Have never tried snow board, are they less tiring to ride than skis? Also they seem to look easier in the chopped up snow. Or is it Just my imagination??
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Is skiing or boarding harder on your legs?
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How many days did you ski/board this season
Now that the 13-14 season is winding up, I'm curious to hear how many days people got in this winter.
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2015 Ski Trip Booked
YAHOO we are all booked!!! 3 weeks ![:party:]()
Furano with day trips to Asahidake & Tomamu
Asahikawa - Ice Festival - Zoo - Day Trip to Kamui Links
Niseko day trips to Chisenpuri - Mowia & Kiroro.
Interested in any other day trips if anyone has any suggestions![:banner:]()
Furano with day trips to Asahidake & Tomamu
Asahikawa - Ice Festival - Zoo - Day Trip to Kamui Links
Niseko day trips to Chisenpuri - Mowia & Kiroro.
Interested in any other day trips if anyone has any suggestions
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Anything still open this time of year?
I know I'm about two weeks late, but I'm heading to Tokyo business starting this weekend and I'm wondering if there are any ski resorts within striking distance of Tokyo that are still active? I know of Gassan but it's fairly small and I'm not sure of the conditions or if it's easily reachable. I'm just upset at missing the (fantastic) spring blizzards in Tahoe, so I'm trying to get my last skiing of the year if possib.e
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Thank you SnowJapan.
Just like to say thank you to all the people running this site, from the forums to the daily reports. The people doing the daily reports did a great job and with a little humour.
I had my first trip to japan this year which I mostly researched from here, things like train details and locations, to how to find Kanda to buy a great ski jacket for my wife for $30 Aust. My choice to go to Goryu and the lodge I chose, and so much more.
Hopefully going again next year, you have helped me and my wife go on a fantastic adventure in a wonderful country..
Thank you.
I had my first trip to japan this year which I mostly researched from here, things like train details and locations, to how to find Kanda to buy a great ski jacket for my wife for $30 Aust. My choice to go to Goryu and the lodge I chose, and so much more.
Hopefully going again next year, you have helped me and my wife go on a fantastic adventure in a wonderful country..
Thank you.
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The 2014 Southern Hemisphere Winter Thread
It's starting to cool down a bit in Southern Oz so thoughts are turning to mid year snow fun again.
I have booked for En-Zed again, A shorter trip this year - 5 days in Wanaka and 5 Days in Queenstown flying direct to QTown from Bris-Vegas
Anyone else heading out - Australia, NZ, South America?
Some pics from last year's NZ trip .
http://www.snowjapanforums.com/index.php/topic/23203-snowjunky-in-nz-2013-a-bitter-sweet-trip
I have booked for En-Zed again, A shorter trip this year - 5 days in Wanaka and 5 Days in Queenstown flying direct to QTown from Bris-Vegas
Anyone else heading out - Australia, NZ, South America?
Some pics from last year's NZ trip .
http://www.snowjapanforums.com/index.php/topic/23203-snowjunky-in-nz-2013-a-bitter-sweet-trip
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Board lights
Lighting!
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Why..........Just WHY?!
Some "cutting edge" innovations here for the progression of snowboarding....... ![:lol:]()
why would you want to go head first down the slope, your face a foot from the snow?? Powder......no..........smashing your face after landing a jump......no.......missing a rail and jamming your face into it.....no
Why?........Just WHY?!
Handles on a snowboard?! Like stabilisers on a bike?!
Nice elevator music tho![:dance:]()
Why do you need the sail? What is it doing? Gravity is propelling you downhill, the sail is obsolete and looks rather a PITA to keep a hold of
Why not just ski?!![:doh:]()
um.....ok....I can see the why here, but is it really needed?!?
I dig the cheesy voice over tho.....wonder if he's known in the Winter Wonderlands on the island of japan
You too can like you've got a bit lost from the Henley Regatta.....
Just in case you want to give your ankle a greater chance to break.....
![:lol:]()
why would you want to go head first down the slope, your face a foot from the snow?? Powder......no..........smashing your face after landing a jump......no.......missing a rail and jamming your face into it.....no
Why?........Just WHY?!
Handles on a snowboard?! Like stabilisers on a bike?!
Nice elevator music tho
Why do you need the sail? What is it doing? Gravity is propelling you downhill, the sail is obsolete and looks rather a PITA to keep a hold of
Why not just ski?!
um.....ok....I can see the why here, but is it really needed?!?
I dig the cheesy voice over tho.....wonder if he's known in the Winter Wonderlands on the island of japan
You too can like you've got a bit lost from the Henley Regatta.....
