Gunma Boarder

And here I thought it was too early to bring my one year old to the mountain I'm now reconsidering.

Ride as much on course powder as you can and practice making tight controlled turns. You might also go to a resort that has tree runs that are made to ride and practice in those. You might be closer to ready than you think.

I was happy to get this ticket late in the season (Thank you Ryuoo and Snowjapan!) because of how high elevation a resort Ryuoo is. I was hopeful that the coverage at the top would be good despite being so late in the season. It didn’t disappoint. The snow wasn’t the best, but there was still plenty of it! The courses above the gondola don’t have the cleverest names (A, B and C), but that makes things easy to explain. I spent my warm-up runs on the A run which is the longest and easiest slope. It has a nice wall on the left, so I was able to practice some backside 180s and even hit a couple of

Tell me when! I really want to get back up there this year. I really love so many of the pictures you have on this site. I have even sent relatives to your Tanigawa pages to show them the beautiful places I go. Would love to see you at work

I think I've done about the same thing from the forest drop in point pictured above. It's a really nice run

Damn rider69 is that pic taken this year? because I just wanna get naked and ride that sexy glory.

Of the skijos in Japan I have been to Kagura is definitely one of my favorites. Due to its location, it gets consistent good powder snow all winter long and due to how open things are, you can even find fresh powder runs later in the day. I have spent most of my time in the “Kagura” area (as opposed to the Mitsumata and Tashiro areas) and will focus my report on this area. I will also be talking about a couple of my trips to Kagura to hopefully give a broader picture of what the mountain is like. For the first two trips I apologize for the lack of pics. My first trip to Kagura was in a

I really hope there is good snow. Just depends on the next couple of weeks. This weekend looks good, but after that who knows. Are you driving or taking the train? I think Charmant Hiuchi in Niigata gets more snow then any other place in the area , but it's not as easy to get to.

Kawaba and Norn also make you turn in your pass for a ticket (which if the lines were long made me a bit frustrated). They seem to want a record of you being there.

Looking from the Numata area, the high peaks between Tanigawa and Naeba look fluffy white. I guess the valleys aren't there yet though...... On the bright side the weekend might bring some snow.

Has anyone mentioned the 10,500 yen early bird season pass? Because that is very alluring.

No idea. But that is a beautiful pic Did that lucky skier hike that hill?

I think ger is saying steepish tree runs in combination with powder, but I would say that Kagura has both. Nozawa and Hakuba definatley have steeper, but I would say some of the tree runs I have done at Kagura would be at least steepish even when the top lift is closed. That said I do like Nozawa a lot also and usually save Kagura for when all the lifts are running.

I usually mess my boards up at the begging or the end of the season when the coverage is not so good. Usually deep scratches from rocks. The last board i just dropped though..... Felt really stupid.

I broke my board at the end of last season and recently found a Rossignal Imperial at a used shop for just over 3,000 yen with bindings and couldn't help but buy it. The more I read about it the more I think it would make a better back-up board than main board for me. I'm one of those riders that likes to spend as much time on powder as possible and this board seems more like a beginners light weight groom runner. I don't like spending too much on boards because I have a tendency to break them. Any advice on boards I should be looking for at recycle shops or on the auction?

We all gunna die!!!!!!!

If they book a Ryokan they could get breakfast and dinner if desired in Naeba or Yuzawa. and I know they have Echigo Beer at the liquor store in Naeba so that is a plus. Seriously good stuff.

I think the only lift that might be closed is the romance lift. I would say Kagura is still the best option without it. You could also buy an all mountain pass in connection wih Naeba, but I think Kagura is good enough by itself. I'm not sure about bus situation from the station (I live close and drive), but I think the first train leaves Tokyo at 6:08 a.m and arrives at 7:24 a.m and costs 6,490 yen. This info is just from google maps and for tomorrow not the time you are here, but it probably is the same. I imagine there would be a bus connected with the first train, but I don't know.

Shiei Taira

+1 for Yuzawa town and Kagura Ski Resort. It really is nice and also a hot spring town. If you see any Echigo beer that stuff is also great.

I got 307 km and a time of 5 hours 34 minutes skijo to skijo using the expressway through Niigata when searching on google maps. Might be able to make better time if the weather is good, but winter in Niigata is not always the best for driving in.

It was a beautiful clear morning in Gunma. I looked out my window and was suprised to see snow down to about 600 or 700 meters on a mountain that had almost zero the night before. It has clouded up this afternoon and looks like more snow could be on the way. while driving back to work after my lunch break I say a whirlwind tear up one of those sheets they use to cover feilds. It was like a dragon taking flight. Last I saw it the plastic dragon was climbing for the heavens above Mt. Akagi. It looks like the gods of the north are fighting back against the coming of spring

I think I have to go there next year, looks awesome!

Time for hanami me thinks. I also want to do more rafting this year. If we get more powder that would be nice but I'm kind of excited for spring!

Anyone able to see the comet? I went out last night with high expectations and didn't see anything