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Nagano and Niigata guided backcountry ski day tours | Japan

Nagano and Niigata guided backcountry ski day tours

The backcountry ski options in the Nagano and Niigata prefectures, in Japan, are endless! Make your choice and join Naoki, JMGA certified mountain guide.


MOUNTAIN RANGES

Japan Alps

DURATION

1 Day

OFFER PERIOD

Feb - Apr

FITNESS LEVEL

Fit

SKILL LEVEL

Intermediate

PAYMENT METHODS

Credit Card, Wire Transfer and more!

Description

Join me for an amazing backcountry ski day in Nagano and Niigata. This is the most popular backcountry ski field in Japan.

I will be happy to arrange various itineraries for you, so we can choose the best options depending on your level and your wishes. Let's enjoy a great snow day together!

Below you can find some of my favorite options.

  • Myoko, Hokushin area:

This area is located between the Nagano and Niigata prefectures. Many mountaineers have loved this area for a long time. As Myoko area is near the Japan Sea, we will have much snow. During the high season, you can enjoy fine powder snow. Then in the early spring there are great vast slopes that still have snow. In the Hokushin area, which is the north part of the Nagano prefecture, we can also find light powder snow and we can enjoy the quiet mountains after a hike.

Some possible routes here are: Myoko-san, Kurohime-yama, Mt Nabekura-yama, etc.

  • Hakuba, Itoigawa area:

There is no doubt that this region is one of the greatest backcountry areas in Japan. Each time I go there, I enjoy different types of skiing. This field is full of attractions for backcountry skiers. And from this popular area, we can move to the Itoigawa area to enjoy quieter mountains. My recommendation is to do this tour during spring to enjoy unlimited vast fields with abundant snow near the Japan sea.

Some possible tour routes here are: Goryu backcountry, Happo-one backcountry, Tsugaike backcountry, Otari Itoigawa, etc.

You need to have prior experience of backcountry ski. In addition, you need to be able to walk between 2-5 hours in a day carrying your ski gear.

Interested to explore the wonderful slopes Nagano and Niigata? Then don't hesitate to book this trip! We will decide together the best route for you. I also love backcountry skiing in Tateyama, check out the program!

Price includes

- Guiding fee

Price details

The indicated price is for weekdays only.

The price does not include guide's expenses, transportation fees, lift fees or insurance.

Secure your spot with just 25% payment

48-hour free cancellation with 30-day advance booking


Details

More info

The indicated price is for weekdays only. On weekends the price per person is:

  • 60000JPY (group of 1)
  • 30000JPY (group of 2)
  • 20000JPY (group of 3)
  • 15000JPY (group of 4)
  • 12500JPY (group of 5)
  • 11500JPY (group of 6).

Equipment: skis (skis, snowboard, telemark, etc), ski boots, outerwear (warm, waterproof and moisture permeable clothes with hood are ideal), inner wear (nylon or fleece material, cotton is not suitable), underwear (easy to dry up), sunglasses, goggles (sunglasses are not enough), warm gloves, beanie, neck warmer (balaclava is the best), helmet, beacon, probe, shovel, crampons (optional), snowshoes or seals, telescopic walking poles, light gloves, snacks and drink, backpack (25-30L). You can rent the following items: beacon, backpack, snowshoes, probe, shovel, telescopic poles.

Cancellations:

  • Between 2 and 7 days prior to the trip: CF is 30% of the trip price.
  • On the previous day: CF is 50% of the trip price.
  • On the same day (or no show up): CF is 100% of the trip price.

Meeting point

It will depend on the route we choose. We will meet around 8AM.

About the guide: Naoki

Guide profile image

Naoki

5.00

(5)

Mountain Guide

I am a JMGA certified mountain and ski / snowboarding guide. I was born in Shiga prefecture, where I still live, and have been snowboarding since 1999. I’ve been a backcountry guide since 2007

My passion is travelling and backcountry snowboarding. My guiding style is to travel to snowboard, and during the winter season, I travel from Hokkaido to Western Japan (Gifu) chasing the snow with my clients.

I am not a pro snowboarder that decorates the front page of free ride magazines nor am I a super climber on high peaks abroad, but my speciality is to understand what clients seek and to guide accordingly.

My slogan is “To guide with maximum effort! Enjoy with clients! And by all means, safely!!”
Please join me to have fun in the backcountry fields all over Japan!

Languages

Japanese | English

Certificates

JMGA

Request more information

What people are saying about Naoki

Maggie

5.00

Naoki was an awesome guide. He checked all our boxes and delivered exactly what we requested for our tour! He even took us to an onsen after. 10/10 recommend you book a tour with Naoki!

Aleksandr

5.00

I would like to give Naoki five stars out of five. He was just great: professional, safety first approach, helped us with our splitboards, found great terrain and was very friendly and kind during the hole day!

edwin

5.00

My wife and myself had the wonderful opportunity to spend three days with Naomi Kawata as our backcountry country guide. First off Naoki is a very easy going person. wen felt at ease with him right away. also he has the right guide qualifications.Safety in the mountains was the number one priority. he is very knowledgeable about anything backcountry (example how to apply your skins when your knee deep in snow} Naoki was able to take us to a mountain where we three were the only people there it was an absolute blast! Naoki took us to a few local restaurants that were amazing. you had better know japanese in these places or have Naoki with you, that's how local they were. Well to sum it up three great days skiing with an excellent ,extremely versed guide. we will definitely get with Naoki next year. We highly recommend him to anyone looking for a good safe time. Ed &Iris

Renee

5.00

I have snowboarded at a lot of different resorts across the world and Japan has some of the best snow that I have ever ridden. There is so much of it! I also really enjoy the Japanese culture and food. The whole Japan snow experience is AMAZING. I have gone there twice before to Niseko, so this time I wanted to try something different. I loved visiting Northern Hokkaido and was glad that Naoki could bring us to local restaurants and also show us where to go for backcountry! His knowledge is amazing. I don't think we would have had such an authentic experience without him. We did a 4 day backcountry powder tour in February, 2017 and it didn’t snow very much the first few days but with Naoki's expertise, he was able to take us to locations where we found POWDER! ASAHIDAKE and SAPPORO KOKUSAI were AMAZING! Those 2 were my favorite by far, but i loved all 4 days. They were all different which I liked. Naoki also brought us to onsens after, which we all enjoyed very much! Naoki was THE BEST guide EVER! We laughed a lot together. He taught us Japanese and we taught him English. He was super knowledgeable about every single mountain we went to and could read the terrain so well. He could even tell us which areas to avoid and which sides had better snow. I always felt super safe under his supervision. The added surprise was Naoki taking us to eat local Japanese restaurants. We ate ORGANS for the first time. It was so fun and such a great experience. WE LOVE NAOKI! We want to do another guided tour in Japan with him. We consider him a friend now. Also he took pictures of us which we did not expect and they turned out to be AWESOME! I would love to go on a guided tour to some steeper areas like Hakuba. Maybe in 2 years we will meet Naoki again. He was super knowledgeable, fun, and safe! He is also a really good snowboarder. Our of 5, I would rate him a 6!!! =)  

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