skidaisuki

The best area for sports stores in Tokyo is Jimbocho, close to Kanda (Yamanote line) and Ochanomizu (Sobu line).

How are you getting back from Hakuba? By bus or train? If you are flying out of Narita, the alternative area to stay would be in the Ginza or Tokyo Station area. Plenty of shopping there, and easy access to Ryogoku (for the Kokugikan, i.e. sumo) as well as all other parts of Tokyo by subway lines and the Yamanote line. It's really up to you, because you can catch the Narita Express from Shinjuku as well...

Skyline - under the pair lift - at Happo, and Cortina / Norikura because fewer people go there when its been snowing. 47 has nice views but is boring. Goryu too busy at the bottom, top runs can be good if there's fresh snow. Even quite liked Sun Alpina - Sanosaka when the snow is good... and the excellent Ramenya by Aokiko. Not really a clear answer, I'm afraid

BigDook, You asked a perfectly reasonable question, then the thread descended into unlrelated joshing. Sorry about that. But....nobody knows. Hopefully there'll be a big dump before Christmas. Many times it's nicely snowy in Hakuba by New Year.

The trees on either side of the King Triple at Hirafu, preferably when it's puking down. Thought night skiing was rubbish before I first tried it. Now I think daylight skiing is second rate.

Thanks, Mr Wiggles, I know I was being a bit lazy not wading back through all of this thread to dig out the answers... Anyway, I have done Kagura day trips via Echigo Yuzawa more times than I can count, so I know the tricks and exactly how long that takes (our record's about 95 minutes from Tokyo Station to arrival at Mitsumata Ropeway if you catch the 07:00 fast train and assuming there's no taxi queue at Echigo), but I'm really looking forward to the chance to go somewhere decent on the Nagano Shink, which is traditionally a lot quieter than the Niigata. For those who don't know, H

Can anyone tell me: 1. How far is Wakinoda Station (basically where the new shink station is being built) from Myoko Kogen skijo? 2. When will the shink to Myoko Joetsu open? 3. How much further in travel time will it be from Nagano (i.e. total travel time from Tokyo - I'm guessing about 2 hours). Whatever the case, with an early enough departure, you'll be able to do day trips from Tokyo. Thanks! SdS

Who cares whether it snows more in Tokyo or not? I never ski in Tokyo... I have no idea what this winter holds, but I do see that this thread has turned into a debate on climate change rather than the specific predictions that I always enjoy thinking about at this time of year. Snowdude's prediction is completely unsubstantiated and if it happens to agree with what the Met Office is saying, then that's mere coincidence and nothing to do with practical observations. At times, most Japanese resorts will be epic this season. Gear up to get out there, I say! SdS

Yay

Wow, look how my thread has grown !! Nice to see it's still going now winter HAS arrived - and what a winter it's shaping up to be... Got my first turns for the season at Kagura on Sunday. It was still a bit shallow in places, but the weather stayed cold and it snowed throughout. I'm also thinking of going again on Friday, but will leave the decision until Thursday. I love the place, but it's a drag on windy days when you make it over to Tashiro then you immediately have to turn back because they start closing lifts. In previous years, we've avoided having to take the "wrong" ropeway

The Kagura webcams are making me feel very happy this morning. Together with the ski shop calling me yesterday to say that my new skis are ready to pick up, you could say the start of the winter's in sight.

You can't fault me for bottomless optimism, though

Bah! Don't come to me for weather forecasts, folks !!!

Well, it's distinctly chilly and wet in downtown Tokyo, so I'm guessing this is at least falling as snow up at higher elevations in the mountains. Hopefully! Looks like the start of winter proper from next week onwards. Would be great to get some turns in before Christmas. SdS

Don't know about you lot, but I'm getting pretty tired of this unseasonably mild weather. When are we going to start seeing snow on the menu, for Hokkaido at least? Also, I know it's just a waste of energy guessing, but what about your wildly optimistic predictions for the season's snowfall? These seem to be lack on the forums so far this year... hit me. SdS

My pals at Wangel Sports in Jimbocho are putting together a pair of new 181 cm K2 Coombacks with Marker Baron touring bindings for me. Can't wait to give them a try. I'll also be getting a new roller bag, Mont Bell ultralight carbon poles and a new pair of ski pants because my old ones are shredded...

My first thought was 'Toho Cinemas' because of the shape. Anyway, no matter, it goes well with the rest of the site revamp.

It's true that Japanese hotel breakfasts are massively variable. Often you get a western style buffet breakfast, but it's more about bread, eggs and salad than about the traditional western meaty staples or cereals. The traditional Japanese breakfast is usually grilled fish (especially salmon), rice and miso soup. Quite a healthy choice, but can be a bit on the light side in advance of a morning's skiing. Watch out for salarymen drinking bottled beer with their breakfast - quite a common sight, but still does my head in. SdS

off the first top lift at Hirafu after a decent dump of snow. So light that we could spring from turn to turn, and even crashing was a pleasure. SdS

Beg your pardon, David. I must've been mistaken, but I thought I looked the other day and the mid-mountain Niseko cam (close to the King Triple) wasn't being displayed. I assume it's back up now. That's the really interesting one, of course, because it's a lot higher on the mountain. Going through and checking all those webcam links - and finding new ones - must be a big job, but I know that a lot of SJ visitors really appreciate the effort. Keep up the good work, and I'm looking forward to seeing the pre-season Now reports re-starting in earnest. Cheers SdS

Keep us posted, GN! Have been keeping an eye on the weather charts, and it looks like a good strong, cold north-westerly airflow over Hokkaido for the first half of the coming week. I suppose the snow won't hang around, but it'll be good to see some on the ground in Hirafu before November. On that subject, have you any local webcam recommendations? The Niseko Now! ones seem to have changed... Cheers SdS

minamax 10, I agree with the balance of opinion above. Hakuba's the obvious choice in terms of access, variety of places, to stay / drink / soak in onsen. Skiing for 2 weeks in Hakuba is plenty of skiing, and trying to find other things to do for 2 weeks for the non-skiiers is a big ask, even if you can arrange transport and they like onsens / Matsumoto Castle etc. I would advise 2 options, either: A) Persuade them to try some gentle skiing if they're up to it; Suggest that the gramps (or the whole family) cut back on the skiing idea and do some other sightseeing in Jap

Hey, we've gone way off topic talking about last winter... What about the one coming up? Any new ideas? Things are gradually cooling down in Tokyo but the past couple of days have been quite balmy, back to mid 20s hopefully for the last time until about May. When can we expect the first proper winter weather pattern to establish itself?

At least in Kanto, we have another 5-6 days of this heat level, if not more. The evenings are getting perceptibly "cooler" - cooler meaning not quite as unbearably hot as before, rather than actually cool - and then we'll see. Usually in the second half of September and early October we start to get that nice balance between warmth and freshness, but this year, when this weather cracks, I guess it's really going to crack big style. Only the likes of GoNative would have the data to tell us how hot summers relate to winter temps and snow volumes in Japan. Usually such things don't co

Ha ha - the heat's affected my ability to write, Thursday... I mean, an early start. Any kind of skiing before Christmas (apart from the Karuizawa Prince variety) would be good. SdS