I went to Tokyo to buy myself a new pair of ski boots today well actually an xmas present from my wife and at the same time I decided to buy a ski helmet.
Been considering getting one for a while but never really bothered before but thought why not get one especially as I do tend to ski rather fast and do lots of fast cornering.
Might help a little if I were to take a spill.
Hope to give both the boots and helmet a try tomorrow depending what time I get back tonight.
Theres a TV programme in the UK called jump i think it is. Ive seen nothing of it. I know nothing of it (other than its called jump, appears to be a reality bullshit programme in the mould [authors own] of strictly come dancing, and i think theyre all learning to ski jump).
And thats nice. But thats as far as i want to go with my knowledge of it... oh, melinda messenger hosts it. Gah! toooo much!!!
So was just wondering about the whole bucket list thing... hitting a proper ski jump by the time im in my 50s seems pretty doable. I mean im never going to learn proper tricks. But straight air? How hard can that shit be?
So anyone trained it? How do you even go about it? Just curious. Its obviously a fly by night idea. But if someone could just tend to that little kernel we might have pics of me smashing face first into an ice wall at 80MPH (just as i did at niseko when i over corrected and ended up tipping and eating shit). And thats worth a bit of inspiration. Actually we should all learn and have a competition!
A group of 6 of us are heading to Japan from the 17th - 3rd. We hit up Hakuba for the first 7days then spend the remainder in Tokyo. We have the 5day flexi JR East rail pass and seeing as we'll only be using 2 days of it, is there anywhere on the same line worth a day visit when we're in Tokyo?
What areas would you recommend to visit if we were to make use of the pass?
Well, I just got wheels, and I'm hoping to do a couple of trips to the mountains.
I was wondering about snow tires/chains/socks etc.
First I planned to get snow chains for my rear (driving) wheels, but it was difficult to ge them in my tire size and there's not much clearance (the user manual actually says I can't use chains) so I ended up getting a pair of snow socks.
Then I thought about the front wheels and in the end I picked up a pair of snow tires for cheap.
Now I'm wondering.... should I just put the snow tires on the rear wheels and hope that manages for the most part and maybe put the snow socks on the front wheels if it gets hard to steer.
Or, should I put the snow tires on the front wheels and definitely use the socks on the rear when it gets snowy.
Or should I also get a pair of snow chains and hope they fit because neither snow tires nor socks will be any good in the mountains.
I really don't know how well either snow socks or snow tires will perform in the mountains - I know they are OK on snow on flat roads but on hills and so on.....
The tires on my car now are pretty hard compound summer tires and I'm pretty sure will perform badly on the snow.
I had the chance to join a friend in Noheji for a trip to Makado Onsen. While small, the resort is still larger than Kamafuseyama (hard not to be) with more courses and lifts.
The weather was pretty crappy early morning with heavy winds and heavy snow, but by the time we were ready to head out, most of it settled down and made for decent weather the rest of the day.
Morning Weather-View from parking lot
Morning Weather- Beginner Slopes
Lodge Proper
The lodge itself is very large and has all the ammenities. Many vending machines, large cafeteria with many menu options (vending machine for food tickets) gift shop and even a dessert shop. They offer millitary discounts as well, so it isn’t surprising to see airmen and their families from Misawa AFB here. I myself scored 400Y off for a 4 hour ticket
Ticket Office
Cafeteria
Lodge
Makado has a good mixture of slopes available in a close area. They offer lessons for skiers and snowboarders as well, though I’m sure it’s only in japanese.
As you exit the lodge towards the slopes there are two lifts. The right lift services two beginner slopes. The one on the left (as you look from the lodge) is the most gentle, and even with a freshly waxed snowboard, I found it hard to enjoy it at the slow speeds I could get.
Right Side Lift- Beginners Courses
Middle of Slopes
Beginner Course- Right Side
The lifts are very low to the ground and will catch your highbacks as a boarder. The lift personnel pushed my highbacks down for a me a few times before I realized what they wanted me to do. Two of the lifts don’t even have safety bars as well.
The left slope is slightly more steep, but again as a beginners slope I found it less than enjoyable. It is good to know that there are easy slopes to start with though here.
Beginner Course- Left Side
On the left side, the lift services two steeper longer courses, as well as bringing you up to access the third lift. The two courses available at the top of the left lift are steeper and more enjoyable for intermediate/advanced riders. The furthest left has slalom poles for practice, and the middle run starts out very steep before fanning out between the two lifts.
