cram400

considering a pair of LINE Sir Francis Bacons..

i think the folks up above have already covered all the major resorts but just wanted to add my two cents: myoko is another area worth considering.. there are several resorts to choose from within the area + snowfall during a typical winter is pretty heavy for japanese standards..

wonderful trailer sharing, HS. trailer season is starting.. there should be a lot more coming out in the coming weeks.

as those above already mention, there are a lot of options. where you send you boss also would depend on whether your boss would want not want any of the below: is the boss interested in a nightlife scene?.. is he/she looking for a japanese cultural experience in addition to the skiing? is he/she comfortable with a japanese style lodging or would he/she prefer western style accommodation?

if launching yourself off kickers, riding pipe is your thing, alts bandai.. after a good dump alts also has some decent tree skiing.. if you're after a quiet scene with good snow, urabandai nekoma.. the slopes face to the north yielding fine, light snow..

Scott-san, Love the lunch break photo.. I bet nothing beats eating a bento in the open air surrounded by mountains! so, when do sub-zero temps begin to creep back in on the Northern Alps? I for one am already tired of the heat and humidity and can't wait for reports of first snowfall on the highest peaks of Japan.. I know we're still 4-5 months away from that though.. ho hum..

sweet pics, capt. stag! humidity really kicking in Tokyo now. Venturing down south and dunking my head in that snow is the kind of relief I need..

my goal: quit the J-O-B in late December and ski as much as possible thru March.. and hopefully find a new job in the spring..

NOAA also suggesting that conditions are favorable for a transition to el niño conditions.. apologies is posting a link is a no-no.. http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/enso_advisory/ensodisc.pdf

armada jj why: versatile beyond my imagination.. don't let the fatness fool you.. jjs handle just fine on groomers, and if getting from point a to b on the mountain requires you to ride thru moguls it'll do the trick (although obviously these weren't designed for hard core mogul runs).. a bit dodgy on ice, though.. armada's classification of these as an "all mountain powder ski" are spot on, IMHO.

i believe these pics from the SJ gallery are from the Yuzawa/Niigata area from the 05/06 season.. copious amounts of snow, indeed.. http://www.snowjapan.com/e/gallery/index-snowy-japan.html

Both resorts are great for intermediate skiers with a large variety of terrain from which to choose. SK has no apres except the bar in the hotel/lodge (not all hotels/lodges have bars though)., Nozawa does to some extent as there is an entire village at the base of the mountain.

05/06 in the Yuzawa area was ridiculous.. it didn't stop snowing.. the snowfall levels were evident from the amount of snow piled up on the side of the streets.

Splendid pics, GN! Always wondered what was under all that snow..

you can go to the Niseko United website (http://www.niseko.ne.jp/index.html) and check out the live cameras too to get a limited view of what it looks like in the summer.. what a contrast from the winter time! it's gone from white to a splendid covering of green!

15 days on the slopes... wish i could at least double that next season..

would have to say a hearty katsu curry.. when i'm not in the curry mood, a warm bowl of miso ramen.

Skier!

buy the boots that fit you in Oz and take them along.. size 12 (or 30cm) is considered to be on the large side of the boot size spectrum for japan, which means there is not as much demand for large sizes compared to, let's say, a size 9-10, which in turn means slimmer pickings of size 12 boots.. although it's possible to find size 12, you definitely run the risk of not being able find perfect fitting boots and that's no way to be spending your holiday.. btw, comments pertain only to ski boots.. not sure what the situation is for board boots..

yep, that's it.. Hunting Yeti.. these webisodes were what kept me going during the last summer in the run up to the 08/09 season.. so far in this off-season nimbus' "en route" series is what i've been watching to maintain my sanity. i'll be sure to check out Unparallelled.. definitely would like to see more of these north american production companies shoot more in japan.. i guess the production cost becomes an issue for these companies.. why shoot all the way in japan when you have some of the best terrain in the world in north america..

the nimbus independent films are very good.. sweet footage and great music. their "webisodes" from the previous season (07/08) although not filmed in japan are pretty good as well. definitely worth checking out to get your snow fix..

NIIIIICE pics! envious of the snowy situation down under. the rainy season started in western japan the other day, and it's poised to kick in in the tokyo area soon as well.. ouch!

a very belated response to the post, i know, but decided to comment anyways.. sweet pics! reminded me that i was actually up at shiga kogen a day earlier on the 28th over at yakebitaiyama & terokaya, ichinose.. wish i could rewind back to that day and enjoy it all over again.

skiing for 20 years or so.. can't get enough of it.

snowjunky, on the weekends the tree runs at yakebitaiyama do get tracked out by late morning/early afternoon as they're highly visible from the gondolas.. during a weekday it might be a different story, though.. not so for the tree runs at ichinose as they're a bit hidden..