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dyna8800

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Everything posted by dyna8800

  1. Great minds think alike...but most owners of ski resorts in Japan have a typical village mentality. Consider the long standing feuds in Myoko...skiers/snowboarders come down a run to a lift, then are turned away because they do not have the proper lift ticket for that area. That certainly does not build goodwill among the community, nor is the feud good for anyone involved. I was skiing Niseko back in the days when it was UN-united. I recall skiing down the hill, and ending up at the wrong lift...had to walk back to the correct area or pay additional to ride up their lift. Thank g
  2. It seems that I never got around to posting a report on Kijimadaira...will put that on the list of things to do for next week. While the resort was very small, and could be covered in a half day (if the top lift is not running), the addition of the other areas, making it more complete would be a welcome addition. Just a Yamabiko no Oka/Kijimadaira/Maki no Iri resort would be decent for a day, and with X-Jam off the backside (well, it ain't no back bowls of Vail, but the orientation of the hill could make for a go if conditions on the "frontside" were not optimal) and Yomase might len
  3. Snowbird Utah December 2011 Togakushi January weekend, 2012 Naeba (really!) January weekend, 2012 Rusutsu February 9-12, 2012 Mt. Kosha (?) February 20-24, 2012 Niseko March 19-23, 2012 (tentative)
  4. Hey MitchPee, wonder how you found Jyuu, that is one of my hidden treasures...the owner rides a Gentemstick board. Forgot to mention a burger at JoJo's Cafe. The original poster did not mention a budget, but some of those places that Go Native mentioned are pricey...think Tokyo prices. Coming from Kali you will have sticker shock...
  5. I have my favorites...the places where only the locals go, mainly because they can only be accessed by car, while most of the tourists are on the "walk around the village" plan. Staying at Black Diamond, you would need to arrange transport or ride the shuttle bus. There is a guidebook published by the Niseko Promotion Board, be sure to pick it up, as it has listings for many restaurants, including very good, detailed maps with the shuttle bus routes, etc. Suggestion for in village would be A-Bu-Cha, izakaya style, with a friendly vibe. Important: I would recommend making reserva
  6. In recent news, Macearth announced a new resort, titled Mt. Kosha. This would join together 5 existing resorts: Maki no Iri Snow Park, Kitashinshu Kijimadaira Skijo, Yamabiko no Oka Skijo, X-Jam Takaii Fuji, and Yamase Onsen Skijo. The new resort would rank third in area, 234 hectares, only behind Shiga Kogen and Nozawa Onsen. The new website is not up yet, and there are only a few details gleaned from the various group resort websites. Does this signal a new era in mega resorts?
  7. A season pass would not be worth it to me unless I lived on the resort's doorstep. I have been to almost all the majors and the only resort that keeps me coming back every year is Niseko. But maybe that is the type of skier/snowboarder that I am. I can cover huge amounts of ground in a day, and can do every run on a mountain in a day, even at a larger resort like Happo-One. Doing early morning laps at the top of Niseko in the pow, well, that is what I consider fun. When I get bored I switch to snowboard. IMNSHO, the only resort that would consider getting a pass to would be Shiga Kog
  8. JTB Season Pass sales started on October 7, 2011. Pass includes 26 resorts, including some big names such as: Gala Yuzawa Akakura Onsen (Kumado area) Tangram Ski Circus Tsugaike Hakuba Iwatake Snow Field (previously known as Hakuba Iwatake Ski-jo) Hakuba Cortina Hakuba Sanosaka Hakuba Norikura Onsen Ryuoo Ski Park X-JAM Takaifuji Pass price is JPY 49,800. They also have a book of 15 tickets for JPY 35,000 which can be used at most resorts except for Tsugaike, Hakuba Iwatake Snow Field, and Ryuoo Ski Park. The lift tickets can only be redeemed by the purchaser, but can get mult
  9. FDR at Hunter Mountain, is probably the best mogul run I have ever been on, perfectly spaced moguls. Many resorts in Shiga Kogen also have the mandatory mogul fields, but many are short. Kandatsu has a mogul area complete with jumps, too. Mash away!
  10. Mick, seems like the PM system is not enabled, I wanted to ping you, might be available midweek for the Gunma part of your trip.
  11. Mick Rich, so late in the season, why are you bypassing all of the Fukushima resorts and Zao? The conditions at the Gunma resorts are not going to be that good, low elevations call for slush, most all resorts in that area close at the end of March. As a destination, Hakuba would be a much better bet. White World Oze is a great resort, but not easy to access by public transport, 60 minutes from Numata station by bus or 90 minutes from Jomo Kogen.
  12. Panhead Pete and ippy, great stuff. That natural halfpipe is located in the Higashiyama, er, Niseko Village area, it is basically a ravine...one of my favorite runs on the mountain.
