www.airasia.com/travel3sixty

082012FEATURE • Japanwww.airasia.com/travel3sixtyWORDS: CAROL WEST PHOTOGRAPHY: ROBERT MUIRAsahikawa in the northern island of Hokkaido in Japan is a renowned winter wonderlandwith powder so pure and pristine, it is often regarded as the champagne of snow.92TRAVEL 3SIXTY˚

LEFT: Snow CrystalMuseum in Asahikawa.OPPOSITE PAGE: A skiergetting ready to take on theKamui Ski Links.PRECEDING PAGE, LEFT:Icicles gleam against a blueKamui sky.PRECEDING PAGE,RIGHT: A silver frostadorns white birch trees atKamui Ski Links.“At Kamui Ski Links, skiing and snowboardingoff-piste is where the action is but it’s a riskybusiness,” remarked local tourism offi cer‘Aussie’ Ken while strapping on his snowboardready to shred the slopes for a visiting fi lmcrew. He was not wrong. By day two, mypartner had already taken a powder on adownhill run. Hobbling back, he channeledClint Eastwood’s character Detective HarryCallahan muttering, “A man’s got to knowhis limitations”. Here on Hokkaido, Japan’snorthernmost island, this should be ski rule#1 but surrounded by limitless powder, it’sdiffi cult to curb your enthusiasm.Successfully marketing some of thedeepest, softest snow on earth has madeJapan a tourism heavy-hitter and each year,Kamui’s boutique ski site, just 20kms fromAsahikawa, receives around eight metresof light, effervescent powder known as the‘champagne’ of snow.LURE OF ASAHIKAWAAn arrow-straight highway through a bucoliclandscape slumbering under lavish whiteblankets of snow accompanied us on thetwo-hour drive from Sapporo to Asahikawa.A copse of white birch shivered starklyagainst a sky bruised by sweeping clouds. In1972, Hokkaido’s youthful capital, Sapporo,gained international fame hosting the WinterOlympics. However, nearby Asahikawa wasour winter destination of choice to take inJapan’s cultural and culinary pulse. Located inthe heart of the Taisetsu mountain range and“Little ones shrieked excitedly as they hurtledpast on snow rafts while others hit the ski trailslike professionals. Snow-going quad bikes,snowmobiles and tubing courses were filledwith ruddy-cheeked children, leaving thetimid ones for the sedate snowshoe course.”gateway to Kamui Ski Link’s celestial powderheaven, Asahikawa combines the opportunityto ride impressive ski and snowboard runs byday and the chance to tune into the local foodand entertainment scene at night at some ofthe city’s 1,200 bars and restaurants.The morning blue sky shimmeredbeautifully as we arrived in Asahikawa,adding a touch of poetic beauty to Japan’sother name: ‘The Land of the Rising Sun’. Atminus 14°C, icy crystal shards and delicatesnowfl akes adorned fi r trees dusted withsnowy powder. Ten corduroy-groomed slopessparkled with ‘diamond’ dust and the sunfurther polished the landscape to eye-burningbrightness. Having arrived there, one of myfi rst visits was to the Snow Crystal Museum,a testament to one man’s fascination with thepowdery white stuff. Amongst the exhibitswere images of sparkling snowfl akes shapedlike precious, multi-faceted gems. Observingthese miracles of nature in their raw beauty,it became clear that when it comes tooriginality, nothing competes with nature’sperfect symmetry.POWDER TO THE PEOPLERegular shuttle buses operate from downtownAsahikawa’s train station and hotels to KamuiSki Links. Each bus, I noticed, pulled upat the site, disgorging a regiment of snowcenturions clad in high tech ski gear. Thecrunching of pristine powder under their feetas they prepared to carve-up the 2,363m skirun, was a strange but not unpleasant soundthat I got used to quickly. These young uns’were in battle mode to alley-oop (a 180° turnas you go uphill) on the half-pipe and ripdown the woodland route. They have a localsaying at Kamui: “If you can see it, you canride it, and, with no off-piste restrictions, it’spowder to the people!”.With one gondola, seven two-person chairlifts, 10 runs, and a dramatic downhill coursethat’s highly regarded by international andlocal ski federations, this is one of Hokkaido’sbest kept secrets. The real bonus, however, isfewer gondola queues and plenty of traffi c-freeoptions for skiers at all levels.Being a novice, after careening out ofcontrol, and terrorising small children on the94 TRAVEL 3SIXTY˚

