libra13

Thanks again for all the comments... Hopefully, either Kagura or Karuizawa will have some snow on 1st/2nd December, which are the dates we have set aside to try skiing. Also, hopefully, there will be some english speaking instructors but if they can speak mandarin chinese, that would be fine too as we speak that as well. My wife says that in the event skiing is NOT possible, then we may end up at the onsens enjoying ourselves!

Hi I did email Karuizawa Prince and that was the reply I got from someone called Diana there. Their website does show skiing on artificial snow but I am not sure if these are previous photos and not the current situation. Will try to call ahead when I am in Tokyo... Hopefully, it will start snowing in the next few days! Will be leaving for Tokyo on 21st November... and be there till 4th December.

Hi everyone again... I emailed Karuizawa and they replied that there is usually NO snow in early december. They have snow machine to chun snow for kids to play but not for skiing.... sigh.. Hope that it will turn cold soon and start snowing early! Any other suggestions?? Thanks Francis

Hi all.. Thanks for all your inputs. After looking at the various resorts on SnowJapan... We may decide on Karuizawa or Kagura depending on the snow conditions as we move closer to the dates.... Karuizawa apppears to be better suited for beginners and if there is no snow, we could do other things at the resort... Any other inputs?? The other resorts that seem to be opening early are abit too far from Tokyo.. If the snow is good, we may decide to stay 1-2 nites at the resorts rather than take the evening train back to Tokyo. Still hoping for a good cold front to set in e

Haha... the kids are on holiday.. it's us poor adults that have jobs to go back to!!

Thanks for the early replies... Nope.. no chance of going later... the flights and accommodation are booked and we have to get back to our jobs on 7th December... sigh

Hi everyone, We are a family of 5 (2 adults, 3 children - age 16, 13, 11) who have NEVER skied before. We are in Tokyo from 21st Nov - 4th December and have set aside Nov 30th - 2nd December to try out some skiing in resorts near Tokyo. Could anyone advise us which would be the best area for beginners like us to experience snow and skiing? Which resort would you recommend: Kagura, Naeba or Marunuma Kogen? Which would have the best snow and facilities for beginner families? Taking into account the daily travel from Tokyo (we have bought our Japan Rail Pass), we would hope that th

Hi everyone.. I need some advice from anyone here. We are a family (2 adults & 3 kids) visiting Tokyo from 21st November - 3rd December from Singapore We HAVE NEVER skiied before and the kids would really like to try some skiing. However, I understand most resorts only open from Mid December but we really are unable to come later or extend our stay longer. Can anyone advice which would be the best place to try skiing at this time? I have checked SNOWJAPAN and the only ones that I have found to appear to open in November are Naeba, Kagura and maybe Karuizawa. Can anyone