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Hokkaido, Japan 2011/2012

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Are there discounted lift passes at all?
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
MagSeven wrote:
Mike Pow, at Mikasa, in the hills between Hokkaido Expressway and Lake Katsurazawa.


Thanks. Looks very picturesque
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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?
Well, today sucked. Temperatures up around 12 c, strong winds from the south and drizzle. Freezing level up over 2500m (highest mountain on the island is just under 2300m). Fortunately it looks like it'll be short lived and temperatures should drop again tomorrow into Monday and hopefully some more snow early next week.

Photo is over fields towards a tiny ski slope in my town. Looks pretty depressing.

IMG_1167
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Looking much better now after a bad weekend. Winds have shifted, and temperature has dropped, -5 c this morning just above sea level. Snow overnight and forecast to continue through the day and steadily through the week.

Hoping (possibly a little optimistically) for first lift served skiing on Wednesday which is a public holiday. If not, certainly by the weekend. Furano planning to open during the week, and Niseko's Hirafu and Annapuri areas are planning to open on Saturday.

EDIT / UPDATE - Monday evening now, and it is DUMPING. Proper cold, light winter style Hokkaido pow coming down. Looking good down in Niseko by the sounds of things too. Should have a few good pics tomorrow!
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Quote:

EDIT / UPDATE - Monday evening now, and it is DUMPING. Proper cold, light winter style Hokkaido pow coming down. Looking good down in Niseko by the sounds of things too. Should have a few good pics tomorrow!


Cool I look forward to the pics

Btw, interested in your thoughts on Asahidake or Sounyo at the end of Jan beginning of Feb. Is it worth it or will I just freeze my butt of hanging around waiting for the wind to drop so the lifts can turn?
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Again courtesy of Clayton at BDL in Niseko:



58cms Shocked
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Woohoo!! Bring on January 6th!!

Very Happy
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Yep, looking good today. This is the snowfall last night. Winds were high, and there are some deep drifts in places this morning.

IMG_1169

The car this morning.

IMG_1175

Roads are quite sketchy, saw this car on its roof just close to our place. (The driver walked away from it no problem.)

IMG_1176

The blue skies have disappeared now, and snow is starting to fall again. Really hoping it continues today so I can ski tomorrow either at Sapporo Teine or Nakayama Touge.

thebongolian, Sounkyo/Kurodake's ski area closes in mid Jan through till early March as it is too damn cold and bleak up there. However I would thoroughly recommend Asahidake. It also gets cold, but you'll get the driest snow on the island up there. The terrain is relatively mellow if you just use the ropeway to access it, but there is alot more steeper stuff if you go for a bit of a hike. (check the Hokkaido snow thread from last year, there are pics of hiking and skiing into the volcano's crater at Asahidake!) Visibility can be an issue though as the weather can close in very quickly. Also, if its too windy the ropeway may not run. I'd suggest basing yourself in Asahikawa for a few days, and keeping your eye on the forecast. If its looking good, then hit Asahidake, if not, head for more sheltered Furano or Kamui. This video gives a taste of what Asahidake is like:


http://youtube.com/v/j-wli9uzeYA
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Great vid. Cool place.

Winter has started Smile

Enjoy your turns tomorrow.
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MagSeven, nice vid, this is going to make waiting til feb soooooo hard Cool enjoy the new snow snowHead
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First lift served skiing of the season today. Beautiful sunshine, but no new snow. We were up at Nakayama Touge, a small area at around 800m altitude, 35km or so south of Sapporo. Good cover of soft snow, with a few bare patches, and the odd pebble knocking about on the pistes. To the sides there was some nice boot deep powder that stayed soft all day.

IMG_0052

Was fairly busy, as you can see by the carpark, but its one of the few places open so far, and today is a public holiday.

IMG_0058

We had a great view of Yotei, and behind it, you can see the slopes of Niseko in the distance looking well covered.

IMG_0067


So far, Furano, Sapporo Kokusai and Nakayama have opened. This weekend should see Niseko, Teine and a few others open. Forecast for warmer temps this eve and possibly a little rain tomorrow. Freezing level should be low enough to ensure it falls as snow on most ski areas though. Heavy snow Thursday night and Friday will hopefully give us a decent weekend.
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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.
Great pics. Cool little area. Amazing views. Very cool museum on the pass too.

Opening day at Niseko Grand Hirafu tomorrow.

