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RESORTS |
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The following are the current reader reviews on Snow Japan for the resort
Naeba, Niigata.
Currently there are 68 reviews.
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| Resort name : |
Naeba, Niigata |
Snowboarder |
| Readers name : |
Brett Dennis
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| Date Visited : |
02nd - 05th February 2010 |
| Snow Condition : |
Very good - fresh powder 10 - 30cm each day, dry & light, night we left absolutely dumping down. |
| PROS : |
Big interconnected ski area when combined with Kagura, well serviced, potential for excellent backcountry & big mountain terrain. |
| CONS : |
Busy, bit of a 'scene', over the top bubble era high rise hotels & apartments, megatron industrial powerlines marching across mountains, restrictive off-piste policy, lifts not operating, limiting access to some areas of mountain. |
| Review : |
From my understanding, the mighty Naeba is a flagship of the 'bubble era' resorts. Arriving here at night with heavy snow falling is quite surreal, steep mountains partially lit by the reflected light of the mini-city wedged into the narrow valley floor below, high above march rows of giant high voltage power lines giving the whole scene a strange science fiction feel.
We opted to stay at Naeba, with night skiing (for what it's worth) & more accom options, while riding mainly at Kagura. Avoiding the hideous Prince Hotel, we stayed at a small nearby hotel "The Kinta' which was actually quite the Japanese boutique luxury, almost empty & with a nice mixed balcony onsen that overlooked the lower mountain. We arrived at Yuzawa Station quite late with heavy snow falling. No more public buses were scheduled that night, so we grabbed a Prince Hotel 'ticket' & rode the luxury 'Prince guests ohnry' bus up to Naeba 'village'. On arrival, the porters looked quite mystified when we grabbed our boardbags & headed out of the Prince lobby into the snowy night.
Taking into account access to all the lifts & ropeways, along with shuttle buses, the combined Mt Naeba lift ticket is good value. The Naeba ski area on it's own is a moderate size, has good vertical & some great alpine & off-piste terrain, if you can get it. Unfortanately, the mountain also has some genuine avalanche terrain which threatens many of the main piste areas on the left side of the mountain & subsequently the off-piste policy appears to be very strict, with a great deal of signage, roped off areas, public announcements & staff with loudspeakers waiting in areas where people tend to drop into the off-piste bowls. I did see some fairly passive attempts at avy controls in these bowls areas, each morning ski patrol undertook ski cutting in the most threatening areas & at the base of each bowl, a medium sized snow wall had been constructed in an attempt to stop slides running onto pistes should slopes above release. With more pro-active control of these bowls & a backcountry access gate system, Naeba has the potential for some excellent bigger mountain terrain with much of the upper areas being open alpine terrain or large widely spaced trees.
Aside from these off-piste areas, which we did score some nice fresh lines in when conditions permitted, the main ski area has some pleasant long rolling runs, plenty of good banks & features & quite a large terrain park set-up. The ungroomed face & trees off the top double chair is great in clearer weather, as is the pleasantly located log resturant at the top of the main gondora. One frustration was the lack of lifts operating in the entire right section of the lower mountain. With fresh snow, there was some nice little pockets in that area, but with only the Dragondola & a small double chair operating, lift access was not available. While receiving less snow than Kagura, the mountain still get plenty & the altitude of the upper section keeps snow in good condition.
Night skiing was more average than I expected, suprisingly crowded with only some of the total floodlit area turned on each night. The Dragondola was certainly an impressive engineering feat & quite a scenic cross country ride but with the endless small lift shuffle required to reach the good stuff at the Tashiro / Kagura end, seemed more of a novelty than an effective way to quickly get over to more fresh powder.
To me, Naeba is a textbook tackily overdone bubble resort tempered by some excellent big mountain terrain. Unfortanately, in it's current form, the best terrain is vigorously avoided & restricted. The actual resort, felt sterile & commercial & the base 'village' wildly overdone. Being combined with the lower key Kagura area improved Naeba but I wouldn't return to ride at Naeba alone, despite some of the lines waiting just outside the ropes, instead would stay at some of the lower key lodges near Kagura & more thoroughly explore that area. |
| OTHER REVIEWS of Naeba Resort (68 in total) |
| READER JOURNALS submitted about Naeba Resort (36 in total) |
| READER PHOTOS submitted of Naeba Resort (435 in total) |
| This Resort Review was submitted : Sunday 21st March 2010, 2:05am |
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| NAEBA - READER RANKINGS (Vote Here) |
| GENERAL SCORE |
SNOW CONDITIONS |
COURSES TERRAIN |
LIFT SYSTEM |
APRES SKI |
75
( 43 votes)
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68
( 43 votes) |
71
( 42 votes) |
75
( 42 votes) |
62
( 39 votes) |
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| Resort name : |
Naeba, Niigata |
Snowboarder |
| Readers name : |
James
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| Date Visited : |
jan 5 2010 |
| Snow Condition : |
Insane fresh pow |
| PROS : |
Sickest pow iv ever seen |
| CONS : |
Couldnt see much |
| Review : |
Ive only ever snowboarded in NZ where I lived. (currently here on working holiday visa) so I hadnt seen any powder or done powder boarding before. The day I was there the weather was actually a bit of a nightmare, we couldnt see a thing really and it was really cold and windy.. But it was snowing harder than anything I had ever seen in NZ making for some absolutely incredible snow.
