Get off the beaten path and ride at Japan’s little-known, stash-laden resorts in Tohoku with Swedish snowboarder Kevin Backstrom and our local guiding team. We base this tour in Morioka city, which gives us access to numerous resorts in the region. With a flexible tour itinerary, your guide will keep a sharp eye on the weather and snowfall and drive you to the best resort daily. Don’t expect lift lines where we’re going. You will be riding all these areas mid-week, which means you’ll virtually have the resort to yourself. To top it off, these resorts score some serious snowfall. We’re running these tours at the peak of the snow season, so you can expect boot to waist deep turns every day. Basing the tour in a lively city also offers a unique cultural experience. You’ll get to explore the city after hours with your guide and rub shoulders with the locals at the surrounding bars and restaurants.
Last winter we spent a week road tripping through Tohoku with Heikki Sorsa, Erika Vikander and Nick Hyne. Here’s a taste of what we found.
FLEXIBLE ITINERARY
This is a powder hunter tour where you’ll get to chase the big winter storms in Japan. We keep the itinerary flexible so your guide can hunt down the best conditions all day, every day. Each day your guide will assess the conditions and decide which is the best place to ride based on weather and snowfall. Each day we’ll load up the van’s and drive to our chosen area. This flexibility ensures that we will find you the best snow and conditions all day, every day.
LOCAL GUIDES & LOCAL EXPERIENCES
Throughout the tour you will be hosted by our local Japanese snowboard guide, plus Kevin Backstrom and the Mint Team. We ensure that you’ll have a local guide on-hand to show you the best of each area, and his local knowledge will unlock many places that are beyond the reach of most visitors. You’ll get an authentic experience and cultural insights with visits to local towns, restaurants, and nightlife.
SNOW & CONDITIONS
This tour is running at the peak of Japan’s snow season, so be prepared. The consistent storms bring massive quantities of light, dry powder snow to the Tohoku region. Your guides have an in depth knowledge of the local area and will be able to find any type of terrain to suit your ability – whether that be riding mellow tree runs or chasing some of the deep powder that Tohoku is renowned for. Most days you can expect to ride powder that’s anywhere from boot to waist deep. Even if we don’t get fresh snow overnight, the cold temperatures and our local knowledge will ensure you’ll be able to ride light dry snow days after a storm.
SMALL GROUPS
We offer one of the smallest client to guide ratio’s in the industry which ultimately leads to a better experience for everyone. Our small groups allow greater manoeuvrability and ease of access to the best areas a destination can offer. When we are on mountain, our guest to guide ratio is 6 people per guide. This also makes for a more personal experience between our guests and guides.
QUALITY ACCOMMODATION
We make sure all our guests stay in quality accommodation that’s in the best location. Throughout the tour you’ll stay in a 3 star hotel which has great facilities and is in the heart of Morioka’s nightlife district. Our comfortable twin share rooms are equipped with 2 single beds and each room has a great heating, private ensuite bathroom, TV, and free WiFi. Breakfasts are included throughout the tour.
EASY TRANSFERS
We take the hassle out of travel and make it a stress-free trip, especially if you’re travelling solo or it’s your first time to Japan. Once your flight arrives in Tokyo, grab your bags and get the bullet train to Morioka City. Here our guides are on-hand to meet you. We’ll make a short door-to-door trip, from the station straight to our hotel. Grab a seat in our 4WD van and we’ll take you to our hotel, check you in, and make sure you’re set up for the adventure ahead.
PRE TOUR SUPPORT
After you sign up for a tour, you will receive pre-trip emails with specific information about your tour, the arrival and departure day process, information about the destination, packing suggestions, and other relevant information to help you prepare for your trip. In addition to this, you have access to our customer care team who are just a phone-call away. And as a full-service travel agent, we are able to take care of your flights, insurance, stopovers and pre or post tour arrangements.
WHY TRAVEL WITH MINT?
In a rapidly changing travel industry it’s important to know that your travel provider is accredited, accountable and responsible. We are a registered member of AFTA and IATA and conduct business in accordance with the ATAS Charter and Code of Conduct. When you travel with Mint you can have peace of mind that you are booking with a qualified and established travel operator with over 20 years of expertise. And as a full-service travel agent, we are able to take care of your flights, insurance, stopovers and pre or post tour arrangements.
WIN A SPOT ON THIS TOUR
We’re giving one lucky person the chance to win a spot on this tour. You could be getting off the beaten path and road-tripping Japan’s little-known, stash-laden resorts with Kevin Backstrom. Enter HERE