RIGHT: A snowman atAsahiyama Snow Village.QUICKFACTS Asahikawa is Hokkaido’s secondmajor city about 152km or two-hourdrive north of Sapporo. Hourly rapid trains from Sapporo’sNew Chitose Airport continue on asSuper Kamui trains to Asahikawa,with no transfer necessary in Sapporo.The journey takes two hours. Asahikawa is the terminus of theJR Hakodate Main Line to Sapporo.The station houses a touristinformation centre. Chuo Bus Service offers frequent(about every 20 minutes) bus servicefrom the Sapporo JR Station for¥2000. It takes just under 2 hours. JR Hokkaido has a Asahiyama ZooTicket from either Chitose Airport orfrom Sapporo valid for 4 days, costing¥7,500 from Chitose (stop over atSapporo) and ¥5,500 from Sapporo.This pack includes train and busfrom Asahikawa. Asahiyama Zoo is in the suburbs ofAsahikawa. The zoo is closed betweenseasons usually from October 22 toNovember 2 and from April 8 to 27.Penguin walk can be viewed dailyfrom mid December to March. Visitasahiyamazoomiyage.com/penguin-walk.htmlfor details.All prices and times are correct at time of publishing.For more information on Hokkaido andAsahikawa, visit http://en.visit-hokkaido.jpand www.asahikawa-tourism.com96 TRAVEL 3SIXTY˚nursery slopes, I admitted reluctantly that Iwas a no ‘snow-it-all’. I was grateful, however,that Kamui was mainly used by locals whowork during the week and were well out ofharm’s way when I ran amok on the slopes!Promised a high quality snow adventure, wehad some glorious runs almost to ourselves.Sheltered by hills and cushioned by foamsoftsnow, I felt feather-light as I honed myfl edgling skills on the beginners’ slope. Aboveme, skiers gracefully descended, carving neatparallel designs onto the powder, with thelong, wide cruisers allowing plenty of marginfor error. Snowboarders glided laconically pastbefore sinking into cotton-wool softness andcompleting the fairyland postcard. Nearby, adeer’s hoof prints ran through a stand of fi rtrees, their boughs garlanded with snow.WINTER WONDERLANDIn downtown Asahikawa, a giant snowmanholding a glass heart between his handsseemed a fi tting welcome to a chilly city thateach February, gleams with dazzling icesculptures that stretch down Kaimon Koen –the city’s pedestrian-friendly shopping stripwith both sides heated during winter for easy,non-slip walking. Nearby Tokiwa Park addsto the fun and excitement when it becomesthe location for the Asahikawa Winter Festival,one of Japan’s best known, a sparkling fi veday spectacle of snow, ice, lasers and dazzlingfi reworks designed to light up cold nights.The beauty of these sensational sculpturesbelies the chain-sawing, chiselling, cutting,drilling and polishing employed by an army ofinternational competitors. During the festival,razor sharp edges, sinuous curves, gossamerice wings and intricately carved scales adorncrystalline beauties lushly lit in pink, yellowand blue.ATTRACTIONS GALORETour guide Saito-san couldn’t wait to show mea ‘100 Yen’ shop where I bought packets ofkairo – little pouches that when shaken andslipped into pockets or shoes, keep fi ngersand toes snuggly warm.Youngsters, on the contrary, never seem tofeel the cold when having fun at AsahiyamaSnow Village, an icy fun park near town. Littleones shrieked excitedly as they hurtled paston snow rafts while others hit the ski trailslike professionals. Snow-going quad bikes,snowmobiles and tubing courses were fi lledwith ruddy-cheeked children, leaving the timidones for the sedate snowshoe course.

STAYING THEREExpedia Japan offers a widechoice of hotels and packages inAsahikawa, Sapporo and greaterHokkaido. Go to www.expedia.com/Japan.d89.Destination-Travel-Guide for details.FOOD SCENEIN ASAHIKAWAThe food scene in Asahikawa is vibrant. Here aresome interesting facts on the local food scene.ABOVE: Getting up close and personal with king penguins at Asahiyama Zoo.Next door was Asahiyama Zoo, Japan’snorthernmost and most popular zoo with morethan 800 animals on show. Smiling teenagegirls sporting fl uffy ear-muffs jostled happilytrying to get close-up views of the residentpolar bears, while another large group tried totake pictures of seals zooming through plastictube tunnels. The main attraction, however,was the daily penguin walk. Zookeepersassemble a large fl ock of king penguins fortheir leisurely half-kilometre waddle pastdelighted visitors who morph into a gaggle ofpenguin paparazzi, snapping away deliriouslywith cameras and video recorders workingovertime. You’d have to visit the Antarctica fora chance to get this close to these glossy birdsout for a constitutional.It seemed appropriate that the penguinswere thriving at this zoo. With a spectacularlandscape covered in pristine powderthat’s often regarded as the champagne ofsnow, Asahikawa is truly a magical winterwonderland that proved that sub-zerotemperature can be equally adept at warmingthe heart and senses.GETTING THERE AirAsia Japan commences daily fl ight to Sapporofrom Narita Airport, Tokyo. Go to www.airasia.com for details. Shoes off and sitting cross-legged on tatamimats in a smoky atmosphere amongst smilingfaces, in Japanese barbecue restaurants isthe in thing in Asahikawa, and in most placesin Japan. Warm-up first with the famousAsahikawa ramen broth that uses pan-friedpork that is stewed in shochu – a cleardistilled liquor with brown sugar and miso. The go-to-place for crunchy radish saladand baby lamb is Daikokyua BarbecueRestaurant (7 Chome, 4 Jo Dori, AsahikawaCity), where jazz tunes are heard over thesizzle of marinated meats on the charcoal grill.There is no need to order as well-trained staffkeep the food and beer coming. Space is tightso bookings are recommended. Japan has a time-honoured tradition ofreverence for food, and staff at all diningoutlets are happy to guide visitors throughthe culinary experience. For a barbecue witha view, head to 21 Club on the 25th floorof Novotel Sapporo where spatula-wieldingchefs transform Kobe beef into unforgettableslices of blush-pink perfection designed to beconsumed with a connoisseur’s deliberation.www.novotelsapporo.com98 TRAVEL 3SIXTY˚