Very Beginner Questions

[neversummer 0]

Originally Posted By: JA

Matt,
Having been to Niseko (twice in 05/6 and 06/7) and Furano (once, last season) I feel somewhat qualified to respond.

Niseko is becoming quite "australianised" to the point that we were playing "spot the local" on the slopes. We'd have gone back last season except we were too late booking and the places that catered for our age (all 50-60) and group of 4 people were all booked out. So ... we went to Furano and had an absolute ball.

Our Japanese is not very wonderful, and it was even less so when we went in January, but the language problem was not very much in evidence. We found that a few basic words (such as please, thank you and excuse me) get you a long way. That and "the universal pointing language" will win every time!

If you go to Niseko, make a point of talking to GN! He's an authority and worth a few hours of your time.

Whatever, you should go through the archives and the resort reports here.

Cheers
John

Come on JA, it's not that bad.

The resort is big enough and Japanese enough to go for large parts of the day without seeing 10 foreigners in an hour. Apart from the Gondola and King 4 lift, where most people ski/ride, I find it no different to any Japanese resort which is 95% Japanese populated.

At night its the same too. If you want to see foreigners, head to Wild Bills but if you don't then there are heaps of places to play spot the foreigner.

Like GN, I like it for the semi westernisation; you only have to come down to Kutchan and you are right back in regular everyday Japan, bars without English menus, language difficulties etc.

[Go Native 70]

Originally Posted By: Ezorisu

Originally Posted By: Go Native

Well as I alluded to earlier one of the main reasons I love Niseko is because it is not 'real Japan'. I'm not much of a fan of Japanese culture to be honest.

As in, "Japan would be a really great place if it weren't for all those Japanese"?

Well certainly Niseko might actually have a chance of becoming one of the world's great resorts if it wasn't for the Japanese. They truly haven't got even the slightest clue of how to cater to an international market. The terribly insular and xenophobic education system has assured that.

[Zang Tumb Tuum 0]

Quote:

They truly haven't got even the slightest clue of how to cater to an international market

Interesting that, I'm new here so I have surely missed a lot ( ) but why is that Go Native, in what way? I thought that Niseko being so popular they had their heads screwed on proper.

[Go Native 70]

Zang pretty much all the promotion, marketing and development of Niseko in recent years has been by foreign businesses and investors. Any Japanese involvement has rarely helped at all and at times the exact opposite. The part controlled by the Japanese (the ski hill itself) has b seen little development or improvement at all over the last 5 years.

[Greenroome 0]

Originally Posted By: Rag-Doll

And why is Japan anymore exotic that France or Canada? It is a funny mind set. Just as people seem to be ok travelling to Hong Kong, but to go all the way to Japan (!) seems like a major undertaking. For some reason in many people's minds Japan seems to be much further into the Far East than Singapore or Hong Kong. Go figure.

Quite simple - Japan was spared having the British colonial 'bland wand' waved over it.

[Tubby Beaver 209]

TBH I think Furano sounds like the resort for you in Hokkaido. (Not that I've actually been) It's got the legendary Hokkaido snow, its an actual town with all the night attractions that come with that and its NOT Niseko and all the foreign influences that come with that.

 

If you are looking at Honshu, then Hakuba valley is a good shout as it also has that japanese village feel, a multitude of terrain options and the nightlife to slake the snow thirst you've built up.

 

Yuzawa town is a Japanese town, there are a lot of easily accessed resorts within a 20 minute bus ride from the station but from all I can gather there doesn't seem to be much going on after dark.

 

Nozawa Onsen hits all the cultural and snow buttons, old style town, great snow and has a little bit of nightlife...how much though depends on what you are looking for. As Rag-Doll has said the Japanese ski culture is not really at the same Apres level as Western resorts.

 

Shiga Kogen is huge, has awesome snow and terrain that will keep you occupied day after day. However there is nothing happening after the resort closes. Its the hotel bar or bust.

 

Sure there are hundreds of other places that can be recomended but if you decide within these resorts I don't think you'll be disappointed. One thing you don't have to worry about is the snow, at the time of year yo are going ALL these resorts should be neck deep in some of the greatest powder on the planet. have a read....see what catches your attention then go for it mate!!

[HelperElfMissy 42]

Originally Posted By: neversummer

Originally Posted By: JA

Matt,
Niseko is becoming quite "australianised" to the point that we were playing "spot the local" on the slopes. Cheers

Come on JA, it's not that bad.

I agree neversummer - it certainly was not that bad when I was there.

