It’s a big call to escape the Australian summer willingly, but when it means dry, fluffy powder on the slopes of Japan you don’t have to ask me twice!

It snowed on and off for the 5 days that I was with my mate Ed in Furano, Hokkaido, meaning we had amazing powdery conditions.

The light and feathery snow here puts Australia’s icy/slushy conditions to absolute shame, particularly when the lift tickets were only $57 a day compared to the $110 rip off at Perisher and Thredbo.

New years eve was spent with a whole lot of Japanese folk in the freezing cold and eating snacks from the market stalls such as steamy ramen noodles, sweet red bean soup, and grilled frankfurters.

Shivering with strangers in -10C snowy conditions – what a way to kick off 2012!