 Poster: A snowHead
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Hello folks,
Anyone been to Japan this season ?
Would love to hear how you got on. Best bits / worst bits, would you go back, which resort did you go to ?
Cheers for any replies.
Wal.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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My uncle has a flat in a japan resort and he was there last month. Don't know which resort so this is probably useless...
But he swears by Japanese skiing. He showed me pics from February of this season and it looked awesome. Epic powder, no lift queues but *very* cold.
He's going back for some avalanche training in the beginning of april.
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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?
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Cheers Fergus, it's a start !!
Does he rent that flat out ?!!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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My daughter worked in Japan for a year. She said the snow was good, the pistes tended to be narrow compared with Europe and about 40% of prople on the slopes where Snowboarders.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Snowboarders ?!! Sounds good.
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Still holidaying in Hong Kong after a week in Niseko, Japan.
Was there 12 to 19 Mar. First time. Was told one of the worst year for snow!
From the Sapporo airport to Niseko the 2.5 hours journey and there was snow from airport all the way to Niseko. However at the resort the now was rock hard at the upper one-third, normal condition at middle one-third and soft at the bottom one-third. Japan is close to sea, Niseko is highest at 1300m and so the snow can turn soft easily when the sun is baking hot at 6 to 8 degree ambient. I was told by the Australians, who are out there in big number, that the best time to go there is Feb. Hokkaido is known to have good powder but I never saw it.
Niseko is my first Japanese resort visited. We stayed in Grand Hirafu in a hotel next to a chairlift. Food is excellent, especially if you like seafood. Most visitors seem to do a 4-day visit but I follow the European style and went for a week. Half board ski-in/ski-out accommodation cost about GBP 450/head excluding flight. We brought our own equipment. Ski pass is extra and slightly cheaper than those in Europe.
There are plenty places to drink possibly courtesy of the Australian invasion. Apart from skiing there wasn't much to do in Niseko except spa and swimming.
We are spoiled by modern facilities in Europe and the large terrain. Japanese resorts do not appear to be big. Niseko has 4 linked skiing areas of Hanzono, Hirafu, Higashimyama and Annupuri. I estimate it having 120 to 150km piste. The lifts are slightly dated but satisfactory.
The features that surprised me were
(1) There wasn't a drag lift in Niseko
(2) Neither were there any snow making equipment.
(3) Some chairlifts have absolutely no restraint! Image letting a child into a single seater and the only restraint is grabbing the vertical steel bar? Luckily the single seaters are at the upper one-third where there are ungroomed black and red runs so there shouldn't be many young children going up there.
I enjoyed Niseko. The Japanese are very well organised, well mannered and honest. I bought a new top of the range camcorder (High definition, 120Gb hard disk with a 10.2 Mega pixel capability costing GBP 1000+), forgot to zip up the rucksack after use and lost it in the first day. At the end of the day I checked with the godola station. The operator called the company and directed me to one of the ticket office. Someone found it and handed over to the ticket office. I don't think I could recover it if I drop it in a French resort.
The Niseko is good for mix ability with decent runs. The blacks are challenging as the majority are ungroomed. The runs are generally shorter than those in European resorts, if you need to ski longer than say 4 to 5 km most of the time.
The Japanese off-peak session started at the middle of March and the resorts were not crowded at all during my stay.
The only bad point I could highlight is the soft snow but that could be related to the time of my visit. It is just in European with continental weather the snow in mid-Mar is still relatively firm. Skiing on soft snow is more exhausting. Niseko is in Hokkaido and located at the Northern part of Japan.
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Cheers Saikee.
Do you think a month there would be too long ?
Is it full of Aussies ?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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wallas, pm mikepow or Mac46 if you need specific info - both live out there I believe.
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wallas,
You need a car to go round the surrounding resorts if you got a month.
With a car I am used to doing a resort per day in the Alps so a week is about the limit I can stay in Niseko.
