dyna8800
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Posts posted by dyna8800
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ippy, I liked your review, it was really good! Now all we need to do is to get some pics up...
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Originally Posted By: KarnidgeNice one.
Did you get any visuals?
Ummm, yes, but I am working on sorting out the pics and choosing which ones to post. Maybe later today or tomorrow... -
Thanks ippy. I am actually working on a Japan ski guide.
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I won a free lift ticket to Ryuoo Ski Park compliments of Snow Japan (thank you!) and used the opportunity to check it out during the holidays. As I promised to SJDavid, here is my trip report, also uploaded to the main database.
Executive Summary
Ryuoo is very popular with snowboarders, as it was one of the first to open up to boarders back in the days when skiers ruled the world. Although many other resorts boast of bigger parks, or halfpipes, it is one of the few with a "big air" feature, in other words, a huge airbag to land on after jumping. You could throw some big jumps all day for 500 yen, or 100 yen per time. Like they say, it isn't the jumping, it's the landing part that is scary...
One other notable feature of the resort would be the many hotels and inns that line the sides of the trails. The only way to access the ones up towards the top is by snowcat. After arriving, you call the hotel and then they meet you at the door of the second floor of the Bus Information Center which leads to a back access road. Then the snowcat takes you and all of your luggage up the hill for ski in/ski out accommodations.
One of the strange points of the resort is that in order to get to the first lift from the bottom of the hill, i.e. from the parking lot/Bus Information Center, you take two "magic carpets", or moving walkways, up the mountain to get to Valley No. 3 Pair Lift (or then ski/ride down to the bottom of Valley No. 1 Quad Lift where there is the ticket office).
Trails and Lifts
The resort has 19 ski trails, with the longest being 6 km., vertical 1080 (from 1930 to 850 meters) and steepest pitch 39 degrees. It has a total of 14 lifts including the ropeway which runs every 20 minutes. The tram can hold 166 people and takes 8 minutes to travel a distance of 2293 meters.
The slopes are divided into 3 sections, the Skyland area at the top, the Kiotoshi in the middle, and the Valley area at the bottom. The Skyland area can only be accessed via the ropeway, there is no lift that goes from the Valley area to Kiotoshi area.
Surprisingly, most of the trails are not named, and only the major runs are numbered (or lettered) on the map. It makes it more difficult to describe the runs, since multiple trails are only designated with one course name.
The Skyland area is characterized by flatter trails, seemingly out of place at the top of the mountain. Usually, steeper runs are at the top, but in this case, there are some nice beginner level cruisers, with a few tree runs. Unfortunately, lift #12 on the guide map, Skyland No. 2 Pair Lift, is not running, and on the current website, does not even appear on the interactive course map. Perhaps a few old timers could tell us, but it probably was a mogul course, 24 degrees pitch, average 13 degrees. The beginner run A is 19 degrees max. with average 9 degrees, while C and B are 24/11 and 25/9, respectively.
The Kiotoshi area is where the advanced skiers/riders will want to concentrate, even if it means having to wait for the ropeway, which departs every 20 minutes. Patrol seems to alternate opening Kioraku c and b. When I was there, they opened c at 10 am and then b later in the day...but they close each when they are doing inspection. In the afternoon, they closed off c and opened b for the remainder of the day. If they are both closed, then the only way down is to ride the ropeway.
The Valley area has a wide variety of terrain, ranging from some expert slopes such as Valley 5 Glende with maximum 39 degrees, average 27 degrees, and yes, it was verrry steep, even if it does not look that way from Valley No. 5 Lift, a squeaky old single chair.
For intermediates, there are some great cruising runs such as Valley 2 Glende, with maximum 36 degrees and average 25 degrees, and Valley 4 Glende, with max. 22 degrees and average 15 degrees pitch.
There is an abundance of beginner terrain towards the bottom, but be careful, as there are many snowboarders sitting smack in the middle of the trails, as well as the children and family skiers doing zig zags across the runs.
Beginners
The best terrain for learning is the bottom part of the Valley area. There is also a beginner park for trying out some small features. The runs seem wide until there are half a dozen snowboarders sitting spread out across the trail.
Intermediates
Doing laps off Valley No. 2 Pair Lift will keep intermediates busy, as will the cruisers off Valley No. 9 Pair Lift (Valley No. 8 Lift, is a single and runs on the same path) and Valley No. 10 Pair Lift.
Upper intermediates will enjoy the middle run which is marked as advanced off of Valley No. 5 Lift, an old creaky single lift.
