sevenbeers

Others with more experience may confirm or otherwise but I thought one on the issues about staying at Annupuri and accessing the other resorts is that you have to ride Jumbo Pair Lift #4 (at the top) to get there and that it is one of the first lifts to shut down in any type of wind. The bonus is that Hirafu's Ace Pair Lift #4 is also one of the first to go and that stops the hordes getting over to Annupuri. Provided the Annupuri Gondola is running you then have paradise all to yourself! Whether or not I'm talking through my hat, there is always the inter-connecting bus to get to the othe

Mike, we are lucky to have you and your reports. But you sure do make it hard on us who can't be there. Couldn't you make it look a bit less fantastic. (The Nice N' Sleazy vid is awesome.) Maybe lodge a report along the lines of: 'Woke up this morning and there is no decent snow in any of the resorts and so spent the day in bed!' Keep up the great work.

I know everyone knows what powder snow looks like!!!!! It wasn't meant to be so people know what powder is, it was meant to show how powdery the snow we had here was today. Snowdude, thanks for sharing your travel experiences with us. For those of us who have to do a virtual ski trip to Japan these year it is appreciated.

Thanks for the daily reports MikePow. For those who can't be there it is the best way to experience it vicariously. +1 on the great video. At about 10:11 into the video, the skier is above a couple of ski courses and lift stations can be seen at the top of the screen. Can anybody identify the location? Is it Hanazono?

The Kutchan Tourism Association website now has the 2013-14 schedule for the night bus. Fewer runs and a fare increase from ¥100 to ¥500. No mention of the season ticket which was ¥1000 last season.

A tip is to read the daily avalanche reports (they are posted all over the resorts) as they tell you when specific gates are going to open. For example (from 26 February 2013): Gate 2 & 3 are scheduled to open at 10:30am. Beware!! Avalanche hazard remains high in open steep slopes with large vertical drop; namely the Backbowl sidewalls and other similar condition slopes. These slopes should remain untouched today. DO NOT traverse across or wait at the bottom of those slopes. Avalanche strikes you from behind.The snow in the tree is stable and in very good condition. Better not overe

Really? Why is it closing? The land is owned by the army, and I guess they just don't make enough money to justify running the ski jo? The daypass + onsen + lunch ticket is dirt cheap, and they don't get many people visiting. From those on the know, can it be confirmed that Chisenpuri has closed permanently?

First time poster but long time lurker. TubbyBeaverInho, I'm curious about the first photo from the beach up to the mountains with the communication towers. There looks to be ski courses down the mountain. Are they, and if so what resort is it?