By the time I had strapped on my snowboard at the top of the King Gondola, the wind was howling and snow was coming down hard. Niseko, a ski resort on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido, is known for epic snowfall, and my first run lived up to the hype. My knees felt wobbly as I plowed 3,500 feet down the mountain through fresh powder, barely able to see the ground beneath me, let alone the skiers whizzing past.