Late Season Skiing at Niseko Annupuri

Our late season skiing trip to Niseko Annupuri from April 24 - 26 was proved to be a little bit too late especially due to the warm up of the weather during that time. Our original plan was to ski full day April 25, half day on April 26, and return to Sapporo on the afternoon of the day. We eventually changed the plan, skiied only one day and relaxed in the morning of April 26, returned to Sapporo earlier than planned. 

However we enjoyed the trip to Niseko Annupuri - for the cool weather, the white snow,  the thrill of downhill speed, and the sight of Mt Yotei, aka ezo Fuji. We also encountered a red fox on the trail!

We arrived at the ski resort around 4:30pm, the ski trails were closed already.  We went on to a side ski trail to get a feel of the winter, and cold. When we were back to the hotel to prepare for next day's ski, we found out a ski goggle was broken, and the ski gloves were in sad shape. So we bought new ones to replace them at the resort's shop.

mountains were partially covered by the snow

trees were budding

The next morning, we had an early breakfast buffet, and went to the rental store to rent ski equipment early shortly after 8am in hope to get the equipment for the first run of the day on the slope. The rental store won't open until 9am. We had to wait. There was no one else there for the rental, so we got on to the trail in 10 minutes, and onto the lift by 9:20am, after purchasing lift tickets!

On the mountain, the ski trails were fully covered by snow. Ski condition from mid-mountain was decent all the way to base, we enjoyed one run there and found the thrill of downhill skiing. We then moved a one level up via the gondola.

From upper mountain, the trail is much longer, ~ 2+ mile, and of course larger vertical drop ~ 1900 ft. The ski condition was better than lower mountain. Better yet, we had great view of Mt Yotei.

Mt Yotei, aka ezo Fuji, is a volcano, which resembles  mt Fuji, but much smaller and shorter - 1898 m vs 3776 meter in elevation. We had two runs from the upper mountain, and decided to go to the upper most lift station to the championship course. This course is steep, was not groomed, the trail were covered by man made moguls, not a great place to ski for us, we could ski on the trail, but did not enjoy it. We only skied on it once, and went back down to the gondola. 

We had a few more runs and it was time for lunch (13:15). We had a picnic right outside the upper mountain gondola station, a bare patch with dry rocks. During this period, a few skiers took off from the top of the trail, one family came to take pictures, then the dad skied down, the mom and the child took gondola downhill. A more interesting episode was that a guy carried his child on his back with a car seat like carrier, and skied downhill!

The slope looked ok

sitting on a dry rock, we had snack for lunch and enjoyed people watching

a guy carried his child on his back going downhill!

We stayed on the gondola trail - panorama trail until 3pm. The we went to the lower green trail - paradise trail + junior trail to cool down. 

The last run of the day was dramatic: Lily missed the exit to the rental shop, so we went up the mountain one more time than planned. When we were close to the landing place, we saw a large animal walking on the slope. It tuned out to be a red fox!

Wildlife sight on ski trail!

In total we skied a little over 6 hours, almost non-stop except the lunch break. 

It was a fabulous day of skiing - blue ski, white snow, thrill of downhill ski, sight of mt Yotei, and red fox, nevertheless we decided not to ski the next day because of the wet snow and forecast of a even warmer day.

Red Fox

A fabulous day on the trail

Note -

Apparently the trails were not groomed.  It was actually a common practice for resorts open for late seasons. The main reasons include: 1) Lack of Snow Base: Grooming equipment requires a certain depth of snow to operate without damaging the terrain or bringing dirt and rocks to the surface. 2) Warmth and Ice: When temperatures fluctuate significantly above and below freezing, grooming can create "rock-hard" skating rinks. 3) Groomers may choose not to groom to avoid creating icy conditions. Soft/Wet Conditions: Grooming wet, warm snow can cause equipment to get stuck and results in deep, unusable ruts when the snow refreezes.

Chasing Cherry Blossoms in Hokkaido

We found out that cheery blossoms would arrive late in April in Hokkaido by chance during the planning of our ski trip there. It was late for the whole Japan, but the peak time for full bloom for Hokkaido.

Here is the chart for 2026 Japan Cherry Blossom timeline.