And as for spotting the local...well there were two types of locals we took great delight in spotting when we were out on the slopes.
***The first was the J-boarder who suddenly appeared airborne from within the tree's or over a rocky outcrop and sped off down the piste with his/her butt so close to the ground it was unbelievable. I have a theory that traditional squat toilets are responsible for very strong legs allowing for maintianing a very deep squat for a very long time.
***The second was the older skiers who still had thier one piece ski suits from the eighties - and a bright cheerful sight they were too. Retro! My kids loved seeing them the most!!

Let's face it hey Matt ....snow and a beer in any language are good, and as long as you go with a good attitude you should have a ball where ever you go.

[modern_messiah 0]

Bugger...I've been away for a day (rather nursing a hang over lol). So much to read!

 

Seems it keeps going back and forth in my head as to where to go. Someone mentions a good thing and it seems thats a done deal but then somewhere else pops up and its all down the toilet again!

 

I'll read through it all in detail tomorrow (Im in trouble with the gf...something about the dishes) and see where I go. I went down to the travel agaentg and told them what we're after so they will hopefully email me back tomorrow with some qoutes, I'll then see how close I can get organising it myself.

 

Thanks for the replies so far people. Much better response than I thought!

 

- Matt

[JA2340 16]

Damn it! Matt, just pick a place and GO!!

 

Whatever, wherever, you will have a ball.

 

And, yeah, mama, I was a tiny bit tongue in cheek there. However, there were plenty of Aussies around.

[muikabochi 208]

Round here it's less "spot the gaijin" than "spot the person"! (See my vids from last season on snowjapan.tv) And when you spot people, not that many gaijin. "Real Japan"?

[modern_messiah 0]

Yeah I've pretty much learnt it's not going to matter much where we go. The main reason where going is for the snow, anything else is a bonus.

 

Thanks for all your help, I've got a much better idea of what to expect. I'll defintely be posting a trip report after its all done!

[Rag-Doll 0]

Originally Posted By: Mattaus

wow...this is what happens when I dont check the forums often enough! So much to read. That opening by Rag-Doll....WOW! lol.

I have to say that I noticed you live in Singapore. I've visted there twice adn I have to say the place is very cool for me. Seriously living in Australia is very generic (for me anyway) Japan will blow my mind I must say.


However all the points that have been made are starting to move me in the direction of Niseko. The night time skiing is cool, the night life is a bonus and its closeness to other thigns to do seems cool as well.

Bah! So hard to decide. We might take a stop over in some other part of Japan for the cultural experience and leave the slopes for skiing and partying!

Though I am still put off by large crowds...and large Aussie crowds at that. I won't feel so special Just feels weird doing what everyone else does. Though then again we can just explore during the day ad go different places, and then spend the night at the popular spots.

If you liked Sing, you'll love Niseko - the simulatities are quie striking The (aussie) crowds thing needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. The Aussie summer holiday season (christmas/new year) is busy, so too is chinese new year when all the expats from HK and Sing (together with heaps of Chinese) descend on Niseko, but generally you'll find that apart from a few places/times there aren't that many westerners. I reckon it reflects holiday behavoir more than anything else - the que for first lifts is full of westerners - because everyone is there for the pow and they've spent a load of cash to get there so they make an effort to get first lifts - the locals roll in (roll out of bed) a bit later. The seiko mart - because a lot of the foreigners are buying supplies for their self contained apartments or just want to stock up on beer and munchies - it bunches the Aussies together, makes them look they've completely taken over the place. Western bar and food type places - same sort of thing. I think someone else has said all this already. Anyway, seek and you will find should be the motto of Niseko because if you make an effort you easily find yourself surrounded by mainly Japanese people. Also, people need to remember that mid week, Japanese resorts are usually empty, so of course if you hit the hill on Wednesday, the majority of punters are going to be tourists, which are mostly westerners. There are a few times you'll get long lift lines. First lifts, when lifts are running slow because of high winds or top lifts are closed due to high winds - that sort of thing. But generally the lift ques are short particularly away from the bottom of the mountain.

[HelperElfMissy 42]

Originally Posted By: Rag-Doll

....But generally the lift ques are short particularly away from the bottom of the mountain...

This is a very good point for a first timer Rag-Doll.
The lift queues can be a big long (not by Aussie standards - but by Japanese no wait time standards) at those peak times down low, but if you just go UP you are good...hardly a wait anywhere.

There can be a bit of hesitation if you are new about venturing higher up. Do it. It is all good up there. And as I said before the hardest lift on the mountain is the Ace Family (lowest lift) - with the possible exception of the single chair, which I never used. Find a nice run you are comfortable with mid mountain and just do that over and over again until you feel comfortable to try something a bit harder.