Metabo Oyaji

Got in an afternoon's worth of turns last week there. The line at the bottom lift was horrendous, as that is the only way to get up to the rest of hill (for now), but once you got up, the upper lifts only had waits of a couple of minutes. The snow, while artificial, was actually of surprisingly good quality, not at all crushed-ice-like -- probably the altitude helps. Anyway, had a good time, and a nice start-of-season warm-up. One thing that is not clear from the gelaende maps is that the trails are all in their own little gullies -- the layout is much more entertainingly three-dimensi

Originally Posted By: Tubby Beaver I love the big bowl of mud-pack curry that you get on the hill, throw in a katsu too......oh yeah!!! The all-u-can eat curry shack at tashiro, next to the lake is one of my faves!! Ate there last year. Had a few varieties of curry available as I recall. Did go back for seconds.

Originally Posted By: thursday Kids stay, ride, eat free is good. That is aimed at the local market. Tickets for families from overseas won't get this benefit. Sure they do. There is no passport check at the ticket counter.

Originally Posted By: Jynxx Stuff international development. Local development with international visitors is the way at least in Japan. I agree. I don't see international ski tourism rescuing the ski industry in Japan generally. Too much of a niche market, and too subject to booms, busts and fashion cycles. What is needed for sustainability is for the sport to become an affordable activity for families and young people -- which is in fact what I see happening; lift ticket prices are certainly lower this year than last at many of the places I have been looking at.

You might also look into pre-season discount (hayawari) tickets. I won't post a link, but just do a web search for 早割リフト券. You should also check the websites of ski areas you are interested in. Besides the discount coupons that have been mentioned above, some ski areas run their own 早割 promotions, though time is quickly running out for this season on the ones I have seen. I have also seen some student discount deals.

Fukushima is out for now: both Gran Deco and Nekoma have declared no go on their planned openings this Saturday. Casting furtive glances in Marunuma's direction.

Originally Posted By: thursday it would've been good if it was not so big, or looked so stupid. Now if it had a phaser mounted on it... WORM HUNT!

Beautiful. Gotta make it up there some day.

Thanks for the feedback, Tubby. Might be fun to give a shot some summer (on rented equipment!), with appropriately set expectations. Looks like Kagura is debating opening on Monday, with final decision due by Sunday morning at 9:00. Good luck to them! Personally gunning now for Gran Deco's planned opening next Saturday, 11/28. Snow depth on the live cameras looks to be all of about 3 mm at the base... hope Mother Nature helps out this week.

Snow mat... Isn't that the same thing Marunuma uses for their "summer gelaende"? What is that like to ski on? Wouldn't it be rough on your skis?

Originally Posted By: libra13 My wife says that in the event skiing is NOT possible, then we may end up at the onsens enjoying ourselves! There are worse fates!

Asuka. History, without attitude.

Snow snobs. What someone who has never been on skis before needs is a gentle slope and an instructor, not navel-deep powder. To that end, Kagura might not be such a bad option after all, come to think of it. The Gondola Course is very gentle and scenic, and Kagura does seem to have instructors from early on (at least, no starting date listed on their webpage). Whitening up nicely on the webcams, too.

Originally Posted By: libra13 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.. There must be some confusion. According to their web page, they are already open, with pictures of people skiing on artificial snow on their blog and everything. Are you sure you contacted the Karuizawa Prince Hotel ski area, and not some other place? Failing that, might want to consider Sayama for one day, just for the lessons. (But note that I think you have to m

For absolute beginners, as someone else was advised recently, Karuizawa Prince Hotel might fit the bill. Within walking distance of a shinkansen station, I believe. Closer in, there is also Sayama. (Hey, don't laugh, my kid had a ball there when just starting out.) Tambara should be open, and they operate a shuttle bus to/from the nearest JR station. Likewise Gran Deco. Of the above, only Sayama and Gran Deco have lessons that early in the season. None them offer lessons in English, as far as I know, but the instructor may at least remember a few words of high-school English.

Originally Posted By: Tubby Beaver The "technology" arguement isn't really valid IMO as most people aren't technical enough to notice or appreciate the difference I think I might actually prefer the old straight skis of my youth. These new-fangled rice-scooper-shaped things just don't seem as precise and controllable as the old ones. Then again, maybe it is me rather than the skis...

Oh I won't! Though my pictures don't come out anything like yours. 'Course my pictures are mostly focused on documenting my kid's development of the perfect snowplow, rather than on scenic grandeur.

I'm not particularly close to anything, unfortunately, but am within a (determined) day-trip's distance from the Tochigi and southern Fukushima ski areas. Marunuma would be within reach from the back way, but is much less appealing if I have to fight my way over to the Kan-Etsu. (And worse, back at the end of the day! Had a heck of a time getting home from Kagura last year.) I will probably focus my efforts this year on checking out new places in southern Tohoku. Maybe even try to talk the better half into splurging on a couple days at Zao?

I was toying with the idea of hitting their opening this weekend, but have made other plans instead. May be nice to try to slip over in December before the road from Nikko closes. Never been there before.

Nikka Yoichi is quite good, actually. Distilled in thursday's beloved Hokkaido. Uses local peat, reportedly.

Do I see signs on the live camera that they are starting to uncover and flatten the snow mounds? Starting at the uphill end. Perhaps the progress will become clearer tomorrow.

Originally Posted By: Go Native Believe me they knew. Ok, well then, I suppose you're reduced to, "the customer is always right."

thursday: Haven't had the pleasure.

Originally Posted By: thursday I see a Chinese in London, I speak Chinese to him. Just common courtesy Fine, if you know he is Chinese. How does a random bar patron know what nationality Go Native is, or where he was raised?

Originally Posted By: Go Native In the bar I own I've met some gaijin who come in and speak to me in Japanese. Now last time I looked I really didn't appear to look anything like a Japanese person. So why the hell would they speak to me in Japanese? Put yourself in their shoes. Unless you have a sign up advertising your language preference, they may not know what it is.