Glen Claydon and the boys at 360Niseko have been taking daily measurements since the first snow in the village on Monday 14 November.

http://360niseko.com/blog/category/daily-snow-reports/
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Aosmjbhqgc2JdF9MMi1ZVk1ISDk1MGdZTmd1eHA3Ync#gid=0

106 cm so far at village level (approx 300m)

13m to go wink snowHead
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Another day riding up at Nakayama. Snow was excellent, and it continued to snow on and off through the day. As Mike Pow said above, Hirafu opened today, as did Kiroro. Kurodake is due to open tomorrow for the first time. Pic below is nicked from Facebook, today at Hirafu. Doesn't look half bad!

hirafu

Unfortunately, yet again we have warm temperatures and rain forecast for the next day or two, so we'll see how much damage that does. Not all doom and gloom though, as things are looking good for the middle and latter part of next week.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
V interesting article in Weekend F Times on skiing in Japan, and the writing is not at all blighted by usual property porn bling. Author suggests major investments in Niesko coming v soon to detriment of the japanese vibe...to be the "st moritz of the east". A case of get there soon?
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
DoubleBombardino, would be really interested to read the article, but I guess it wouldn't be available online without a subscription.

I'd say in Hirafu itself, you could almost be in any resort in the world (albeit with alot more snow!), it really doesn't feel that Japanese. The first time I went there, it felt almost like reverse culture shock driving into town and suddenly feeling like we weren't in Japan anymore!

It is a 'taste' of Japan, but if you're interested in seeing more, I'd always recommend visiting other smaller ski areas, although this of course can be difficult with logistics/language. Niseko is fantastic as it is so convenient for the visitor, but it is a bit of a 'gaijin bubble'. If you're coming all this way, its also a great idea to spend a few days in Sapporo, or Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka on the way home.
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Poster: A snowHead
MagSeven, I don't know if this is specific to UK users, but while the FT has a paywall it also allows people to register and view up to 6 or 7 articles a month free of charge (but only once registered). Quite a neat solution.

And having just looked the Japan skiing article is online. If you have a problem viewing it PM me and I'll see if I can get the text to you.

Intending to come out in Winter 2013 and really looking forward to that mix of powder, noodles and sushi!
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Good read. He got about and tried a number of resorts, 'cat skiing' and touring.

The 'St Moritz of the East' moniker has been in place for many years, a resourceful Kutchan mayor twinning Kutchan and Hirafu with St Moritz.

The YTL investment is still to be proven. The land they've bought is in an awful location IMHO. And the Hanazono development has been hampered for years by lack of vision.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/63c777ae-1426-11e1-b07b-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1etwxAlPf

Quote:

November 25, 2011 10:24 pm
Splendid isolation

By Tom Robbins
The Japanese island of Hokkaido gets huge quantities of snow but very few skiers – the perfect combination

If Chamonix, Aspen and Whistler are at one end of the ski resort spectrum, then Niseko Weiss is at the opposite extreme. Even locating it proves a challenge. The narrow road up to the ski area in Hokkaido, Japan’s northern island, is lined on both sides with vertical snowbanks as high as the car roof, so driving along you feel like a mouse in a laboratory maze. My girlfriend and I make a few wrong turns into farm tracks, a few 12-point turns, but eventually find the car park at the bottom of the slopes. It isn’t busy. In fact, when we go inside the restaurant-cum-resort-headquarters we find only one other skier, keeping warm beside the fireplace while he waits for the runs to open. He looks up, rather startled that anyone else has come to join him.

The resort has seen better days. The big restaurant is half in darkness; the posters on the walls show skiing stars from years ago. Through the windows we watch as two workers clear snow from a piste basher, then gesture for us to come out and join them. This is to be our means of transport up the mountain as none of the lifts are working. It isn’t a temporary malfunction, and is not connected to March’s earthquake and tsunami (Hokkaido was almost unaffected). In fact, the lifts haven’t worked for a decade. As we ride up to the top of the mountain, shivering on the back of the piste basher, we pass the broken remains of lift stations: the tangled cables, engines and concrete supports already half-erased by the ever-rising snow. Niseko Weiss is a ghost resort.

For the past 30 years, Japan’s ski industry has been on something of a roller coaster. In the economic boom years of the 1980s, skiing enjoyed a sudden surge in popularity. Office workers became suki-kichigai, ski crazy, pouring out of the cities by train on Friday nights, skiing all weekend, then rushing back to their desks on Monday morning. A hit 1987 film, Take Me Skiing, fanned the flames still further, and skier numbers grew from 8.6m in 1981 to 17.7m in 1993. Investment flooded in and between 1980 and 1993, 236 new resorts were created, taking the total to at least 600 – more than any other country in the world.