Advanced
This is one of the few places that advanced skiers can really enjoy, due to the challenging terrain of Kiotoshi c and b courses. Why they are lower case letters and moreover, why there is no course a is a mystery. But if and when patrol opens up the runs, c leads out from a narrow, scalloped path to a great natural halfpipe. Course b is more challenging, with steeps and moguls, as well as some tight trees. Both of these courses are ungroomed.
Valley 5 Glende from Valley No. 5 Lift, the squeaky single, has several options ranging from hairy steep to just steep. The hairy steep run is thankfully short but at 39 degrees max., is a real challenge. The Valley No. 5 Lift, even though a single chair, does not seem to get crowded, and is probably the place for high intermediates and advanced to do laps if you do not want to wait around for the ropeway and unpredictability of whether patrol feels like opening up Kiotoshi c and b.
Facilities
Base Center
The Bus Information Center is 2 stories, with a narrow first floor mainly comprised of a gift shop, lots of vending machines, and lots of people standing around waiting for their buses. The second floor has a waiting area as well as some lockers, a small restaurant, and can also get crowded while people are waiting for their rides.
Accommodations and Onsen
Hotels and lodges line the sides of the mountain and offer ski-in/ski-out accommodations, picking up customers at the base of the mountain and going up via snowcat.
Ryuoo Onsen, Mikazuki no Yu, is located near the base of the mountain, a great way to soak those sore muscles after a day of skiing or riding. But it can get very crowded. They sell discount tickets in the Slalom restaurant.
On Mountain Dining - Restaurants
In a collaboration with Delhi Restaurant, the resort owned Slalom and Rosanne Restaurants (located at the top of the Ropeway, and the top of the mountain, respectively) offer curry rice with various topping such as tonkatsu, chicken, menchi katsu, or kara age chicken. Also, the standard Japanese ski resort fare is available such as ramen, etc. at many of the privately owned restaurants, most of which are minshuku/pensions as well.
Transportation
The resort is located about 16 km. from Shinshu Nakano interchange on the Joetsu Highway, about 20 minutes by car. Snow tires with 4WD or chains are a must, as the last section is windy and slightly steep uphill.
An indication of the popularity of the resort is the huge number of buses the line up in front of the Bus Information Center in the evening after the day has ended. Many of them are for one day tours, or the dreaded overnight bus ride from Tokyo, Osaka, etc.
Bus service from Nagano station as well as Yudannaka is also available, check the website for schedules.
Parking
There is a 1500 car parking lot, free of charge, located at the base of the mountain.
Lift Tickets
There are many variations of lift tickets such as afternoon+nighter, morning 8 am to 2 pm, afternoon 11 am to 5 pm, and daytime 10 am to 3 pm, including a family lift ticket (1 adult + 1 child, or 2 adults + 2 children).
Gaijin Friendly?
Signage in English is not so prevalent, but there are enough signs to let people know the basics. When I was waiting for Kiotoshi b, there was a large group of foreigners who wasted no time in getting into the trees and steeps instead of going on the somewhat icy and hard center of the run.
At the hotel that I stayed at, payment was in cash only, and mostly families and young people...the crowd reminds me of Shiga Kogen without the old timers practicing their perfect carve. All in all, highly recommended, especially for the steeps, challenging Kiotoshi slopes, and good vibe all around.
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Judging from the numbers of skiers/snowboarders going on weekdays, most places simply cannot afford opening all the lifts. Also, Kijimadaira is more family oriented, as well as having many school groups during the week. I will post a formal review in the next day or so. There were powder stashes galore there, no poaching necessary, right next to the groomers.
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Muikabochi-san, what did you end up buying?
Too bad I did not see your post sooner, I went through this exercise last year, going to various outlets like Autobacs, Tire-kan, etc.
I agree with your opinion of not buying secondhand tires or taking a chance on auctions, as the purchaser has no idea of the storage conditions, how they were driven, etc. Why gamble?
The tires at Costco ended up being the least expensive. Blizzaks were highly recommended (but were the most expensive) of the lot. Also got new wheels, as it saves a lot of wear and tear on installing/taking the tires off each season.
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Thanks for the heads up, I have seen those previous news articles, and I guess that my point was that they have a "naming contest" going on. Perhaps this will also prevent people from being stranded up top if/when heavy winds make the gondola shut down...
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One more thing, forgot to mention that the 2.5 km run from the "top" to the bottom (previously only accessible by gondola) has been opened up. There even is a contest to name the course...
