Driving around Niseko - am i going to kill myself?

[tea 0]

hi there. newbie here

 

gonna be heading up to niseko this year and being the superb planner that i am, everything in niseko is all booked out. ugh. so i'm stuck at this place 3K from hirafu.. sounds like middle of nowhere. the aussie cats said i could rent a car.. but not sure if i'd kill myself driving in that condition.. my other option is to cab everywhere.. ugh ugh..

 

thoughts? suggestions?

[muikabochi 208]

A car will be fine. If you can drive and have the international license.

[tsondaboy 0]

and if you are used to drive on the left side of the road.

[tea 0]

do they keep the roads pretty clear of snow / ice ? last time i was there i could barely walk on the icy sidewalk. with so much snowfall how do they keep up with clearing road condition.

[neversummer 0]

its pretty good today, they clear all through the day as it is such an important road during winter. As long as you are sensible, there shouldnt be too many problems.

[gogalago 0]

Snowtires are wonderful things! Any car that you are likely to be able to hire up there will have them fitted.

 

But you will save a huge amount of money by taxiing. Last time I hired a car it wasn't much shy of 10000yen per day which is what a taxi will cost for about 3 return trips. Considering you are likely to mostly be either driving to the hill and leaving it parked there all day or going out on the piss, can't see it being money well spent. You might also find lifts with people or get shuttle buses.

 

Having a car though allows you to give other people rides and hook up crew, or hit mountains further afield if the mood takes you.

 

I wouldn't bother with a car unless you have definite plans to travel around - decide once you are here.

 

...although I might revise my advice if its a very short trip.

[daver 0]

are you from new york city, or up state? if you know how to drive snow, you know how to drive snow.

[Go Native 70]

All hire cars will be 4wd and have snow tyres. So generally if you have some previous snow driving experience and just take it easy you won't have any problems at all. You are aware though that in Japan they do drive on the correct side of the road unlike in the US?

[indosnm 0]

all booked out.. I'm staying at the bottom of the gondola and it's all cool..

Just bum lifts and get shuttle busses and taxi's will save much hassle, though if ya going with a group a car might be da way to go..

[thursday 1]

watch out for snow ploughs.

[SnowConnection 0]

In Hokkaido, all rentacars faciliate studless tires in winter season unlike ones in north America. That's proud of Japan. Most cars have 4WD and car navigation system. I don't know if car navi has English language support. Three words of 4WD, Studless, English Car-Navi would be keywords for GAIJIN visitors when renting a car in winter. The problem is that rentacar cost is too expensive. We may find some good deal in some travel packages for domestic users. I do not know if foreign visitors can buy any better discount or any special offering.

Most domestic visitors outside Hokkaido arriving at Shin-Chitose airport go to Niseko by bus. They would not buy rentacars cos of hesitating long driving from Shin-Chitose to Niseko and the higher cost. Niseko has some rentacar companies and taxi comapanies, but too expensive. Towns do not want to provide shuttle bus service unlike ones in north America. That's shame of Japan. All hotels/inns/hostels provides tranportion service to the nearest ski resorts by themselves in the morning and in the evening. I suppose condo users might have transportation problem if they do not have cars in Niseko.

I belive rentacar driving in Niseko does not have technical problem, but have finance prolem....

 

SC

 

PS. I remebered that Mt.Hood has no shuttle bus service except weekend. No at Kicking Horse, WhiteWater, etc... However, I think that many north America ski towns provide free shuttle bus services from towns to lift stations. Thanks to Jackson Fall, Crestted Butte, Tellride, and so on.

[Fattwins 0]

if you are ever afraid pop the car into 2nd gear. Then drive at its max of 50 with the gears holding you back.

[Stuntcok 0]

I was driving a rented Subaru in a snowstorm on the road up to saporo kokusai once and was passed by a porche. That guy either really knew how to drive on snow or was a lunatic, or both.

[spook 0]

you should be fine so long as you take it easy. i'm not sure you need a NAVI system eaither. getting around niseko is a cinch and if you go further afield, any petrol station map will suffice

[Yuki's Passion 1]

tea, there are so many incredible onsense around Niseko that you can venture out to with a car...and hit many different resorts too. Will say watch out for the gutters on the side of the roads, they tend to be open gaps that car wheels often get stuck in...hope you have a great time up there

[tea 0]

thanks everyone! i think im gonna stick with the shuttle / taxi combo .. car's turning out ridiculously expensive .. the shuttle timing is not so ideal in the evening, but i'd imagine some combination of taxi/bumming random rides will get me thru. im from new york city - never really haveta drive anywhere. :-\