NECK
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Posts posted by NECK
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Can anyone fill me in as to what exactly happened to Arai Ski Resort and spa?
As far as I understand, it was built around 10 years ago by Sony, operated for a few seasons before going bankrupt. Now it is just another abandoned ski resort rotting away on the landscape.....
Does this sound about right? Did anyone ride there when it was operating? Has anyone been there since it closed?
Any information would be much appreciated.
Neck.
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Too many to count/remember
Definitely less than 54 though
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Damn! I used to ride Loveland Pass often when I lived in Summit County during the 02/03 and 04/05 seasons...... Including on full moon nights! Never this late in the season though.
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Akakura Kanko in Myoko for me this season, courtesy of Snow Japan and their very generous giveaways
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Nothing new about the gondola. A squeeze for 6, but not a problem on the quieter days.
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Well not every time, but to quote the director of McDonalds in France; "To eat at McDonalds once is one time too many"
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Probably a good thing McDump is gone to be fair. When I held a pass at Happo before I would eat there pretty much every time I went!
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Maybe 15 mins to get to the Nagano IC, 30 mins to The Myoko IC, then 10 mins to the Akakan parking. I'd say just shy of an hour door to door.
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I am pretty close to the city centre, but closer to the Hakuba road. I can get to goryu in 45 minutes on a good day :-)
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Happo, Hakuba.- March 28th.
Thanks again Snow Japan for selecting me as a winner for one of your first great giveaways of the 12/13 season. I received a ticket to use at either Happo, Iwatake or Tsugaike at the start of the season, but didn’t get around to using it until late March. Here is my review for Happo.
I decided to use the ticket at Happo, as I hadn’t been there for a few seasons. I was a Happo season pass holder for 2 seasons (three resort pass including Nozawa and Shiga) when I first moved to Nagano, and always loved Happo for it’s proximity to my house, ease to get to by car and easy access to the back country and high alpine environment.
The one thing I dislike about Happo, is the fact that you have to pay to park anywhere close to the Adam Gondola. There is free parking down the road towards the village, and up around the corner just down from the Evergreen building, but time is money, so I grudgingly parted with my 500 yen to get up there quicker. It is a whopping 1000 yen during peak season!
As we all know, March was a very dry month this season, and the lower slopes were already very patchy on this warm, cloudy day. On one run, I actually had to un-strap and walk over some dirty patches while trying to traverse from the Kokusai lift base to the Gondola station. I never remember having to do that in previous seasons, especially not in March!
Quite a few things seem to have changed since I used to frequent Happo. I remember there being a McDonald’s at the top of the gondola and a Virgin restaurant in the building beside the top of the Alpen Quad lift. Both seemed to have disappeared since my last visit. It was a weekday and the resort was running on spring operations, but I got the impression that Happo had scaled back a bit in the last few years.
So I started my day at around 9am, and began with two laps on the gondola, as the resort was pretty much empty and lift lines were not going to be an issue. I bombed the Central course and the Riesen Slalom course to get the legs in and get a feel for the snow. Due to injury I haven’t managed to ride much this season, so it was nice to have the runs basically to myself. The snow was pretty slushy, but still fun to ride on the soft corduroy.
It was a cloudy morning, but the sun came out every now and again to illuminate the spectacular peaks surrounding Hakuba. I was glad to be out there enjoying the day. I was riding alone and didn’t bump into anyone I know out there. There did still seem to be a handful of foreign tourists on the mountain, mainly in family groups. I guess they had booked early and were a little disappointed with how early the season was winding down this year. They looked like they were still having fun though.
The Happo Riesen Quad wasn’t running, so after another ride up the gondola I thought I would head up the Alpen Quad to go over to the other side and check out the park for a lap or two…… But neither the Alpen Quad nor the Tenbo Quad lifts were running. This means that the top of the gondola was as high as I was going to get today. Not quite a skeleton lift operation, but pretty close to it. I saw a sign indicating that the park was closed too. I remember the High Cascade Park being one of the best in the Hakuba area, second only to 47 (due to its lack of a half pipe), so I was a little disappointed that it was closed. This limited what was available for me to ride, so lapping the gondola, Central and Kokusai lifts was how I spent the rest of the day.
