Freeride Road Trip and Backcountry Ski in Hokkaido

You will fly in to Sapporo New Chitose Airpor. If you travel via Tokyo, you will need to look for “Domestic Departures” in Tokyo and recheck your luggage in Tokyo.

Unless we organize a different arrangement, we will wait for you at the airport at an agreed date and time (to be confirmed a few days before arrival). You will need to look for the "SHERPAS RIDE" sign around the waiting area in front of the LAWSON grocery store at Domestic Arrival Terminal, Gate 1, which is the one most to the right when facing outside.

You should bring a freeride (downhill) boot with a ski/walk. If you have inserts you can use our pin binding, if not, a frame binding with touring option.

This program is suitable for both. Our priority is to accommodate guests into groups adapted to their ski/ride level. We try to create the groups so that all the skiers are together, and snowboarders together rather than mixing them.

You should count with an average of 4000 - 6000 YEN per day. You will find a wide variety of bars and restaurants with options such as Ramen (starting at 800 YEN), Sashimi (starting at 1000 YEN), and other cuisines as we will as big supermarkets in Kutchan at walking distance from the house.

Both are usually accepted in Tokyo and Sapporo and in Kutchan stores although some of the smaller restaurants only accept cash. Keep in mind that you can withdraw cash at any 7-Eleven store.

We recommend that you bring at least 15 000 JPY in cash for your first few days in Japan.

The insurance you will need requires you to cover freeride and ski-touring and medical care in case of injury or illness. You will also need CANCELLATION INSURANCE in case you get injured or sick prior to your trip.

KEEP IN MIND:

When you choose the right package you should check thoroughly that it covers both freeriding and ski-touring with the following specifications:

Freeriding: Skiing or snowboarding outside of the marked trails and slopes.

Ski-touring: Ski touring in a free terrain, outside the boundaries of the ski resorts and marked trails.

CANCELLATION INSURANCE:

You will need to take out insurance in case you have to cancel the camp on your side (injury, illness, etc.). If you don't have cancellation insurance on your flight separately, include the flight ticket in the total sum for the trip.

Important note:

When you arrange your insurance with ERV (and other companies) and choose the cancel insurance option, arrange it for no later than 2 weeks after you make the first payment for the trip (flight ticket or deposit).

ALPENVEREIN:

The basic version of Alpenverein Insurance is not sufficient for this tour, because it only covers 10 000 EUR of medical expenses. If you choose Alpenverein, please purchase additional insurance (fee 44 EUR - might be different in your country) for a 17-day travel maximum. Please keep in mind that Alpenverein does not have Assistance Service in Japan. In case of an accident, you would be required to pay upfront, take the receipts, and then get a refund in Europe. Alpenverein does not offer liability for damage to property insurance (e.g. loss of our ski) and baggage insurance. We recommend combining Alpenverein with other insurance which covers mentioned accidents. If you are not a member of Alpenverein, you don't have to purchase it just for our trip.

You may also want to look at Global Rescue, Explore-Share partners with them, which offers comprehensive coverage including cancellation, rescue, and medical insurance. This ensures that you are protected against unforeseen circumstances, giving you peace of mind during your backcountry skiing adventure in Norway. To learn more about Global Rescue and to purchase your insurance, please visit: https://partner.globalrescue.com/exploreshare/. Feel free to explore the link for detailed information about their coverage options and benefits.

The average age of participants is 30 and 45 years old. However, we had people join us anywhere between 18 and 70 years old.

Mostly from Europe (Czech & Slovak Republic, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, France, UK, Sweden, Spain, Poland, and others). We also receive visitors from the United States, Canada, Australia, South America, and other countries. We speak English, Spanish, Czech, and some German. English is the main language spoken by our guides on the camps unless they are filled only with Czechs or Slovaks. In that case, Czech is spoken in the camp.

We organize guests into groups based on their level and ski touring expectations.

If you book a private tour, then you stay together with your group, and then on big touring days such as when we go to Mt. Yotei

for example, whenever possible, we create a faster and a slower group, which can be different than for freeriding days.

In order to join this tour, you will need prior ski touring and freeriding experience. Both skiers and snowboarders are welcome and we will match you with a group based on your skill level. Additionally, you should be physically fit, although you can take extra days off if you wish, activities are not mandatory.

We provide top-of-the-line equipment for free use while you're touring with us in Japan.

SKIS: Kastle FX and BMX (115mm and 105mm underfoot) Scott Scrapper (120mm and 110mm underfoot) and Armada JJ (117mm underfoot) with a wide variety of lengths for women and men.

