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Japan 2015 / 16

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Not sure if this will work but v short vid of yesterday: https://www.facebook.com/james.coulson.319/videos/10153161300951706/
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GlasgowCyclops wrote:
Sharkymark wrote:
@GlasgowCyclops, alas we didn't ski on Honshu. There's always next year snowHead



Hi @Sharkymark I'm now back in Glasgow, flew in from Narita today. I'll catch up later but I met a couple of Ausie Boarders and they said it was waist deep powder heaven. @Raven Last time we spoke you had a stinking cold in Arabba and I had to "dis" you because of my wife's health but glad you are having a great time.


So nice that you remember me Glasgow Very Happy I wasn't in my finest form in Arabba but that trip makes for a great story to tell my Australian friends

snowHead
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Dashed wrote:
Not sure if this will work but v short vid of yesterday: https://www.facebook.com/james.coulson.319/videos/10153161300951706/


Oh it worked Smile

It worked a treat Smile Great to see Kiroro delivering for you.

The bar has been set for @Sharkymark et al Wink
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Glen Claydon at Niseko United - 24 February 2016

All time powder! 24 February 2016 from 360niseko
https://vimeo.com/156620090
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I arrived in Hokkaido on the 19th Feb, and unfortunately so far my Whistler snow jinx has followed me to Japan Sad I’m on a 14 day, 3 location organized Hokkaido explorer tour, visiting up to 11 resorts.

First ski day staying in Furano was basically an assessment of ability, equipment checking etc, only 10 minutes from the hotel, so no major hassle if there were any issues. There were some powder stashes, which had to be worked hard for, but none of the fabled cold smoke.

Second ski day was in Tomamu, which is a strange largely abandoned resort built in the 1980’s for the ski boom. Only 20% of the hotel capacity is in use, and there are 2-3 abandoned lifts. Bizarrely when we arrived the top lifts were shut, for avalanche control, but there was not enough new snow, and no evidence of any taking place. Once the lifts opened there was some fresh powder, which had to be worked hard for, but nothing spectacular.

Third ski day back in Furano, and there had been maybe 30cm of fresh snow overnight. We had first tracks on a few runs, but the new snow not enough to obscure existing lines. Easily the best day, with the occasional face shot, but only for a couple of turns. The first hint of what Japanese powder might be Happy

Forth ski day in Furano once again, as other local resorts where no better. Some light snow overnight for a refresh, so we had to work really hard for fresh tracks.

Fifth ski day in Asahidake which is Hokkaido’s tallest peak and also a mostly extinct volcano (it last blew in the 1700’s). Another strange resort with a single 100 person gondola giving 400-500m vertical. If you want more you have to hike or skin for turns. The top is flattish and bottom is flattish with the pitch in between. There was quite a lot of wind blown on top, with a crust layer. It was our first truly cold day, with wind chill on the top down to -36.4C. There were pockets of powder, but with the single lift only running every 20 mins, a lot of time was wasted cruising back to, and waiting for, the lift.

The forecasts were nearly always positive with snow forecast overnight, and it was often dumping in the evening, but then seemed to stop, and restart in the morning. We would get enthusiastic about the overnight snow, and then notice the 10-15cm on the roofs Sad

Transfer day. We have now moved on to Otaru, so we will see what a new location brings. Fingers crossed Very Happy
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I hope more of days 6+/14 deliver for you @PowderAdict,
Avvy barriers on the roads approaching Asahidake offered us a fun distraction and a more rewarding skin than tramping around the flats of Asahidake. I think Asahidake would be spectacular if you could ever see it but you'd want perfect viz before heading up from the lift - don't fancy dropping in on a fumerole.
Otaru is a great base from which you'll receive whatever Kiroro and co have to offer. We had a great unexpected day in Kokusai under the lifts there.
Otaru - check out Rita's Bar for a single malt distraction.
Have faith ;o)
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PowderAdict wrote:
I arrived in Hokkaido on the 19th Feb, and unfortunately so far my Whistler snow jinx has followed me to Japan Sad I’m on a 14 day, 3 location organized Hokkaido explorer tour, visiting up to 11 resorts.