The Panorama course was the emptiest of all the runs on offer, so I did a fair few cruisers on that, barely seeing another soul the whole time. It was definitely thin on the ground down towards the bottom, but not quite bare so no problem riding to the bottom of the Kokusai lift. My second to last run was when I had to un-strap and scramble across the mud to get across to the base of the gondola. Another top to bottom cruiser on the Riesen Slalom Course was enough for me to end my day on a good note. I headed back to my car at around 2:45 and was on the road back to Nagano by 3 pm.
Overall, I really like Happo. The lifts are modern and get you up there quickly. They are also well linked when the resort is in full operation. The staff are friendly and most seem to be able to speak English. During peak season, Happo offers excellent access to the back country and high alpine environment from the Grat Quad. Of course it goes without saying to only enter the back country as part of an experienced group with all the necessary equipment. The ski patrol seem to be a little more relaxed at Happo than over at Goryu/47, which is great for experienced back country riders. I would recommend Happo to anyone, from beginners and family groups, right through to expert park riders and powder hounds.
I wish I could've had the chance to use the ticket earlier in the season, but I had a great day and I was glad I chose to go back to Happo. Thanks again for the ticket Snow Japan, and keep up the great work with the site!
Neck.
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Akakura Kanko, Myoko. – April 5th, 2013.
Thanks Snow Japan for sending me these 2 tickets for anywhere in Myoko in your last giveaway of the season! Also, congratulations on the new site. Layout is great and easy to navigate.
So here is my review for Akakura Kanko in Myoko. I waited to use the tickets until April, so I could take my brother who was visiting from England. It was his first time visiting Japan and his first time snowboarding in almost 3 years.
Living in southern Nagano city, I almost always ride in Hakuba and Otari. I have done a fair few days in Suginohara over the last five seasons, plus a few days ‘snorkelling’ in Seki, but other than those two resorts I haven’t ridden much in Myoko at all. It was my first ever visit to Akakan, and I chose to go there as it was basically the only resort still operating on weekdays in April.
I took the day off from school on Friday, April 5th and drove from Nagano city to Myoko on the highway. A reasonable 850 yen with the ETC. Pulled up to Akakan mid-morning and it was already 15 degrees. Basically t-shirt weather, but opted for a shell over the t-shirt just to be safe.
Being greeted with blue skies and an almost empty car park was nice. Much nicer than being at school! As it was a weekday and the resort was on spring operations, there were only two lifts running. That was more than enough to provide us with plenty of giggles for the day. The gondola and the quad serving the park were our only options, so we lapped them from 11 am until around 3:45 pm, only stopping for a light lunch around 1 pm.
My first impressions of the place were good. The massive parking lot is right at the resort base area, so no need to walk for miles to get to the ticket window or gondola station. My brother needed to rent some boots, but the kind guy at the rental shop next to the ticket counter gave him some for half-day rates. A bargain at only 1000 yen! I exchanged my free passes at the counter for the Akakan paper lift tickets. The staff all seemed really friendly and keen to make small talk and hook us up. Maybe they were just happy we were there, as the base area was basically empty.
The gondola is a six-seater and was moving at full speed, as there was no wind. The quad was moving quickly too, and I love the ‘bubble’ cover to keep you cosy on windy days. It was hot and sunny so we didn’t need it though. I would say that in total, there were less than 30 people (including us) on the mountain all day. It was really empty and the guys running the lifts didn’t check our tickets once all day! I guess they are a bit more on it during peak season.
We did a couple of top to bottom cruisers on the gondola to get the legs in. Nice slushy spring conditions for the top two thirds of the course, but the last stretch was more like glue, so had to b-line it from the mid-run hotel to the base area to avoid unstrapping. Still good fun though.
Spent pretty much the rest of the day lapping the park quad. My brother isn’t much of a park rider, but he did well considering he hadn’t ridden in three years and was out there with one of my boards and some rental boots!
