eric Zinterhofer
Written 12 March 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Jack and Eric, thank you for your review. The guides had great time of skiing with your group. Hope to see you again in Japan.
Written 13 March 2018
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Charles-BB353
London, UK14 contributions
Mar 2018 • Friends
Chuck and Toshie run a first class outfit. They organised five days of skinning and back country skiing in various locations around Furano. We were a group of 9 experienced skiers and it worked like clockwork from breakfast to late evening - with restaurants and cultural excursions also organised. They are deeply knowledgeable about the area.
Written 9 March 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Charles, thank you for your review. We appreicate your cooperation to organize the group trip. The guides had great time of skiing with your group. Hope to see you again in Japan.
Written 13 March 2018
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
E F
Aberdeen, UK8 contributions
Feb 2018 • Friends
My husband and I had a week with Chuck and in the following week we skied with friends, and in a group of 5 then 3, we had 2 days with Al.
This was first class guiding from both Chuck and Al. Both knew their stuff in terms of snow safety and knew the terrain intimately, choosing good options in a period of mixed weather.They were able to operate out of Furano and Niseko, which gave our group more choice of options.
Both are good communicators and were able to relate to us as individuals. Chuck gave us so much more in terms of explanation about Japan , the culture and way of life,the food, the Onsens and everything, on this our first visit to Japan.
Al managed a group of mixed ability with great skill - including taking one of our friends into the backcountry for the first time [with snow to die for and superb weather and scenery]
Over the 8 days we skied off piste mainly in trees, due to the cold stormy weather, and skied fantastic deep snow. We had waist deep powder at times.
We went to 4 different resorts and had 3 backcountry days getting right away from any lifts or crowds. We also stayed overnight in a National park lodge, with an authentic Japanese bedroom and an excellent multi course dinner.
The whole trip was memorable and we got so much more from doing guided skiing than just being based in a resort.
Thank you to Chuck and Toshie for all their work in organising a wonderful trip.
This was first class guiding from both Chuck and Al. Both knew their stuff in terms of snow safety and knew the terrain intimately, choosing good options in a period of mixed weather.They were able to operate out of Furano and Niseko, which gave our group more choice of options.
Both are good communicators and were able to relate to us as individuals. Chuck gave us so much more in terms of explanation about Japan , the culture and way of life,the food, the Onsens and everything, on this our first visit to Japan.
Al managed a group of mixed ability with great skill - including taking one of our friends into the backcountry for the first time [with snow to die for and superb weather and scenery]
Over the 8 days we skied off piste mainly in trees, due to the cold stormy weather, and skied fantastic deep snow. We had waist deep powder at times.
We went to 4 different resorts and had 3 backcountry days getting right away from any lifts or crowds. We also stayed overnight in a National park lodge, with an authentic Japanese bedroom and an excellent multi course dinner.
The whole trip was memorable and we got so much more from doing guided skiing than just being based in a resort.
Thank you to Chuck and Toshie for all their work in organising a wonderful trip.
Written 7 March 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Caroline and Roger, thank you for your review. The guides had great time of skiing with you. Hope to see you again in Japan.
Written 13 March 2018
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Ben R
1 contribution
Jan 2018 • Friends
Chuck and his team were fantastic. They knew the areas very well, and were able to tailor the days depending on where the snow fall was. You are guaranteed an amazing experience with these guys
Written 12 February 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Ben, Thank you for your review. Hope to see you again soon.
Written 15 February 2018
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
the_Andrew_Gray
Amsterdam42 contributions
Jan 2017 • Friends
Chuck got me into back country skiing during the first year he was guiding in Hokkaido. That was quite some time ago - and in the 15+ years since then, I've been back many times and really love getting into the hills with HPG.
Skiing/riding with HPG will give you a great way to see some of the best lines in Hokkaido with a really super collection of people.
Skiing/riding with HPG will give you a great way to see some of the best lines in Hokkaido with a really super collection of people.
Written 30 December 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Have had many a great day with Andrew. Hope we can ski again some time soon. Cheers, Chuck
Written 15 February 2018
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Henric I
Haarlem, The Netherlands44 contributions
Jan 2015 • Friends
Me and my 24 year old daughter spent 6 days in Hokkaido with HPG. We did two days resort off piste and 4 days of ski touring. We had one guide in Niseko (Ben) and one in Furano (Gary). Each day was optimized by our guide to find the best conditions and adapted to our level of skiing and fitness. Every day was great. When it was calm and sunny we climbed high above the tree line, when it was windy and snowy we spent time in the trees. The guides knew their way around and we had fresh snow all days and some really fun skiing.
Both our guides were extremely experienced. I learnt during our stay in Hokkaido that you can call yourself a guide without being a licensed mountain guide. This is very different from the Alpes where we have mostly skied before. Based on the background of Ben and Gary my feeling is that HPG only employs the best. Besides being really nice guys you understood they knew their mountains and the terrain. They shared our fun and at the same time made sure we were safe at all times.
HKP also arranged all accommodation, transportation, avalanche equipment and ski hire for us. This was a really great help and all the arrangements were perfect. We would especially recommend the Ramina in Hirafu. I suggest you check it out if you are going to the Niesko area.
The investment in having a guide for all days really paid off. We would never have been able to experience the skiing and nature we did without the help of Ben and Gary. Our guides also took us to nice onsens after the skiing some of the days. This really helped out in the recovery after a day on the mountains.
For the ski touring; it helps to be fit; especially if you are going to do multiple days. Even if you are fit it can make sense to put in a day to relax in the middle and enjoy the areas and onsens. This I will do next time :-).
Both our guides were extremely experienced. I learnt during our stay in Hokkaido that you can call yourself a guide without being a licensed mountain guide. This is very different from the Alpes where we have mostly skied before. Based on the background of Ben and Gary my feeling is that HPG only employs the best. Besides being really nice guys you understood they knew their mountains and the terrain. They shared our fun and at the same time made sure we were safe at all times.
HKP also arranged all accommodation, transportation, avalanche equipment and ski hire for us. This was a really great help and all the arrangements were perfect. We would especially recommend the Ramina in Hirafu. I suggest you check it out if you are going to the Niesko area.
The investment in having a guide for all days really paid off. We would never have been able to experience the skiing and nature we did without the help of Ben and Gary. Our guides also took us to nice onsens after the skiing some of the days. This really helped out in the recovery after a day on the mountains.
For the ski touring; it helps to be fit; especially if you are going to do multiple days. Even if you are fit it can make sense to put in a day to relax in the middle and enjoy the areas and onsens. This I will do next time :-).
Written 8 February 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Henric, thank you so much for your review. Hope to see you again in Hokkaido.
Written 15 February 2018
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
jparseno
Riviere du Loup, Canada56 contributions
HPG took care of our ski vacation and went very far to organize the holiday we wanted. We wanted powder, our guide found powder even if it hadn't initially snowed for some time. Took us to some great spots inbounds and in the backcountry. Found Japanese style accommodations with great service and good value.
Can't go wrong with these people.
Can't go wrong with these people.
Written 23 January 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hello, thank you for coming out with us. Hope to see you again soon.
Written 15 February 2018
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
No questions have been asked about this experience