But just as suddenly as it had arrived, the craze began to pass, helped on its way by recession and the rise of an alternative pastime, the computer game. By the time the Winter Olympics came to Nagano in 1998, many resorts were struggling with dwindling numbers, and some, such as Niseko Weiss, closed their lifts altogether. By 2006, the number of skiers and snowboarders had tumbled to 10.3m.
Hokkaido location map

It all sounds rather depressing until you remember, entirely selfishly, that empty slopes are the stuff of skiers’ dreams. At the top of the hill we climb down from the piste basher, windmill our arms to restore circulation, then clip into our skis. Spread out before us is a private ski resort, covered in more than a metre of fresh, untouched snow. While it may lack the money to repair its lifts, this place has other riches – typically 14 metres of snow falls in this area each winter. Compare that with Val d’Isère in France, which last season managed less than 3 metres. And, on a busy day, Val d’Isère can get more than 10,000 skiers.

We take three glorious runs down the mountain, all for Y3,500 (£29), starting off on the piste, then switching to routes through snow-laden trees. It is a wonderful way to spend a day but the slopes aren’t really steep or extensive enough to hold your attention much longer. Besides, it’s time for us to move on to the next stop on our week-long tour of Hokkaido’s slopes.

“Middle-aged and retired people still ski but the young Japanese just want to play around with computers,” says Mitsuhiko Maeda, director of Kamui Ski Links, a small resort in central Hokkaido. Set up in 1984 by a golf company (hence the strange name), it was taken over by the local government when visitors numbers started to fall. Today it gets 1,500 skiers on a busy day, 300 off peak. “Young people don’t have the money for it any more, and they complain about the cold. The resort isn’t in the red but it’s certainly hard.”

I’m finding it hard to empathise. We are talking at the end of a day skiing at Kamui and my mind keeps wandering back to the powder runs through forests of silver birch, ezo pine and stands of bamboo. The lifts had been empty all day and we had lapped them at a frantic pace, only stopping to grab steamed char siu buns from the café at the bottom.

The mountains are steeper and more dramatic on Honshu, Japan’s main island, but Hokkaido has the snow. I have skied in the Alps, the Rockies, the Caucasus and the Himalayas but this is the finest I have ever encountered: light, cold and lying all around in profligate quantities. It’s the result of cold winds blowing from Siberia that pick up moisture from the Sea of Japan, then dump snow on to the first peaks they reach.

It is deep at Kamui but deeper still on Asahidake, which, at 2,291 metres is Hokkaido’s highest peak. There’s no resort here, just one lift, a cable car that rises up the flank of the mountain to 1,600 metres. Those figures might sound modest by alpine standards but not when you consider the highest lift at Kamui reaches only 750 metres. There are two narrow pistes but really this is an off-piste zone, so a guide is recommended. Ours, Makoto Takeishi, meets us in the car park where he has spent the night in his camper van, welcoming us with coffee brewed on his stove. Aside from his van and our car, the parking lot is deserted.

From the top of the cable car, we don snow-shoes to hike further up the mountain to the starting point of the best backcountry routes. Skiers talking about snow depth can be rather like anglers discussing the size of their catch, but for once there is no need to exaggerate: it is regularly waist deep and in places up to my chest.
Izakaya

An izakaya, or restaurant, in Furano

It’s worth the journey here just to experience the snow but, of course, a Japanese ski trip comes with far more diverse attractions. That night we stay at Yumoto Yukomansou, a ryokan on the flanks of Asahidake. Ryokans are traditional inns, and this one lives up to preconceptions so fully that I would have assumed it had been created for tourists, had all the other guests not been Japanese.

Shoes must be swapped for slippers at the entrance. The bedrooms are covered in tatami mat flooring, have paper sliding doors, and futons that are laid out while we are at dinner. In the cupboard are yukata (a more casual version of the kimono) and they are worn by most guests at all times. Breakfast comes in a beautiful tall lacquered box, from which drawers pull out to reveal tiny samples of different flavours. Just don’t expect après ski – an air of peace and reflection prevails.