If you stick to the sides of the runs in Naeba their is some awesome snow to be had, and the prince hotel there really looked after us even though we were only there for one night. I enjoyed that it did have an enjoyable atmosphere with some foriegn guests and bars around for apres ski. ontop of this the dragondola (biggest gondola in japan) was huge and absolutely awesome. Unfortunately the weather was so bad we decided to take it back to naeba as soon as we finished lunch. The trails were of variable difficulty, I especially enjoyed the top double diamond black at naeba where my mate and i both actually managed to get stuck in the pow (Im 6foot2, 18 and fit, and it still took me about 10 minutes of really hard work to get free from the really deep pow)
All in all, an absolutely incredible and big place. AND I WAS THERE ON A BAD DAY. Can't wait to get the chance to go back. |
| OTHER REVIEWS of Naeba Resort (68 in total) |
| READER JOURNALS submitted about Naeba Resort (36 in total) |
| READER PHOTOS submitted of Naeba Resort (435 in total) |
| This Resort Review was submitted : Friday 15th January 2010, 4:51pm |
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| NAEBA - READER RANKINGS (Vote Here) |
| GENERAL SCORE |
SNOW CONDITIONS |
COURSES TERRAIN |
LIFT SYSTEM |
APRES SKI |
75
( 43 votes)
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68
( 43 votes) |
71
( 42 votes) |
75
( 42 votes) |
62
( 39 votes) |
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| Resort name : |
Naeba, Niigata |
Snowboarder |
| Readers name : |
Endless Winter
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| Date Visited : |
Jan. 2009 |
| Snow Condition : |
Very good |
| PROS : |
Easy access, good lift system |
| CONS : |
Tends to be windy up there frequently |
| Review : |
This was my second time to visit Naeba and it did not disappoint. A good 20-30cm of snow had accumulated, the wind had ceased, and the whole mountain was open. It was one of those blue bird days with panoramic views of the entire region from the top. Not being too familiar with the mountain I took my time once off the gondola and figured out how the lifts and runs connected to each other. I found a small group of locals waiting for the very top lift to open. So on my next run, I knew where to go to get to the top. Once the lift started I spent about the rest of the day shredding through light, knee deep snow. Rinse, lather, repeat; it just was one of those magical days. As it was a weekday the crowd was minimal. I noticed quite a few people basking in the sun, taking photos and enjoying the surrounding beauty from the top. The ski patrol seemed pretty relaxed as I poached a few inbound lines. The mountain is quite large and offers something for all level riders/skiiers. I stayed at a nearby pension and caught the local bus to the resort. So even if your not staying at the Prince Hotel, there is still public transport in the area. There's even a Pizza Hut at the bottom, which is where I ended up toward the end of the day. When the conditions are right, Naeba doesn't disappoint. I think it's one of the better resorts in the Yuzawa area. |
| OTHER REVIEWS of Naeba Resort (68 in total) |
| READER JOURNALS submitted about Naeba Resort (36 in total) |
| READER PHOTOS submitted of Naeba Resort (435 in total) |
| This Resort Review was submitted : Saturday 28th February 2009, 5:45am |
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| NAEBA - READER RANKINGS (Vote Here) |
| GENERAL SCORE |
SNOW CONDITIONS |
COURSES TERRAIN |
LIFT SYSTEM |
APRES SKI |
75
( 43 votes)
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68
( 43 votes) |
71
( 42 votes) |
75
( 42 votes) |
62
( 39 votes) |
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| Resort name : |
Naeba, Niigata |
Snowboarder |
| Readers name : |
TokyoBob
Member
Personal page here
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| Date Visited : |
8th February 2008 |
| Snow Condition : |
Mixed - 30cm+ powder to icy on some pistes |
| PROS : |
Great resort, close to Tokyo, not too busy, a lot of off-piste / backcountry opportunities |
| CONS : |
Off-piste and backcountry is discouraged / frowned upon, visibility was low due to snowy weather |
| Review : |
I first came to Naeba at the beginning of the season. What a difference 2 months makes.
