moo

I am looking to travel to Hakuba, arriving on the 3rd of December, and it seems the only way to get there in the morning is by overnight bus from Kyoto or Osaka, as trains generally still take hours and there are no overnight trains. However, I was just wondering if the overnight buses to Hakuba run that early in Dec, and if not, what would be the best way to get to Hakuba as early during the day as possible traveling from either Kyoto, Osaka, Tokyo or Hiroshima? Thank you!! Edit: It seems another option may be to catch the overnight bus to Nagano, and then go from there to Haku

nope, no snow.. =( hope they come early in late november

After (lots more) research, I think I would be staying at Hakuba (Goryu/47) Would anyone know if there are overnight buses running from Hakuba to Osaka in early december? There seems to be lots of info for Osaka to Hakuba, but none the other way around...

Yes iiyamadude, nozawa does seem to have a very good atmosphere However, it seems last year the resort opened on 29/11, but only the courses near the top of the mountain: Yamabiko A Yamabiko B Yamabiko C Yamabiko D Would anyone know if the courses near the top of the mountain are for experts only or do they include beginner courses too? And seeing as the beginning of season is always so unpredictable...I might not end up having a plan for it probably until I arrive in japan...

Oh? I didn't know there are onsens in all 3 places, thanks for the reply! Would they all be private or public/free onsens? and yeh, i checked the now calender, but then again its dif every year so i guess won't really know till prolli next month or so... Would anyone have a recommendation for places to stay in nozawa onsen too? The other 2 places are relatively easier to find nice/cheap accommodation for it seems.

Hi, after lurking around the forums reading up useful info for a while, I decided to post up my own question as it seems everyone on this forum tend to answer questions effectively and promptly =D SO, I am planning to go Japan between late Nov/ early Dec, and would like to go skiing for 2-3 days at minimal cost. As I will be traveling from Kyoto or Osaka, the closest snow areas seem be in Nagano. From what I gathered, it seems Habuka and Shiga Kogen do tend to open in late Nov, so I was wondering which would be better for an Eng speaking beginner skier with a lil bit of basic jap?