Left side lift with Intermediate Courses
If you choose to go towards the third lift, you leave to the left and ride down a small slope. It intersects the long, forest course path so be careful when going for the lift.
The third lift takes the longest going deeper into the mountain betwixt the trees but is the most enjoyable for the scenery and being the longest when going all the way down to the lodge.
Start of Forest Course Lift
About half way up the forest course
Forest Course Lift View
We spent most of the day running the forest course over and over, and only going the full course back to the lodge a few times for lunch, etc.Though it was very flat on the forest course, I managed to get up some big speed going down.
The coverage of snow was weak at best with a 60cm base. The friend I went with said this was the worst conditions they ever had here, and chalked it up to the poor snow season this winter. Despite the lack of fresh powder, the runs were still sufficient to enjoy, as we did.
During lunch time, I had some pork ramen (600Y) which was sufficiently filling.
I didn’t get a chance to experience the far left course with the slalom poles because there were some JSDF Army guys practicing cross country sking, but it looked like it had the most coverage. Maybe because it was closed off that the coverage remained.
Makado Onsen doesn’t actually have an onsen, but a few miles down there is one which is always enjoyable after a day of riding. The resort is also much closer to civilization not being on the Shimokita Penninsula, which makes it more likely those in the area would make it here. The resort is about an hour from Aomori City.
Depending on where you are in Aomori Prefecture I’d reccommend Makado as a worthwhile trip (say within an hour of you) however within decent distance, Hakkoda is available if you are confident and prepared enough. If you are traveling with family though, Makado is a great compromise.
Finally getting around to putting a seasonal trip report out for me and Kamafuseyama. I'll putting up daily reports (as I go) and visits to the surrounding area. Lets get things started with a freshly minted review!
The most northern ski slope in Honshu, Mount Kamafuse is a minimalistic ski resort that doesn’t warrant a special pilgrimage to visit, but if you are local to the area, it can become an excellent daily escape from the business of life.
View from sea level
Lodge walking up from Parking Lot #2
Kamafuse is considered a family resort for the people of Mutsu but offers little in the ways of accomidation that you’d expect from larger resorts. Despite it’s small size, there are several chatlets for overnight stays and a few restaurants at base level to include a cafeteria in the lodge. Ski rentals are available across from the ticket office.
There are 5 parking lots staircased in the mountain on the road up, but the most I’ve ever seen full was the first two (furthest up) There is also parking available in front of the tennis court that is not in use during the winter.
Across from the second parking lot (again second from the top, and are numbered as such) there is a childrens sledding area. I have not explored this area in great depth because it is seperate from the rest of the mountain and I have no children but every day I go there is a good crowd of mothers and their children with plastic sleds. There is also what seems to be a seperate lodge beside it to rest, eat and use the bathroom.
After a short or long hike up (depending how far down you parked) you’ll find the ticket office on the left side of the road as a separate building from the lodge, but right next to it. A sign is to the right of the ticket office with prices and a map of the mountain.
Hiking up to the ticket office (seen on the left with red roof)
Many options are available, more than I have seen at other resorts. A 1 time ticket,, 2, 4 and 8 hour tickets are all available as well as a season pass of course.
Map of Mountain
The main lodge, called センターハウス (Center House) by the vinyls on the window faces the mountain and surprisingly offers everything except a water fountain. There is seating for 120 people as well as vending machines, lockers, bathrooms, changing rooms, and a fire place, which I have yet to see in use. The cafeteria is currently not in use this season according to a sign, but a frozen food vending machine was set in place in lieu of, offering gyoza, rice and a few other decently filling foods for about 300Y. Once making a choice, it spits it into the microwave and heats it up for you. Itadakimasu!
View from inside the lodge
In front of the lodge proper are racks for your gear and on a busy day they will be completely full and you may have to stick them in the snow along the fence.
Gear Rack
Once you’re ready to head up, the first lift (Technically the second lift according to the map) is about 20m from the equipment racks and sports a nifty automatic gate and conveyor that is slightly awkward to get used to.
Bottom Lift (Not the yellow restaurant in the background)
When you’re cleared to enter, the arms open and you slide down and onto the treadmill. It’ll run you forward until the next lift scoops you up.