Most of the other guests have come not to ski but to bathe in the onsen, or hot springs, attached to the hotel. Japan’s onsen obsession is long-standing and deeply ingrained, and, unlike skiing, shows no signs of abating. The previous day we had hiked up another volcano, Tokachidake, then skied down to Fuki Age Onsen, a natural hot spring in the woods, surrounded by mounds of snow. We hadn’t seen a soul on the mountain all day but at least eight other people were poaching in the steam of the pool. We stripped off layer after layer of ski gear, hung it on branches and hurriedly jumped in.

The largest ski area in central Hokkaido is Furano but even here skiing isn’t the number one draw. More tourists come in summer to look at the lavender fields, visit locations used in long-running television series From the Northern Country, and eat the town’s famous omelette curry in as many restaurants as possible. With agriculture still bigger than tourism, Furano feels like a laid-back rural town rather than a resort. We arrive in time to watch “Saturday Night Live”, a wonderfully homespun show put on by townspeople to welcome tourists. A women’s dance class performs a pop routine, then a harpist and a bamboo flute player take to the stage to recite a piece called “The Delusion of the Plover Bird”. The show ends with a raffle and the excited MC calls out the prizes: “Two jam packs from our friends at the the Furano jam factory! One entry ticket for the museum of art!”

The only downside to Furano is the authorities’ extreme nervousness about skiing off-piste. Anyone who wants to leave the marked runs must first register at the police station, and even then it’s unclear exactly what is allowed. But Furano’s pistes are excellent and it makes a good base for trips to resorts where off-piste is allowed, such as Kamui and Tomamu.

Opened in 1983, Tomamu must rank as one of the world’s oddest resorts. Dominated by four tower hotels up to 35-storeys high, it is surrounded by pristine forest and mountains. It also boasts a colossal indoor wave pool, an igloo village, and a station with direct trains to Sapporo. Even then it only gets 1,200 skiers on an average day, and one of the resort hotels now sits empty. Skiers are so scarce when we visit that wild deer scamper undisturbed through bushes beside the piste.
Mount Yotei

Mount Yotei, seen from the slopes of Niseko

Only one Hokkaido resort has convincingly bucked skiing’s downward trend. Niseko, 20 minutes’ drive from Niseko Weiss, has managed to replace the falling numbers of Japanese with an influx of foreigners. In 2000, fewer than a thousand foreigners came to Niseko; by 2008, more than 13,000 came here from Australia alone. Today it stands on the brink of a new boom. Investors are pouring money into the resort, hoping to create a destination for the nascent ski market in China, Malaysia and Singapore. Malaysia-based YTL has spent $66m acquiring land and $10m redeveloping the Green Leaf hotel, while Hong Kong-based Pacific Century Premium Developments is spending $1.2bn developing the Hanazono sector of the resort. The developers talk of turning Niseko, whose logo is still a rather unglamorous skiing potato, into the “St Moritz of the east”, with shops from the likes of Louis Vuitton and Chanel.

Some are already speaking disparagingly of how it has lost its Japanese identity. Compared to Furano it undoubtedly has, and on busy days there is a feeling, familiar from resorts such as Verbier or Chamonix, that if you don’t get to the powder early, someone else will get there first.

Nevertheless, you’d be mad to miss Niseko. The slopes are by far the most extensive in Hokkaido and there are sensational views of Mount Yotei. The lifts run until 9pm and huge floodlights on the mountain mean you can ski deep powder in the trees long after dark.

So go to Niseko, enjoy the skiing, the nightlife and the smart new hotels but then head off to the empty slopes of the rest of the island.

Tom Robbins was a guest of Inside Japan Tours, Japan Airlines and the tourist boards of Niseko and Furano

.......................................................................

A SKIER’S GUIDE TO HOKKAIDO

Ghost resorts and off-piste adventures

Niseko (www.niseko.ne.jp/en) is Japan’s most famous resort, with extensive terrain both on- and off-piste. There are four resort areas, spread around the base of Mount Annupuri. Hirafu is the largest and offers the best choice of bars and restaurants, Niseko Village is more secluded and has two resort hotels, the Green Leaf (www.thegreenleafhotel.com) and the Hilton (www.hiltonworldresorts.com). The ghost resort of Niseko Weiss (www.nisekoweiss.com) makes a fun half-day trip from Niseko.

Furano (www.visitfurano.com), the largest resort in central Hokkaido, gets slightly less snow than Niseko but the powder is typically drier and lighter. Accommodation includes the huge, modern, New Furano Prince hotel (www.princehotels.com), which is right by the pistes and the smaller Natulux (www.natulux.com) in town. Buses run several times a week from Furano to Kamui Ski Links and Tomamu.