Just in case you want to give your ankle a greater chance to break.....
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Tanigawadake Tenjindaira (Minakami, Gunma) - 24th January 2014
I have had my eye on today since earlier this week as it was always looking like it would clear up and be fab weather.
The question was.... where to go.
I found myself on the Kanetsu this morning going over to Minakami and the fantastically awesomely beautiful surroundings of Tanigawa, along with the always annoying ski-jo that is Tanigawadake Tenjindaira.
I'll put the rant in spoilers, as lots of it is similar to last year. And the year before. But it needs to be said!
So, fantastic blue skies this morning. Lots of 'ants' walking up the mountain. Yes, it's just beautiful up there.
In no particular order, all taken from within the skijo area.
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The question was.... where to go.
I found myself on the Kanetsu this morning going over to Minakami and the fantastically awesomely beautiful surroundings of Tanigawa, along with the always annoying ski-jo that is Tanigawadake Tenjindaira.
I'll put the rant in spoilers, as lots of it is similar to last year. And the year before. But it needs to be said!
So, fantastic blue skies this morning. Lots of 'ants' walking up the mountain. Yes, it's just beautiful up there.
Spoiler
And of course, he's slow. So it's 9:15am before I can get on the gondola. I just missed one and so needed to wait 2 hours for the next one. Well, a few minutes. Blimey they only have a few gondolas going at the same time. And of course, it's ridiculously slow and I completed a novel and read a few books on the journey. Get up top and it's already past 9:30am. I see the main pair lift is still not open but see that the lift far left is moving so ski down to that lift. 'Mada desu'. Not open yet. We aren't sure when it will open, they said, so please use that lift up there... you know, the one you have to walk up to over there. Why are you so late in opening? Well, we staff only get up here 15 minutes before you do! I decided not to suggest that perhaps the staff could get up there earlier to prepare, but decided that it must just be a ridiculous concept. I saw quite a few people ski down to that lift like I did only to have to walk back up the slope to get the lift that was actually moving. No sign at all saying the lift was not open yet.In no particular order, all taken from within the skijo area.
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Gassan, Yamagata, 2014.5.25
Last time I went to Gassan (http://www.snowjapan...magata-2014429/), I wrote, "I will definitely go back some time." So I did, today.
The weather forecast looked reasonable, and I figured the snow coverage should still be pretty good, so I thought, what the heck.
As it turned out, the entire population of Japan thought the exact same thing.
Hit the road at 4:30, made it there by 9:00, and was one of the last cars allowed into the parking lot. Those behind us ended up parking alongside the road going down the hill from the pension mura.
Looking up at the hill, look at all those ants!
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And the lift line! This is not Naeba ca 1988:
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Well, I guess once everything else is closed, where else are you going to go?
The inhabitants of Honshu took up residence on the (greatly-expanded since last month) mogul courses:
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Kyushu and Shikoku battled it out in a snowboard mogul (!) competition off the first T-bar lift:
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Okinawa went hiking beyond the pale:
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Hokkaido was lost in the trees.
Other than some bare spots near the top of the chair lift, coverage seemed still pretty complete.
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Last time, there were two mogul courses. This time, there were more mogul courses than you could shake a stick at.
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Actually, this was a nice thing, if one is at all interested in moguls. One could go hunting for a mogul course at one's level. I hunted around and found some (many) too hard, some too easy, and some... just right! めっちゃ楽しい, as the kids say.
The weather forecast looked reasonable, and I figured the snow coverage should still be pretty good, so I thought, what the heck.
As it turned out, the entire population of Japan thought the exact same thing.
Hit the road at 4:30, made it there by 9:00, and was one of the last cars allowed into the parking lot. Those behind us ended up parking alongside the road going down the hill from the pension mura.
Looking up at the hill, look at all those ants!
And the lift line! This is not Naeba ca 1988:
Well, I guess once everything else is closed, where else are you going to go?
The inhabitants of Honshu took up residence on the (greatly-expanded since last month) mogul courses:
Kyushu and Shikoku battled it out in a snowboard mogul (!) competition off the first T-bar lift:
Okinawa went hiking beyond the pale:
Hokkaido was lost in the trees.
Other than some bare spots near the top of the chair lift, coverage seemed still pretty complete.
Last time, there were two mogul courses. This time, there were more mogul courses than you could shake a stick at.
Actually, this was a nice thing, if one is at all interested in moguls. One could go hunting for a mogul course at one's level. I hunted around and found some (many) too hard, some too easy, and some... just right! めっちゃ楽しい, as the kids say.
