Sciclone

Yeh.. Unfortunately it's a risk we're going to have to take. Given that the last day is sort of open (I want to try Joetsu, but we can alter our plans at will), if it's puking when we arrive, then we may change it to split Naeba and Kagura.

Thanks for suggestions peeps. I've talked to the others coming with me and the general concensus seems to be try as many places as possible, so.. 1/2 day: iwappara 1 day: Naeba/Kagura 1 day: Gala/Ishiuchi 1 day: Joetsu Kokusai Too bad Joetsu don't do a combined ticket with CL Maiko, otherwise, I'd try to squeeze that in as well.

I'll have to get down to NZ some day, but they seem to hate the idea of ski-in/out accommodation.

I'm skipping Australia this year... My mates and I drove down to Hotham last year, and for 3 days boarding, it cost me about $2000. Flights and 18 days accommodation in Japan (including 7 on the snow) for the same price...

How would everyone play this out? Fill out your recommendations. If you reckon some areas are not worth a full day, split the day half and half.. 1/2 day: Day 1: Day 2: Day 3:

What about Iwappara? Is it worth a whole day, or just half? Reason I ask is that is where our accommodation is located. So we can get the hotel to pick us up from the station and we can spend half the day doing Iwappara instead. I still want to do Joetsu Kokusai, but I'm still trying to get a handle on which resorts are worth our time and which ones aren't.

That's the good thing about my friend. He's about the same height, perhaps an inch shorter than me, and the same weight, so we should be able to swap no worries.. I love my Burton Custom, but would love to try a twin-rocker just to see if I like it. He won't know because he's never ridden before, but US$349 for a board and rome bindings is better than paying $600+ for a board in Brisbane.

Sweet ride MB. I think if I need to replace my board, I'll be getting a 155 Reverse crew from Sierra (trusnow.com). I'll see if I can convince my friend who's looking at buying a board to get it first, then I can trial it before buying it.

Thanks for that insight. I was looking at fitting boarding at Naeba and Kagura for one day, but if there is enough at both to warrant a day each, I may have to rethink my plans. My plans were: 1/2 day ski at Gala/Ishiuchi (Someone said to not really bother with Yuzawa Kogen, would you?) 1 day Naeba & Kagura (can buy joint ticket) 1 day Iwappara & Joetsu Kik (can buy joint ticket) 1 day at?? (perhaps Centleisure Maiko) How would you go about it? I don't have any more time than that available (3 1/2 days), but would be interested on hearing everyones thoughts on what t

I will be riding the Dragondola during the week when I'm in Yuzawa next Feb... I hope the slopes are as empty as you say.

Even in the inner suburbs of Brisbane, we get houses like that. It's because the owners are asset rich, cash poor, so while the land might be worth quite a bit, they don't have any money to get a project off the ground...

Must be buying time... My board is holding up fine (Burton Custom 09/10), so I jumped on Rakuten to source some pants. Ended up getting some groovy looking pants and jacket for 20400Y delivered to Australia. As much as I'd like to support my LBS, I can't justify paying $260 for just one item of clothing with less waterproofing/protection.I still get my boots and consumables there, as well as board tuning. Next up is to source some new goggles, as my Ducati Oakley's are quite a bit scratched (I've had them for 5 years). Dragon APX's might be the go.

It was a Sunday afternoon (about 3pm ish) and the Cheese bar wasn't open, so we weren't able to go in. Perhaps it's only open at night or something. But it's on a main road in Kyoto (Shichi-jo dori, near the corner of Takakura dori according to google maps) if anyone is in the area and wants to check it out.

Have you seen this cheese stick? Here he was seen the Villa Ichinose on Sun 22/1/2012. Then spotted waiting for the Nagaden bus at 8.17am His movements included boarding the Wideview Shinano And changing in Nagoya He was also spotted outside the Magical Cheese Bar in Kyoto Last known whereabouts: He had tried escaping through a window at the Smile Hotel in Tokyo, where he landed hard rooftop balcony. If you see him, report to authorities immediately, as he is wanted for several assaults, including headbutting, "reaction testing" and general tom

How the ropeway between the two never got off the ground.

