grantj71 0 Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Hi guys Hoping you can help me. My wife and I will be hitting Japan possibly at the end of Feb 27. Can't get there any earlier due to work commitments. Have been to Niseko 3 times since 2006, early March in 2006, Feb 2007 and Christmas 2007/New Years 2008. We probably need a change, but want to go somewhere that is still likely to have a good cover and MAYBE if we are lucky receive some extra snow. Don't want to slum it, but don't need 5 star luxury, but only can speak about 3 words of Japanese... What's the best options? We are not crazy people who need it steepest, etc etc, but at Niseko we did like to duck the ropes and go thru the trees and just cruise the mountain.... Ideally we would like somewhere where the lifts are close by, as is food etc... Very important to have a good nights sleep so a good bed is a must!!! We have been to Rusutsu while staying at Niseko, but wouldn't mind something on Honshu maybe this time as removing the Narita/Haneda transfer and then up to Chitose would be GREAT! Link to post Share on other sites
Rag-Doll 0 Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Try Hakuba, somewhere handy to Happo might suit. Lots of places to stay and there are a few bars and things as well. Though, and it is just a small thing, you'll swap the Narita-Haneda-Chitose-Niseko schlep for the Narita-Tokyo Station-Nagano Station - Hakuba schlep. They're about as bad as each other. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 Grant, you sound like a real hardcore Niseko couple. 3 visits in 2 years sounds rad. If I were you, and I'm not, thankfully, I'd head to Hakuba. Lots of good snow there. And you have steep slopes. Link to post Share on other sites
timcraig 0 Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 Had 8 days last late feb/early march at hakuba and nozawa and had 8 days of fresh tracks in a row. 3 knee deep or better. Early march on Honshu should be good. Nozawa has accomm and food all near the lifts and is a nice village. Hakuba not as close but shuttle buses are easy and regular between the food/hotel areas and the slopes and there are hotels and food near the slopes too, especially happo one Link to post Share on other sites
tsondaboy 0 Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 Take the Shinkansen from Tokyo station and go to Yuzawa, only 1h 15 mins away. If you stay there you can pick from almost 10 resorts depending on your level. Link to post Share on other sites
Rag-Doll 0 Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 Originally Posted By: tsondaboy Take the Shinkansen from Tokyo station and go to Yuzawa, only 1h 15 mins away. If you stay there you can pick from almost 10 resorts depending on your level. Would you rate those better than the options at Hakks? Link to post Share on other sites
tsondaboy 0 Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 To be honest, if you just wanna hit resorts then Yuzawa is just as good as Hakuba and since its has easier access from Tokyo its preferable. Link to post Share on other sites
tokabochi 9 Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 This season so far is not what you might call 'normal', not round here anyway. There's much less snow than usual for the time of year. Hopefully a lot will come soon and often, but who knows what we'll be faced with in early March. Hopefully great! Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 I do not trust March anymore. Link to post Share on other sites
Myoko Guy 0 Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 That time will be fine in Myoko, and they're usually cool with off-piste if you don't make it obvious, but you'll need to bring your Japanese-English dictionary Link to post Share on other sites
9015peter 0 Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Originally Posted By: tsondaboy Take the Shinkansen from Tokyo station and go to Yuzawa, only 1h 15 mins away. If you stay there you can pick from almost 10 resorts depending on your level. There is not much choice of accommodation on here, so can you give a few links for places to stay or a website in english that would be fairly central to these 10 resorts Link to post Share on other sites
mesh 0 Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Hi, I will actually be in niseko from mar 5-14 so i am really hoping the snow is still good. from the looks of things there's not much snowfall around this time but it was the only time i could make it up here too. anyone with experiences in niseko at this time know if its still good to do some boarding? i so hope so. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 last year, no. This year, hope not same as last year. Link to post Share on other sites
gareth_oau 2 Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Hi mesh, from Perth too. seems to be a popular little town on here!! Link to post Share on other sites
mesh 0 Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 Yeah Perth is cool.. too bad no snow.. haha! so when you say niseko was bad last year how bad are we talking? i mean this trip isn't exactly the cheapest trip im going on and it will be our honeymoon so im hoping to at least get some snowboarding in : / Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 Not many places? Did you look here ? Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 last year, only a small dusting for all of March, the melts and freezes made the upper slopes bulletproof and the lower ones slushy. That was last year, why dwell on it. This year will be excellent. Link to post Share on other sites
modern_messiah 0 Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 I'll be in Hakuba from the 21st of Feb to the 6th of March and I was also worried about the snow. After asking around on here I can safely say it will still be fine. No need to worry! Link to post Share on other sites
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