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Working in a Japanese resort
Apologies if a thread already exists for this (I couldn't find one) or if it's in the wrong section (feel free to move it).
I'm looking at applying for work in a medium sized ski resort that as far as I'm aware doesn't presently have any foreign staff. Just trying to get a bit of an idea of the average salaries for people working resorts if anyone has done it before/knows some figures.
I searched online and could only find a rough guide of ￥80,000-125,000/month + free accommo for ski instructors in Niseko.
Is this similar for other positions around the resort? Front desk/Information, Kitchen staff, lifties etc.
I'm looking at applying for work in a medium sized ski resort that as far as I'm aware doesn't presently have any foreign staff. Just trying to get a bit of an idea of the average salaries for people working resorts if anyone has done it before/knows some figures.
I searched online and could only find a rough guide of ￥80,000-125,000/month + free accommo for ski instructors in Niseko.
Is this similar for other positions around the resort? Front desk/Information, Kitchen staff, lifties etc.
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Shuttle Buses/Goryu
When I was planning our trip and deciding on which area to stay the shuttle buses where a big selling point for the different Hakuba ski areas from the Goryu lodges.
They where great to pick us up from outside the Goryu lodge to take us to Escal plaza (Goryu ski area) in the morning and bring us home in the afternoon when we where skiing.
They were not keen to shuttle us from say Escal plaza Goryu to Hakuba central on our rest day, I now understand why, Escal plaza bus doesnt want to take 2 aussies to another ski resort for a day trip. Im sure if we where there early we could have caught the Happo bus to Happo. Had we been told.
We did travel to another ski area on another day, the lodge owner drove us into the Goryu town to wait at a bus stop for that particular resort shuttle bus to pick us up, they also dropped us back in town. We did get a Escal plaza bus pick us up and dropped us off at the plaza. Where we waited for the next bus to shuttle us to the lodge
Had we stayed in Hakuba I feel it may have been easier to get around to the other resorts. This is not a complaint, just a observation from a first time traveler to the area. The shuttle buses are not a free public transport system. Although I would have gladly paid a fee for the service.
The service they offer is fantastic and friendly and they leave exactly on time,just as long as you are aware of why they are there.
My suggestions for anyone else new to the Goryu area is to use the taxis if you want to have a look around they are pretty reasonable as we found out at the end of the trip.
I hope this helps another newbie to understand the shuttle system.
They where great to pick us up from outside the Goryu lodge to take us to Escal plaza (Goryu ski area) in the morning and bring us home in the afternoon when we where skiing.
They were not keen to shuttle us from say Escal plaza Goryu to Hakuba central on our rest day, I now understand why, Escal plaza bus doesnt want to take 2 aussies to another ski resort for a day trip. Im sure if we where there early we could have caught the Happo bus to Happo. Had we been told.
We did travel to another ski area on another day, the lodge owner drove us into the Goryu town to wait at a bus stop for that particular resort shuttle bus to pick us up, they also dropped us back in town. We did get a Escal plaza bus pick us up and dropped us off at the plaza. Where we waited for the next bus to shuttle us to the lodge
Had we stayed in Hakuba I feel it may have been easier to get around to the other resorts. This is not a complaint, just a observation from a first time traveler to the area. The shuttle buses are not a free public transport system. Although I would have gladly paid a fee for the service.
The service they offer is fantastic and friendly and they leave exactly on time,just as long as you are aware of why they are there.
My suggestions for anyone else new to the Goryu area is to use the taxis if you want to have a look around they are pretty reasonable as we found out at the end of the trip.
I hope this helps another newbie to understand the shuttle system.
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Guess which Japanese ski resort gets the most page views on SnowJapan
Quiz!
Some very interesting info/data being found as we wade through statistics and logs for the site.
Which ski resorts do you think get the most pages views on SnowJapan over the last 12 months?
1
2
3
I am referring to the 500+ resort listing pages, such as this one:
http://www.snowjapan...uma/mt-granview
Prizes galore for those who get it right!
Some very interesting info/data being found as we wade through statistics and logs for the site.
Which ski resorts do you think get the most pages views on SnowJapan over the last 12 months?
1
2
3
I am referring to the 500+ resort listing pages, such as this one:
http://www.snowjapan...uma/mt-granview
Prizes galore for those who get it right!
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Yuzawa <> Nozawa
Hey, I see there is a route over from Yuzawa to Nozawa.
Is it open in winter?
Cheers
Is it open in winter?
Cheers
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Skiing on the Island of Japan?
Hello
Is there skiing on the Island of Japan?
How about snowboarding?
What are the main places called?
Is Hokkaido better than Honshu?
