Snowboarding in Japan

what about hokkaido? I think that's where the Absinthe crew shreds and in that Oakley vid community project. your a lucky sob by the way!

Over 600 resorts, you have many many options.

But the most well known and easy to get too via train from Tokyo would be Hakuba. Also look into Shiga Kogen, Nozawa Onsen. All nice easy places to visit.

sounds good zhenjie, we don't speak any japanese at all either so somewhere that's popular with internationals would be good too

i heard shiga kogen is one of the biggest resorts around, that could be the pick for now

has anyone riden at Hakuba or Nozawa Onsen? just wondering what the snow is like there or if its worth payin a bit more and head up to nesiko?

K's House is an awesome chain of hostels throughout Japan. I stayed in their Kyoto location and loved it. I heard the Tokyo location was so-so.

i stayed at k's the first year i was in hakuba. They were absolutely lovely. The cheapest rooms were 4 man dorms. Its a nice place to crash, met a few lovely people there. Also the guys that run it are genuinely adorable. So sweet and helpful.

If you want a bit more lively chaos though hakuba alps/backpackers might be more the place for you. Sakiko and trey and awesome people. Really fun, and always out to do stuff for you. It doesnt hurt that theyre also probably the cheapest place in hakuba. They have two places you can stay: The alps/backpackers which is down near the bottom of the hill (its about twenty minutes by foot to the gondola), its mainly for families and people that want a more peaceful stay. Half way up the hill is tracks bar (pretty much the only party place in hakuba outside of echoland near happo1 - about a twenty minute taxi from hakuba). Tracks has accomodation above the bar, it can get pretty noisy and i woudlnt recommend it if you want a good nights sleep, but its where most of the social side of things are.

Anyway, you can contact them here: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1001553799&ref=

Anyway, best way to get to hakuba from tokyo is early morning shinkansen to nagano, then get the bus from nagano to hakuba. Theres a 47 bus (as in hakuba47) that stops at the backside of the train station across from the 7/11 (i think its a 7/11 cant remember for sure). Its NOT where all the other buses stop. Also, it usually requires a reservation, i forget where you do the reservation, but once you reserve it, its free. Also im pretty sure theres a weekend package deal you can get in tokyo that gives you transport to hakuba and 2 day passes. I had a few friends do that last year.

If buses bum you out, then i massively recommend myoko suginohara.

Very easy. Shinkansen (bullet train) from tokyo, arrive at nagano for around 8.00, then grab the 8.12 train to myoko. When youre there just hop on the bus to suginohara (leaves at the bus station RIGHT OUTSIDE the train station) at 8.58.

I freaking LOVE suginohara. Such a beautiful mountain. In fact at the start of last season i was sure i was getting a hakuba pass, but just ONE DAY in the powder on myoko (and myoko gets much bigger dumps than hakuba), and i bought a season pass right away.

Anyway, heres a general idea of the tow mountains:

Positives of Hakuba: its easy to stay there over the weekend, its definitely an international world class resort (not least because theres happo1 just over the other side of the mountain - if youre a skier youll love it). Theres lots of international friendly hostels so its pretty simple finding a place to crash. Finally, with tracks and echoland theres some pretty solid nightlife.
Some negatives. 1. Australians. 2. Lift queues can get looooooong. 3. No real powder spots. I mean sure you can get some good powder days but it wont last. Gets icy pretty fast too. 4. Security nazis. You go off piste and you get caught, theres no ifs or buts, youre out. (with good reason, one day someone will set off an avalanche at toomi that people suggest may well wipe out the beginners hill there).

