Welcome to the Harry Gotto Snow Club

Winter is coming!! In fact everymonth of the year winter (snow at least) is somewhere.  So do not pack away your gear for the season - Get it ready for the next trip.

Help us to make this the biggest and best Japan Ski Club that leaves Australia.  Tell your friends, and even people you do not know to come on board (no pun intended) and ski with us in Japan. The more we get the better the prices and so on. We will pass on great deals and also organise things to do in the resort that by your self would be difficult.

If you have any special requests or questions email us at Harry Gotto and we will try and answer any thing you ask.

Anyway I would like to invite you to join us next year for a week in one of the best ski hills and Japanese towns that I have come across.

Join the club now and we will send you an update on the latest news of what is happening in 2015.

 

OTARU, JAPAN -7 NIGHT PACKAGE

This year is special for us, the last couple of years we have been travelling down to Otaru from Sapporo before or after our Furano trips and have absolutely loved it there. It has encouraged us to put a trip together to show everyone how much fun this little town is and how awesome the mountains are near by.

 

ANNUAL JAPAN CLUB TRIP 2017

**DATES: 5TH OF JANUARY - 12TH OF JANUARY** 

Hosted By: The Reeves Family, Paul, Gayle, James and Abbey (generally there will be at least 2 of us going on anyone trip)

Are you keen for an amazing week of shredding, eating and Japanese culture. The most amazing snow country I have been to. I cannot wait to head back to Japan with all of you in tow!

Bound to be another incredible year for powder skiing and boarding in Japan, staying at our own private Otaru Guesthouse, enjoying the gems of the gems of the city and at the footstep of 3 incredible mountains (in which 2, Kiroro and Asarigawa onsen is included in our package)

https://www.facebook.com/harrygottosnowclub 

HARRY GOTTO 2017 CLUB TRIP - OTARU

$870.00 PER PERSON - Dormitory style.

Please note: Full payment is DUE BEFORE 30th of October Prices are based on the exchange rate ( if the exchange rate increases the trip price will change accordingly so pay early to secure this great price.

**DATES: 5th - 12th Of January 2017** INCLUSIONS:

*7 nights accommodation at our own private Otaru Guesthouse.

* Peak season travel with local resort and tourist advise

* Continental Breakfast Daily

* Welcome party and farewell party

* Transport and lift tickets for 5 days of shredding

* 2 onsen (hot spring) passes

* Club hosts looking after the whole trip and sharing knowledge of the mountains and town

BENEFITS OF BOOKING WITH HARRY GOTTO SNOW CLUB

Not only do you receieve amazing rates and exlusive inclusions, by being a part of the club and enjoying the company of other members you can almost always find someone your level to ski and board with. 

By having other members on the trip who have been to Hokkaido before with us, you will have an insight to the resort and get around a lot easier with first hand knowledge than if you went yourself. Our members have been with us each night to different restaurants and bars, we know the best places to eat and drink, we know the bus system, the activities around Otaru, the shopping areas, some of us even know enough of the language to break down the language barrier (which can be daunting). There will ALWAYS be a member in the group who has been to Japan with us before and will help orientate your way around :)

SO we believe, that us as a club and traveling on these amazing Japan trips together that we can offer you more than just a snow holiday and an amazing price, but an experience of a life time that you'll remember forever.

COME AND JOIN US IN JAPAN IN 2017!!!

*We do not include flights so you can create the trip to suit you. You may like to fly directly to Sapporo or take a detour to Tokyo, Singapore or even Hong Kong. There are some great flight options so find out what suits you best.

PAST SNOW TRIPS

FURANO JANUARY 2015

Japan (2015) has been a dream, light fluffy powder, metres high. It has definitely encouraged a lot of return visitors for the 2016 season. But rest assured you will still get plenty of open terrain. Japan has always been the place for great snow and no crowds. Things have not changed. The slopes are big and open and the crowds are minimal. The runs are well maintained and the backcountry is - well, backcountry. Deep light snow, trees and endless ways to get down.

A few of us spent some time in Tokyo for our additional week add-on we explored all over Tokyo to some of our favourite sites, we checked out Tokyo Disney as well as the Robot Cafe (not what most of us were expecting but defiantly a must do if you love the Japanese quirkiness).
We spent most of our nights staying in a capsule hotel which was great because after dinner and drinks we could relax in the open baths and sauna refreshed for the next day. 

 

   

   

   

   

   

   

 

MT HOTHAM, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 2013

A BIG THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO JOINED US ON OUR MOUNT HOTHAM SKI TRIP! YOU'RE OUR PIONEERS FOR OUR FIRST AUSTRALIAN HARRYGOTTO SNOW CLUB TRIP :)

Even if Mother Nature had her knickers in knot, we all had a blast and every single person was a great addition to the group. 'Thumbs up' to Matty, Gloria and George our beginners this trip, you guys did an awesome job and I hope you are enthused for more trips to the snow. 

To everyone that came to Mount Hotham, you guys were GREAT, great fun and great company and we'll be posting a new trip soon, so see you then!

   

FURANO, JAPAN - MARCH 2011

Harry-Gottos First Club Trip

 

   

After an amazing holiday through Japan and her bountiful snow we come home to find out the devastation that had befallen her. It happened while we were flying home. We heard snapshots of the news. We knew it was an earthquake and as it was not our first time to Japan, we thought it was not such a big deal and just another one of their regular earthquakes.  2 days later when we got home we realised the magnitude of what had happened and how shocking it was. In respect for Japan, all content and media that we had brought back was put on hold but now I feel we should start to show what a great time we had over there as Harry-Gottos first club trip.

