Furano

Furano sits in the geographic centre of Hokkaido, far enough inland to escape the coastal wind and the international crowds. The reward is some of the driest, coldest, squeakiest powder in Japan and — remarkably for a resort this good — short lift lines and an authentic, working Japanese town at its base.

For decades Furano was a World Cup stop, so the on-piste skiing is excellent: long, steep, immaculately groomed fall-line runs with a big vertical drop. Add the space and quiet, dawn balloon flights over the white patchwork valley, and Hokkaido's famous ice fishing, and Furano is the connoisseur's alternative to Niseko.