 Poster: A snowHead
|
Thought I would start a separate thread on Japan seemed easier, I hope
Am Currently in Zao Onsen, at Lodge Scole.
It was snowing lightly when we arrived and carried on overnight, woke this morning to find low cloud cover, but 5 inches of fresh powered covering the piste, the lower slopes had low visibility, but the snow was awesome dry, though slightly sticky. When to the top of the rope way to try and see the Snow Monsters, bit of a mistake, hugging one would have been the only way!
The snow depth is amazing, and its been snowing again tonight, 
Forecast for tomorrow is sun in the morning, so aim to head off to the snow monsters early 
Also had my first experience on buy a drink in a mountain restaurant, bit like buying a tube ticket you select what you want, good luck, and then pay get a ticket from the machine go to the counter and get your coffee.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
will try an dput some photo's on tomorrow.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
Tomorrow looks good for viewing the monsters......you can be naughty and ski under the large gondola lift that takes you to the top of the mountain if you want freshtracks. Come down to Uwanodai for a ramen lunch and you can lift the beer out of the freezer and pay for it at the counter....quite simple! I'm in Zao tomorrow with 2 Japanese friends.......give me a shout if you see a silver helmet(with a very old snowHeads sticker on it), black jacket, red pants......probably skiing Kurohime/Omori side in the morning. Enjoy! Mac
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
Mac46, Yes today was great, got up there and the monsters looked great! thanks for the lunch tip, I'm blue jacket, black mat helmet and Scott goggles.
The snow is mega here, no ice , again a nice dusting of snow over the corduroy, no crowds and even the boarders are well behaved, well they still sit in the middle of the middle of the piste 
There is something reassuring in knowing that the piste map here is just as much a work of fiction as it is in Europe.
this is the crowded piste today.
AsMac46, said the forecast for tomorrow is sunny and its getting warmer, though the wind is icy cold, up the top. No snow tonight
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
Snow monsters
[changed for you! Michelle.]
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wow!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
radar, That looks amazing !
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
radar, great snow monsters!
Hope you are having a good time.
I remember a really fun sake fueled evening in a rotenburo in Zao (one of the public onsen I think?). Freezing hair and heavy snow, steaming hot!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
radar, Glad you enjoyed the excellent snow. The Wall (Yokokura Kabe) is in great condition, powder at the sides and soft bumps in the middle. Unfortunately very few bumps elsewhere but views and snow to remember for a long time. Very difficult to make a piste map of an area that was thrown up higgledy-piggledy......no planning until the arrival of quad lifts. Part of the charm?  Back at work today sporting a very red nose.....and smiling. Enjoy!
nozawaonsen, the large rotenburo (open air bath) under the Chuo Cablecar is closed most of the time now in winter because the low temps in that little valley,
-17C, combined with a water temp of +48C were leading to some emergency calls and a few deaths, not good publicity but a regular feature of onsen towns (Ginzan Onsen refuses single bookings for that reason). Like off-piste, don't bathe alone in extreme circumstances. It is open under supervision once or twice a month during the ski season.
Local weather forecast is warm and no snow for at least a week......yesterday we couldn't see Chokai-san so today should be ok too! When we see that mountain from Zao or Tazawako in Akita we know a new low is about to arrive. Hope you're having a good season.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
Mac46, not much sun and started to close in later in the afternoon, and got quite cold.
Its been snowing off and on very lightly this evening, piste are still in good condition, an American staying in the same lodge said he thought it was icy!! He needs to try the alps!
Had a great moment yesterday, went to take the cable car up and there was a 45 minute wait, you need to get a ticket to book your space, having done that and walked out, the girl from the ticket office came running out, with a piste map and the chair lifts highlighted so that we could get up to the next cable car, just like France!
The lift attendants also sweep the seats, and wipe the plastic hood that goes over the seats!
Eat out last night, at a robata, 4,600 for two.
If you want to experience Japan this is a great place to go you get great skiing and a true Japanese experience, and so far the Lodge Scole has worked out realy well.
Forecast tomorrow is snow.
rob@rar, I'll try and do better on the photo's
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
radar, so much for my local weather informants! Glad you're enoying Japanese lift hospitality. The queue was caused by lots of tour groups going up to see the 'snow monsters'. Behind Robata is one of the public onsen, Kawarayu,......there is an honesty box at the entrance if you wish to deposit 200yen. Stayed in Scole yonks ago........some Japanese friends are very loyal guests there. Met an Aussie couple yesterday who have skied Hakuba and Rustsu/Niseko on previous visits and chose to return to Zao this year as they had enjoyed it so much 3yrs ago......the lady couldn't stop talking about the monsters  If the snow gets heavy tomorrow there are plenty of trees to help visibility. Continue enjoying!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
From today's Daily Mail
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
How cool is that
Wonder if they are soft and what happens if you hit one
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
Super soft and cuddly.....on loan from Tokyo Disneyland.....but just for these two weeks
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
Day started off with brilliant sunshine, then slowly closed in with a very light snow shower late morning, then began to clear after lunch through to about 3pm when the cloud came down again and it was feel your way skiing, no nice poles to guide you on the piste over here, cleared again around 3.30, another day of great skiing.