This place is big, much bigger than it first appears. The lift pass will even take you over to Kagura via the "Dragondola" so enough to keep you busy for a few days.
If you take Gondola 1 up, you are bound to see a few tracks off to your right. It is possible to grab some lovely powder through the trees and you'll end up back on the piste eventually... however be warned that there are signs telling you not to do this. Remember, going off piste substantially increases the possibility of avalanche, trees are obstacles, and rescuing you is so much more difficult. If you do go off piste and need help it will cost you dearly.
I took the risk and for me it was worth it, but I deliberately avoided certain open areas that looked incredibly inviting but with recent avalanche deaths were just one risk too many.
If in doubt, leave it out. Stay safe... Naeba has enough to offer to keep you occupied.
For a day trip, Naeba is definitely the place for me. So much to do and lots of longer runs and challenges. This weekend is obviously going to be a busy one but after that I heartily recommend it to anyone looking for a day's skiing/boarding. |
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| NAEBA - READER RANKINGS (Vote Here) |
| GENERAL SCORE |
SNOW CONDITIONS |
COURSES TERRAIN |
LIFT SYSTEM |
APRES SKI |
75
( 43 votes)
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68
( 43 votes) |
71
( 42 votes) |
75
( 42 votes) |
62
( 39 votes) |
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| Resort name : |
Naeba, Niigata |
Snowboarder |
| Readers name : |
Tokyo Bob
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| Date Visited : |
7th December 2007 |
| Snow Condition : |
Old snow and not enough snow to leave groomed areas |
| PROS : |
Deserted |
| CONS : |
Patchy snow |
| Review : |
Not enough snow with some parts of the piste deteriorating through the day even though the place was almost deserted. Since there were no queues at all I managed to get some decent practice in - the first day on my board since March 2006, so for me it was worth the trip.
This place seems to have potential and I loved some of the challenging parts but the patchiness of the snow on the piste won't have me rushing back until conditions improve.
If you are low level you might want to take advantage of the lack of people to practice on the few easy runs that are open. |
| OTHER REVIEWS of Naeba Resort (68 in total) |
| READER JOURNALS submitted about Naeba Resort (36 in total) |
| READER PHOTOS submitted of Naeba Resort (435 in total) |
| This Resort Review was submitted : Monday 10th December 2007, 4:28pm |
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| NAEBA - READER RANKINGS (Vote Here) |
| GENERAL SCORE |
SNOW CONDITIONS |
COURSES TERRAIN |
LIFT SYSTEM |
APRES SKI |
75
( 43 votes)
|
68
( 43 votes) |
71
( 42 votes) |
75
( 42 votes) |
62
( 39 votes) |
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| Resort name : |
Naeba, Niigata |
Both |
| Readers name : |
YellowSnow
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| Date Visited : |
Jan 28, 2007 |
| Snow Condition : |
Non Groomed pack on the Lower runs, Great above 1000m |
| PROS : |
Above 1000 was great, clear, good base. |
| CONS : |
Too icy for beginners, no intermediate runs. |
| Review : |
I took a day trip, with a first time skier. The weather and the scenery was perfect, especially the scenery. I have a mixed feeling of Mt. Naeba, some very fun runs but runs were either very hard(to many mogul runs) or irregular beginner runs. That being said the beginner runs at the top were far better. It's a great mountain and I would go there again, but I wouldn't bring a beginner there. |
| OTHER REVIEWS made by reader
YellowSnow (1 in total) |
| OTHER REVIEWS of Naeba Resort (68 in total) |
| READER JOURNALS submitted about Naeba Resort (36 in total) |
| READER PHOTOS submitted of Naeba Resort (435 in total) |
| This Resort Review was submitted : Wednesday 31st January 2007, 11:27am |
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| NAEBA - READER RANKINGS (Vote Here) |
| GENERAL SCORE |
SNOW CONDITIONS |
COURSES TERRAIN |
LIFT SYSTEM |
APRES SKI |
75
( 43 votes)
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68
( 43 votes) |
71
( 42 votes) |
75
( 42 votes) |
62
( 39 votes) |
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| Resort name : |
Naeba, Niigata |
Skier |
| Readers name : |
number9
Member
Personal page here
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| Date Visited : |
Jan 14, 2007 |
| Snow Condition : |
Powder, sometimes knee deep, otherwise groomed on courses |
| PROS : |
Varied runs and terrain |
| CONS : |
Can be crowded |
| Review : |
I'm upgrading the Naeba review because I just had my best Naeba day ever (one of the resorts I go to the most, but I realized that I'd been missing out on some goodies and haven't had the luck on snow condition either.)