  13. Redfen, end of March is almost the end of the season at Niseko with most of the places shutting down for the season (for example, the hotel where I am staying during spring break will be closed as of April), but many years we get fresh snowfall at night...windbuff is not as good there as say, Zao, but a nice dusting now and then. They could easily go to Golden Week but the customer base just cannot support it, not Gala which can be subsidized by JR cheap tix. As for apres ski, Niseko is the best, considering, but does not match anything in North America... For the resorts in Yuzawa,
  14. Kenny, if you are going to Hunter Mountain, they have a 5 minute wax and 10 minute edging service at the shop in the base lodge. BTW, the main difference between a cheap clothes iron and a ski specific wax iron is the temperature control of the ski wax iron is going to be much better.
  15. Thanks, yamabushi...you're killin' me. (As I am sorting through photos from Kijimadaira, Gala, Kandatsu, Hunter...)
  16. Hunter Mountain bills itself as "One of the Largest Snow Resort (sic) in the Kanto Area." While that may true, it may seem small in comparison to some other resorts. But what it lacks in size, it makes up in unique features such as a halfpipe in the terrain park, the best mogul course I have ever skied in Japan, and a pole bahn to practice those GS turns. It also has snowmaking, for artificial snow when the weather does not cooperate. Trails and Lifts For a total of 12 named runs, there are a total of 7 lifts including one six person gondola which whisks skiers and snowboarders up th
  17. TB, I went to Myoko, and after about an hour on the road, the bus got off the highway and drove on regular roads. We stopped about an hour at one place which was full of similar bus tours, then before arriving at the destination, we spent another hour or so in a parking lot...
  18. Mick Rich-san, the only reason why I picked Newport was because it was on the Japanese booking site and it was about 2 days before departure. The booking site had real time availability. The hotel also had a dinner with all you can drink special. It was lucky that we got there on time because as with most hotels, the dinnertime is set. If you are late, then you are out of luck. The dinner was just so-so, but the draft beer made up for it. Hotel Tagawa (No. 12 on the accommodations map) and Kitashiga Holiday inn (No. 10) looked like they were ferrying a lot of people up the hill. One thing
  19. Thanks JellyBelly! The ticket that we got was indeed a one day ticket, not a 5 hour or half day ticket. Even at that, the price for 5 hour ticket is JPY 3,900...Full day is 4,200 so not a big price difference. But you figure that these bus tour companies are getting the tickets for a deep discount, considering they are bringing customers in that would not normally be getting to the resort. Factor in the cost of bus/driver/petrol/tolls, etc. for 40 or so people... TB, I agree about the overnight bus trips, but what kills me is that they drive on the local roads, not the highways, and
  20. Noticing that I am _way_ behind on my yearly average of days of skiing/snowboarding, I decided to take a few weekdays off and go, especially with a much warmer and milder spring and hotter summer predicted for this year. The benefits of weekday skiing includes uncrowded slopes, cheaper prices, and oh, did I say cheap prices? The downside is that many resorts do not open all lifts on weekdays. One type of tour that was appealing to me was the bus tours. Since many depart from Shinjuku, it is closer for me to get to than taking the bullet train from Tokyo station. Also, since I always take
  21. muikabochi, Maki no Iri, which is to the right, has closed. One year, they actually had a joint ticket with Kijimadaira. I am just sorry that I could not make it that year, as it looks like they had some good terrain. It really is too bad that those places (sounds like Myoko feuds) just can't be friends and try to share the wealth...with all the IC readers, etc. you figure there would be a logical revenue share. It reminds me of the fishermen in Japan, none want to cooperate, various hierarchy structures, oh wait, sounds like the government, doesn't it? To the left, X-Jam Takaii Fuj
  22. Good suggestions here, I would point out that it is essential that you pull the liners out of your boots, dry thoroughly (and some ski boots have plastic inserts in the bottom) and make absolutely sure that there is no moisture left in the shell. Any moisture plus the heat of the Japanese summer means that there will be some serious funk to deal with. For skis/snowboards, use your regular wax, just don't scrape. Unless you are using fluoro wax, the benefit of using cheap wax (some use thicker wax, aka storage wax) does not warrant the extra time it takes to clean it off, etc. and put on y
  23. Tubby Beaver, will have a review posted next week or so. That lunchtime break cracks me up. I had some good homemade bread at the restaurant/lodge Panis at the bottom of that lift for lunch.
  24. If tripler is talking about the No. 8 Sky Four lift and the No. 6/7 Pair Lifts, then no, they actually do not service the same terrain.
  25. Map showing accommodations and ski trails and lifts. I stayed at Hotel Newport, only because I booked on a Japanese reservation site. Magic Carpet Bus Information Center before the zillion buses parked there... Ropeway (and yes, it is exactly the same 166 person max. as some other resorts in Japan have) Tech info Patrol "inspecting" the runs Finally, gate is OPEN! Preparing to drop in Yes, it really is as steep (or steeper) than it looks! While these skiers and snowboarders were struggling
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