Transfer day. We have now moved on to Otaru, so we will see what a new location brings. Fingers crossed Very Happy


The Central Hokkaido resorts always get less snow than where you're headed.

See vids above. There's plenty of powder.

Kiroro has 79cm forecast over the next 6 days

http://www.snow-forecast.com/resorts/KiroroSnowWorld/6day/top
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@Dashed, looks amazing. Keep the contributions rolling in everyone, good motivation to save for next winter Very Happy
So much info in this thread for putting together a decent trip. I was planning on doing a guided tour next Jan/Feb, but my girlfriend might be able to come now so having a rethink. She's not as experienced a skier as me so a tour wouldn't suit, but we might DIY and spend a couple of days in Otaru or Sapporo, then a few in Niseko. Has anyone taken the bus from Otaru to Kiroro or the Sapporo resorts? Is it easy enough, and would you get there early enough for fresh tracks? The Grand Park Hotel in Otaru offers an accommodation, bus and lift pass package which looks like a good deal.
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Dashed wrote:
Kiroro delivered for the last 2 days. Deepest powder days ever - yesterday was just mental - so deep you'd do a half dozen turns and constantly be under the snow with no idea where you were going! Dunno how to post a vid from my phone but got some GoPro footage I'll upload when I get home.


Sounds immense!

Dashed wrote:
Not sure if this will work but v short vid of yesterday: https://www.facebook.com/james.coulson.319/videos/10153161300951706/


And looks immense! Wow snowHead
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We stayed a night in Otaru before driving to Kiroro. IIRC it was about an hour's drive so prob a bit more in a bus.

Some great footage there @Dashed. Get to Teine Highland if you can - that would be INSANE after a heavy dump. The terrain has the perfect steepness. Kiroro and Niseko are generally flat compared to Europe (inbounds at least). Note the top lifts at Niseko and most of the gates were closed when we were there due to the silly amount of JAPOW falling and, more importantly, being blown around!
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@Mike Pow, I hope you are right, but I have never seen a SnowForecast.com forecast deliver 50% of its forecast, and often 10% or nothing. Last season I would have had an epic year if I had received 25% of the forecast snow for the resorts I was in.

Having said that 79cm in the next 6 days seems pretty low at 12-15 per day Sad
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Well our last day was forecast 0cm and I have a photo of admin in 30cm. If it stays cold, 15cm per day and it just gets deeper...it won't be 15cm everywhere, either...
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PowderAdict wrote:
@Mike Pow, I hope you are right, but I have never seen a SnowForecast.com forecast deliver 50% of its forecast, and often 10% or nothing. Last season I would have had an epic year if I had received 25% of the forecast snow for the resorts I was in.

Having said that 79cm in the next 6 days seems pretty low at 12-15 per day Sad


Snow-forecast.com underreports for the Shiribeshi resorts.

Enjoy Happy
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Sixth ski day in Kokusai, we got there for the first uplift, but unfortunately there had not been enough new snow to cover the old tracks, maybe 20-30cm. Skiing powder when you are thumping into old tracks ruins the experience for me. We also had the problem that every time we opened a new area, the entry line was spotted the snow trashed before we would get in a return trip.

The snow that had fallen was proper ultra light JapPow, but just not enough of it for the full experience. The general consensus among the guests after a couple of runs was "Is that it?".

Anyway, the weekend tomorrow, normally something to look forward to, but not when it comes to powder skiing, as there will be 10 times as many skiers out, fighting for the scarce resource.
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@powderaddict - we've just finished an 8 day guided, backcountry tour and my 3 main observations (based on my first and only trip to Japan!) are:
1. Ski areas are very small, off piste is very limited due to ropes / gates / out of bounds etc, so competition for powder is very high.
2. Much less snow falls in central Hokkaido (as mike pow said earlier) and we definitely got better snow further south.
3. Get a guide - unless you know your way around well, you'll never get the best snow without a guide (goes for anywhere I guess, but more so here I think). We've only seen our own tracks for the last 4 days, and I've lost track of the number of face shots. But it has meant a bit of skinning here and there - totally worth it. And a fair bit of local knowledge to navigate us out down a long gully / creek...

