[Tips for Hakuba vs. Niseko]

Once again, thanks guys for all the insights opinions on things, especially DCx3, ygrene, and TubbyBeaverinho. You guys are awesome.

haha don't any of you worry, I never had any intention of shredding park all day anywhere and I think anyone who would avoid a good pow day is clinically insane. It is, however, important that for a two month stretch I have something decent to be lapping on a regular basis when there's no freshy pow to slash, and I genuinely love popping cab 5's and back lip 270's on a slushy bluebird day almost as much. Budget is not really an issue as long as I don't go completely nuts, but that is certainly a good consideration!

 

When it comes to long term or semi long term travel I am usually a firm believer that the longer you stay in one place the better. At this point point I think I'm leaning towards Hakuba for the majority of the trip, but I've always wanted to visit Hokkaido so I figure two weeks in Niseko with some visits to Sapporo should do me just fine. Seems like a good idea to me, but does anyone have any thoughts on this plan? If I'm doing Feb through the end of march when do you think would be the best time to do Niseko? first or last? Hopefully this is the last time I have to bug you guys but thanks again for all the help!

[Tips for Hakuba vs. Niseko]

Thank you everyone for the responses! All the pictures and videos were a big help, but any advice is very much appreciated. I feel like I've got a much better handle on things now, but it seems to me like everyone is getting really hung up on the whole park riding thing.... and I also see now that my initial post was too long so that's understandable. If you could help me out just one more time, I have much shorter questions I hope you can help with!

 

1.) In your experience or opinion, which place seems more likely to have kids in the 18-30 year old range that I could easily meet and shred with after I arrive? Hakuba or Niseko? Doesn't have to be park riding, just where do you think am I more likely to meet up with other people around my age doing essentially the same thing. Is one place more of an older crowd, does one place usually only have people for a a couple days? is there a difference at all?

 

2.) Which town do you like better and Why? Thank you Dcx3 for your thoughts! That's the kind of stuff I like to hear. Do you like one because it's quieter? because it feels more authentic japanese? are the people cooler? because there's more stuff to do around there when you're not shredding and want to chill?

 

Again, tough questions to answer but I have faith in you all! Thanks so much!

[Tips for Hakuba vs. Niseko]

Hey everyone!

 

First time poster and in desperate need of some good advice for where I should be going.

 

Just to give you some context, I have decided that I am going to Japan for two and half months (Starting Feb. 3rd or so) and I will be getting a season pass for either Niseko or Hakuba, but the problem is it's just way too hard to decide between the two! I've done a lot of preliminary research on the differences between the two, but I was really hoping I could get some more specific information here. I'll try to be as precise as possible in describing what's important to me, so lets get started!

 

First and foremost, regardless of snow conditions in either place, one of the most important things for me to know is which of the two places has the better terrain park, and even more specifically, which place has better rails, jibs, bonks and those kinds of features. I like a good tabletop too, but I find the quality of the build is usually the most important thing when looking at jumps. I consider myself an advanced rider which I only mention because while a place may have a "lot" of rails and jumps, if they're designed for newer riders I'm really not all that interested, so if anyone could help shed some light on which place is better in the park department that would be awesome! and very much appreciated. In a similar vein, as soon as I arrived in either place, I would likely be looking to meet up / hook up with other people with similar freestyle interests. Any preference there? oh, and any advice on where to look for networking for this would be awesome!

 

The next big thing I would like to know is, what's the difference in nightlife between the two? While this question has been asked a lot, I wanted to ask it from a slightly different perspective than it usually is. Since I am not someone who is going to be there for a week or two, theres a few specific things I was hoping someone could shed some light on.

First, is one place noticably more expensive for just about everything like food, drinks, and the like? And is the Niseko nightlife mainly geared toward wealthy tourists only there for a few days? As someone who loves live music, does one place have many more opportunities to see some great local bands, DJ sets, rock bands, etc.? are there any venues for that sort of thing in either place?

 

While I may be a park rat at heart, I could certainly do that here in CO, so I was wondering, as far as backcountry, bowls, trees and freeriding goes, is it even possible that I would be in short supply of these things at either resort? keep in mind this is for Feb - Early April so that could factor in. What I'm really looking for is, lets say between niskeo and hakuba 47 and Happo-one only, which would better satisfy my freeriding needs?

 

I know this already very long, and I apologize, but the last thing I was hoping all you fine people could help me out with is..... how different are the two in terms of japanese cultural experience? I've heard Niseko is definitely less of Japanese cultural immersion and Hakuba more, but I was more looking for the degrees between the two. Is Niseko almost entirely Australian run bars and companies? would I be able to have a conversation in japanese (I speak japanese) with the owners of a local run ramen place before I step outside and greet some japanese locals walking by in their fur coats? or is it all australian tourists? I know this is a vague question, but I would like to try to narrow down the overall vibe of each place. for example very touristy feels like sydney or feels like a locals only mountain town or lost town in the mountains with little contact (these examples are mostly just jokes btw)

 

Thank you very much any one who takes the time to read this, and a HUGE thank you to anyone who takes the time to actually respond! This is starting to go down as one of the most difficult decisions I've ever made. And while I know I have some contradictory points in there, (i.e. good nightlife vs. touristy feel etc) I'm more just trying to nail down the feel of each to help me decide.

 

As a final note, if anyone can comment on the quality of the skatepark for Hakuba and Niseko, that would also help a lot.

Thanks Again!