nippontiger

Well forecast has it down for snow all day tomorrow as well - Im sure Kagura on Tuesday will be absolutely epic!

Kandatsu tomorrow!

Yeah, its a bit on the small side, but I think its fine just for a day trip once in a while - I usually go there when there's been a big dump and it looks like it might be too windy at Kagura - Ive been to Kagura a few times when they've closed the top lifts through high winds and Id much rather be at Kandatsu. Also it was just 7000 yen vs 9400 for Kagura. I have to say though, I've never been there when they opened the milky way course - Im not sure why that they choose to close that one every time and Im pretty much certain it wont be open tomorrow. Any recommendations for alternatives arou

Another 30-40 cms last night - looking good for my trip there tomorrow!!

わくわく！ Got my tickets for Kandatsu today! Poor dear in the shop must have been a bit bamboozled with the foreigners - despite telling her in Japanese exactly which trains we wanted to take and how much it should cost, first off she plugged everything in and came back with a price of 9000 yen each - should have been 7k! I was like "huh? the seats are all full?" and she said, no the outbound seats are full but the return ones are OK. So I told her it should be 8000 then, but when I probed further, turns out the outbound seats weren't full - it was just the pair seats that were full - we could si

Hope the snow hits big time in within the next 48 hours - Im supposed to be hitting Kandatsu on Monday!

It sucks that your Friday and Saturday look like a write off and Sunday is a non-starter, but if you can get out Monday, winds might have died off a bit by then, if not the snow and there should be plenty of powder to play in! Id still be trying to find a resort thats not too exposed though... My "resort in a storm" is Kandatsu, but I dont know the places in your area....

I usually stay at a place called Pebo. Its a small Japanese family run hotel about 5 minutes walk from Echoland - just opposite the 7-11. Its definitely not the height of luxury or style but Im sure Otsuka-san, the guy who owns it, will be delighted to have some more foreign guests - and he will really go out of his way to look after you ie drop you off and pick you up from the ski area/onsen/station etc and lend you a season pass for the resort if he hasn't lent it to anybody else. Have to say, the guy doesnt speak a word of English, so that could be a problem for you! His son speaks good Eng

If its saying 60 and 75kph winds on the reports on this site or snow report, I'd forget all about it unless it was a very sheltered resort in a valley and you weren't too bothered if you were stuck on the lower slopes. Looking at the forecast for that part of Japan I think you would have to be insanely gnarly to even think about going out tomorrow - it really does look quite bad with very strong winds. If you had to go out this weekend, maybe Sunday will be the best, but probably better to wait until tuesday or wednesday if possible.

Thought you meant the mental weekend of weather thats coming up, not the mental crowds! Usually I go up to Hakuba just before New Year and it doesnt tend to get crowded until either New Years eve or the day before and then it gets busy until 2nd or 3rd. Wouldn't surprise me if its fairly quiet around Yuzawa from Monday to Thursday - most poeple wont have that time off work.

Im thinking of hitting Kandatsu this friday if the snow arrives early enough and Im tempted to take a day off work on Tuesday and get myself to Kagura! I might see you there, TB!

Looks like its going to snow until Monday, easing off on Tuesday and then high pressure moving in towards mid and late next week. The JMA long forecast is going for mild weather in the first week or two of January. Im thinking tuesday looks best and perhaps wednesday for off piste powder and blue skies. After that Id say it will be getting a bit chunky in the sun until the next snowfalls.

Yeah, its looking like its starting Thursday night , continuing through the weekend and into Monday - peaking around Saturday night. Best chance of any fine weather looks like either tomorrow or not until Tuesday or Wednesday next week in the Niigata/Nagano regions.

If thats the case, might just get my first turns at Kandatsu this season!

Ahh, just checking the brochure - you can get Kandatsu 7600 tomorrow or 8600 Friday, but the early season deals finish on 22nd for Kagura.... decisions, decisions.... Ill check the weather report on thursday and decide then!

Ah yeah, I havent got the brochure in front of me, but it sounds like you are right! I thought you meant Friday and didnt realise the early season discounts run till the 27th. That makes friday a little bit more enticing for me - I was thinking of doing Kagura but not if its stormy. Kandatsu can be a good choice if you head out in a storm because its very sheltered and the winds dont usually end up closing the lifts. Is Kandatsu open right now?

Where do you get the day shink deal for 7600? Is it just for Kandatsu?

My friend had big feet and he got some boots in the Ochanomizu area - I think he got them from the London Sports shop. Im not sure they were quite as big as yours though! Im guessing you might be a bit limited in choice or perhaps you will have to order a pair in specially. Generally I wouldnt buy boots online as you really need them well fitted, but skis, bindings and poles are fine.

As long as he enjoys himself, thats the main thing. When I last went skiing with him on normal skis he seemed to be getting a little frustrated at times because I guess he was still learning/out of practice or at something of an "intermediate plateau" and he had a few falls. I maintain that with a bit more practice, perhaps a lesson or two, he would likely have gone from frustrated to really having a good time pretty soon, including handling powder on bigger skis. But he's decided to go with the skiboards - pretty good ones, admittedly and just looking at them I dare say they will handle 6 inc

5000 yen? I think he managed to drop 4 or 500 US dollars on these with bindings! It seems most think the same as I was thinking - OK for a bit of fun on piste and in the park, but probably not much use in the powder. Well, hopefully he can develop his ability on these dainty little things this year, and build up the confidence to buy himself a proper powder ski next season after he realises that I was right about these not been any good for the deep stuff!

Bent chetlers! I told him to get some of those! Or Icelantic Keepers same as mine!

A friend of mine decided to pick up a pair of these for this season: http://www.skiboardsonline.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=rvl8ktp11&Category_Code=skiboards&Product_Count=12 I guess they look quite sweet, but I have to admit, I'm a bit skeptical - I recommended he just get some fat-ish skis in a normal length for Japan powder but he seemed to have his heart set on some ski boards and says that because of their width -125mm undefoot, and the fact that they have extra holes so you can move the bindings back for powder days, they should be fine for the powde

Loads of shops around the Ochanomizu/Kanda area. You can sometimes get some discount if you buy a few things in one place. Usually, the best deals are in the smaller shops - you should shop around cos there can be quite big differences between shops. Id say you can get stuff cheaper online or on Yahoo auction but you'll probably need a little bit of Japanese ability or a Japanese speaker to help with those. I usually dont see much of a difference before/after Christmas/New year, TBH.

I was thinking about a trip this Friday too - but it does look like it might be a bit stormy - might be best to wait for the following week and hopefully the winds will have died down and a lot more snow will allow more access to off-piste areas. I think with current depths at Kagura it will be in-bounds only.

Id have to agree with GN. Ive only ever been to Niseko once, quite a long time ago, but it is the only place in Japan Ive been to which is so open and where you have easy access to sidecountry areas. Also the nighta is great. Im a better skier now and I think Id enjoy it a lot more, but I just dont really get enough time to make a big trip up there. I also like Kagura - where they have a nice area in the trees at the top, although its a bit short and not very steep - Id like to find somewhere with more of that, but most resorts just rope everything off.