Hope you get what you came for!!
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PowderAdict wrote:
Sixth ski day in Kokusai, we got there for the first uplift, but unfortunately there had not been enough new snow to cover the old tracks, maybe 20-30cm. Skiing powder when you are thumping into old tracks ruins the experience for me. We also had the problem that every time we opened a new area, the entry line was spotted the snow trashed before we would get in a return trip.

The snow that had fallen was proper ultra light JapPow, but just not enough of it for the full experience. The general consensus among the guests after a couple of runs was "Is that it?".

Anyway, the weekend tomorrow, normally something to look forward to, but not when it comes to powder skiing, as there will be 10 times as many skiers out, fighting for the scarce resource.


Which guiding company are you with?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@Dashed, I am on a guided tour with a guide who has 10+ years in Japan, and I am convinced that we are getting the best lift accessed (or short boot pack) powder that each resort has to offer. I just think we have been unlucky with the snow, as so far we have not had a proper dump. I suspect that a skinning based tour is the way forward to get deep un-tracked powder I desire.

As per your comment, we have been spending a lot of time on long traverses, getting a couple of pitches with maybe 10-20 powder turns each, and then a long gully / creek bed exit.

@Mike Pow, I'm on the Hokkaido Explorer Tour with White Room Tours. I appreciate that I am probably coming across as fairly negative, but I'll admit I've had more powder turns in 6 days in Japan, than my 8 weeks in Whistler, I just expected more.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Seventh ski day in Kiroro, we arrived before first lift and our guides had to go through a rigorous process to get the required tags and armbands to allow off piste guiding. There had been 10cm new snow overnight and maybe another 5cm fell during the day. Wind chill at the top was -24C, and the fabled Kiroro arch was showing 4m snow base depth.

Certainly an upgrade in terms of technology as this was the first resort with electronic tickets, rather than old-fashioned paper. All the chairs are also detachable, rather than the old take your knees off style.

As expected there were many more skiers/boards out on a Saturday, but fortunately most of the Japanese stay on piste. The lack of new snow meant we had to search and work hard for fresh tracks, but we were able to find un-tracked snow to the end of the day. Easily the best resort so far in terms of facilities, but we just needed more snow to make the best of it.

As far as I am aware we will be in Kiroro again tomorrow, but I am not sure if there will be any significant new snow fall.
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@PowderAdict, Kiroro went off the scale when we were there - hope you get better luck soon snowHead
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Hi, I was hoping someone could help, I'm looking at booking accommodation in Niseko with the dates Sat 21 Jan 2017 - Tue 31 Jan 2017. However Trivago and other similar sites are showing hardly any accommodation left. So I was wondering is this because these dates are too far ahead or does the accommodation really get booked up that quickly? Surely not?
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@Minion1980, the other possibility is that most accom in Niseko is simply not listed on Trivago etc.
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Ii has 140+ in Niseko apparently! Did you have any tips Admin or indeed anyone to help me find accommodation in Niseko please, I would be most grateful?
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@Minion1980, Niseko is expensive. We booked into a couple of traditional lodges - bit like a posh youth hostel but these were still the same price as a decent hotel in Sapporo! They had more availability than the hotels. Bathing arrangements were somewhat friendly though...

