dyna8800
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Posts posted by dyna8800
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just finished a lovely sunny day at Kusatsu. weather not looking good for last day tomorrow.
I missed this thread...were you on skis? I saw exactly two Western gaijin at Kusatsu today... (and heard a few Chinese speakers)
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At Gala, that 1,000 yen lets you open and close the locker as many times as you wish during the day...not like those coin ones where if you forget something you gotta pay again. Of course, those are usually 300 or 500 yen for the larger size ones.
Am going on another bus tour tomorrow morning, hopefully the Tohoku highway to Hunter Mountain will be better than that darn Kanetsu...plus I am hoping that we can jump on right out of Shinjuku since they made that underground tunnel (fingers crossed).
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Looking at Marunuma Kogen, it looks like their Oohiro course and associated lift (off the back from the top) are gone again. For good this time?
Lift is still there, but no access, it is roped off, and there is a patrol office there. I am tempted to ski down and hike or skin back up. Remind me to buy some AT gear.
What a shame about Alts. It used to be THE place for snowboarders. And that left side was the best part of the resort.
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Man In Japan, you mean more time than sense, right? Cause if I had the money, I would be on the first shink out of Tokyo station.
In a half day at Marunuma Kogen, well, make that about 3 hours, I got over 2,000 meters of vert. or about 14 km. That was on a snowboard, no less. If I were on skis, I probably would have covered 50% more. And if I were going for the freshies, that would require the overnight bus, but ain't that young anymore, although am still considering it for one trip...
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One man's poison is another man's pleasure...or so they say.
Kandatsu is actually one of my favorites, in Niigata, that is. It is a smaller scale resort. I actually wrote a strategic guide sometime back about how to cover the resort, with some lifts only opening at certain times and all...
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From posts I can see that people are taking the night buses to various resorts, but how about the morning tours?
I am planning to post a mini review of my experience(s) with taking the morning bus from Shinjuku. The tour prices are much less expensive than taking the shinkansen. For example, some tours midweek are 3-4,000 yen. That is less than the price of the lift ticket.
There are also other companies departing from Ikebukuro or Tokyo station, with shuttle bus pickups from various other stations around Tokyo, Yokohama, and Saitama. They normally depart about 7 or 7:20 am and return about 8-10 pm depending on traffic.
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Marunuma Kogen
I won a lift ticket last year for White World Ose Iwakura. But I had already written a resort review a few years ago and did not feel that it needed to be updated. Instead, I offer this review of Marunuma Kogen, which boasts of Gunma-ken “super fine snow.”
Executive Summary
Marunuma Kogen is a medium size resort in Gunma prefecture, perhaps one of the more popular ones. It has a bit of something for everyone, including a terrain park, mogul bahn, and a kids play park, the only thing lacking may be some more advanced terrain. There is even an onsen (hot springs) at the base of the ski area, a perfect way to end the day. The top of the Ropeway offers a fine view of Mount Nikko Shirane on clear days.
Trails and Lifts
The resort has 13 named ski trails, with the longest run 4 km., steepest pitch 32 degrees, and vertical 610 (from 2000 to 1390 meters).
The runs are (un)imaginatively named with colors of the rainbow, Gold, Silver, Rose, Cobalt, Green, Violet, Yellow, Red, Orange and Blue, except for 2 trails, Shirane and Karakura.
There are 8 lifts (a couple of them are not operating), most of them pair lifts, with a couple of “super twin” which is Japanese speak for detachable chairlift. There is also a single chair, Lift No. 7, which is only operated on the weekends and national holidays. The Nikko Shiranesan Ropeway is an 8 person gondola that goes to the top of the mountain at 2000 meters.
The lift ticket is an IC card which is used to open the automated gates, and moreover, to capture information that can be seen using the Skiline App or online, just make sure to get the number off the card before returning it to get the 1,000 yen deposit back.
Beginners
For novice or learning skiers, the Blue course serviced by No. 4 pair lift is the place to be, since it is ski only and snowboarders are not allowed. It is a maximum of 13 degrees and average 9 degrees.
The Red course off towards the left side is also a nice area for beginners, in order to get to this, it requires a little skating or walking from the top of Lift No. 1. Also since it is out of the way, it is not so crowded, and is a steady 11 to 8 degrees.
Although Karakura and Rose runs are marked green on the trail map, they are a little more intermediate, and good cruising runs.
