basscakes

Originally Posted By: SantaCruz NorthwestShred, welcome to SJ! I'm in Seattle and hitting Niseko in Feb, super stoked about it It'll be my first time riding in Japan, so I don't have much in the way of suggestions. But it sounds like a great trip! Hey right on man. Btw I highly suggest Rusutsu if you're at Niseko. There are no lines end endless awesome tree runs and chill management. It's a Baker-size mountain, not a lot of acreage, but what is there is quality. Have a great time!

Originally Posted By: iiyamadude Close to Nozawa as well is Madarao which has some "official" tree runs that are getting some decent reviews. Go midweek to avoid all the kids! http://www.snowjapan.com/e/spotlight/madarao-kogen.html Whoa this place looks very cool. I like the Hillman Adventures backcountry tour option as well. Thanks for this hint.

Originally Posted By: SKI Hi Nozawa is a good choice. Do you have a route planned so far or is it all in the open still? Our route is fairly wide open. Our other goal is to stay in some classic ryokan and hit some remote onsen (tozawa kogen is exciting in this regard), so I've been planning a general journey from Osaka all the way up to Akita. But what spots to hit on the way? I turn to the experts on these forums!

Hi All I'm headed to Japan for 2 weeks in February for a honeymoon of onsen and snowboarding (me) and skiing (her). We live in Washington State in the US, and we like trees and pow. We rode Rusutsu 2 years ago and loved it. We're going to be traveling between Nagano, Niigata, and Akita to explore onsen and skiing along the way. We're looking for recommendations for more out of the way skiing/riding experiences similar to the vibe at Rusutsu in the Nagano and Niigata areas. No crowds, short lines, and chill management that is ok with crazy gaijin hitting the trees to get the fre