Sapporo has had, until just recently, a rather marked decrease in snowfall from seasons past. In order to get our snowshoeing habit fulfilled, we had to take a trip south to Jozankei, the hot spring resort that falls within Sapporo’s city limits, but close enough to the mountains to get significantly more snow than downtown. Luckily there was a Winter Camp Festival being held at the Nature Village campground from January 18th-19th. There were tents on display from multiple manufacturers, woodcutting/fire-starting exhibitions, fat bike demos, food, and more. There was also a snowshoeing tour, which although it catered to newbies, gave our friend the opportunity to try it out for the first time.

We stopped at some great local eateries along the way too. So it was a good jump start to this belated winter outdoor sport season! I recommend it to camping enthusiasts who want to get into the hobby on a more year-round basis. The campsite also offers nice heated yurts for overnight stays that are great if your new to the whole “freezing-your-ass-off-while-you-sleep” thing.

Update: The following Monday after this event, Sapporo was hit with a 40 centimeter deluge of snowfall. We’re still about half way to last year’s levels, but finally we have enough to do some local snowshoeing. I will keep posting my snowshoeing adventures as the winter progresses.