 

Most of us met at the Sapporo airport baggage claim. Craig, one of our group members found us right in the middle of the airport as his flight was about 1/2 an hour earlier because he spent a few nights in Tokyo first. After we collected our bags we caught the hotel shuttle bus that took us directly to our hotel. We set our bags down and hunted for warm clothing then set off in search of a place to eat. Scouring the streets with our trusty Japanese map we found a small restaurant in the typical Japanese fashion.  

we found a traditional Raman eatery (really not big enough to be called a restaurant). Raman is wheat noodles cooked perfectly in a broth topped with a few greens, roast pork or beef mince with a naruto on top.  Ramen is the perfect medicine for the cold.

 

We wandered around the streets for a while afterwards. Japan is a very safe place especially if you are in a group as we were. We visited a ski shop, had a look around then walked back to the hotel. A piece of advice buy some spike attachment for your shoes they cost around $10-$20 easy to take on and off and can save you from a sore bum or a sprained ankle. You will be amazed however to see the local corporate ladies braving the streets of snow and ice in high heels while we struggle in flat shoes.

 

Next morning we started on our way by bus from Sapporo to Furano. The scenery was beautiful, making the drive seem short. We arrived at our hotel around 1 pm, early enough for us to sneak a few runs in.  Hey anybody else would do the same. Right???? The snow was quality was brilliant. 

 

 

Our first night in Furano was spent at the "Furano Culture night" held each Saturday night. The performances are free and each week is different.  Luckily for us they were performing Traditional Japanese poetry and dancing but on top of that they had the local Taiko drum group perform and that was amazing the sounds they produced and the energy they gave out was breathtaking.

 

 

 

 

Now the first thing you will notice when skiing in Furano is that there are no queues. On the Kitonomi side there is a gondola that takes you to the top and on the Furano side they have a cable car that holds 101 people and travels 2,330m in 12 minutes. Also the ski/board days are longer than other countries as the lifts operate from 8:30am - 5pm. Sore quads assured!

 

The mountain is split up into 2 halves one is the Furano side and the other is the Kitonomi side.
Kitonomi side has one of the best beginner slopes I have seen extremely wide and sheltered from most of the trails leading to the chairlifts. There are plenty advanced courses, back country is not encouraged but is possible and fresh tracks are usually found. We would recommend a guide from the mountain ski school in these areas. The patrols will pull you up if you go in restricted areas. We noticed that most of the Japanese skier's only ski on piste so finding off piste also meant untracked. (you just have to find it)  

 

 

The following days were just as enjoyable. After skiing we would go into town as a large group but also allowed for some personal time for the couples on this trip. One of our favourite places to eat was a Sushi restaurant called Tomu Sushi, with some of the loveliest staff and the food was exquisite, the fish was so fresh and the smiles from the staff complimented it nicely.

 

Taxis were not overly expensive but it worked out to be about $25 one way into downtown per taxi. If you could coordinate with the local buses (which are always on time) it worked out to be around $3-$4 each way per person.

 

The town of Furano was very cute and very typical Japanese. Easy to walk around and signed fairly well (for English speaking tourists). There are plenty of restaurants in town to suite all price ranges, from a huge meal for around 12 (including soba and tempura prawn and egg over rice Called an "ebi katsu don") to a high class sushi restaurant with meals starting from $40pp. Mind you there was enough variety that we did not need to eat at the same place twice and most meals were around $16.

 

 

After a couple of days we went for a day trip to Tomamu, about an hour and a half drive from Furano. Now Tomamu was interesting from the start to the end of the day, we were still finding fresh tracks (on Piste) just before we left.  Your lift tickets for Furano can be transferred to Tomamu so all you have to pay for is transport to and from, because we were a group it worked out quite well.

 

 

A few days later 4 of us went to a place really close to Heaven called Asaidake. Now this place is amazing you need to have avalanche kits and guides if it is your first time there (avalanches do happen and for tourist who have never been there it can be dangerous without a guide). Asaidake is a walking and hiking mountain used in the summer months. The two cable cars they use are designed to take hikers up the mountain. A very enlightened man had the idea that "hey we should ski here when it snows",  so you now have an entire mountain ungroomed and untracked  bar a cat track on either side leading back to the cable car. When I said there was a lot of snow I mean there was powder coming over my head when I went down some of these runs. Every  time we walked off that cable car we found fresh tracks and not just fresh track but waist deep powder. Man the next few days after skiing this mountain, our legs were in agony. It was hard work.   This was one part of the trip we would not forget. I can now understand the powder junkies; it is not just because the powder is covering your skies and boots but learning a completely new way of skiing.  At the start it really throws you off because everything you have learnt and the habits you have acquired are now the WRONG way and you have to retrain yourself. When you start to get the hang of it you understand why powder is so sought after (and Japan has so much of it.).

 

Well we are now coming to the end of trip we were only here for 9 days but my legs are telling me it has been 3 weeks and as we all started to go our separate ways (some of us were here for only 1 week) we took our bus ride back to Sapporo. Spent the night there and went out for dinner at another amazing Raman restaurant, then left for home the next day.

 

We made lots of contacts in Furano during our stay and have kept in touch during the disaster. You will all be pleased to know that Furano has not been affected at all. They have taken radiation readings before and after the problems on the main island (Honshu) and there readings have not changed at all. So do not write Furano off for next year. We can get some great prices on accommodation and also the off piste trip. Let us know if you would like to see a trip to Furano take place this year. Do your own homework and get back to us. We will be posting a web site link soon that was set up by the local area to display the radiation levels, endeavouring to help people see that they are far from the problem areas.