Yuki's Passion 1 Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 claire, April is generally beautiful in Japan - I love Spring time here. Drinking in parks with, quite possibly thousands of other drunk people, is quite fun. You'd be surprised how often you end up getting food and alcohol from people around you Youre going to one of the places I have yet to hit, Yakushima. I dunno when Ill go but I will go sometime. I believe there is a TR on Yakushima up on these forums if you do a search you might find it. How will you be traveling around Kyushu? Trains? Cars? If you have a car I would suggest going to Kurume, Kumamoto, Kurokawa as the onsens in those areas are wonderful. Many can be "reserved" for just you or as many people as youd like. Mixed bathing is OK, too. If you have the time, Fukuoka is worth hitting for sure. Miyazaki has great beaches as does Kagoshima. Kagoshima is nice but I havent spent that much time there compared with other parts of Kyushu. Kyoto is great as I live in Kansai, but the crowds can be a bit much. If youre after nature you should go to Yoshino in Nara, supposed to be awesome and one of my students from last year, his family, has a wicked ryokan there. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Yeah CB likes to drink in parks and pass out on benches so I've heard. Hoestly, April in Niseko just ain't worth it, especially if you're flying into Tokyo. You can see all the sights and sounds there, and there are numerous resorts nearby. Reserve Niseko for the powder skiing. The epic groin deep runs and the endless happy hours before you hit the nightas for more deep runs. You can't really do that in April. Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 FWIW and IMHO, Id give Tokyo a miss too and spend more time in other places... Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 I think though, if you are visiting Japan for the first (and maybe only) time, then a couple of days of madness in Tokyo is a must, if for nothing else to appreciate everything else!! Link to post Share on other sites
HelperElfMissy 42 Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 I'd agree. It is one of those places you all wanna see, experience etc before ya die. There are always more special places than big cities (they can be a bit impersonal) but they are an EXPERIENCE unto themselves. Link to post Share on other sites
gyoza 0 Posted April 18, 2008 Author Share Posted April 18, 2008 Thanks again everyone - I think we'll stick with April for our visit so we'll do some more research on the Honshu ski resorts as they cater for our needs without us having to travel too far out of the way. TBH I can't be bothered wasting time travelling up to Niseko if there are perfectly good places in Honshu! We can keep Niseko for a more ski focused trip. I spent 5 days in Tokyo last November and it was ace - can't wait to visit again, bring on the karaoke! We were initially going to fly into Osaka as the majority of the trip is based south of Kyoto however if skiing is on the cards, we'll fly into Tokyo and hang out for a couple of days as we know a couple of people there I do have a link to our video from that trip if anyone fancies a gander, it's a bit amateur (next time will be much better) but it;s good fun - Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 I was up at Hakuba 47 yesterday and they still have top to bottom skiing. Of course the snow is slushy as it hasn't snowed for ages but the runs are all covered and there was very few patches of ice and/or mud poking through. We stayed up at the top of the mountain all day, I was with some beginners and they had a ball, having no problems about being up top. In the morning it was pretty nice weather, warm as balls, t-shirt skiing was definitely possible. It got a little colder later on as the clouds came in but an awesome day with very few people clogging up the slopes, I didn't have to wait in a queue all day. There is definitely plenty to do for beginners at this time of year Link to post Share on other sites
minus 1 Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 Get a tan? Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 nah, factor 30 sunscreen, I am whiter than white and burn like a mofo....I take no chances Link to post Share on other sites
gyoza 0 Posted April 24, 2008 Author Share Posted April 24, 2008 Hey everyone! It looks like we've decided on Hakuba for late March next year before heading down to Kyoto and Kyushu The resort we're possibly visiting is Happo-one which I read is more geared towards intermediate/advanced but I figure there should be some beginner terrain available. Thanks again for all the advice, I look forward to planning our visit on these forums closer to the time Link to post Share on other sites
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