The appeal of BC Snow Trips based in Otaru (Hokkaido) | STEEP reader report

This is the third installment of our reader reports series, which was started with the idea that users' own experiences can be valuable information for others. We asked YOSHI, who has been skiing for 20 years and backcountry skiing for seven seasons, to report on his trip to Otaru, where he participated in the "Niseko Mecca Otaru Tour" in February during the harsh winter

Otaru as a base for snow trips

If you were going on a four-day snow trip in search of powder snow, where would you go? I want to enjoy both the local town and the mountains, so I choose a town close to the mountains rather than just near them, and use that as my base to ski the surrounding mountains. The best part about basing yourself in a town close to the mountains is that you get to experience the whole area: interacting with the local people, the delicious food, and the different cultures of each town. Just having these things on your snow trip will dramatically improve the quality of your experience

The destination I chose this time was Otaru, famous for its canals and music boxes. It's easily accessible from New Chitose Airport, about an hour and 20 minutes away. Arriving early from Tokyo is also no problem, as there's an evening or night flight from Haneda

Otaru's greatest appeal is its blessed environment surrounded by mountains. The Otaru Tenguyama Ropeway is just a 10-minute drive away, and Kiroro Resort and Sapporo Kokusai Ski Resort are within 60 minutes. Depending on the weather and snowfall conditions each day, you can choose from a wide variety of skiing options. Next to these nearby ski resorts, there are also attractive backcountry fields, including Mt. Yoichi

And the food is amazing! Otaru is famous for its seafood bowls and sushi, and seafood lovers will be thrilled to enjoy the fresh seafood to their heart's content. Many of the restaurants cater to tourists, so if you know in advance the "expert" restaurants loved by locals, you can spend an even more satisfying night. This trip truly brought home to me that Otaru, which has everything you need for a base for a snow trip, is a city that would be a shame not to use as your base

NisekoMecca Otaru Tour

While staying in Otaru, I was blessed with the opportunity to join Niseko Mecca's Otaru tour, something I had been hoping to do for a while. As the name suggests, Niseko Mecca is based in Niseko, but they also offer guiding services throughout Hokkaido. Tours are held in places with good snow during the season, such as Asahikawa in December, the Otaru area in February, and guided tours of Mount Furano and Mount Tokachi in March

On the Otaru tour, participants stay in Otaru city or at a location where they can meet by car, and either meet up locally or be picked up by a guide. This is a great advantage as it makes it easy for participants like me who come from Honshu and don't have a car. This tour was also popular with many repeat participants from Honshu

Niseko Mecca's main guide, Hisataka Tanaka, also known as Tanner, has been helping me and my wife since I first started backcountry skiing and was still struggling to even do kick turns. We've been friends for about seven years now, so I'm grateful that he helps me improve my skills little by little every time we join a tour

's soslippery!| Day 1

February of the 2023-2024 season was a particularly difficult month. A low pressure system hit the southern coast, followed by heavy snowfall. I arrived in Otaru on February 22nd, and it had been raining until a few days before, but from that day onwards, it started snowing heavily!　

The first day of the tour started in a mellow tree area. A large amount of light powder snow had piled up on top of the icy surface caused by the rain, so if you pushed with your poles, you would immediately hit the ice layer. It was a relaxed day in the Satoyama backcountry. But thanks to our guide, Tanner, we climbed back up and skied a lot

We climbed back up the mellow line multiple times, skiing through powder with no resistance at all, and it was past noon. The new snow and the base seemed to gradually combine, and the crunching sound after digging our poles in stopped. For our final run, we increased the slope a little and skied through deep powder. Throughout the day, we experienced the difference in sensation as the new snow combined with the base, and it was a very educational day

Relaxing space in Otaru OMO5 by Hoshino Resorts

Actually, this was my first time staying in Otaru. I stayed at OMO5 Otaru by Hoshino Resorts, which is part of the Hoshino Resorts group that I always stay at in Asahikawa. The only reason I chose it was because the facilities are skier-friendly, the beds are just right, and I got a good night's sleep