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JR View Plaza has a special deal for the 20th anniversary of Gala Yuzawa Resort.
On Thursdays from January 20th until March 17th, the price for round trip shinkansen from Tokyo and Gala lift ticket is JPY 6,900. Coincidentally, 6,900 is exactly the price of a one way ticket from Tokyo to Gala Yuzawa.
The special is not mentioned on the Gala resort page, but it can be found on the JR Ski Ski page. With the Southern area of the resort finally open, it should be a fun way to spend a Thursday.
See you on the slopes,
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I drove from Togari Onsen which is just down the road from Nozawa, up and over the mountains on 292 to Myoko (Akakura). Actually wanted to take the road that passes by Madarao, but 292 is a little bit wider.
There are some places in the mountains which are very narrow...glad there was no snow on the road. It took about an hour and a half.
You would need a car/bus hire with a good driver.
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Yes, that is the top part where it is steeper, about 21 degrees.
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At long last, here are a few photos...
View of Norn from the parking lot
View of Norn Ski Center from No. 3 Center Quad
Ski Course C
Ski Course E
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I recall they also had heli skiing at Sugadaira and Kusatsu...
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Thanks everyone for the feedback! Having some difficulty downloading photos from card reader, so need to find cable to attach camera directly to computer.
Good idea iiyamadude to put into the Reviews section as well.
Hopefully I can upload some photos next week or so!
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Thanks to Snow Japan, I got a ticket to Norn in the Minakami area of Gunma Prefecture. Here is a review.
Photos to follow!
Ski Resort Minakami Norn
Norn is conveniently located just 3 km. from Minakami IC off the Kanetsu Highway. This close proximity of the resort makes it very accessible, without the long mountain road drives required to reach many other resorts in the area.
Another selling feature of the resort would be the long operating hours, extended on the weekend days. On Saturday, the resort opens at 7 am, and with night skiing, it stays open until midnight! On Sundays and holidays, it operates until 10 pm. For families, there is a daycare room called Snow Kids, where the children can play inside supervised while the parents play outside.
Trails and Lifts
The resort is small, with only 5 marked trails, unimaginatively named A, B, C, D, and E and 4 lifts, with about 400 meters of vertical. The longest run is 1,080 meters.
A is the toughest advanced run, with maximum incline of 30 degrees and averaging 22 degrees.
B is another advanced trail, maximum 26 degrees with average 13 degrees.
A and B are serviced by Quad #1 lift.
C is a beginner trail that starts out steep and flattens out. Maximum is 21 degrees with 14 degrees average.
B and C are serviced by Quad #1 lift and Pair #4 lift.
D is another beginner run that is the longest trail, 1,080 meters with maximum 19 degrees and 13 degrees average.
E is marked as an intermediate and beginner trail, with the top two thirds having steeper dropoffs and the bottom third suitable for beginners. Also, Pair #2 lift is a really slow lift, good for beginners. The maximum incline for E is 23 degrees with an average of 14 degrees.
D and E are serviced by Quad #3 lift.
The beginner part of E, the lower third, is serviced by Pair #2 lift.
There is night skiing on runs D and E.
Facilities
Transportation
There is a free shuttle bus that goes from Norn to and from the various onsen and minshuku in the area, and Minakami station. There is also a bus that goes to Jomo Kogen station on the shinkansen line, but requires advance reservation.
Parking
There are several parking lots. When we arrived, A and B (150 and 200 cars, respectively) were full, and we parked in C (200 cars). There was also a huge lot D (250 cars) below that. In parking lot C, there are some small portable houses that serve as dressing rooms as well as a portable toilet. Apparently, there are some additional lots E and F (150 cars each) which are further down the hill. Total capacity is 1100 cars. Like many other resorts, they do not charge for parking, even on the weekends.
Ski Center (Center House)
The main building, Center House, has an escalator that takes you up to the first floor where there are locker and dressing rooms, toilets, daycare center Snow Kids, a gift shop Telemark, and a food court with ramen, fast food, and pizza.
The second floor has a rental shop, the ski/snowboard school, tune up shop, a mini gift shop, information desk, and cafeteria Troll. The cafeteria has everything from ramen/pasta dishes to rice dishes such as katsu curry and omelette rice. I liked how they had two varieties of curry, mild as well as spicy.
Lift Tickets
There are a variety of tickets available, one day from opening until 5 pm, 4 hour ticket, early bird from 7 to 10 am, super afternoon from 10 am to 5 pm, twilight from 2 pm to 9 pm, night time from 4:30 pm until 10 pm, night time from 4:30 pm to midnight, single use ticket, and 11 ride ticket. You can purchase the lift ticket corresponding to almost exactly when you would like to start and stop!
