HokkaidoAnnupuri Kokusai Ski Resort

Managed to book a session with the Powder Company to demo a Gentemstick. They set me up with a Rocket fish High Performance. Dang. this thing looked soooo beautiful. Shiny black top sheet like a hand shaped surfboard. I was a bit nervous about putting any scratches on it. There was fresh pow at Annupuri, but crazy warm conditions 2 days ago meant there was a sheet of ice beneath just waiting to throw you off. Even in these conditions the Rocket Fish felt great. It turned on a dime and made it fun to go slow, hunting for banks and leaning into turns before hitting the lip like you would on a wave. Really need to try this board on a powder day.

Annupuri Nook’s King Katsu Spaghetti. We had this over 10 years ago and have been dreaming about it since. Pile on the free Parmesan cheese.

Powder Company located in Annupuri resort is a base for powder surfers, carvers and backcountry boarders. They have the complete range of Gentemstick models which you can demo. Very helpful when answering questions. You can try out a board before plonking down some serious money. They run guided tours and carving classes and you can even pick up some energy bars and cans of Sapporo Classic 🍺!

Powder chasers need to check out Niseko Powder Secrets. Snowboarder Masa Ishido is a Niseko expert who has done a series of super detailed videos on where to score the best powder both inbounds and out.