Hello, I am from the Bay Area also. Working for a major electronics company I travel quite a bit to Japan. Hakuba is definitely worth the trip. Too bad you were not going to be there January 15th. Nozawa Onsen has a Fire Festival that is unbelieveable! The snow in japan is pretty much the same as Tahoe (Maybe not quite as heavy). Happo One was definitely my favorite resort. Lots of variety and great snow (simular to Kirkwood if you were to compare it to Tahoe). Nozawa Onsen was the best town and the tree's are great (think Alpine Meadows with Apres). This year I plan on hitting Shiga Kogen for