The lift takes about 7 minutes to reach the top and offers a good preview of the first slopes layout
Video of first lift ride
On the far right, a snow park can be seen, although it leaves much to be desired. Sporting two box rails and two kickers, it manages to give those park rats a taste without traveling too far from home.
First Box Rail
Back of first box
Approaching Jump
Back of first jump
On the left closest to the lifts you’ll catch the chatlets and the old decomissioned ski jump. Would that it was still in use! A 40m ramp and huge landing pad, but it has vines and rust growing all over it and a big do not enter sign on it.
At the top of the first lift (Second) the, second lift (first) is a short 20m away and will take you to the top of the mountain. While the bottom lift, is a two seater, the top lift is a precarious one seat lift. If you brave the climb, its another 7 minutes until exit. If you have a long snowboard, be sure to pay attention to the lift posts as my 166cm came precariously close to hitting one.
View from first lift
Right side course (Groomed)
Left Side Course (Powder)
Second/Top Lift
As you go up, you’ll have a great view of the other two courses. The one to the left and closes to the lift remains ungroomed for the length of the season due to the natural contours of the mountain. This side I tend to call the powder side due to the great accumulation it gets. If you go down to far, you’ll miss the cut through to hit the lift again, but I have seen some skiers shoot to the bottom and trek back up. If you’re a snowboarder, I wouldn't risk it., and just be sure to dart over when you need to.
Video of Second Lift Ride
The right side course remains groomed and I would consider it the most difficult course based on the angle of the slope. You can stick to the side near the trees (going down the slope on the left) or dip into the bowl which is not groomed. Both come together at the bottom where you can hop back on the top lift or ride the rest of the way down the mountain.
At the exit of the top lift, there is no ramp, only a flat platform, so you need to be sure to get out of the way before the seat takes you out. There is plenty of room for a few people to strap in, then go down the shoot that puts you on the slope. The chute has little room for error, so you need to be careful or you’ll fall off the slope and it’s a pain to get yourself back over.
Strapping in at the Top Lift Exit
The best part of the entire resort in my opinion is the amazing view of Mutsu Bay. Because of the location (this is a southern facing slope) you get a beautiful scene of the bay and the "axe handle" of Shimokita. On a good clear day you can make out the wind turbines of Mutsu Yokohama as well as Cape Shiriyazaki. Tsugaru Strait is barely visible and I think I can see the shadow of Hokkaido as well. More often than not you'll be looking at the bay or will have it in your eyeline on the ride down. While not the same as a big mountain range, it's very relaxing and unique to the area
View from the top-Mutsu City on the Left
View from the top- Ominato Self Defense Harbor
The beginner slope, or main slope is very wide and there are many contours and ways down and even on a busy day it’s incredibly spacious, short of at the top where people mingle.
I've been visiting Kamafuse since opening week and although the weather across Japan hasn’t been great this winter, the base cover has been good and enjoy spending a few hours every other day here.
If you ever find yourself this far north in mainland Japan (highly unlikely!) and visit Shimokita Penninsula in the winter, then Kamafuse is a great (and the only!) snow resort to enjoy.
So when did you start getting into winter sports? Was it a yearly vacation your family always did? Or did you see some crazy big mountain snowboarding video? Did you get into skiing in college as an elective?
Lets hear your story!
For me- As a child I really wanted this video game called 1080 Snowboarding for Nintendo 64. I couldn't get my parents to get it for me, but it was on display as a demo at the local toys r us. I would walk there every day after school before my parents got home and play the game. I loved imagining me doing the tricks and big mountain jumps. Took me over a month but I eventually beat the game on my own save file. I went back one afternoon and it was replaced by some other game. Unfortunately, the controller didn't allow you to put a memory pak in it and get the save file, so I never wanted to play it over again after that.
The first opportunity I had to actually snowboard was about a year after that with my dad. We went to a resort in the Appalachian mountains where I eventually went to college. I had a lot of fun but was terrible and got really frustrated with the learning curve. The desire to snowboard stuck with me from childhood so when I moved there for college I signed up for classes and got the seasonal night pass several years in a row, enjoying nightly sessions several times a week.
Now that I live in Japan I have an even greater opportunity to hone my skills and continue this passion.