The park at Akakan is really good, and spring conditions with slushy landings make for the best park days. There is basically one long line through the park, consisting of small to mid-sized kickers, which were well shaped and well maintained. Towards the end of this line there were a few box and rail items, but nothing too full on. About half way down the park, before the rail section, you can veer left to finish the line with two bigger kickers. They seemed nice but the landings seemed a little short for their size. We didn’t ride them at all. I am not sure if the park layout is different during peak season, but I wouldn’t be riding it then anyway.
If you are into riding powder lines and tree lines then it looks like Akakan may have some nice terrain above the top chair during peak season. That chair wasn’t running so hard to tell for sure, but it looks like you can hike along a ridge curving around above the top chair. If I go back to Akakan next season I will check it out for sure. As with most of the resorts in Myoko though, almost everything seems to be south facing. Solar radiation would take it’s toll on these lines I’m sure.
We had lunch at the restaurant just below the top of the gondola. It was the only place open on the mountain and the food was cheap and pretty good. I got a sukiyaki type bowl for 850 yen. It was nice and we ate lunch out on the balcony terrace. Nice views of the mountains to the south and a perfect place to take in some rays. We spent a good 30 minutes at this restaurant and left very satisfied.
My overall impression of Akakan is that it is great if you are a park rider. We couldn’t really get a proper feel for the resort, as we basically rode the same two runs all day, but I would say the groomed runs would suit mainly beginner to intermediate riders and skiers. The lifts are modern and the staff friendly. I would recommend this resort due to its proximity to the highway exit and massive parking area alone. I would definitely consider going back next season, but would rather go during peak season with someone who knows the terrain to show me some of the side country and powder lines.
Thanks for the tickets Snow Japan. We had a great day!
Neck.
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Looking good! I finally got around to using the passes you sent me for Hakuba and Myoko. Drafted up my reviews and got some photos. Where should I upload them?
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Wasabi Kakipi and a Snickers bar
.Gonna start putting some lenghs of duct tape around my shovel handle too. Thanks Method!
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A frosty morning here in Nagano city, but the mercury is rising and sitting at around 4 degrees right now. Spring weather patterns from now it seems.
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Been puking all day here in Nagano city.
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So I just learned that there was a pretty large 1.5 slab avalanche on the Hiyodori slide path above Tsugaike on Monday, February 11th (yesterday).
The slide crossed the higher cat track and went as far as the second one.
Does anyone have any more info on this - was it skier triggered? Was anyone hurt or injured?
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Looks like it could be worth a day mid-week
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I use backcountry.com. Pay for it with my UK credit card, and have it shipped to my buddy in California. He sends it on to me.
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After a good 6 years of use, my snowshoes have finally died
I am looking to replace them ASAP as I use them often. I usually order my stuff from the States, but before I order looking to see if any SnowJapaners in Japan have a spare set they would be willing to sell.
Looking for compact ones around 22 inches in length, as I carry them on my pack when I ride/tour.
Heel lift bar for ascents would be nice, but not essential.
MSR Evo Ascent, Evo Tour, Lightning Ascent or Lightning Axis would all be perfect.
Does anyone have snowshoes to sell?
Please let me know ASAP.
Cheers!
NECK
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I know this sounds counterintuitive. But last year i was told by the dude running the hotel i was staying at that prince hotels wanted to pull out of myoko, and were, and this is where it gets odd, actively restricting operations in order to drive DOWN the price and sell it. I have no idea how the hell that works. I think i probably misunderstood, but that was the explanation of why the lifts were being continually scaled back...
I heard something very similar to this. Prince Hotels has been looking to 'drop' Myoko for some years now.
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Never take my camera out when I ride, as I don't have any pockets in my speedos or wife-beater.....
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Arai Ski Resort
in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry
Posted
Thanks for the confirmation muikabochi. So do you know when exactly it closed? At least 5 years ago, right? Did you ever ride there when it was operating in all it's up-market glory?