I think the Rabbit went through Booking.com.
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Minion1980 wrote:
Ii has 140+ in Niseko apparently! Did you have any tips Admin or indeed anyone to help me find accommodation in Niseko please, I would be most grateful?
What kind of accommodation are you looking for, and which bit of Niseko do you want to stay in? I've done three DIY trips to Niseko, always booking online direct with the accommodation provider in resort. There didn't seem any shortage of options when I was Googling accommodation providers.
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Eighth ski day in Kiroro. No new snow overnight, but blue sky and sunshine provided some compensation. We were able to find fresh tracks to the end of the day, mainly by long traverses and boot packing where others feared to go. We have now relocated to Niseko, but the forecasts are for high winds (90kph), so we are expecting many resorts to be shut.

I should have mentioned previously that Kiroro has by far the best pistes I have ever skied on. I know not strictly relevant on a powder tour, but you have to use them to return to the lifts. At the end of the day after 7 hours of weekend abuse, they were in better condition than most resorts are at the start of the day. I guess that is the benefit of light powder that is pisted, and no man made snow. Also they have no need to scavenge snow due to bare patches etc.
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Hi Sharkymark, thanks for responding. Yeah I have found some sites, looking like minimum £1200 for a 10 day stay in Niseko in a self catered apartment! Unfortunately I don't drive. I'd love to stay at Kiroro due to Mike's championing of it but it is even more expensive due to lack of hotels. This might be more difficult then I thought.

It does seem like the majority of accommodation is not yet taking bookings for 2017.
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@Minion1980, it's unlikely that many hotels will have listed their availability for next season yet. The booking fees charged by agents mean that hotels often only release their rooms to them at the last minute, particularly if they usually sell out through repeat custom and/or their own advertising. We found last minute availability for most nights we looked in Grand Hirafu. Probably best to browse the listings without availability and search for the independent websites of the ones you fancy. Also bear in mind that if you search Niseko, you'll be basing your search on a small town 10km down the road from the resorts of Annapuri, Grand Hirafu etc, so might miss a few listings. I'd also recommend at least one night in Sapporo either end and using the journey to Niseko as an opportunity to check out some other resorts (especially Teine.)
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PowderAdict wrote:
Eighth ski day in Kiroro. No new snow overnight, but blue sky and sunshine provided some compensation. We were able to find fresh tracks to the end of the day, mainly by long traverses and boot packing where others feared to go. We have now relocated to Niseko, but the forecasts are for high winds (90kph), so we are expecting many resorts to be shut.

I should have mentioned previously that Kiroro has by far the best pistes I have ever skied on. I know not strictly relevant on a powder tour, but you have to use them to return to the lifts. At the end of the day after 7 hours of weekend abuse, they were in better condition than most resorts are at the start of the day. I guess that is the benefit of light powder that is pisted, and no man made snow. Also they have no need to scavenge snow due to bare patches etc.


Good to read that things are improving for you.

Agree with the Kiroro piste quality. That's why I spend most of my time teaching there.

Going with an organised tour can be 'the best of times', but it can also be 'the worst of times' due to an inflexible schedule.

If 90kph winds are forecast then the Niseko United area is the last place you want to be.

Rusutsu or Kiroro's lower mountain would be my call.
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rob@rar wrote:
Minion1980 wrote:
Ii has 140+ in Niseko apparently! Did you have any tips Admin or indeed anyone to help me find accommodation in Niseko please, I would be most grateful?
What kind of accommodation are you looking for, and which bit of Niseko do you want to stay in? I've done three DIY trips to Niseko, always booking online direct with the accommodation provider in resort. There didn't seem any shortage of options when I was Googling accommodation providers.


I've been looking at self catered apartments and hotels. I am not staying in a hostel as it is supposed to be a trip of a lifetime and I don't want to slum it as it were. As for which area well I assumed searching Niseko would find me accomodation in Grand Hirafu as it is the biggest area right?

My Ja-plan currently is this, Leave UK on Fri 20 Jan, arrive Sapporo Sat 21 16:00, stay in Niseko 10 days taking the odd excursion to other resorts, then on 31 Jan fly to Tokyo and spend 7-8 days there with a friend who will fly out (doesn't ski/board). My dates are not set in stone, happy to do early - mid Feb too just trying to avoid Chinese New Year in Niseko. I don't drive and I want to stay near the slopes of wherever I end up. Would consider Honshu but the resorts there tend to have much stricter off-piste policies which is off putting. Plus I really really want to go Hokkaido.

