dantheman0177 Posted May 22, 2005 Report Share Posted May 22, 2005 Has anyone had any experience boarding in Japan? I am looking at going with the friends for a week or so in Feb 2006 (plan is to do SES then Japan - or the other way around). But looking on the web I am more confured then ever. There are a huge number of resorts and I have no idea where to go or what it good. Any suggestions or recommendations would be great. Cheers Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted May 22, 2005 Report Share Posted May 22, 2005 Hokkaido! I had amazing days at Niseko/Mt. Yotei. When I was there (96-98), there were three resorts on the mountain, and there was a joint pass that let you ride all three. Only place I've ever ridden where it snowed so hard that our tracks were filled in by the time we made a lap; highly recommended. It's an hour or two by bus outside of Sapporo. I stayed at the pension "Fry Pan," which is awesome if it's still open. The owner was a former professional chef, and the food was amazing. Enjoy! Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted May 22, 2005 Report Share Posted May 22, 2005 fun though the mountains are often laid out in an infuriating manner (at least in the Japanese Alps anyway) Stay away from Nagano Prefecture. Hakuba, 47, etc while it is very cool to ride the Olympic mountains it's kinda crowded and not groomed as well as some of the other places I've been...I much prefered Niigata Prefecture. The mountains reminded me of SLC or Jackson in their grandure and the grooming was MUCH better...personal favorites include, ISHIUCHI MARUYAMA Good close lodging and my all time favorive japanese mountain, groomed top to bottom, not a bad lift layout (compared to most japanese mountains) is linked to Gala Yuzawa, GALA YUZAWA (good train access but not too much lodging (see Ishiuchi) IWAPPARA great groomed hi-ways, NAEBA good snow, wide mountain, lots of lodging. Not so easy to get to. If I were arranging a trip I'd pack light take the Bullet train from Tokyo to Gala Yuzawa buy a dual mountain ticket, check my backpack till lunch then transfer to Ishiuchi for 2-4 days then reverse the process to return...I know there is a way to get to Ishiuchi but I don't know it (I did the over mountian thing with a 3000ci backpack lightly loaded and did laundry) GALA is fun but Ishiuchi is a carving mountain (IMHO) it also has much better food (curry and rice with a fried pork cuttlet and a Sapporo beer is an awesome lunch recharge). Remember to pack light, storage can be diffucult in Japan (I spent a week in my Ugg boots or my Raichle's). Carving boards are fairly common in the Japanese Alps (compared to the USA anyway) and in truth I have only had one day where i was wishing for an AM/Axis type board (Blizzard at Naeba where it snowed a meter while we were at the mountain on a daytrip!!!!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baka Dasai Posted May 24, 2005 Report Share Posted May 24, 2005 Originally posted by dantheman0177 Has anyone had any experience boarding in Japan? Sure, I just spent the last 5 seasons there. *The* place to go is Niseko, in Hokkaido (the north island). I haven't been there since 2000, but it has probably the most reliable in-bounds powder of any resort in the world. It was always big with gaijin (non-Japanese), and that's apparently even more so now than when I was last there, so if you want to be surrounded by Japanese people instead of other foreigners you'd be better off going somewhere else (in Hokkaido). Anyway, Niseko has 4 main resorts, but you can get a combined lift pass for all four. If you have to choose, go to Niseko-Hirafu, which is the biggest of them and has the best terrain. It does have good groomers, but most days you'll probably want to be in the trees for the fresh powder. Take a dedicated powder board. I stayed with these guys: http://www.niseko-hirafu.com/ and they can organise everything you need and answer any questions (I have no connection with them - just a satisfied customer). Feel free to email me if you have any more questions. My sad news is that I'm no longer in Japan and am now in Sydney, Australia, which is a 7-hour drive from a bunch of sh1tty, over-crowded, and over-priced "resorts". Not much snowboarding in my future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dantheman0177 Posted May 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2005 Thanks guys, much appreciated. I will look into it on your suggestions. Baka, I know what you mean about the small hills. My local is Buller which is almost not worth the drive, and too small to carve properly. Hotham is good fun though, so will be doing a week there and a week at Falls. I am also going to do a weekend of carving with MozzMan and a few others at Perrisher. If we can finalise a weekend we will make sure to post the date on here so maybe you will be able to come down and join in . Cheers Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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