Positives of Myoko:
Really easy to get to. Powder DUMP. Arguably one of the best outside of niseko. They even have to ungroomed sections of the mountain that is solely for powder runs (one gets turned into the cross course around january :'( and the other gets reallllllly nasty come march). Suginohara is stunning and such a beautiful mountain to ride. Its also massively long. Youll also never feel like the mountain is packed. Even in peak times theres so much space and lifts are so damn fast. The longest youll queue will be about 2 minutes. Two lifts will take you from the bottom to the very top, and then youll have a 7k trail to ride :) Most of the time will be spent on your board instead of waiting in lift lines. Finally, the laissez faire approach to off piste/tree skiing. Some great little places to duck in and all blocked off with a tiny bit of red tape (at the really dangerous spots - the rest has nothing), if you want to dive under lifts, or play in cat tracks, or just skate through the trees no one is stopping you. The policy is definitely "do what you like, but if we have to come rescue you, youre paying for it!"
Negatives: not anywhere near as foreigner friendly as hakuba. I mean its freindly, but youre not going to find the same kind of conveniences. Its very much a japanese orientated place. It also looks like its stuck in the early 90s. IT looks like trash. When you see the base of suginohara, you WILL be underwhelmed. You might even wonder if youre there. Alas, you are :)
Suginohara BLOWS for public transport. Theres one bus in the morning (8.58) and one bus leaving there in the afternoon (4.05 i believe), miss that and youll be walking about a km down the hill to the (very small) village. Also, i can only actually think of one place thats international friendly off the top of my head and that place is called (i think) canadian backpackers. Hell, theyre so international unfriendly that i was offered a job by the tourist office because they had no one else to help foreigners find acommodation and the like. It should be noted, i was offered this job based upon my awesome japanese. I can barely string a sentence together! :) If you speak japanese, head to the tourist office, speak to the lady in charge of international tourism to myoko and she will bite your damn hand off to help her look after foreigners in the area (the week i arrived there were two by the way, just so you know quite how different it is to hakuba).

Basically, because im now getting carried away with myself:

If you ski (and LOOOOVE mogul fields - swathes and swathes of them), go happo1. Theres nothing as good anywhere in the area. Its fun on a powder day for snowboarders too. In fact its awesome fun, but really if you land a powder day, you got lucky, its for the skiers.

If you want your mod cons and prefer a more budget expedition go hakuba 47/goryu. Some great places to stay and all pretty damn cheap. Also, in peak season theres a bus between happo and hakuba (as well as a 5 minute train), so its no real problem getting to either. Youll have it all at your fingers.

If you want stunning scenery then youre spoiled for choice, the sheer scope of the mountains around you at hakuba is beautiful (especially if you take the green run that brings you down to the bottom of 47). But myoko just takes it. It really is incredibly beautiful. On a clear day its just so open. I can even see my little house (well i doubt i can this year living in korea), which was about 60km away in suzaka. Absolutely breathtaking.

For powder its no contest. Myoko. Happo occasionally rises to the challenge, but hakuba is kinda crappy in truth - actually i just remembered Tsugaike which my mate insists get good dumps). 47/goryu though is crappy. Can be okay sometimes, but its so popular and so tightly packed with people youll be lucky if its not all tracked out by around 11am. Plus you have to remember, for all the combination of toomi/iimori/47, its still a pretty small place so youll be fighting over scraps. Myoko though has unbelievable powder and this isnt to even mention Seki (myoko seki is a fairly small resort, but its guaranteed powder). Blows away anything on honshu.

For variety. Hakuba has hakuba/goryu, happo, cortina and iwatake and tsugaike. I know only happo and goryu/47 from personal expereince, my former boss used to ride tsugaike (cause it was on his season pass) and iwatake. Ive also heard a rumor that cortina is the super special secret of awesome. But no one goes there because its at the far end of the mountain. 47/goryu is the park rat, snowboarder mountain. Happo is the skiers mountain (it really is), tsugaike is (as mentioned) good for powder allegedly, and cortina is the massive steep. Great for advanced and beginners, but crappy for intermediates.

