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p_schumacher

SnowJapan Member
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Posts posted by p_schumacher

  1. Hey guys, I've searched for a topic about this but didn't find one.

     

    Is there anywhere in Shiga Kogen to rent high end powder skis? I've contacted the two hotels I'm considering staying at (Alpen Glow and Villa Alpen), but Alpen Glow won't respond to my emails and Villa Alpen told me they don't have any powder skis. I'm from Colorado, currently living in Taiwan, and back home I would ride on Volkl Gotamas and am wondering if I can find anything similar in Shiga. Or, am I better off renting in Tokyo?

  2. Do you mean for skiing + lodging + food or just lodging? hehe, if you mean just lodging then yeah we'd never be able to afford that and even as a package deal that's probably pushing it... 1 man = 10000 yen, correct?

     

    Is it impossible to avoid crowds during CNY? Would we be better off trying to get some other time off? We get CNY off from work but we also have a few other days to use...

  3. Hey guys,

     

    My girlfriend and I recently moved to Taiwan from Colorado and are thinking about heading to Japan during Chinese New Year to do some skiing. We're a bit broke so will probably only be able to afford like 4-5 days skiing, then hand out some in Tokyo, Kyoto etc.

     

    Anyway, there are so many resorts in Japan! I've done some research and have come across the big names, but I was hoping you guys could give me some first-hand recommendations based on the following criteria:

     

    1. Not too expensive. Ideally, we'd like to ski somewhere that dumps snow (which seems the norm for Japan) but also isn't the priciest, and has reasonably priced hotel accomodations.

     

    2. Tree skiing. My girlfriend and I like to ski/ride in the trees. Doesn't have to be anything too crazy or anything, but enough to get off the main trails and get lost in some trees.

     

    3. Crowds. Really would like to avoid crowds. Along the same lines, we're more interested in experiencing a ski area with a more mellow, Japanese feel rather than huge swarms of tourists (I've heard Niseko has just as many foreigners as Japanese)

     

    4. Don't really care about apres ski at all, although the Japanese hot springs do sound really nice and it would be cool to ski somewhere where we could do that. We're more the "go hard all day, have a big dinner with a few beers, pass out early and rise early for first tracks" kind of people.

     

    5. Not TOO flat. I'm not diehard about steeps or anything, I do like them but we just don't want anything too flat as my girlfriend is a boarder and hates, for example, Vail, where there are a million catwalks and flat zones.

     

     

     

    Any thoughts? Based on my research, I was initially really drawn to Zao (hotsprings + snow monsters were a huge plus for me, hehe), but it seems like it's super flat and doesn't have that much challenging terrain. For those who have been to Zao, how much of a pain in the ass are the flats for boarders, and is there enough advanced terrain to keep a decently advanced skier busy for 4-5 days? Also, Rusutsu (sp?) looks pretty intriguing-- they look to have a lot of terrain and trees-- but I'm wondering how much it costs to stay, eat, ski, etc there. Seems like they just have the one big resort hotel as far as accommodation options go. Also, how much a pain in the ass/expensive is it to fly to hokkaido vs. staying on the main island to ski? And, is the snow festival in Sapporo worth checking out for a first time visiter to Japan?

     

    Any reccomendations/thoughts on ski areas to look into would be greatly appreciated, and sorry for the long post!

     

    Thanks,

     

    Peter

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