Kamui Ski Links (www.kamui-skilinks.com) has no accommodation but is easy to reach from the city of Asahikawa, as well as Furano. Despite only having six lifts, it has a reputation for excellent tree skiing. Tomamu (www.snowtomamu.jp) feels rather like a skiing theme park: the tower hotels, spas, swimming pools and restaurants are connected by a series of walkways, bridges and tunnels. Off-piste skiing is allowed but you must register and wear a helmet and special bib. Tokachidake is an active volcano, which is popular with skiers and snowboarders despite having no lifts. The hike up takes you past smoking fumaroles. There are several ryokans nearby, including Kami Horo Sou (www.tokachidake.com/kamihoro/e). Hokkaido’s highest peak, Asahidake (www.wakasaresort.com) has lots of off-piste options – none of them are very steep but they usually have the best snow in the country. Ryokans nearby include Yumoto Yukomansou (www.yukoman.jp).

Japan Airlines (www.jal.com) flies via Tokyo to the two most convenient airports, Sapporo New Chitose for Niseko and Asahikawa for Furano. A return flight from London, for example, will cost from £789. Tailor-made packages to all these resorts are available from Inside Japan Tours (www.insidejapantours.com). An eight-night package with two nights at a five-star hotel in Tokyo and six at the Green Leaf in Niseko, with transfers, domestic flights and lift pass, costs from £1,500. See also www.jnto.go.jp
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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?
Thanks for posting that Mike, interesting article.

Back to the weather - another rainy day here in central Hokkaido. Temps were around 4 or 5, so higher up in the mountains there will have been snow. Nothing forecast now till Wednesday, but hopefully a decent amount of new snow Weds through Friday to set up a good weekend.
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For any Europe folk, one issue I've found with Niseko webcam watching is it's dark when I logon and check the webcams…

so I have a script written yesterday to save webcams from midnight and display them Smile

Use the link below, Niseko Saved for the daily webcam snapshot, Niseko for the 'livecams'

http://www.gregh.co.uk/php/gfsruns.php?select=Nisekos
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
kitenski, cheers, that's very helpful snowHead will have to do the same for hakuba too Toofy Grin
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As expected, more snow arrived yesterday. This morning we've had heavier snowfall which hopefully will continue. This weekend looks good, I expect Niseko will start to open up more slopes as the cover improves.

Will probably be heading to Teine and possibly Rusutsu this weekend, so will report back on conditions at both. Might go for a cheeky tour locally this afternoon too.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
cheers for the reports MagSeven, most interesting esp as I'm out at the end of Jan Smile

Dumb question, are Hokkaido Jan/Feb temps similiar to the alps??
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
kitenski, It can really vary! In early and mid Jan, it can get very very cold, especially in central Hokkaido, less so in Niseko. Coldest I saw last winter was around -20, so similar to a cold day in a high European resort. Through into Feb it does start to warm up.

The big difference is that here, you very rarely ski in sunshine all day. You need to be prepared to be skiing in heavily falling snow so balaclavas or facemasks are definitely a good idea. Of course, when it's a bluebird day you feel considerably warmer than when you're in and out of cloud and wrapped up against the wind and snow.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
MagSeven, thanks for that, I've never skied with a balaclava, I have an 'old' one that came with a motorbike helmet, would that do the trick??
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At the risk of sounding like a broken record, its snowing again!

We were riding up at Sapporo Teine for its opening day. Not the best snow cover, and it was windy as hell, but a fun days skiing.

IMG_0074

The snow got heavier through the afternoon into the evening. In Sapporo it looked very wintery and Christmassy with German markets and lights in the city centre.

IMG_1188

Hopefully the snow should continue through the weekend. Back to Teine tomorrow, and hopefully should have some decent pow.

livetoski, meant to stop in and check out the Mammut store in Sapporo this evening, but was closed when I went past. Sorry!

kitenski, generally anything covering your face from the wind should be ok, although wool or cotton will get wet. I see alot of people with neoprene style facemasks which seem to do the trick.
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The temperature rose a little today, so there was some rain through the morning and early afternoon. Higher up in the mountains it was all snow though. Quite heavy moist snow, which doesn't give great skiing, but it is great for weighing down and crushing all the bamboo leaves, which makes the off piste skiable.

We went up to Sapporo Teine again today which was open top to bottom. Better cover than yesterday after the overnight snow.