Intermediates
The sweet spot of the resort is the abundance of intermediate terrain including some nice long cruisers. You can go from the top of the mountain all the way to the bottom for a total distance of 4 kilometers via Karakura and Rose. Or, start with the more advanced runs such as Shirane (maximum 30/average 13 degrees) and Silver (32/17) then cruise on Cobalt (15/10) and Red (11/8) or through the park on Orange (14/9) down to the base.
Advanced
For advanced skiers and snowboarders, the only way to get to the advanced trails and the top is by the Ropeway (gondola).
The challenging terrain would be the bottom part of the Shirane course or Silver. They are marked as max. 30 and 32 degrees, respectively, but are probably flatter, towards the average of 13 and 17 degrees.
There is a mogul bahn on the right side of the Chuo lift, as well as a pole course on the Gold run.
Terrain Park
The terrain park has a variety of small to medium features such as kickers, pipes, rails, wide and narrow boxes, even a drum can.
Facilities
Base Center
Center House has an information counter, ticket sales, changing rooms, cafeteria, etc. on the second floor. There is even an onsen (Zazen Spa) next to the rental area on the first floor, the perfect way to end the day.
One good point is that there is a separate special changing room on the third floor for bus tours. There is also a free rest area, as well as some rental rooms.
Accommodations and Onsen
Chalet Marunuma offers accommodation right at the base of the ski resort, and an outdoor open air bath as well as onsen hot springs. They offer some package deals including lodging, meals, and lift tickets.
On Mountain Dining - Restaurants
At the base of the mountain, Restaurant Plateau is in the main Center House building, cafeteria style dining with various dishes including soft serve ice cream. It has 240 seats. They stop serving drinks at 4 pm so might want to end a bit early to enjoy that draft beer. (Note to self for future visits, since I settled for can beer which is sold in the gift shop.)
Kogen no Eki Marunuma with 170 seats is also located at the base, off to the left near Lift No. 1 and the kids park. They have a special kids menu as well as some family tables that can be used for the day for 1,000 yen with advance reservation.
In the center of the ski area, Chinese restaurant Dongfang (Tonfuan in katakana) has the usual assortment of ramen as well as some Hokkaido dishes like soup curry. It is located at the bottom of Lift No. 2, and with 530 seats, it would seem that you would be able to get a seat even at peak lunch hour, especially considering quick turnover.
Almost exactly at the midpoint of the slopes, near the bottom of Lift No. 8 and 3, is La Foret, with 260 seats. It did not appear to be operating for business although there was a sign that said that it was open to use the toilets.
At the top of the ropeway and at 2,000 meters is Shirane, a cafe/restaurant with a cozy 50 seats, only open on weekends and national holidays. There are various cake sets in addition to the Zekkei (marvelous view) lunch.
Access
Marunuma Kogen resort is located about 40 km. from Numata interchange on Route 120. That makes for a far drive, but other resorts in the area such as Ose Iwakura, etc. are also about 35 km. from the IC.
For people staying at Chalet Marunuma, there is a special bus service available only by reservation. Otherwise, the only way to get there is by car or tour ski bus, although there did not seem to be many buses in the parking lot, unlike many other resorts.
Parking
There are 4 parking lots, including one that gives priority to those with small children (younger than elementary school). I think there is also a fifth lot which is not normally used.
The other parking lots are free, but there is a charge for the central parking lot in front of Center House, 500 yen for regular vehicles.
Lift Tickets
Besides the usual 1 day, Set 1 day (lift ticket, lunch, and soft drink) and half day/half day set lift tickets, they have a 10 hour and 20 hour ticket which is enabled by the function of the IC card. There is also a 3 point ticket (1 lift requires 1 point, or the Ropeway requires 3 points).
Monday is Ladies Day and Friday is Seniors Day (over 55 years old) with a special lift ticket, lunch, and soft drink pack for 2,700 yen. There was a “thank you” (39, san kyu, get it?) from January 7 to 18 weekdays for the same set.
There is also a Oyako (family) pack for 1 or 2 parent(s) and 2-3 elementary school children (although 1 parent can only have 2 kids) that requires an application form only downloadable from the website. For some reason you cannot get the form at the information counter.
Gaijin Friendly?
Trail signs are written in English as well as Japanese. But for some reason, Marunuma does not have any English pages on their web site. Other area resorts, such as White World Ose Iwakura even offer Chinese and Korean in addition to English and of course Japanese.
I did not see any foreigners at the resort the one Saturday that I visited, but it was also a relatively uncrowded day.
