Snowboarding trip, Furano (Hokkaido)

After spending the afternoon and evening looking at the beautiful snow and ice sculptures at the Yuki Matsuri, we stayed for only one night in Sapporo before heading out very early the next morning to Furano for our snowboarding trip. It was a 3-hour bus ride from Sapporo, but we were glad that I'd chosen this ski region rather than the very popular Niseko, because crowd wasn't much of a problem in Furano (especially during the Yuki Matsuri when most visitors would be including a ski trip in their trip itinerary to Hokkaido). I would love to also try out one of Niseko ski resorts because it is considered and voted one of the world's top 10 ski resorts. Furano is gaining popularity though, and I'm sure it won't be long before it will rival Niseko's fame.

The beautiful view of the snowscape from our hotel room window. The shots were taken behind the window pane, so don't mind the reflections (Honey did open the window to take photos, but couldn't shut it again so we had to embarassingly call one of the staff to help) - click image for larger view:

We stayed at a ski-in-ski-out resort, which made it easy to take turns looking after Zak, and everyone could have a turn at snowboarding. The slopes had amazing powder, and I can see why Hokkaido is such a favourite destination for skiers. Aussie skiers must really like Japan, because we bumped into a lot of Australians both here in Furano and in Hakuba (Nagano) on our first snowboarding trip. The three of us enjoyed snowboarding, particularly Rob who did well not falling over as much as Honey or I did! Photos were taken using Honey's compact point-and-shoot.

Rob and me geared up and ready to go; and Honey and I on the ski lift:

Rob preparing his rental snowboard; and then having loads of fun snowboarding: