agillgren
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Posts posted by agillgren
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Time this place right and it is good fun
Of course that pretty much applies to everywhere.
Yes-- but everything is relative. Although fresh snow is always good some places don't make the most of it - ie don't have good lines, or trees are too tight, or ski patrol will chase you for ducking ropes to get to the goods or it's tracked out in a few hours. At Tomamu there are some fun off-piste runs - nicely spaced trees, good pitch and not too many others to share with. Plus it's all "ski patrol" approved and consequently managed to a certain extent. However it does get snow less often than further west-- so timing is probably more important than at those places.
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Time this place right and it is good fun. We've been lucky twice - well the second time was planned luck as we decided to head there the day before.
There are a few pensions and also a small kwikemart (not next to the pensions) within a 5-10 min drive that are a cheaper option to the resort. And the pension we stayed at did offer transport to train/ski slopes if needed.
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Can't comment on the ski touring--- but if you stay around Asahikawa you could easily do both/all… bout an 1 hour drive to Asahidake and Kurodake from there.
Obviously this requires a car, but you'd have a lot more to do in the evening (e.g. restaurant choice) if that's important to you.
There isn't a whole lot at the base of Asahidake. A few onsen hotels is about it. There is a bit more at the base or Kurodake - but again it's pretty much all onsen hotel and a seico mart.
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Thanks for the vid Mike. Only snow I can get right now is vicariously.
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How did you manage to land on top of a tree?
Mine are normally a result of nose diving into the deeper snow.... which makes for a nice and soft landing. Worst part is normally trying to stand up again.
Ah..... fond memories. I miss snow - especially as it's 38deg here today.
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I am properly loving the forecast for this weekend.
I may even buy it dinner.
That's gold. I've done similar myself a few times (too heavy on the front foot).Enjoy the fresh snow. Very jealous.
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Guess where they all went today bus loads of them trashed the mountain in 2 hours
Damn. I think anywhere within one hour of the big N is now going to be heading that way
. Will be good business running buses/tours…. But I'm sure there will always be empty places for those willing to find it.
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All give and take… this site has helped a lot with the trip planning. I love the map resort search function.
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Bus to the other side (maybe hanazono) would be the go. Probably empty there.
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No problem everyone.
In summary…. we visited 9 resorts and had 10 days on the slopes. We stayed at 6 different hotels - with only the first one Niseko way pre-booked.
We covered about 2000km in total - but mostly sunny weather made for easy driving on our long days. Didn't find the driving bad at all-- but probably did OD on 7/11 type food (mmmm pork buns).
For us the car is definitely the way to go. Was fun re-visiting some old favourites as well as exploring new places. Nice to change it up between staying at ski-jo and in cities too. All up another very fun trip with plenty of unique experiences.
I think in total we've been to around 15 ski-jo in Hokkaido over the years. Still plenty more out there….
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Windhold lockdown. Yuck!
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15/2/14.
No new snow overnight so we decided to check out Otaru Tenguyama. It's literally on the edge of town and offers great views back over the city and ocean. It has some decent pitch too. Probably some of the steeper "courses" I've seen in Hokkiado. But alas not that long with only around 450m vertical. The place is definitely more laid of for skiers but we got around OK. Being a bit lower they didn't have as much of the previous days snow we found at Kokosai, and it was a bit heavier. But hey--- still had easy fresh lines (maybe boot deep) on the sides of the runs the day after a snow. So no complaints here….
We had fun for a few hours then decided to pack up and head towards Kutchan. I was hoping that the forecast snow might arrive in time for a fun nighta but it didn't happen. have to admit a real glass of red wine (benefits of being close to Niseko) went down quite well as compensation.
16/2/14
Damn. Fly out day. We decided on a sneaky few hours at Rusutsu before heading to the airport (flight wasn't till 4). I had been hoping on some good falls for a nice send off but not quite as much as I wanted. Maybe 15cm or so, and a bit heavier than normal. Still found some untouched patches and had some fun. Was just deep enough in spots. Nice note to finish on.
In the airport now sulking on the way home. Only saving grace was the leg room seat on the first flight and free upgrade on the upcoming second…. finally got some pay off and sympathy for those stitches (I didn't tell them I'd been on the slopes that morning
). Still always annoying to be ending a holiday.-
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Never thought there could be too much snow. Good stories…. but glad it wasn't me on that bus! I'm grumpy as anything if I don't get food.
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We also had no problem finding hotels on the day of or day before in most places too. If we wanted to change area (eg. Tomamu way/ Otaru etc). We'd normally decide the day before if we were going to change area and book online or call ahead before we left so we didn't have to stress after a days riding. Only place that was a little tricky was Kutchan where I had to do some ringing around. But still- found somewhere the night before (and a sat night too) for 12000 for two people. The cities also make for a fun change. Plenty of dining options and site seeing to add to the trip.
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We've had a car and been willing to use it. It definatlely let us make the most of what snow did fall with fresh lines to be found on nearly all our days. But it's probably not for everyone- we dont mind driving. We also counter the cost by staying in towns or small hotels away from the lifts and not fancy places at the resorts.
I don't think we could go back to being based in one spot. I'd feel too hemmed in.
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WV. Photos are in my trip report thread.
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13/2/14
After two full days off the snow for me (gosh that was hard) my knee was getting better so decided to head south to the forecast snow and hope. Well at least I figured I cold bend it enough to get binding done up so worth a try.
Left Sounkyo in it's glorious sunshine. By the time we reached Sapporo two hours later the snow was starting to set in. It did feel weird driving straight though Asahikawa. I do have a soft spot for Kamui and Pippu - but at that stage the area didn't look like it had fresh snow for a while so we gave it a miss.
We arrived at Teine just after lunch. I doped up (thanks voltaren and panadiene) and I did a little test run. Wahoo - depite looking rather comical I'm sure (it took some wiggling) I managed to clip in and get to my feet. To be honest that was the worst part. Once up the knee felt OK - although I was riding very very cautiously. After a few groomers to get some confidence we went hunting for some softer stuff. Bit of fun on the side of runs both at highland and olympia. We didn't go in too far-- just to be sure with the knee. Seeing the snow setting in well now we decided to call it a day and save ourselves for the next day. Must have been 5-10cm up there by the time we were driving down- did make spotting the road quite difficult though. Was very slow going on the way down.
We're staying in Otaru and went for a wander to find dinner. Came across a tiny alley of tiny restaurants (4-6 seats each) amongst a shopping street. We walked in and sat down much to the shock of the lady bar keep. 2 hours and some shared sake later we'd make a new good friend with one of the customers. He even gave us his karaoke CD. Very fun night.
14/2/14
The knee pulled up OK form yesterdays experiment - intact was looser again- so time to hit the slopes properly.
The snow lasted until about 9pm in Otaru so we had high hopes for the day. Decided to check Sapporo Kokosai. We had done a tour here years ago when we first came to Hokkiado but that day had poor snow and it wasn't at it's best. So it needed another scout. Kokosai isn't as large as kiroro or teine even. Especially on the "courses". But there is a large amount of nicely spaces trees to play in. Good thing is the two gondolas give a good view of the off piste runs.
At first the place seemed empty. Thigh deep powder -- and just off the groomers. Too easy
. Then at 10:30 literally 20 buses of school kids all arrived at the same time. Luckily they don't go off piste! With that said we didn't wait for a lift all day as the kids had their own lift line. Despite barely noticing other westerns, we did have some company off piste with the local kids ripping it up at times. Some of them were very good. Fun to watch from the gondola's. With that said we still had good freshies on the last run of the day. As our guide had said last time--- those signs with the skull and crosses just tell you where it's good
. Ski patrol seemed pretty relaxed with it. We mostly rode under the gondola where you could easily scope the lines on the way up. Easy way out on all runs.So really-- a damn good day.
Probably the deepest of the days we've had this trip - which is good for my knee. Smooth floaty power runs are better for the knee than the bumps. 
. Well it's a good excuse anyway. More please!Only two days left now and I'm including the sneaky half day we are planning on our way to the airport. Trying hard not to look at the forecast after that
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12/2/14
Official sight seeing day - and a beautiful calm sunny day to boot. I have to admit to being slightly sceptical about what to expect. I didn't want to get my hopes up. But we were booked onto Aurora to see the drift ice in Abashiri. After being herded in in an orderly manner (man there were a lot of Japanese tourist buses) we boarded and were away. We reached the thinner ice - and I thought that was pretty cool but you could still see the thicker stuff in the distance. Once into the thicker stuff they slow down and travel in a big U-turn. The vastness is pretty impressive. No icebergs in the typical fashion - but lots of large sheets of ice. Quite mesmerising watching it move with the boat. For me anyway it was worth the drive out to the east-- it's defiantly not something you will see often in life.
After that it was time to hit the road again. We headed for Sounyko mostly to see the spa ice festival. As a bonus when we arrived we realised the kurodake ropeway was running (not the ski area though) so we headed up for a scout and to enjoy the awesome visibility. Have to say it felt quite weird going up a ropeway without a board-- but it was a worthwhile visit. The views were pretty awesome.
To top the day off we headed to the spa ice festival in the evening. Loved it! To me much better than the Sappor festival-- natural beauty beats sculpted any day to me:).
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Deeeeep day at Sapporo Kokosai. Easily mid thigh in places.
Deepest day of the trip for sure.
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Concur. Thanks for the tip Goz. I hadn't heard of it and it was well worth the drive.
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We went on the Aurora to see the drift ice. To be honest it was better than I expected - pretty cool (No pun intended).
Then a sightseeing trip up kurodake (the ropeway was running but not the chair).
Then Sounkyo spa ice fall festival. I preferred this to the sapproro festival. The natural formations are more interesting to me than a sculpture of a cartoon character.
I'll post more detail and some pics when I have better internet
But-- the knee is back in action now. We'll I can bend it enough to do bindings up:). So we are in Otaru and on the hunt for snow again. Fun day at Teine today getting some confidence back.
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Tiene got 5-10 this arvo and was snowing heavily when we left.
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11/2/14
I'm out of action… but I'm not mean enough to stop the other half from having fun. Today we slowly made our way east to Abashiri for sightseeing… but of course stopped to check a local resort on the way. The drive itself was lovely on a very clear day. We had views of the whole range -- here's a pic of Sohoro in the distance (at least I'm pretty sure it is… so many mountains)
We even had a close encounter with some wildlife (but I don't think this fox was that wild)
Then we arrived at Nukabira Gensenkyo. Wow- big place for a local hill. Highest lifted point was 1230m, and a large vertical. A couple of nice hooded quads to get you up the top and a bargain at 2200 for 4 hours. Whilst I sulked in the cafe the other half enjoyed the place. He had good views, and fresh snow. Lots of fresh lines in the trees with good deep powder, and although apparently a bit "technical and tight" in spots was easy enough for him to figure out. Not bad seeing as it hadn't snowed since the day before. There was lots left when he finished too, so would be easy to get goods a few days after snow. This place is far enough away that it should stay quiet too.
To be fair he tried very hard not to gloat when he got in (insert muttered grumblings here). Hoping the swelling drops a bit and I'll be right in another day or two. Good snow to smooth any bumps would be much appreciated.
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credit card fees buying niseko all mountain pass
in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry
Posted
We tend to get around to a few resorts-- so now a days we just buy on the day wherever we have decided to be so we don't waste pre-bought tickets. Never more than a 2 min wait at the ticket counter (with that said in Niseko we started the day at Hanazono and not Hirafu which may be busier) so didn't find it inconvenient.
What I can say is that all the large places take credit card-- and I don't remember there being any merchant fees added.