beowulf
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Posts posted by beowulf
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Originally Posted By: RyomaOriginally Posted By: triplerOriginally Posted By: RyomaNozawa's still pretty lucky. We've changed from magnetic chips to paper tickets
Why did you change to paper tickets? Are plastic tokens more expensive even after you've made the initial investment?
The running costs are more expensive but not by a huge margin. The biggest costs with the chips is that those chips don't last forever. They have a 5-10 year span, depending on how they're used. If you bash them around too much, they become unusable. We got to the point where we were looking to have to replace the old chips and that's where the wallet cruncher comes in... those chips are really not cheap.
When the chips were first implemented a number of people opposed it because it wasn't really necessary. It makes things more convenient, yes... particularly when it's very very crowded but in retrospective, I think the resort jumped the gun a bit too early. Whether it was worth the initial investment is still debatable.
The new option, which is a lot more affordable, is using IC or RFID chips. The running costs are lower than magnetic chips but the biggest difference is the costs of the chips.
Does anybody know what type of chips they use at Zao? Because they are well cool. -
Originally Posted By: Black MountainProbably quite expensive. In some cases it would be simply extending the existing lift by several meters.
+1! I was thinking of Zao (another big one for me is Nozawa).
Zao, is actually not that bad once you get to know it. However, for snowboarders who go there for one day and get stuck on the left side of the mountain it can be a very unenjoyable experience.
I am going to Zao this Saturday. It is looking good. -
Originally Posted By: charlotteDoes Zao get many good clear days generally?
Certainly not too many days like the photo above. I have been to Zao about fifteen times over the last three years and I have only seen it like the photo above twice.
I find the weather changes quite quickly on Zao, so you have to keep your wits about you, eg, in the morning the weather is fine and then suddenly by mid-afternoon it is -15. -
Originally Posted By: thursdaythis is a marvelous shot
In between the Snow Monsters on the top right of the photo...that is what I am looking forward to this winter. -
Originally Posted By: thursdayperhaps one more week
I would say this weekend would be fine to hit Zao up. It is snowing quite heavily here in Shonai, so I imagine Zao will be getting some of that love about now. We have had about 30cm's in the last 12 hours and I live on the beach!
It has taken a while, but the season has finally started! -
Originally Posted By: WallyDIf you're planning to come to Hokkaido for the snow, then Shiretoko is probably not the place you want to be. Shiretoko is right up in the top east, not the north. Snowfall in eastern Hokkaido is completely different to the west. You generally get much less of it and it is usually icy rather than powdery.
On the plus side, the resorts in that part of Hokkaido will generally have very few people, so on some days you can have the place all to yourself.
Tsubetsu is not huge, but it's probably the closest resort to Shiretoko that would have some reasonable snow.
I am not going specifically for the snow, but for work, so I was curious to know if there were many ski resorts in that part of Japan. There are not too many, but if I get the job I should be able to have a bit of fun.
I live in the Yamagata and the snow is not that special here compared to Western Hokkaido. -
Originally Posted By: SJForumsHave you looked here beowulf
http://www.snowjapan.com/e/maps/japan-map-and-satellite-photos/hokkaido/index.html
Hope that might help
Thank you so much for that! I had no idea Snow Japan had such a tool.
Thank you! -
Originally Posted By: MikePowRishiri for way out there backcountry.
Also plenty of mountains in the Shiretoko Peninsula.
Thanks to everybody responding so far, I really appreciate it.
It looks like the job is actually near Shiretokoã€so if anybody knows of any ski resorts near there I would appreciate it. I have found one so far.
It is not looking good. -
For those of you living in Hokkaido are there any good/decent ski resorts in Northern Hokkaido?
When I say north I mean north of Asahikawa.
The reason for asking is that I might be moving to the north of Hokkaido (do not know where exactly), so I am curious to know my snowboarding options.
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Originally Posted By: Foxpuppethi all, been 2 years since i was on here!
just a quick question...could anyone recommend a good/cheap(ish) place to stay a few nights in Yamagata Zao Onsen? we are heading up to Hokkaido from Tokyo via train on the 1st or 2nd of jan and want to stop over/detour to zao along the way for a few days.
any info would be greatly appreciated on things to see, eat, visit, or jump off.
How well do you speak Japanese? Because I can think of some pretty good places to stay that will not cost too much, but you will probably need a bit of Japanese to make the booking.
I stayed at Pension Suis (Swiss) last year and it cost 16,000 yen for one night and two day lift pass. The food was fantastic and the old couple who run the place were lovely. Of course they do not speak any English.
This is also a link to a webpage (in Japanese) for the Zao Pension Village.
http://zao-pension.gob.jp/
I love Pensions and generally only stay in them when at ski resorts in Japan.
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Originally Posted By: Tubby BeaverDunno about tree runs, being that the trees get all frozen into monsters, BUT I'm sure you'd enjoy Zao Onsen, the riding is meant to be awesome and the village is an onsen village
I think Zao would be a very good place to visit, but from Osaka going through Nagano and then Niigata it is not particularly easy to get to. But once you get there it is not too hard to get to Akita.
As long as the OP has a JR Pass then it should not be too difficult.
The tree runs at Zao are pretty cool, especially the one right from the top of the mountain. Good fun, but it is not Rusutsu. -
Originally Posted By: MrSingh1. If you have any momentum, carry that through and perform a roll, get up and continue riding.
2. If you are stationary on a slope, try to get on your toeside (i.e. anterior facing the mountain) to push yourself up. It's easier than having your back against the slope.
3. If your board is stuck deep in powder:
- dig your board out, release your feet from the bindings
- pack down an area near you
- if your balance is good enough, stand on the board and strap yourself in
- if you can't balance yourself on the board, sit on the packed snow and strap yourself in, then proceed to step (2) above
4. If you're stuck in the flats. Whip out those snowshoes.
For snowboarding I would say this is the best advice. -
Hitherto I have been to about thirty different resorts in six prefectures. I hope to finally make it to Aomori-ken this year.
Golden Week skiing
in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry
Posted
I think that was true of Zao last year, too, from one of ILoveZao's old threads.
By Golden Week there is practically no snow on the lower runs at Zao, but the top is fine. However, I am not sure how many runs are open at that time of year.
If you have a car (I do not think you do), I would strongly advise going to Gassan. It only has one lift but it has some hold-on (I do not know what they are called) lifts which means you can get pretty high up the mountain. If the weather is fine, it is really good fun for three or four hours.
The last two Golden Weeks in Yamagata have had atleast one perfect day of weather for skiing/snowboarding, so I hope we get lucky again this year.