Fantastic powder conditions! | Day 2

From the second day of the tour, we headed from Sapporo Kokusai Ski Resort to the mountain area! Snow continued to fall until late at night, creating a truly beautiful forest. The snow-covered trees are beautiful in themselves, and when the sun shone on them, they were enveloped in an indescribable, mystical atmosphere. I believe this is a special experience that can only be experienced by those who visit the mountains in winter

The snow had settled considerably compared to the first day, and the conditions had changed dramatically. There was no feeling of bottoming out, and the powder conditions were fluffy and completely different from yesterday. The conditions had changed to make the snow easier to ski. As someone who lives in Tokyo, I was really lucky to be able to experience everything from freshly fallen powder conditions to conditions that were past their expiration date (or maybe?) throughout this tour

Although we didn't go to Mt. Yoichi on this tour, we were completely captivated by the power of Otaru, which allows us to access such a wide range of ski fields within an hour of the city. We want to come back next season! And with such great conditions in Otaru's location, it would be nice to use Otaru as our base for long-term skiing next season, and we're even thinking, "Maybe I should even become an Otaru citizen?"

The fun in Otaru doesn't stop at night.

When it comes to snow trips, the greatest pleasure is taking your time, settling down, and skiing down remote mountains, but another great pleasure is the food of your destination and
spending time with the locals.

Otaru City has Otaru Bay right in front of it, and from the mountains you can see the sea, so it's a city with both sea and mountains. According to Mackenzie, the tour guide who always drove us to and from the city, there are many famous conveyor belt sushi restaurants lined up, and everyone eats Otaru seafood at their favorite restaurants. One thing to note is that there are many types of sushi that you can't get in Tokyo, so he recommends that you try them

First, we went to Sushidokoro Ikkan, located close to OMO5 Otaru by Hoshino Resorts. This is a non-conveyor belt sushi restaurant, but at around 5,000 yen per portion, it's not too touristy priced! It's also quite popular with locals, and is a restaurant where you can enjoy sushi ingredients that are unique to Otaru. The highlight is the herring sushi in the photo, which is fatty and incredibly delicious! We spent the whole time saying nothing but delicious things, and the second night passed by

On our final day, we went to "YUKIAKARI," which we had also made a reservation for. Surprisingly, the bar is run by a bar owner who moved here from Tokyo, and while we were drinking at the bar counter, we saw a constant stream of people coming in and out, including those promoting immigration to Otaru and those who commute between Hokkaido and Tokyo for work. It felt like a crossroads for people

With the help of the person sitting next to me, I received a lot of information that only someone who actually lives in Otaru would know, such as the charms and challenges of living there, and I started to think, "Maybe I could live here?" One of
る。小樽の抱える大きな課題としては、観光地としての小樽が強すぎて、いわゆる地元民が飲み食いできるお店が少ないとのこと。YUKIAKARIさんの店主はこ
is that it is so strongly associated with tourism that there are few places where locals can eat and drink. The owner of YUKIAKARI is trying to do something about this, and is using the shop to create a place that will attract locals.

For example, Otaru's wine bars usually stock wines from nearby wineries to cater to tourists, but locals want to drink wines from a wider variety of countries, so they
stock wines from all over the world, and such thoughtful considerations are attracting locals. Encountering places like this is another charm of snow travel, isn't it?

Three days of immersing yourself in the charm of skiing, based in Otaru

Over the three days, I learned a lot about the appeal of skiing from Otaru, how the snow quality in Hokkaido is currently changing, and more, and my desire to make Otaru my base for skiing has grown. I think this is because the presence of a guide who is passionate about skiing on good snow, guests who share his style, and the addition of the essence of travel all add up to a multiplied sense of richness in my feelings

Next season, why not settle down and enjoy the local snow, people, and food with a trusted guide?

SPECIAL THANKS Guide: Hisataka Tanaka, Representative of Niseko Mecca Tail Guide: Kenji Yamakita, Representative of Niseko Makenzie SUP