IMG_0084

IMG_0082

More snow forecast through the week. Hopefully the off piste should start to be skiable soon. This is certainly a better start to the winter than last year.
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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.
Yesterday we had incredibly heavy snow which I imagine is going to stick around now for the winter. This morning it was still snowing, but lightly.

The walk to work
IMG_1197

Thanks to the new snow, our local ski hill opened today, ahead of schedule. There was some pretty deep snow all over, I'm claiming the first face shot of the winter. (Not a great photo, but you get the idea!)
IMG_0087

Hopefully more through the week, with temperatures forecast to drop to the negative teens, so should be some light pow to shred at the weekend!
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
MagSeven, nice shot snowHead just had some nice shiney stickers from the folk at "snow japan" forum, so have been following the conditions closely, looks like things are coming along nicely Cool
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Good work!

I'm totally addicted to checking in on "snow Japan" conditions now. It's a great service, the fact that people in resort click the weather as it's happening is cool.

Out in Niseko Jan 6th staying at the Black diamond lodge for 2 weeks with a few road trips chucked in. Cant wait, this month is going to drag by so badly.

Very Happy
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
MagSeven wrote:
kitenski, generally anything covering your face from the wind should be ok, although wool or cotton will get wet. I see alot of people with neoprene style facemasks which seem to do the trick.



Cheers, so is concensus to go with some kind of neoprene face mask? Having never skied in either a face mask or a balaclava I have no idea what's good or bad?

regards,

Greg
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Poster: A snowHead
kitenski, you see alot of neoprene face masks on the east coast of canada and north america early in the season when the wind chill can be viscious , but i reckon a neck warmer with a thinner face cloth would do the trick .

extreme weather http://www.ioffer.com/i/10x-black-neck-warmer-face-mask-ski-bicycle-motorcycle-197356526 or http://www.bargainboards.co.uk/P/Demon-FACE-GUARD-Ski-Mask-DS5108(2900).aspx

normal cold conditions http://www.bargainboards.co.uk/P/Buff_POLAR_Head_Wear_One_Size_Fits_All_Volcan-(16621).aspx
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
As of Tuesday 06 December 2011

215 cm so far at village level in Hirafu, Niseko Resort Area (approx 300m asl)

http://360niseko.com/blog/category/daily-snow-reports/
ski holidays
 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?
Hows it looking now!?
snow report
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
Hows it looking now!?
snow report
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
sparkzter, white Wink

Two places I check

1. I knocked this up to save the overnight UK Webcams - http://www.gregh.co.uk/php/gfsruns.php?select=Nisekos

2. Daily reports http://www.snowjapan.com/e/daily/niseko-now.php
snow conditions
 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
The latest from Ben at Japan Ski Experience

http://japanskiexperience.com/2011/12/season-intro/
latest report
 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
We've had snow every day this week. Niseko's starting to open more terrain. This weekend last year I went to Kiroro as it was one of the few hills open, and I skied in the rain. This year I'm weighing up where's gonna have the deepest pow!
snow report
 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Thanks for posting all the updates. Gonna be in Niseko in about a month. Can't wait.

While I'm there hoping to do an avalanche level 1 course on January 9/10 but currently it's short of numbers - if anyone would be interested pm me
latest report
 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.
A great weekend for Hokkaido! Heavy snow on and off through the weekend, low temperatures and not much wind. Niseko's main areas are all open for business now, including night skiing. I imagine conditions will have been great almost everywhere.

We went to Sapporo Teine on Saturday. Most lifts were running, and the snow on piste was great. Off piste is starting to get fun, and the big back bowls coming off the summit are mostly skiable, with some really deep snow in places.

IMG_0099

Today we went to a hill called Mount Racey in Yubari, a city known in Japan for £20,000 melons and for dramatically going bankrupt in 2007 after a huge scandal involving the local government! The ski hill is small, but got alot of snow last night. Didn't venture much off piste, but enjoyed boot deep powder on empty pistes.

IMG_0106
IMG_0104

Forecast is for, surprise surprise, more snow. It looks to be very heavy indeed later in the week! The season is well and trully underway. There will be a good base down for anyone arriving in Niseko from now onwards.
snow report
 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Sweet.

Mt Racey is a hidden gem with great steep shots in the trees and lines under the gondola that are worth losing your pass for.


As of Monday 12 December 2011

300 cm (118') so far at village level in Hirafu, Niseko Resort Area (approx 300m asl)

Latest report from 360 Niseko
http://360niseko.com/blog/snow-report_2011-12-12/
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