Myoko has suginohara, ikenotaira, akakan, and akakura onsen. It also has seki which is a bit more tricky to get to.
Suginohara is the main mountain i guess for snowboarders, skiers will find it too flat and not enough variation. It is stunningly beautiful and just full of powder. Its also the mountain if you just want to enjoy the ride. Ikenotaira has had to remarket itself recently as a park mountain. It looks pretty boring, but its actually awesome for intermediates. Theres loads of nice tree and lift runs and is really pushing its park (which isnt as good as suginoharas, but is definitely putting on more events). Its the mountain right now thats seeing most of the modernisation. Its also much better served than suginohara. Akakan is the skiers mountain. Much more variation than either of the other two, but still compared to happo, its no competition. Good fun for a day or two, but youll get bored eventually. Akakura onsen is a mess. Great if youve got small kids. The runs arent very long (its about half the height of akakan), and spreads horrifically across the mountain. Track your way across and youll be spending the rest of teh afternoon just getting back. Avoid. Finally seki. Powder powder powder. Definitely for the advanced park riders.

I think hakuba steals this one quite easily. The scale there is just that much bigger.
   
Ultimately its pretty much preference, i rode hakuba for my first season, and myoko for my second. I preferred myoko in truth. Just a more peaceful and fun experience. Also, massively underrated. The place really needs some modernisation, but once youre on the mountain, who gives a crap about modernisation. Also, when you hit the middle of the mountain, uyou have the cutest little restaurants that have to be seen to be believed. Just so pretty. Compare that to the gondola station at happo with its macciedees, kebabs, and curry shops and you get a sense of who the main market is :)

Of course none of this touches on shiga kogen (japans biggest set of resorts), or nozawa. Neither of which i have any real experience of, but i know for a fact that all of my co teachers in nagano bar NONE went to shiga kogen. Hakuba and myoko werent even on their radar :) I mean, they knew about them, but they just didnt consider them even remotely in the same league. But you need a car. If you want to ride shiga kogen, you need a car. No car, dont waste your time.

Finally, if you want the "true" Japanese winter wonderland experience (onsens, festivals etc.) then apparently you need to go to nozawa. Its very proud of that little part of it. The mountain is owned by the people in the village and not some massive enterprise, so its all very traditiona (with apparently world class facilities). Also, i think it lays claim to being the birthplace of japanese recreational skiing.

There, hope that made things even less clear :)

Oh ETA:

Backcountry: I cant really speak from experience here because im pretty much still stuck in groomers, lift runs and the trees beside the groomers, but my former boss loves suginohara and hes been riding for 16 years. Apparently theres a massive bowl a teensy bit above the top lift. I think around Tsugaike theres also a backcountry bit. Theres a group in hapo called evergreen that offer tours up there i believe. Again, hakuba in general is more picky about where you can ride and where you cant, and myoko isnt. Saying that though, who would ride out on a mountain they dont know or havent been told about? Again, probably hakuba gets the nod because its much easier to be safe and find out the info you need :) But both do have decent (ive been told) backcountry, so you wont be disappointed.

http://www.newyork-tokyo.com/wp/snow/

Originally posted by sprucetree I've been living in Hokkaido for the last 2 years and personally I think Niseko is over-rated! It is packed, prices are ridiculous, and it is like being in Australia-land not Japan. Last season the snow was marginal as well too. If you want some really good places I recommend Sapporo Kokusai, Rusutsu, Kiroro, and Teine (it is the most convenient to Sapporo) over Hirafu any day. But, check this site for snow levels and forecasts Weather News: Ski/Snowboard It is really good and you can get hour by hour reports. Also this English Site for local ski-jyous. Sapporo Area Resorts. Check them out if you can get up north. The snow is great!!!

im at niseko now, only been here for 4 days and now have to go back to korea. Ill be honest, it blew my mind. Ill throw up a review later, but some things to note:

Niseko definitely doesnt feel like australia town. HAKUBA is australia town. If youve stayed at hakuba for longer than ten minutes youll think niseko is pure cosmopolitan by comparison. I went during chinese new year so there was definitely a real international vibe going on. In fact, if anything grated on me its kids from the USA. Ive never heard so many over indulged, petulant little brats in all my life. Endless whining and really noisy with it. The parents definitely need a slap.

