lpak

FT, do you mean the only place with vacancy in Feb? Does it get that busy? we only plan on hanging around midweek (i hate crowds) and sightseeing on weekends. Figured i would have my choice of place?? yer we are planning on hiring a car (cheaper than a 21 day rail pass for two people) so we could move around if the week we are there doesn't go nozawa's way...

I have pretty much settled on the Nagano region (Nosawa Onsen to begin). Topo maps look impressive, selection seams immense and snowfall data indicates more than enough on an average season for a good time. My only worry is that i can only come in Feb (feb 1 to be precise), which is slightly outside the average "heavy snowfall" window but, hopefully i'll see some good days, weather can play funny games and do its thing as it pleases. Since we will have 19 days (just booked my tickets!!), i figure i can track the snow and do some sightseeing in between and nagano appears to be very acces

imho after living in Colorado for 7 years and checking out a lot of the states, none of those US resorts listed in The Age rank that highly for me. I'm not saying they don't deserve their ranking but with that ranking comes crowds. On a midweek day after a massive dump, no worries but, in general, the weekend crowds pack the snow and spoil the next snow fall anyway. I'll take a mountain half the size with a quarter the people anyday...

cheers for that FT.. will talk it over with my mate and work stuff out. Sounds like that will be a good time of year to be there though! quite a celebration i take it?

I'm thinking i'm jut going to book my flight for the first two weeks of february (when i have time off). And choose a ski resort closer to the date (ie see how the season is panning out). In terms of $$, what are the 'penalties' for booking accommodation/lift package on short notice? In australia, its massive but in the US, you can always find cheap accommodation at that time of year. I'd be thinking a Ryokan or something 'authentic' like that. or should i book now? I really appreciate all of your feedback...I now have a much better grasp for what to expect - thanks... p.s.

no worries... ps West coast America goes nuts in La Nina with snow... especially California!!

hey - not to disperse your banter but do any of you have an opinion on the question at hand? any info about nozawa onsen (ie off pieste allowed?)

my 2 cents...this might be technical but, ahh, whatever, i did this for me since i'm coming over... ** The Sea were in La Nina right now - heres the current SST anomalies http://www.osdpd.noaa.gov/PSB/EPS/SST/data/anomnight.11.19.2007.gif note the region around Japan! Warm ocean = lots more moisture. SST anomalies tend to stick around for a while so i imagine you'll have enhanced moisture fluxes over Japan for at least the next month, and probably the season..the question is, will this warm ocean warm the air? The JMA thinks so... ** The Atmosphere This is a lot

ocean sciences? nah i'm atmospheric sciences...besides, AGU meetings are a nightmare. i try to goto smaller conferences in better locations In the end though, taking a real holiday is far more rewarding than a conference so, hence japan here i come !

good luck with your PhD, that last hump can be a real bummer...

specifically rocks? I'm atmospheric science - have to give a lab on how to read axes and contours now so that they can read MSLP charts...they see them on the news every night!! amazing hu...

i have no idea how you guys got on the subject of maps but what do you think about Nozawa Onsen versus Hakkuba in terms of snow and terrain? Nozawa clearly sounds like a sweet japanese style spot - will the snow and terrain make me happy? Are you allowed to go off piste? thanks again.. p.s. i'm a university lecturer and maybe 3 out of my class of 140 knew how to read contour maps.

cheers for that - do you know where i can get long term snowfall data for japan?

Mike Pow, do you mean Niseko Grand Hirafu ? With regard to the japanese experience, a friend who lived in japan for 2 years said that while Niesko was overrun, you could avoid all the tourists if you tried. I guess since i'll only have a week to suss out the place, I might end up flowing with the crowd??? cheers, lp

Nozawa onsen sounds pretty good. Do you get lift passes to all three resorts? As a note, it appeared to have a dreadfull season last year..Does anyone know if the "RECENT DATA" snowfall section in the resorts info section is just last years snowfall? I guess more importantly, how often do bad snow years like that happen and, since i'll be comming the first week of feb, is this usually not the best time for snow? should i play it safe and stay on Hakkaido (more north, colder..etc) Thanks Benno for the heads up about Jetstar - found a cheap airfare! Cheers for all the respons