How about Nozowa or Hakubu?
Where are the top 10 ski hills for beginner?
And the best for off-piste?
Can you please recommend restaurants and accommodation?
Please post full travel iteneries for all of the above.
Where would the legendary Shakey or my hero Shinzo Abe ski?
Oh yes, and please post anything else you recommend.
I know nothing and have absolutely no idea where I might begin to find any such informations, so please don't is cense me.
Is there skiing on the Island of Japan?
How about snowboarding?
What are the main places called?
Is Hokkaido better than Honshu?
How about Nozowa or Hakubu?
Where are the top 10 ski hills for beginner?
And the best for off-piste?
Can you please recommend restaurants and accommodation?
Please post full travel iteneries for all of the above.
Where would the legendary Shakey or my hero Shinzo Abe ski?
Oh yes, and please post anything else you recommend.
I know nothing and have absolutely no idea where I might begin to find any such informations, so please don't is cense me.
Spoiler
Spoiler
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Hokkaido vs Nozawa + Myoko Kogen + Madarao
Last year I have been in hokkaido. I made a tour around central Hokkaido and niseko area.
This year I would like come back to Japan.
I search information about ski areas. I found that nozawa onsen very good powder,and near mykono and madaro with very good snow. Can you give me your opinion.
I 'm guarantee of powder and off piste terrain because for ski in slopes in europe I have very good terrain.
Can you help me?
Can you give your opinion?
Thanks you
This year I would like come back to Japan.
I search information about ski areas. I found that nozawa onsen very good powder,and near mykono and madaro with very good snow. Can you give me your opinion.
I 'm guarantee of powder and off piste terrain because for ski in slopes in europe I have very good terrain.
Can you help me?
Can you give your opinion?
Thanks you
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A bit of help - getting the point across
On our Contact Us form...
http://www.snowjapan.com/contact
...we do point out that we're not a Q&A service and that we can't answer specific questions. So why do so many people use it to send us specific questions - ranging from boot size, the time of a train from Inawashiro to Bandai, the cost of ramen in Sapporo, snow depth at Mt Granview, and do we have availability in our hotel (!?) for 5 people between 5th and 8th January 2014 (no smoking please)?
!
Perhaps reflecting the new layout of the site and subsequent ease of finding it, or perhaps just generally increasing traffic, but we are getting a lot of these recently and it's increasing.
We don't like ignoring them, but at the same time, we simply don't have the time to reply to them. And becoming a Q&A service is not on our list of things we want to do!
Anyone able to help me out?
We need to re-word the blurb on our form so it is very clear that we are not a travel agency, don't own a hotel, or have a local map of Takasu!
Please submit your entries below:
![:)]()
http://www.snowjapan.com/contact
...we do point out that we're not a Q&A service and that we can't answer specific questions. So why do so many people use it to send us specific questions - ranging from boot size, the time of a train from Inawashiro to Bandai, the cost of ramen in Sapporo, snow depth at Mt Granview, and do we have availability in our hotel (!?) for 5 people between 5th and 8th January 2014 (no smoking please)?
!
Perhaps reflecting the new layout of the site and subsequent ease of finding it, or perhaps just generally increasing traffic, but we are getting a lot of these recently and it's increasing.
We don't like ignoring them, but at the same time, we simply don't have the time to reply to them. And becoming a Q&A service is not on our list of things we want to do!
Anyone able to help me out?
We need to re-word the blurb on our form so it is very clear that we are not a travel agency, don't own a hotel, or have a local map of Takasu!
Please submit your entries below:
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Koi Suru Fortune Cookie @ skijo
These first two were in the Guess Where This Is thread.
Funny. I bet there's more out there. Let's finding.
Funny. I bet there's more out there. Let's finding.
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Guess Where This Is
See if you can guess where this is?
If you get it right you get to post the next pic and so on..........and so on.
I have made this one fairly easy to get the thread started
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If you get it right you get to post the next pic and so on..........and so on.
I have made this one fairly easy to get the thread started
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2015 Ski Trip Booked
YAHOO we are all booked!!! 3 weeks ![:party:]()
Furano with day trips to Asahidake & Tomamu
Asahikawa - Ice Festival - Zoo - Day Trip to Kamui Links
Niseko day trips to Chisenpuri - Mowia & Kiroro.
Interested in any other day trips if anyone has any suggestions![:banner:]()
Furano with day trips to Asahidake & Tomamu
Asahikawa - Ice Festival - Zoo - Day Trip to Kamui Links
Niseko day trips to Chisenpuri - Mowia & Kiroro.
Interested in any other day trips if anyone has any suggestions
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