Conclusion: Well worth a visit for a day trip!
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How about ski trail maps?
I have some from the same resort, showing the evolution of the ski area...and some from Japanese resorts that do not show the non operating lifts, even worse.
At Rusutsu there is a corridor that has trail maps on the wall going back to when only west mt had lifts, it is pretty cool to see the how the resort has developed over time.
Ah, that hallway which shows the 30 or so years of evolution of Rusutsu with the ski posters. That is fantastic!
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How about ski trail maps?
I have some from the same resort, showing the evolution of the ski area...and some from Japanese resorts that do not show the non operating lifts, even worse.
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At many resorts in the US, there are 2 parts to the ticket, the main part must be attached to pants or jacket with zip tie. Both parts have bar codes and your full name. If you lose your lift ticket, you go to the ticket office/window with the other bar coded receipt/proof of purchase. Then they issue you a new ticket and void out the old one. Ah, computers...
At some resorts in Japan, such as Furano, the lift ticket has your photo on it, so they can verify who the real owner is.
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Dyna, thanks for this! I just went the other weekend and read your report before going, thanks for all the info, great help, made the trip WELL worth it!
Glad that it helped...that is exactly the reason why I write them.
Cheers,
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Seemore, you still around?
I got stuck in some trees as it flattened out, thigh deep in powder. Seriously need some powder planks.
Ate at the BBQ place and got all smokey...Italian steaks last night with a nice bottle of wine.
Cricket Pub has half price drinks for happy hour, 5-6 pm, just made it in time for a few pints, just myself and a large group of workers (?)
Looking forward to another pow day. Lines untracked until the end of the day, even on some groomed runs, there is fresh pow right next to the cord...
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Thanks again very much!
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The Seiko Mart has some good options.
We ate at the Hotel (Tower) a few times and at the Italian (I don't rate pasta ) the kids prefered the spaghetti at the seikomart.
Gozaimaas just let us know on a different thread about a couple of places
When you there Dyna?
Seemore
Thanks for the intel.
I did a search but could not find the thread...
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Thanks very much everyone!
Finally was able to book the tour, had some problems but all sorted out now. Will be staying at the Rusutsu Resort (not Tower) with breakfast included.
Will be there February 9 to 12th.
Seemore, guess I will miss you?
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Glad that helped, it was actually kind of hard to find using the search...
Blizzaks are supposedly the most popular/best selling tire.
Maybe one of these days should do an unofficial tally of the cars in the parking lot. ;-)
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Any recommendations for restaurants and dining options in the Rusutsu area?
Planning to stay at Rusutsu Resort in February.
Thanks!
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Interesting!
First of all, scuba shops in Japan use yoke connectors, not DIN. The video shows a DIN connector for the adapter, so you might need a DIN to yoke converter.
Most scuba shops do not have a compressor on site due to strict regulations. They send the scuba tanks to another facility for filling. Dive services (near the ocean) either fill on site or have their tanks trucked in.
Gas cylinders (tanks) must have KHK (Japan High Pressure Gas Association) stamp. This is similar to USA DOT stamp. Without this, there is no way that they can fill the tank, it is illegal.
The only way to get around this would be to rent a scuba tank and then do whatever you are going to do with it.
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Well, still no response, so not planning to hit Naeba today.
Cheers,
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Good reference is a video on skiwaxing101.com.
After scraping, I prefer to use a nylon brush (not brass) followed by horsehair brush.
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Helicopter rental (with pilot) is about JPY 500,000 per hour.
Who's in???
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When you hotwax, do you iron the wax into the board, then scrape or do it a section at a time?
Also, if there are bubles/cracks in my wax after/during a boarding day, what does that mean I did wrong?
Iron the wax onto the board, then scrape the whole board, don't do it a section at a time.
If you have any remaining wax layer on the board, that means that you have not scraped enough. You actually want to get the wax into the pores of the base. Scrape until all the layer of wax is off, then use brush it in. There are various opinions of which type of brush to use, horsehair, nylon, etc. Also, I like to finish with an antistatic cloth.
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Did not get any response, so did not make plans to go today. Regrouping for Thursday January 26.
Getting a ski instructors license
in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry
Posted
Hey, snowdude, which resorts?
Contrary to popular belief, you do not need a ski instructor license to teach skiing. Most ski instructors at resorts in North America do not, gasp, have any sort of license at all. The better ski schools have in house training and encourage instructors who do not have certification to obtain at least Level 1.