Buried in Powder: February in Kandatsu By Tyler Burden & Nick Lambert

Staff at Kandatsu are friendly and efficient, and there are English-speakers available when needed. (In addition, the resort information brochure is available in good English.) Regular operating hours are 08:00-17:00 but the resort opens from 05:30AM on Saturdays and holidays. Half-day, one-day and two-day passes are offered at competitive prices. ‘Nighters’ are not currently available.

Access to the resort is quick and easy. To and from JR Echigo Yuzawa station, about 75 minutes from Ueno by Shinkansen, is a complimentary shuttle bus service taking 10 minutes. The resort also offers an impressively cheap day return package bus deal from Shinjuku (7500 yen return including one-day lift ticket; 2000 yen for one-way back to Tokyo).

While there is no accommodation at the resort itself, there are many nice minshukus and hotels nearby. These will usually provide free pick up and shuttle services to accommodations and snow resorts.  We stayed at Asahikan, a lovely old minshuku with excellent food and friendly English-speaking owners. There we were kept reminded of the weather conditions, as throughout the night the room shook from snow falling off the roof with a heavy thud…

The resort comprises 13 runs in total spread relatively evenly between green, red and black. There are both powder and mogul runs, the latter maintained and roped off. It also features a snow park with ramps for those hardier souls ready to risk life and limb for their sporting endeavors. Though it does not seem to have a complete half-pipe, there are some banks and the ramps for aerials. The adjacent green runs are wide and easily accessible, with sufficient slope for a nice warm-up run for intermediate skiers or boarders. Most of the runs are maintained but not over-groomed (though due to the heavy continuous snowfall there was powder on every run). Since at least 80% of the people there were young snowboarders, it is fortunate that most runs are wide enough to accommodate both boarders and skiers. The black runs are really challenging red runs: they are steep powder runs mainly. There appears to be some opportunity for off-piste tree runs, especially under the lifts. However, the extreme depth of snow made these areas look treacherous, so we weren’t tempted to test them.

The run we liked the best was a black run ambitiously named 'Milky Way.’ One of the two long cruising runs on the resort, it follows the ridge of the mountain along a narrow 2.5km route down to the lifts at the bottom with some very agreeable views along the (milky?!) way. Although, sadly the weather was such that we didn't get to experience them too often. In point of fact, the reduced visibility meant that it was a little dangerous at the top end: the drop-offs are so steep on both sides that it would be a good idea to plant some rope barriers along the edges. Most of this run is a long easy groomed cruise with just enough slope that there is no section requiring walking, making it a nice run for carving beautiful turns. The only reason it is labeled a black run is that the final slope is steep. Another enjoyable run was called 'Orion' an unfeasibly steep (45 degrees to be precise) powder run which we managed to do mainly through our technically adept use of our rear ends as braking mechanisms. Fun despite the difficulties and boy did that snow taste good! The final (green) run of the day down from the main run area to the base lodge is also pleasant, passing through a lovely wooded area along a narrow trail.

From the base lodge there are three two-person chair lifts to shuttle guests up to the run areas. On the quiet midweek days we were there only one of the chairs was in operation. There are four main lifts: three “high-speed” quads and one two-person chair. Despite their label, these are all fairly slow; however, they range from 800 to 1250m in length so it doesn't take long to reach the top. One caveat is that none of them are covered; moreover, they don’t have any foot rests nor does the older chair have a safety bar. On the other hand, the seats are not usually too far above the ground… We also found the piped music along the lifts and in some of the restaurants a bit lame - forgettable hip hop and J-pop - but at least it wasn’t blaring in volume and only broadcast at the starting and ending points of lifts.

A plus point is the recently refurbished restaurant and cafe area at the bottom of the main lifts which seemed a touch better than ones we've been to previously. There are several restaurants, including the ubiquitous curry/ramen eatery (with a fairly extensive menu), the ‘Brown Cafe’ with Thai curry, pastas, sandwiches, gelato and - joy of joys! - gourmet coffees, and ‘Katchan’ specializing in Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki with beer at 1000 yen which went down a treat. There is also an event space with a stage for what appear to be monthly concerts connected to MTV (though the poster displayed looked for all the world like an enka diva…)

Speaking of food, we should also mention that the smokehouse/teahouse cafe at the top of the mountain, which looked attractive but out of place - sporting a union jack and seeming for all the world like a final outpost of the British empire - was closed. Pity.

One of the nicest aspects of Kandatsu is the complete spa facility located on the 5th floor of the base lodge. There are hot and cold pools of various shapes and sizes including 2 saunas, a jacuzzi and a rotemburo bath with a view out across the mountains. Not an altogether unagreeable way to unwind after a hard day's tumbling. Oh, and it also offers the so-called 'Relax Room', a rather curious arrangement with sun-loungers and parasols and not even the presence of a single window to give one the suggestion of sun. We spent a good hour in there none the less, adding to the snore orchestra. The spa costs 1200 yen in the daytime (12:30-18:30) and 3000 yen at night (midnight-08:00). Incidentally, one alternative to staying overnight at a nearby lodge is to stay all night at the spa - where there are private ‘napping’ rooms for 2-10 people until 7:30AM (at an additional charge).

In the base lodge at the reception area are two other eateries: a takeout snack food area and a pleasant dessert cafe with gourmet coffees and attractive desserts. It makes a nice place to chill after a spa bath while waiting for shuttle back to accommodations or train station. On the down side, the main reception building though functional is a bit of a soulless non-entity (with the exception of its cafe and spa areas).

There is a full-service ski and snowboard school, as well as a well-stocked rental shop. Even snow scoots and mini-skis are available. Due to the weather perhaps, only half-day lessons were being offered when we were there. One of us took a lesson the second day and the instructor suggested that another plus point of the resort was the protection it offered from strong winds. This however seemed to contradict the evidence of our own eyes as, at the top particularly, it was um, grim to say the least (in fairness to her though this was reckoned to be the worst day weather in some decades, so it probably wasn't particularly representative).

In summary, this is a pleasant, uncrowded but somewhat limited resort and for hacker skiers like ourselves it was pretty good fun. It would probably be a little tame for higher level skiers who require a bit more oomph (though they would enjoy the powder and the views). The predominant crowd on the days we went there were young boarders, numerically dwarfing the skiers, and the resort seems to be generally more geared towards this group. If you're bored of the main resorts in Niigata and want to explore a bit this one's definitely worth a shot.

Many thanks to Tyler Burden & Nick Lambert for the Review. 

(Check out the other Kandatsu Review here)