ILoveZao

Ah yes nightlife. The village doesn't need to be the liveliest on the planet, but it certainly needs to be more lively than it is now in an evening! Well we did open for a few days but the snow didn't last long and we have now been closed for a few. Not a whole lot of snow on the horizon either really.

Zao now part open. Not much snow really but good to get a first slide in

As we are getting close to the season start, I thought I would start a thread that I will keep going during the season. Here's some photos, bit of snow on the slopes and light snow falling this morning.

Yes one of my friends lives in Karuizawa and commutes to Tokyo weekdays. It actually takes him less than many of his colleagues and his office is close to Tokyo station and so actually quite convenient.

Lovely! You certainly know how to frame an excellent photograph.

The last 10 years or so has seen a lot of smaller places go under. There will be more of that, as well as perhaps a few larger stories. But really there were too many places. By the time some places were built, the peak of the ski boom was already over.

Just be careful please! Even experienced snow drivers can make mistakes easy. But most accidents are caused by those who are not used to it.

Lovely autumn colors

I'm not ready for winter just yet! I'm sure we will see them on tv.

There are simply too many skijo and many of them are tiny and just cater for locals.

Yes please send some and flyers too. I will put in Zao and Yamagata. I sent the form. Thank you.

The first snow - evidence

The Kurohime base is about 5 minutes drive from the gondola. Definitely a good place to start in my opinion.

Lovely morning now though.

Not on the skijo mountain, no. Edit: I heard it had yes but I can't see any snow up there now. I heard someone say that some light snow had fallen over up by the crater on the way over to Miyagi.

About the ropeway. This is something that had been planned, budgeted and paid for a long while - before the events of March. The resort this year is unfortunately under immense budget pressure.... lots of things have been either cut quite dramatically or cut completely. Optimism is of course good, but the reality is that people are generally a bit grim with slow bookings and the fear that most people will avoid Tohoku and instead choose places more north or more west. But that shouldn't affect your enjoyment of course! Yes I would recommend Kurohime as the place to park. Ri

They would have had to change too much to make it bigger it seems and cost too much. But I think the new one is definitely an improvement. I would tell anyone, especially on a fine day, to get the pair lifts up to the mid-point. It's so much better than waiting for the Ropeway and spending 5-10 minutes squashed up against a window.

I will try to find some of Zao.

Nighta will be a green glowing trip this year! ILZ, do you know if the resort is worried the effect of Fukushima will have on visitor numbers? Very worried.

Perhaps disappointingly, the speed and capacity are pretty much the same. It's only holidays when it gets to be a real bottleneck. At those times I recommend people take the pair lift just next to the ropeway and a few further lifts up. They are often not busy at all, even on a holiday.

About 80km I think. Yes I live most of the year in Yamagata though spend a lot of winter in Zao Onsen itself. I don't work for the skijo directly, though do wish to support it of course!

Deciding on the name of a new Shinkansen station is a big deal for everyone involved. I suppose "Joetsu" just wouldn't be that interesting for that region. The words Myoko and Takada are both very well known and probably the best name for it cosidering where it is.

The new ropeway at Zao has started operations. A nice improvement I think and good to see positive things happening. Lets hope the season turns out to be decent. Love the new photos uploader/embed. It is so so easy!

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So tomorrow is a national holiday again so we can have some time off. Well, I can! Can't wait.