I thought it would be nice to make a ski thread as I will be visiting my local resort a lot this year and document the weather/ snow conditions, etc each time I go as a reference for others and as a record for me.
I will also (sometimes) add photos that I take at the resort.
It is a small resort and has 10 courses with the longest being about 1600 metres top to bottom.
The reason I go there, is it is about 20 mins from my house, it is somewhere I have been going for years now and I like the area/ski resort and we have friends who go there too.
Day 1 : 7th Dec 2013 (Opening day) Just one lower course was open with mostly man made snow. Weather was mostly sunny, but very windy peaked out at about +1oC that day. Almost empty!
Day 2 :8th Dec 2013 Same as above really!
Day 3 : 21st Dec 2013 Two thirds open all natural snow, soft powdery snow, sunny, nice conditions, although clouded up in the afternoon. Quite a few people, but never crowded. Top to bottom skiing.
Day 4: 22nd Dec 2013 It snowed up to about 8cm or so the night before so was treated to fresh pow on top of the already soft snow and sunny sky in the morning. The snow remained soft and powdery the whole day and were plenty of powder pockets to be found all day, albeit chopped up.
Around lunch time onward it clouded over and some light snow fell for a while before turning sunny again More people today..
A great day was had by all.
I will add some photos later, takes too long download from my phone now.
Day 5: 25th Dec 2013Woke up to absolutely crystal clear blue sky, which lasted the whole day, but no new snow, calm conditions. The snow was soft and powdery on the sun facing slopes and a bit hard packed with icy patches on the sheltered slopes, especially as the temps didn't get above -6 today.
Basically a really nice day on the slopes, although would like some new snow. Looks like tomorrow afternoon onwards should give some nice new snow.
I added a few new pics which I took today.
Look closely at this photo, what can you see, that normally would not be there during the day?
My first day of skiing at Hirafu. Overnight we had about 10-15 centimeters.
The snow was pretty dry but hard and icy underneath. I just cruised, taking it easy and getting my legs in.
just got a new board, Burton Fish, and wondering how long everyone usually leaves their wax on for the first wax of the season?
how about the first wax when you get a new board? does it make any difference?
i usually leave my wax on for about 8 hours and then scrape it off.
please advise me, i dont wanna mess up my new board before the snow has even fallen!!!
21 cm in the past 24hrs at MQ (Mike's Quarters, in Higashiyama)
It's that time of the year again.
Local photographer Glen Claydon and Sam Kerr of Niseko Xtreme Tours got first tracks of the season way back on 09 November, but then the warm wind and the rain came and washed most of it away.
The 23 November Opening Day at Grand Hirafu was cancelled and rescheduled for 30 November.
I arrived back on Fantasy Island yesterday afternoon and the snowfall had returned. In spades.
After settling in at the cabin and shovelling the day's snow it was out for Ian MacKenzie's 40th birthday.
Dinner at Niseko Pizza with owner Cezar, Brian from Niseko Ski Academy and Mick from Niseko Cellars, followed by drinks at Niseko Cellars.
Cracking night.
Last season's words, pictures & video can be found here:
The time has finally arrived looks like snow when we land and a decent dump the 1st day
This is me so if you are around say hi obviously I will have gloves and boots on as well
I will be their for 3 weeks mainly by myself so keen for a laugh / ride with anyone.
Brand new 160 Libtech Birdman and 159 Smokin Pinner waxed and scraped
They are a similar size
Brand new Flux DS30's and Burton Cartels to go with them
some different clothes (new and used) see above staying at the Resort
Stay tuned for epic vids and photos
Somehow I misplaced my burton gloves the other day and tore the apartment to pieces trying to find them. No dice, so they must have been donated to the ground somewhere around town. Of course I need another pair before I get out on the mountain was just curious what brands/models people would suggest.
I went to the local sports store but felt like they were seasonally overpriced so decided to shop online after trying on a few pairs.
I'm a big fan of the reusch relation gloves, but they were 120K for the pair. I don't want expensive gloves that are going to soak through after a bit of wet snow, but would pay that much for a good pair of gauntlets that I could keep season after season.
The wife also told me I can get some waterproofing spray for gloves if they start to get damp on me, though I've never heard of anything like that except for boots.
Saw 'Warren Miller's Dynasty' the other month. Not bad, but never been a fan of Miller's doco style. The early movies with loads of fluro 1-pieces are classic though!
