squampton

Coming out of international arrivals, turn left in the terminal and go down to the very end, past the internet area, past the cell phone rental area. You'll find the 2 or 3 shipping companies there. For train schedules, try this website, I live by it! http://www.hyperdia.com/cgi-english/hyperWeb.cgi

Personally I'd just rent if I was visiting Japan for a short period. Rentals are very reasonable, and it beats lugging your boots, skis, and poles all over Japan. If you got the money, rent.

We had a great time, the conditions were excellent for that time of year; we arrived the day after a nice dump. Met up with Samurai on the second day, who volunteered as our tour guide for a few hours Posted a few pics here: http://www.snowjapan.com/e/insider/photo_section.php?userid=squampton&userGallery=170 The main street is right at the lifts, and there are plenty of shops, restaurants, and onsens within a few minutes walk. I guess the only drawback to Zao is the number of lifts - there's too many! You can find some nice long runs, but many of them are pretty short.

Never noticed any giant storage areas on my travels through there... Maybe you could stick them in lost and found until you need them again!

Like the title says, I'm going to Zao Onsen for 3 days next month. Just a friendly invitation to anyone who's in the area to join up and do some riding. We'll be riding on the 2nd and 3rd. If you can't go but know the area (looks over at Samurai), feel free to offer any tips on some good runs or areas to try out. Happy New Year!

Tazawako might be one of the best spots in Akita, but if you're coming up from Nagano there might be some bigger and better places to try. It just opened recently so I'm not sure how good the conditions currently are...

Happy Birthday!

Yeah wait did you just say the word 'boinked'?

I'll be at Zao from January 1st-3rd. After that I'll probably split my riding between Getou and Zao, with some Onikobe sprinkled in here and there (I live in Osaki). I have Sun/Mon off usually, so I'd love to take you up on your offer, thanks!

Unfortunately since I'm a recent sign-up to the boards, I can't send you a PM... if you could send me one that would be just peachy. My friend and I basically just like to freeride, ride trees, and use the natural terrain for jumps and other fun. Not really interested in the park. If you could recommend any good runs or areas on the mountain (I won't ask you to give up your best lines), I'm sure that would help us get the most out of our trip to Zao. Thanks!

I've only been to Tazawako in Akita, and Geto in Iwate. Tazawako is fun, but doesn't really have many runs. You can do a bit of hiking at the top of the mountain but you can't really veer too far out of bounds before getting trapped in a gully. Geto is a little flatter than Tazawako, but wider and offers a better variety of terrain. Personally I think they're both tiny mountains, having grown up riding Blackcomb/Whistler. Heck, even the local Vancouver mountains are bigger than those two, but beggars can't be choosers. Some people that don't have any experience riding large mountains wou

i think i'm gonna start carrying a deck of cards with me from now on just in case!