The piste are holding up well, night skiing is just kicking off.
We finised our day with a final beer at Dai Chan Ramen just by Jupeer, a great place, fantastic food had lunch twice there and amazing value, a must try place its open form 11.00 to 23.00.
Eat in last night at Lodge Scole, great food and so much of it, had two meals in and they where both excellent.
An experience you may not get everywhere is that Mao who runs the place with her parents, is a former downhill racer and Olympian, will take you up the mountain.
One thing you should know is that Zao sits on a hot spring which is great for heating the Onsen and other things, but you do occasionally get the odd whiff of sulphur, has it put me off no, its on my list of places I would like to come back to.
A joyous discovery today is the vending machines, you get them inside the restaurants and outside, do both hot and cold drinks, you if you want a hot can of latte its 150 yen or buy it at the counter for 300 in a cup, they also do soups. Can you imagine it in Courchevel. 
Something else is that every morning we take the bubble up the mountain and the man who meets you takes your ski's and puts them in the rack and when you get to the other end another takes them off!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
stanton, can't find it on the daily mail site?
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
radar, the level of service is great, isn't it. One of my friends commented that the Japanese lifties are basically always doing something, unlike most of the euro lifties who are quite often sat around sunbathing/daydreaming. Nowehere else have I seen people stand by the chairlifts and use a little brush to sweep off the snow as the chair comes ronud to you
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
When you go into the restaurants you are offered slippers if you want to take your boots off.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
More monsters
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
A number of the lifts have snow sculptures, they do rabbits rather than snowmen.
Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Sat 5-02-11 9:55; edited 1 time in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Quick update left Zao this morning, low cloud cover and snowing, not too heavy.
Will to a report on the resort and accommodation later.
Am now in Shiga Kogen, from Snow Monsters to Snow Monkey's. am staying at the Bersa Rooms, very modern no bar 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This is going back to my first post and our first experience of a mountain restaurant, they are not all like this, we wanted a coffee, but you need to buy a ticket first, then the give you what ever you have paid for, fortunately there was a very helpful Japanese skier, coffee is 300 and the top one on the right hand side.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
After a while you start to associate the scent of sulphur and hinoki with onsen which creates a more positive association!
The warm cans of coffee are quite useful for warming cold hands too!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Not in the greatest Wi Fi spot, so posting pictures can be a bit of a challenge!
So having made your choice, you pay your money into the machine, to be fair there are ones with pictures on, but this is what we encountered on the first day
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Am in Shiga Kogen, arrived last night, woke up to clear blue skies and sun, the piste are in good condition, plenty of snow, no ice, or crusty snow.
Forecast for tomorrow is a light dusting of snow in the morning.
The piste coding here is different, blue =black, though they are changing to green, red, black, the piste map hasn't quite caught up that, which can throw you a bit, there is only a Japanese version of the map, which made catching the shuttle bus a bit interesting, Zao had an English version
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
nozawaonsen, can't wait for them to be introduced into France!
Last edited by You know it makes sense. on Mon 7-02-11 9:21; edited 1 time in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
radar, Excellent pics Sir! your suggestions shall be passed on and next season all those vending machines will have translations in 3 languages. Hope you find an English piste map.....they used to have them, especially during World Cup races. Sugiyama Ski School in OkuShiga may have them as they employ foreign instructors. Enjoy....and please don't feed the monkeys!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
Mac46, Went down to the tourist information centre and got a booklet and an English map, also discovered that we had the bus timetable in the local Okushiga ski map in English, Dooh!
Also took the opportunity to have a quick tour of the Olympic museum, which was interesting.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
Just finished Monday's Ski, the forecast was spot on snow all day, sun tried to come out a couple of times.
There is a good four inches of fresh snow, we did see one mildly bald bit today, wind was up and quite cold at times
Forecast for tomorrow Tuesday is overcast but no snow.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
well the forecast was wrong, glorious clear blue skies, the pistes were perfect, made it to the top of the resort and went to the bakery at 2307m
Found some ice, in the car park
This was our last day, will write up a better report on the two resorts, a bit later
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
radar, Was the big fluffy dog up there at the bakery? Pity you are no longer skiing here, but you have good memories
Here at sea level we have a few centimetres of fresh snow. This weekend will be the busiest of the season in most areas as Fri is a holiday, so watch out for a few liftlines. I'm heading up to Appi in Iwate Pref, a great area for fast skiing and bumps.......well designed,completely different from Zao, but lacking the charm of the latter. Plenty of snow forecast for the next week.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
Mac46, They have two white Huskies at the bakery, now in Tokyo before flying off back to London.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
How to convert you Hi Ace van for winter driving
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As we left Shiga it was snowing,buy lunch time there was atleast two to three inches.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
Mac46, One for you
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In Shiga Kogen, you come off a cable car that holds 30+ people then you have take a one man chair further up the mountain!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