SNOWBOARDS: Nitro Slash and Pow (powder specific) and GARA and NITRO Splitboards

BINDINGS: Fritschi Tecton (tech binding) and Tyrolia Adrenalin (frame binding, classic binding with hiking option)

AVALANCHE GEAR: Probe and shovel. Beacon is NOT included, but we can rent it for 90 EUR for the whole trip.

POLES: 2-piece telescopic poles for skiers and 3-piece telescopic poles for snowboarders

We do not provide ski boots, helmets, snowboard boots, or snowboard bindings.

You can reserve all the gear we provide in the booking form after you sign up for your trip.

Yes. I would definitely bring it for the Honshu Trip and Rishiri Trip, since the mountains are higher and steeper. For Freeride Camp and Hokkaido Road Trip, I would still recommend it. If you absolutely don't want to go through the hassle at the airport, then use our non-avalanche backpack from Pieps.

If you are flying with an airbag you will need to print IATA terms and Description of your cartridge and show it to airport stuff upon check-in luggage scan.

Bring your avalanche bag as check-in luggage and ideally inform your airline, that you will be transporting such airbag.

Yes. Please check YAMATO (http://www.kuronekoyamato.co.jp/en/) You can send your luggage straight to your terminal of departure to Sapporo. If you travel to Tokyo after our camps, you can arrange it while on the camp.

Please check visa requirements with your Japanese embassy. Citizens of most

countries don’t need visa to enter Japan. They receive 90 day permit to travel in the

country upon arrival.

Before landing in Japan, you will be asked to fill in an Immigration Form. You will

need our address in Japan: 1-chōme-1-152 Kita 5 Jōnishi, Kutchan, Abuta District, Hokkaido 044-0055, Japan. Purpose of travel is tourism.

During a short interview with an immigration officer please state that you're going to

Niseko for skiing. Sherpas Ride is registered in Europe, they wouldn't know the company, so you don't need to try to explain you go skiing with us.

IMPORTANT NOTE: For travel to Japan you will need either biometrical passport or

the one with machine-readable two-line code at the end of the passport (combination of your name, surname, letter,number and other characters). Most of the passports these days are biometrical. Only the express passports (issued in under 30 days) are not biometrical. If you are not sure, please check with the office which issued your passport.

After day of skiing (usually in some of the Sapporo resorts) we get to the hotel in

Sapporo (which we cover), go for a good-bye dinner and if the group is up for it we

check nightlife in Sapporo (Clubs, Karaoke, Baseball batting station and more). We

are not able to bring everyone individually to the airport, plus a lot of time it would be

even risky (time-wise) during the snowstorm, so our preferred solution is the suburban train to the airport which takes 45 mins.

We normally try to stay short walk or taxi ride from the train station (if taxi is needed, we will help you organize it)

We suggest the following:

Stroll through Akihabara during the day

Sky Tree during the day

Shibuya Crossing - just to see amount of people on one single crossing (can sit down

in Starbucks and watch the mayhem)

Shinjuku during the night

Travel in Tokyo Metro during rush hour

Party in Ropongi

Book Robot Restaurant (book ahead) and all the bizzare stuff Tokyo has to offer.

Regarding accomodation, we have a good experience with MyStays Hotels (note that Japanese size double bed is much narrower than standards)

We recommend that you bring your own equipment, since you will ski/ride on what you know. However we cannot discount the trip, since our costs are fixed. We recommend at

least 105 under foot and pin touring binding (ATK, Fritschi Tecton etc.) or frame touring binding (e.g. Tyrolia Adrenalin, Marker Duke) for skiing in Japan.

ARRIVAL DESTINATION: Sapporo Chitose International Airport

ARRIVAL DATE and TIME: First day of the camp around noon or afternoon (no later than 16:00)

DEPARTURE DESTINATION: Sapporo Chitose International Airport DEPARTURE DATE and TIME: Last day anytime (even early morning is fine)

While on this Hokkaido Road Trip after 4 days skiing around Niseko and Sapporo area we will move to north to Furano, on the Freeride Camp (https://www.explore-share.com/trip/freeride-ski-niseko/) we will be based in Kutchan all the time (access to Niseko and Sapporo Area).

Also, this Hokkaido Road Trip has usually 70% Freeride/lift access skiing and 30% Ski Touring, while the Freeride Camp has 80% Freeride/lift access skiing and 20% Ski Touring.

But keep in mind that the Freeride/touring ratio depend also on weather and group requirements.

This Hokkaido Road Trip has usually 70% Freeride/lift access skiing and 30% Ski Touring.

The group is always 6 people + one guide.

Keep in mind that accomodation is in shared rooms, and they might be mixed.

You'll find photos in the following link:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1RCH9e-_F4ca4ZgZZdi684oUJPsFP6kX1?usp=drive_link