That sucks, although I can't imagine hauling luggage on/off a ropeway would be easy. It's hard enough with trains and buses. The local train would be ok in some regards (seeing some different scenery), but the bus from SK to Nozawa takes an 1hr 10min and costs 7900Y each. Then the local train (on JR Pass) takes around 4 hrs (248mins). So all up, nearly 5.5hrs wasted in transit. Compare that to 1hr 10min bus from SK to Nagano (2000Y), then 100mins on the shinkansen (total 170mins), I know which one I'd prefer. Given the timetable of the bus, we could do the following.. Leave Ichinose 8

Last time, we took the wideview Shinano from Nagano to Nagoya, because we couldn't afford the shinkansen from nagano to Tokyo then Tokyo to Kyoto. It had some amazing scenery as we went through a gorge, but as we are moving in between ski resorts this time, I'd prefer taking less time (its only 100mins from Nagano to Echigo-Yuzawa via Takasaki), vs the scenic route, as it means I get to snowboard more.

Yeh, I figured as much... I think we'll just have to take the shinkansen between the two. Not ideal, but it seems to be the quickest way via public transport. Fortunately, if we have the JR Pass, it's all covered. I've figured out that if we do all these trips, it'd cost us about 52220Y, whereas the 14-day JR Pass is 45100Y..

Hey Snowjunky, Looking at the chuotaxi site says that the drop off and pick up must be in Nagano pref. If there was a taxi service running Shiga Kogen to Yuzawa, I'd definitely consider it for that price or similar for the convenience. As for exploring around, they can do that while I hit all the different pistes with my brother.

I got my times from Hyperdia, and it may have been 19 mins, but in any case, if I feel like going to either, there is the possibility, whereas I don't have a clue about how easy Centleisure Maiko is to access. (I won't have a car, most likely just a JR Pass). Also, From what I've read, Yuzawa is a proper little town as opposed to just a ski resort. Is there anything to do for non-skiiers/boarders? What about Minamiuonuma and Niigata (we'll have JR Passes, so these will be free.)

I'm a snowboarder. I stay mostly on-piste, though I do occasionally do cat tracks (side of the run tree stuff). I'm more into fast technical terrain, with hairpins, lumps, banked corners. Check out my previous thread http://www.snowjapanforums.com/index.php/topic/21345-recommendations-for-tree-runs/page__st__20 which also has a video of one of the courses I like doing in SK... I'd prefer less flat of course, but it'll give you an idea.

Unfortunately, your pics make every place look good Muika. It's probably half the reason I want to explore around Yuzawa/minamiuonuma For the 3rd day, you can get a train from iwappara skijomae to Joetsu....skijomae in 15mins or so. Considering they are able to be done on the same ticket, I thought it would be a good idea. Is there any particular reason you prefer CM to Iwappara or JoKi? Just interested to hear your thoughts.

Thanks Muika, I figured as much. I've been to SK 3 times already, but we have some friends coming this time, so I want to show them it as well, while wanting to explore new areas. Another question. How viable is the following (I have no idea of sizes when it comes to Yuzawa) 1st afternoon (after arriving around 12pm) - Ski Gala Yuzawa, Yuzawa Kogen and Ishiuchi Maruyama 2nd day - Ski Naeba/Kagura 3rd day - Ski Iwappara & Joetsu Kokusai Is there any places that you would give a miss?

Hi all, Just laying the ground work for the next trip. I'm wondering if there is a bus that goes between Yuzawa and Shiga Kogen? The Nozawa section says it takes about 80mins from Nozawa to Yuzawa, but I can't seem to find any info on a Yuzawa to Shiga Kogen Bus. Otherwise I'll have to get the shinkansen back from Echigo-Yuzawa to Takasaki then back up to Nagano then bus to SK, which will kill about 3.5 hours.

I had a good year this year. I bailed more times than I have in previous years (trying new things/lines) but except for winding myself a couple of times, no massive bails that did any damage. My mate is still sore from bailing and hurting his shoulder though and that was over a month ago.