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Niseko Grand Hirafu. Too busy or am I being spoiled?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hi guys,

I have just come back from a trip in Niseko, Japan. We had am amazing time and the snow conditions really do live up to the hype! We were there for 10 days and we skied every resorts in Niseko and also did a day trip to nearby Moiwa. We have a great time skiing in every resort in Niseko although I left Grand Hirafu was a significantly busier on the slopes.

I have done a blog and video on our time there - http://batterseaski.co.uk/a-review-of-niseko-grand-hirafu-and-hanazono/

I say busy, we never waited more than 10mins for a chair but I feel if you want to chase fresh tracks, the other resorts (Annupuri, Village, Hanazono, Moiwa) are the place to ski. Hanazono, although on the same lift pass, felt much quieter and offers some great rolling pistes and exciting tree lines for those wanted to venture off piste. I hear on the big power days, most of the locals head over to Annupuri for the side country action. On the up side, there is tons more options for dinner, lunch and apres skiing so a great to stay. Keen to here other peoples views on this and if the resort is getting busier year on year.

Thanks

Joe
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
joeyg wrote:
... the other resorts (Annupuri, Village, Hanazono, Moiwa) are the place to ski. Hanazono, although on the same lift pass, felt much quieter and offers some great rolling pistes and exciting tree lines for those wanted to venture off piste. I hear on the big power days, most of the locals head over to Annupuri for the side country action. On the up side, there is tons more options for dinner, lunch and apres skiing so a great to stay. Keen to here other peoples views on this and if the resort is getting busier year on year.
When I've skied Niseko I never really considered them separate resorts (with the exception of Moiwa). They're on the same lift pass and the lift network is reasonably seamless, and as it's not a big resort it's easy to ski from one side of the domain to the other.

I've skied there three times, always avoiding CNY, and almost never queued for more than a couple of minutes at any lift. The only exceptions to this were the first gondola of the day out of the villages as plenty of people are keen to get up the hill first, or the 10am opening for the upper lifts to access the peak, for the same reason.
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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?
@rob@rar, We got there on the 16th December and the top lifts connecting the Annupuri/Village/Hirafu did not open until around the 23rd I think, so we opted for day passes at the local resorts to save some cash. When the top lifts did open we when for the all mountain pass and skied the whole thing. Maybe it was the CNY thing then. Seemed like a lot of skiers from Aus, NZ, Singapore and HK out for a holiday.
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@joeyg, ah, I see. I've not visited that early in the season, I've only been late Jan-early Feb.

Just for clarification, Chinese New Year this year is 5 Feb.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@rob@rar, Got it. I read it as Christmas/New Year Embarassed

I would love to go back in Jan/Feb when all the gates are open, so much snow!!
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joeyg wrote:
@rob@rar, Got it. I read it as Christmas/New Year Embarassed
Apologies for the confusion! Apparently Chinese New Year does bump up visitor numbers which is why I tried to avoid it, but my impression is that it never gets crazy busy at Niseko.
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