As for the night skiing, its on another scale. realising youre on a gondola at 8pm is bliss :) and then when you get off the gondola youre pretty much free to go anywhere. Theres little secrets all over the mountain, i dont think i ever got bored.

Honestly, i thought niseko was just going to be another resort only with a bit of powder, but i cant sing the praises enough. The sheer freedom is ridiculous, theres trees everywhere, no ones babysitting you, and you can just trek out the top gates and do what you like. I mean, myoko has the same vibe, but definitely doesnt have that scale. Next year for sure i wont be going anywhere else, ill be doing my entire vacation here and fekkin loving it.

...well,　i might take a trip out and see what else hokkaido has to offer, but ill be setting my base camp here :)

its probably somewhere in shiga kogen. As for nagano, just by the way youre describing it i think you had a bit of a brain slip and meant to say nozawa :) I went there for 2 days this year. It rained on both of them, but pre niseko, it didnt stop it being the highlight of the trip. Theres one word id use to describe it: serene. ts also really nice knowing that everyone doing things around the mountain arent employees for some big ski conglomerate, but people who genuinely belong to the town (and probably have done for generations). Also, aside one teppan/okonomiyake shop we popped into, nothing feels overrun. People say its the quintessential japanese ski-jo experience, and it really did live up to that ideal.
The onsen though are fekking crazy. Popped into a couple to see about 400 guys cramming into these tiny baths and thought better of it :) If your japanese is up to scratch though id say you should jump in for sure. It definitely seems like the place for some good networking (if a little bit cuddly).

did you ride the skyline? That thing is FAST. Its also really freaking vicious! Wouldnt fincy catching an edge at one of its narrower bits. Also the one thing ill always remember it for was the awesome optical illusion you get at one of the drops. I remember thinking "how the hell am i getting up that hill, its about 20 degrees!" Only to burn it as fast as i could, then look back on it and realise it was pretty much flat Also, theres something pretty nice about being surrounded by all these black and brown trees and looking in the distance toward shiga and all those blue mountains. Really really peaceful place to ride.

assuming im still in the same job and havent just decided to move to hokkaido, i should be in and around niseko some time early feb next year (my winter vacation is 26 days from mid to late january to early march), so if youre there ill be delighted to meet up :)

how did you find rusutsu, everyone says nice things about it? It just seems a pain in the ass for accommodation.

no car, that hotel is probably way out of my budget (very cheap snowboarder - 3-4000 yen per night). Dont suppose theres a decent shuttle around moiwa, i reaaaaaaallly wanted to play on rusutsu, "niseko, with steeper, better lines, and less Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!" is pretty much how it was sold to me. Anyway, tell me about it. Not everyone knows about it here, plus youre getting a member point for every post you make right now, so itll definitely be worth your time :)

Rusutsu is great for easy access off-piste and tree runs. You can find powder stashes in a few places a day or two out from storms. At Niseko hirafu, its usually done by noon!.

Rusutsu isn't hard on accommodation. From what I saw, there were several buses and shuttles that went to Rusutsu daily. There are plenty of foreigners at Rusutsu. Mostly from other Asian countries, less Aussies. Still got that good stash as it's not overexposed there. 

m so jealous right now. I'm never coming back to this thread again. 

Originally posted by bdenny4

Originally posted by burtontwin52 is that a foot bath/ warmer

for next year, japan or colorado?  we're leaning towards colarado at the moment as we can drop into Vegas afterwards

did you try any of the free public onsens?

at least you won't have to share it with naked old men

strange, the one i walked into had just one old guy... I swore he winked at me, so I didn't stay

Arr, the old japanese men with very very flappy skin. The memory will be ingrained in my memory forever. Never found any communal mix gender onsens though...would certainly be interesting.

I want to snowboard in Japan.