XilR8

A few seasons back (was it 2006 with all the snow?) I was in Kagura on May 22nd and still had a great time. Got a great tan too

As that's the New Otani's own resort, I'm pretty sure they'll have rental shops in the hotel.

Also, just to clarify a misleading sentence in the original post, this offer is NOT available on weekends, making it unusable for many of us

I guess he means this: http://travel.eki-net.biz/jrnetsbyu/servlet/CommodityListServlet?pid=99801&viewct=viewski

Originally Posted By: stemik good to see Aiko winning the gold at this year worlds. Now i hope she can bring home a gold medal at next years olympics! Ah well. Close, but no cigar. She did better than Tae Satoya though. Shows what Roppongi does for you.

I haven't been, but I'm not sure which part of the 362cm cover at the top of Goryu (252 at the bottom) merits this comment: Quote: I'd say we need 50cm or so to give good cover and make things decent

Karuizawa open their season something stupid like 1st November. But it's well known that the place gets hardly any real snow, and almost all of it is man-made stuff. It's just not in a place that gets real snow. Easy trip from Tokyo, shopping for the lady, and simple access from the shink is about all it has going for it really.

Can confirm that Softbank works at Kagura and Naeba, so if you are in Yuzawa area you should be ok.

Muika, It was complete white-out most of the time at Kagura on Saturday. Half the time I couldn't see more than 10m in front of me. Even in those conditions some idiot boarders were sat resting or whatever in the middle of the slope. You can't see anything, then suddenly a sitting figure comes looming out of the haze. Scary. Re day trip, I expect for most of us coming from Tokyo, the weekend is the only time that we are able to get away to the snow, which already limits our chances of catching freshies. So looking at the weather forecast, the main concern is how much snow will be on

Put it this way, no one has touched the snow at the top of Kagura since Friday. I know where I'd be going if I didn't have to work... Looking forward to your photos Muika!

I went to Kagura, and it was crazy. Amazing amounts of snow, with it puking down all day long. But the winds meant the Kagura gondola was closed, along with all of Tashiro. A hairy experience similar to the one you described, although fortunately on a hooded quad, had me worrying whether the wind was going to snap my binding and pull my board off my foot. After that, the resort was down to one lift, which got very, very crowded, so it was time for beers and give up. Whoever gets to that snow at the top of Kagura tomorrow is going to have the most amazing day ever.

Malolo is not a pure powder board. It's a powder-focussed all-mountain board. You won't have any trouble riding it in normal conditions. Just don't expect to be pulling tricks in the park.

Would recommend the Burton Malolo as a board that is awesome in powder and also solid on groomers. Or the Fish if you are really serious about the powder (the Fish also rides perfect on groomers, whatever people on the net say. I've been riding mine for 2 seasons now)

ok the opening scene must be niseko. it's practically flat!!

Looks like it will be pouring with rain this weekend or I'd have been up there for one final fling...