Good day trip centre has been added to the premises with large number of lockers and dressing area, as well as a variety of new shops and restaurants.
Sunday had the best snow I've experienced in Naeba, light and dry powder. Though there isn't enough of a base still, so at many points, especially off piste, there were tall grass, branches, and occasional rocks poking out (or getting uncovered in tracks). Once there's enough snow, there's potential for some great fun, and the people who go there don't have the same insatiable appetite for untouched powder that Niseko and Kagura riders have, so more pow for me :) |
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| NAEBA - READER RANKINGS (Vote Here) |
| GENERAL SCORE |
SNOW CONDITIONS |
COURSES TERRAIN |
LIFT SYSTEM |
APRES SKI |
75
( 43 votes)
|
68
( 43 votes) |
71
( 42 votes) |
75
( 42 votes) |
62
( 39 votes) |
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| Resort name : |
Naeba, Niigata |
Snowboarder |
| Readers name : |
Mark
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| Date Visited : |
22 December 2006 |
| Snow Condition : |
Morning - icy; turning to slush during the day |
| PROS : |
Potentially good runs |
| CONS : |
Top closed, can be crowded |
| Review : |
This comment is for 22.12.06. My first time at Naeba, which was rather bad experience. To be fair, I cannot blame resort for all that, the snow conditions were just very poor.
As for Friday, and generally poor snow conditions, the resort was quite crowded. I can imagine crowds on good snow weekends.
Even with this crowd, most lifts (I really mean most) closed @ 3pm!
Why cannot they open the top, where snow is probably best?!
The runs are potentially good, if there is snow, and lifts are open, and you don't need to wait in long queues..
I don't usually get discouraged after just 1 visit, but will need a good reason to come back. |
| OTHER REVIEWS of Naeba Resort (68 in total) |
| READER JOURNALS submitted about Naeba Resort (36 in total) |
| READER PHOTOS submitted of Naeba Resort (435 in total) |
| This Resort Review was submitted : Saturday 23rd December 2006, 8:32am |
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| NAEBA - READER RANKINGS (Vote Here) |
| GENERAL SCORE |
SNOW CONDITIONS |
COURSES TERRAIN |
LIFT SYSTEM |
APRES SKI |
75
( 43 votes)
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68
( 43 votes) |
71
( 42 votes) |
75
( 42 votes) |
62
( 39 votes) |
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| Resort name : |
Naeba, Niigata |
Skier |
| Readers name : |
number9
Member
Personal page here
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| Date Visited : |
Many times |
| Snow Condition : |
Varies |
| PROS : |
Ease of access, variety of runs, connected with Kagura |
| CONS : |
Can get quite busy, next door Kagura usually has better conditionｓ |
| Review : |
Many places to stay nearby with nice onsens. The resort offers a good variety of runs for various levels of riders, so it's a good place to go with a group of friends with different aptitudes.
Resort's also connected to Kagura, and that's a huge plus. Arrive in the morning, spend the day in Naeba, wake up early next morning and get to the Dragondola early to enjoy Tashiro and Kagura. That's a good 2 day course with lots of variety. |
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| NAEBA - READER RANKINGS (Vote Here) |
| GENERAL SCORE |
SNOW CONDITIONS |
COURSES TERRAIN |
LIFT SYSTEM |
APRES SKI |
75
( 43 votes)
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68
( 43 votes) |
71
( 42 votes) |
75
( 42 votes) |
62
( 39 votes) |
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| Resort name : |
Naeba, Niigata |
Snowboarder |
| Readers name : |
bryantp
Member
Personal page here
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| Date Visited : |
March 26, 2006 |
| Snow Condition : |
Spring slush |
| PROS : |
New Snowboard Park! |
| CONS : |
Crowds and loud music played over speakers |
| Review : |
Just an update: the snowboard park at Naeba is very cool. Still, the crowds and the loud music provide good reasons to get over to Kagura but the Park is too much fun! |
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| NAEBA - READER RANKINGS (Vote Here) |
| GENERAL SCORE |
SNOW CONDITIONS |
COURSES TERRAIN |
LIFT SYSTEM |
APRES SKI |
75
( 43 votes)
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68
( 43 votes) |
71
( 42 votes) |
75
( 42 votes) |
62
( 39 votes) |
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| All reviews published have been sent in by, and are the views of, Snow Japan readers. Please note that views expressed are not necessarily those of Snow Japan. Snow Japan reserves the right to edit or not publish any submitted reviews. |
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