Arriving at Sapporo, we saw scattered blooming cherry trees here and there in some streets. There was one big Cheery tree with blooming cheery blossoms right outside the hotel. 

We started looking for the perfect locations for Cheery Blossoms, many trees together and ideally some cheery blossom tunnel.

A standalone Big Blooming Cheery Tree

Checking cheery blossom reports for locations within walking distance to the hotel, we decided to go to Hokkaido University Campus and Odori Park to get better views of the Cherry Blossoms in the chilly morning of our day 2 at Sapporo. It was windy, and the wind chill made the temperature freezing. The wind also broke up the clouds, and brought out the blue sky which made the cheery blossoms looked so much more beautiful.

On Hokkaido University campus, the Cheery trees were spread out. There was one big blooming cheery tree by roadside, and adjacent to blooming yellow flowers, another hanging over a pond with mandarin duck couple in it, and yet another over a patch of snow! 

Cherry Blossoms on Hokkaido Campus

Cheery Blossoms over a pond with a pair of mandarin ducks

Cheery Blossoms over a patch of snow remanent

Around the red brick old government building, there are two big ponds situate in its front, along with many decorative trees and  blooming cherry trees, which make it a nice park.

The red bricks, green octagonal tower, and soft pink blossoms create a high-contrast, picturesque scene. The overstretching cherry blossoms over the pond offered their own charm!

The Odori park is a 1.5 km long, rectangular shaped urban oasis, lined with trees, the park has cherry trees dotted on either sides, a large, fragrant rose garden on the west side, fountains throughout the middle, and interesting statues scattered around. 

Cheery Blossoms along the Sosei River

The spaced out cherry blossoms had no size effect, each formed a beautiful, charming tapestry with its surroundings, had their own elegancy and charm.

The long distance bus rides between Sapporo and Niseko, and from Sapporo to  Shikotsu-Tōya National Park and surrounding areas, provided a different vista of cherry blossoms, in the valley of mountains, by the country roads, on the banks of the caldera lakes  ...

Cheery Blossoms along Lake Toya

When we returned to Sapporo from skiing at Niseko, the Cheery Blossoms were at their peak bloom. We visited the more well known cherry blossom viewing area - Maruyama Park along with adjacent Hokkaido Jingu, have over 1000 cherry trees, providing a very dense display of blossoms, as well as varieties of cherry blossms -  featuring primarily Ezoyamazakura (Sargent's cherry) - vibrant pink, Somei Yoshino - light pink, and Yae-zakura - vibrant, deep pink to pure white. 

There were a lot more densely populated cherry blossoms, and there were large crowds as well.

There were so many people at the park, the walking crowd stir up dust cloud on the trail to the Hokkaido Jingu - like cars running over a dirt road. There were also a food street to serve the crowd. Viewing Cherry Blossoms is a festival!

Despite the crowd, we enjoyed viewing the Cherry Blossoms, and also enjoyed hot grilled corn and chocolate coated banana ice-cream.

The Cherry Blossom Tunnel by the plum garden

The Cherry Blossom Tunnel leading Hokkaido Jingu

On the last day of our stay at Sapporo, we visited Moerenuma Park, which was designed by the architect Isamu Noguchi. The whole site, including the glass pyramid, is a work of art.

There is forest of 1,600 cherry trees in the park consist of Ezoyamazakura, Kasumizakura, Minezakura, Yaezakura, and Somei-Yoshino. Due to relative inconvenience to get there from city center (1 hour bus ride, and the bus is infrequent), there were few people there to view the fully blooming Cherry Blossoms.

We, however, enjoyed the Cherry Blossom, almost, all by ourselves!

View of Play mountain from the cherry forest

part of the cherry forest

a children's slid is a piece of art in the cherry forest

Note

Generally the further north, the later the start of the bloom, and the shorter the blooming duration

Conversion of the cherry blossoms timeline pictorial into a chart reveals something not obvious

1) Kyoto, Tokyo and Kawaguchiko are exceptions in duration. Kyoto, Kawaguchiko had longer duration, and Tokyo has shortest duration

2) Fukuaka, Senai are exceptions in starting date

Sapporo, Hokkaido Trip Itinerary

Hokkaido, Japan's 2nd largest and northern most island, lures people around the world with its untamed nature, powdery snow, volcanos, caldera lakes, natural hot spring (Onsens), and food and diary product.