Many signs on roads and bus stops are in Japanese only, including workmen (repairing the road) flagging down you to stop the car. You do have the benefit that Japanese cars have the steering wheels on the same side as we do in UK.
Did tried to get hold of Welsh Mike but I must have gone to the wrong skiing school.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Niseko is full of Aussies. Not desperately overwhelming, but definately predominant. It gets most of its pow from mid December to end Feb, typically in prodigious amounts. Aussie school holidays are Xmas to end Jan, and first two weeks in Feb are Sapporo Ice festival, the busiest two weeks, I think. I'd go early Jan or mid-Feb. And if you like skiing powder and trees, you won't get bored.
And saikee, lots of unrestrained chairs in western USA. Cowboys/girls/kids don't need safety bars 
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Theres also a place called Hakuba (I live there) Which has good slopes, japanese culture and huge snowfalls. This last season it got warmer a month earlier than usual and you can usually depend on good powder conditions until mid march with spring conditions creeping in after that. January and February has mindblowing amounts of snow though
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Hello HakubaBCbum, my first visit on here for a while.
My flights are booked and i leave London on 28th Dec !! I'm away for 6 months, first stop Thailand for 2 weeks, then i arrive in Tokyo 14th January stay for 5 nights then move onto to Hakuba !! Just trying to get myself booked into a hostel for a months stay, i've been in touch with a few hostels, can you recommend anywhere ? I would probably prefer to stay near to Goryu. I will see how i like Hakuba and either stay around or go up to Niseko. I've got 3/4 months (i might need to extend my visa, i think) in Japan then i fly to Sydney to see some friends, through Auckland to LA for a couple of weeks.
No idea where all the cash is coming from, but my flights are booked and the countdown has started !!
Any info is greatly appreciated.
Cheers
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You know it makes sense.
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Hey Wallas,
I think you will like Hakuba. Goryu is a good place coz you can get to Goryu resort easily but I would be more inclined to stay in either Echoland or the Happo/Wadano area coz then you can access all the other resorts by shuttle bus. Goryu is a bit out on a limb.
Niseko is a good place too, depends what you like most. Niseko has easy to find cruisy tree lines and pretty good Backcountry . Hakuba has steeper trees and awesome endless backcountry. Both have obscene amounts of snow although Niseko is more consistently light. If you are used to European snow either place will blow you away!
Enjoy!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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wallas,
I had a week in Hakuba late feb this year & really enjoyed it. Fresh snow every day, though there was a fair bit of wind as well ( apparently not uncommon) which closed the mountain one day & a fair chunk of it another.
As already recommended, I stayed in echoland which is between goryu/hakuba47 and happo and only a 10min free bus ride from each. Iwatake was about 15mins away. I found a nice little ( western style ) hotel where B&B in my own twin room with en-suite was just over £30 a night. Don't know how to post links, but check out www.hakubahotels.com which seemed to have a pretty good selection, though googling will also throw up a number of lodges, many of which are western owned & might be fun to stay in if after company.
Just wish it wasn't so bloody far away as I'd be back there in a flash as there seemed a lot of ski areas to explore ( & I'm a piste basher !)
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Poster: A snowHead
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Hey all,
I'd be really interested to know who you booked your flights/hotels through and whether they were package deals or not (i'm assuming the majority not).
I'm trying to arrange a trip for 2010 and just trying to get an idea of prices as it'll take me from now 'til then to save up for it I reckon!
Did any of you try the night skiing? Now THAT looks amazing!
wallas, that sounds like the trip of a lifetime. I'm very jelous. Shame it won't be ski season when you hit NZ by the sound of it.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I've heard that the powder in Japan is very dry (Champagne) - is this correct? If so why is this when Japan is near the sea?
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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?
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DB, I think it is because the cold air blows in from Siberia over the Sea of Japan. Or something. 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Correct.
Last March was the exception not the norm.
2006/07 winter I was skiing legit cold smoke pow until 18 April.
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