@Custard the Rabbit, thanks for the advice, would love to do Sapporo but time and funds limited and planning on 7-8 days on Honshu after boarding. I guess I am just going to have to keep looking over the next month and hope more has been made available.

So Rabbit, Sharky and Admin - based on your trip do you think there might be a bash in Hokkaido next year?
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Niseko lifts were mostly shut today with the winds (as predicted above). Some of my group decided to take the train to Nikka Whiskey Distillery and Otaru. The wind was howling when we got to Kutchan train station and we wondered how far we would get. Then at one point early on the train stopped and the driver rugged up and disappeared into the whiteness. He did return after a while but it made for an interesting 10 minutes or so.

The sun came out in Otaru and we could see the snow covered hills right down to the sea.

The one carriage train returning to Kutchan was packed and it turned out that many travellers had been turned back to Sapporo after the road between Sapporo and Niseko were loses and were now trying to get to their accommodation for the night any way they could.

Tomorrow morning is still forecast to be windy but hopefully improving by the afternoon.
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Ninth ski day in Rusutsu, after being shutdown for two days due to high winds and road closures. Unfortunately the storm that brought the snow, also blew much of it away again in exposed areas, so our first run off the East chairs found crusty wind blown in places. However, things soon improved and it turned into our biggest day so far with over 7000m vertical and 18 runs.

The main issue faced was the hundreds of pent up powder skiers/boards, many of whom had traveled like us from Niseko. This lead to 30-40 minute queues at key lifts until people dispersed across the resort. It also lead to many off piste areas being trashed by skiers/boarders who did not know where they were going, simply traversing through powder without making any turns Evil or Very Mad Evil or Very Mad Evil or Very Mad

A great resort for off piste, and we found fresh tracks all day, without having to work excessively hard for them, and every off piste area exited back on to a piste with minimal effort, rather than long creek bed traverses. The pistes were nowhere near as good as those at Kiroro, and were getting trashed by lunchtime.

Hopefully Niseko (especially the top lifts) will be fully open for our last day of the tour. Also hoping that the roads and Chitose will be open so that I can get home.
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Tenth and final ski day in Niseko, and unfortunately the powder promised by the storm wasn't really there. We started in Niseko Annupuri on the first gondola of the day and worked the bowls on the extreme skiers left. The traverse wasn't promising, as we soon cut through to the crust layer, but there we still found un-tracked powder, if not of very high quality.

The best runs of the day were found on the skiers extreme right, in an area referred to as the paddocks, not sure if that is a local or actual name. Excellent light powder on open rolling terrain. As usual the fly in the ointment was the long traverse out. A final bonus was found on the return to the Annupuri car park, where we found un-tracked powder within 500m of the lift/car park, with the 5 of us being able to take fresh tracks.

One completely new experience for me was the King Lift No.4, which is single person chair lift. A picture paints a thousand words. Not one for those of a nervous disposition Shocked



It is referred to as a Pizza box or Meat Hook lift for obvious reasons.
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I have updated the White Room Tours thread with my Japan trip review:

http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=122461#2864039
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Short and random Japan video from a couple of weeks ago - mainly Kiroro for the skiing... don't think it will play on mobile unfortunately, but shout be ok on laptop...

http://youtube.com/v/zprhla0veuA
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@Dashed, ace soundtrack, face shots and camerawork - Loved it.
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@Dashed, lovely! Did you stay in Kiroro or elsewhere??
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which area was that last run?
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@moosewurt - Road shuttle and skin to a bowl over by otaru - not the deepest snow of the trip but one of the best runs Happy

@minion - we stayed all over - Furano, Sapporo, Niseko etc
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Great vid @Dashed, my kind of honeymoon!
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@Dashed, sounds lovely!
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