There is a special coupon on the website which is also available in English. For an adult one day ticket including a 1,000 yen voucher for lunch, and 500 yen voucher, the package price is 4,700 yen, a 5,700 yen value.
Mountain Impressions
For a little mountain, the resort had a pretty good variety of everything. The statistics indicate that about half the visitors are skiers and the other half are snowboarders.
With the beginner slopes averaging 13 to 14 degrees, it was a little steep for complete beginners. But for intermediates, this could be just the right place to go for a day or night of fun, doing laps on the runs. For a true expert, there are no really challenging runs or long cruisers. For those interested in park, they have some small and medium features. For someone starting out in the park, they have a good beginner features which were not crowded when we went. On certain days, they even have a free park lesson.
The snow conditions are typical Minakami, with packed powder and while the region does not boast of blower pow, they have some decent dumps now and then. The grooming is good, and there is also some snowmaking capability. For a resort so close to Tokyo, they have great conditions.
The resort is open from late December through the end of March.
There are onsen nearby and most offer a discount when showing your Norn lift ticket, see the Japanese website for details
Gaijin Friendly?
At lunch, since it was so crowded, we shared a table at the Troll cafeteria restaurant. A friendly couple started a conversation in English with us, and asked us where we were from...of course I replied Tokyo! They were "locals" and living only 30 minutes away. Norn is one of their favorite resorts in the Minakami area, and they visit about 5 times per season. That day, we did not see any other foreigners there.
The signs were in English but the trails were not marked very well, even for only 5 trails, you would think that they would all be clearly marked with the name of the run and the level. Instead, they had some signs up high that were above the trails, i.e. not visible when looking down the slopes.
This year, there was an "International Day" complete with rice cake pounding and a taiko drum performance. Lift tickets were 1500 yen! Hopefully this will be a reocurring annual event.
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Plus ya gotta love the Engrish on their website, especially for weeke days. It still says that there is a charge on weekends and holidays!
English=incorrect info, Japanese=updated correct info.
Parking availablefor 5,800 cars
Parking free on weekedays. There is a charge on weekends and holidays, and during the year-end period Dec. 29-Jan. 3. Parking for the Asagai Ski Run is always free!
*Naeba Prince Hotel guests may park free anytime. -Parking Fees: 1,000 yen per vehicle (Nighter parking just 500 yen from 12:00 noon to closing)
All time free parking from Mar. 2 (Mon.).
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Hey, thanks for the correction. The website says parking fees applicable only during year end...that's much better!
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Originally Posted By: muikabochiNot many around here thankfully... even Naeba is free now.
Naeba website still has the price for parking, weekedays as well as weekends, free for hotel guests, 1000 yen for non hotel guests, 500 yen from 4 pm for the nighta... -
I note a trend starting about last year, many resorts have stopped charging for parking, even on the weekends.
Any resorts still collecting fees for using the parking lot?
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KevKastle,
Good questions...but you can always qualify your answer with a follow post with comments.
My thinking is that it costs money (lift ticket, train fare, gasoline, tolls, etc.) but it is on a weekend. How far you need to travel depends on where you live.
For example, Muikabochi, who lives in the heart of Snow Country, can be selective about when he goes, but Mamabear, visiting from Australia, might be more inclined to go, seeing as how she has a limited holiday here.
Up to your interpretation!
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So, the question is, if you could only ski or ride one day, and it was a choice of go/no go, which would you chose?
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Naspa has the Kids Ski Garden complete with character Pingu and magic carpet...
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Thanks, I have never heard of Napisan until you posted that...and thank you Google!
Snowboard boot liners seem to be much more flexible and not as stiff as ski boot liners.
I would not put any heat molded liners in the wash nor hang them in the sun, only the shade.
Also hear that cleaners for hockey stuff is great, as apparently hockey gear has a really strong funk.
Kijimadaira WARNING [Nagano]
in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry
Posted
tripler, I was there on a weekday, when there was about a foot of new pow, so I feel your pain. I almost hiked up...
In no way am I saying that it is good that it is closed, but I understand their reasons. But it also makes me rethink going there if all the best stuff is going to be closed. Kijimadaira went from a "must go" resort to a "well, maybe only on a weekend" type of place. It also is pretty small, so without that one other lift going, one could see all the terrain in just a morning.