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  • 2 weeks later...

So now that you have ignited and seen the whole Thredbo V Perisher in Japan Thread - like both of the Oz places the snow will be pretty much the same so it comes down to Terrain and other factors.

 

1 Most important - do whatever you have to to extend your trip to at least 7 days and preferably much longer. We usually go at Xmas (school holidays) and find that having 3-4 weeks just makes it so much nicer - snow a bit dodgy - do something else for the day.

Few ppl can cope with the travel and be 100% the next day so time to ease in and out of your skis is a really good investment.

 

What we did not like about Hakuba -

1. Shuttle busses. You will most probably end up staying in Echoland in which case you will be using shuttle busses. I would seriously consider hiring a car if you go to Hakuba as on the whole Narita - Hakuba - Narita + daily use In Hakuba It would be easy to justify. Mind you driving conditions can be pretty awful - snow and traffic at times.

2. Every thing is spread out - not a real negative for us (we like walking) but it was certainly a pretty common gripe.

3. Terrain is skewed toward upper intermediate and beginner without much in between and as a result that which is, eg up the top at Hakuba 47 can get crowded ( that is a holiday thing though) Beginner stuff down the bottom of Happo one and at Immori can get pretty sloppy.

4 You can only use your multi hill pass at one hill per day, so unlike linked resorts (eg Niseko and Shiga I hope) you can end up stuck with the crowd or the basd conditions.

 

The good stuff -

1. If you stay at Wadano (you will pay for it) you can walk (Thredbo style) to a lift,

2. There is an established town with all that that offers - post office, train station, 2 major supermarkets with Aust and French wines and other for the more adventurous or undiscriminating, lots of restaurants and even Mc Donalds.

3. Over Xmas New Year plenty of kid oriented activities etc

4. Some seriously good snow and terrain in places that gobble up crowds. Even during the New year break only a few probs with crowd bottlenecks but easily avoided by starting earlier/later.

5 A town place that Knows it relies on foreign tourists and goes out of its way to be helpful. Easy access to a fair bit of English.

 

What we are looking for in Shiga Kogen

 

No cars or busses.

 

Ski in ski out

 

Why we are also going to Nozawa - All that for less even if the terrain is tamer - better for wife and kids.

 

So it is every pig to its puddle - we love Japski, and make a point of going to at least 2-3 ski resorts 9 Hakuba, Kagura, Nozawa, Niseko, Aommori, zao, Hida) every time we go to Japan which is rapdily turning into an annual pilgrammage for us.

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Thats really helpful. shifty

 

Nozawa does have a fair bit of space for the wife and kids. It also has some decent terrain for someone looking for more of a challenge within the resort. If you don't like bumps, stay away from that Schneider course!

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Originally Posted By: scouser
Thats really helpful. shifty

Nozawa does have a fair bit of space for the wife and kids. It also has some decent terrain for someone looking for more of a challenge within the resort. If you don't like bumps, stay away from that Schneider course!


Mr Brisbane is a long way off base. I stick by what i said. He made me laugh. Good luck with the tame terrian.

Matt
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Originally Posted By: mikeeds
We are considering five days in Honshu in late January/early Feb 09.

Should we go to Shiga Kogen or Hakuba?

Our main considerations are:

- ease of travel to Tokyo
- Available of ski-in ski-out accommodation...recommendations warmly accepted.
- Restaurants

I am sure we will be happy at either but in your opinion ....where should we go?

Ease of travel - they are the pretty much the same just opposite sides of Nagano city
Available ski in ski out - Shiga wins with more hotel options however in Hakuba you are better placed elsewhere to take advantage of the shuttles to the other resorts.
Restaurants - Hakuba hands down.
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As a newbie here but with quite a bit of Japan ski experience, I'll point out that the Hakuba region has far MORE skiing than Shiga Kogen even if you can't ski area-to-area. That said, my experience is that Shiga gets quality powder a little more often than Hakuba. I think the percentages for powder days favor Shiga, not by a lot but maybe enough to make a difference.

 

My recommendation in Honshu to the original poster would be Nozawa Onsen (fuel on the fire; we all have our favorites) which may not match the quantity of terrain that Hakuba & Shiga have, but is right up there in quality. It also matches up well in snow, quantity and quality, and is a cool little village with some fun apres if that's what you want.

 

Caveat: Everything I've written is based on lift-served access and downhill skiing. Snowboarders or back country tourers may have very different, and just as valid, opinions and experience.

 

And in the end it's all luck anyway. One of my best skiing days ever was on a hill with one lift, maybe 200 meters of vertical. The powder was thigh-deep & light, and NOT A SINGLE OTHER PERSON WAS IN SIGHT! Well, OK, it wasn't sunny, but my tracks were filling in almost as fast as I could make'em and it was all mine, all day long.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hey Guys, I am also looking to go to Hakuba this season. I have booked flights (early Feb) and there will be a group of 14. I was wondering about accommodation as I have checked the listing on this site and a few other useful sites, but was wondering from people with first hand experience, i.e. stayed at the hotels if they could offer some advise. We are looking for mid priced accommodation and will be doing the majority of skiing at Happo i imagine, with some at 47 and are keen to check out Iwatake and Tsugaike. I have a number of friends that have been there last season, most with great experiences but some with stories of what in there opinion was considerably over priced accommodation. If anyone can offer recommendations for a group of 14 we would like accessability to the resorts and access to nightlife etc.

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I love both Hakuba and Shiga, however they are really different places.

 

In terms of accessibility from Tokyo, I'd say Hakuba wins, although in travel time they aren't very different.

 

Shiga is a big, inter-connected area, but most of the runs are relatively short. That said, even the lowest part of Shiga is high (1000m+), which means the snow is consistently good. You really feel as if you are out in the country when you are up there. It's a real get-away ski trip and if you like remote resorts it's ideal, if quiet at night. Take your own party...

 

Hakuba is a town in a valley surrounded by peaks (the North Alps) with different resorts, rather than a resort in itself. Happo-one is without doubt one of the best resorts in Japan - especially for skiiers - and has a lot of vertical. I've spent many happy days on the Skyline course slowly improving my technique, and giving the people on the chairlift a good laugh by stacking in different ways.

 

Hakuba's not just about Happo, however - 47 & Goryu are both worth a visit as are the less-famous but very enjoyable Aokiko Resorts.

 

If you want a well-rounded experience I'd recommend Hakuba, but if snow is your priority, neither place will disappoint.

 

SDS

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Don't listen to Fattwins. I used to try out different J-resorts every year. Then in 2004, Fattwins convinced me to go to Hakuba. Ever since then, I've been going to Hakuba every year (sometimes more than once in the same year). It has totally spoilt my plans for trying out as many J-resorts as possible and I still blame him for that.

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I went to both last season. I much preferred Shiga Kogen. For a start the snow conditions were much better there - just one week after we were in Hakuba in February. I liked the way it was all one big remote area as well all linked up. Great fun discovering it all.

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