We went there from April 23-28 for a late season skiing at Niseko, and sightseeing around Sapporo.

During the trip planning, we were pleasantly surprised to know that the days we would be there were the peak blooming time for the Cheery blossom!

Blooming Cheery Blossom at Odori Park, Sapporo

Day 1 Flight to New Chitose Airport 

Arrived at Sapporo in the evening (1 hour JR train ride from the airport), stayed at a hotel in walking distance to bus/train stations.  We did not rent a car. We ate dinner at a tinny Japanese curry restaurant  2 minute walk away from the hotel.

The hotel we stayed in Sapporo

A Japanese Curry Restaurant

Day 2 Cherry Blossom watching in the morning, Go to Niseko after lunch

We visited, on foot, Hokkaido University campus, Odori Park, the Red Brick Building and garden for Cherry Blossom. Cherry trees in these locations are scattered, but beautiful and charming in their surroundings.

We had lunch at a popular Ramen restaurant - Yi Chir Yuan - a 30 minute wait for a bowl of Ramen!

Since it was late season for skiing there was no more direct ski shuttle to the ski resorts at Niseko. We had to take Chuo bus to get there - 3 hour ride for many stops,  110km. The ride was long, the views were good, especially when the bus entered the mountain area. Also the round trip bus ride was Yen5600 per person, aka $36, very cheap!

We arrived at ski resort Niseko Northern Resort in the afternoon - it was cool, and the mountain was beautiful under setting Sun. Of course, it was clear that it was late season for skiing - the snow was slush, and many bare spots/patches on the slop.

We strolled on the slope before dinner at the resort.

Blooming Cheery Blossom on Hokkaido University Campus

Blooming Cherry Blossom over a patch of snow remanent

A ramen restaurant

inside the restaurant

Niseko Annupuri Ski area

Day 3 Skiing Niseko Annupuri - lift ticket was cheap but equipment rental was expensive

It was a beautiful Sunny day, we could not wait to start skiing - but the ski rental shop opened at 9am, we had to wait. When the shop was open, we were on the slop in about 10 minutes - no line, no wait!

It was exciting - last time we skied was two years ago at Vancouver. The view of Mt Yotei is definitely a plus. We skied, almost non-top, for the whole day! (6+ hours, with a break for lunch snack)

on the slope

view of Mt Yotei - a volcano 

Day 4 Relax in the morning, Return to Sapporo, and more Cherry Blossom watching in the afternoon

It was great fun and excitement for skiing the whole day on Day 3, but we decided not to ski on day 4 - the wet snow made us tired, and was not ideal for skiing.

We strolled around the resort area, observed the budding trees, watched colorful bugs and birds. We then took a 10:20am bus back to Sapporo.

In the afternoon, we visited Maruyama Park and Hokkaido Jingu for more Cherry Blossom - a lot more Cheery trees and Cherry Blossoms, but a lot more people as well.

statue of the ski area founder

Budding bush

Indian Milkweed Bug

Cherry Blossom Tunnel

Day 5 - Excursion to National Parks

Without a rental car, we had to rely on a travel agency for a tour to sites outside the Sapporo. With the tour, we went to Norribestu Jigokudani Valley (geothermal area), Cape Chikyu, Lake Toya, Mt Usu, Showa-shinzan Bear Ranch,  and Lake Shikotsu. It was a 10-hour bus tour, tiring but worth it.

Norribestu Jigokudani Valley

Lake Toya in a hazy day

Day 6  Moerenuma Park

It is about 1 hour bus ride from city center. It is not crowded at all.

I enjoyed the quiet expansive landscapes in "solitude", appreciated the simple, elegant large sculptures.  I believe that it was exactly intention of the park designer,  Isamu Noguchi.

Further more, the park has 3000 cherry trees - we enjoyed the Cherry Blossom, almost, all by ourselves!

A must go if you like large open space, simplicity and elegancy.

Tera Mound with Mt More in the back

A children's slide is a sculpture