snobee 0 Posted March 3, 2005 Share Posted March 3, 2005 Looks like I will have an unexpected 5 days free(ish) from March 29th - April 2nd. Want to go somewhere with a good chance of OK spring snow and not too crowded - with the other half & kid. Kinda her "graduation from Kindergarten & entry to Skool congrats present" Ain't I a good Dad. Seen enough of West Japan this season and not so reliable at that time. Can't afford to fly and living here in Kagawa all decent resorts are a hike. Driving to Gifu (Dyna, Takasu etc) is about my limit (6-7hrs) in time & highway fees, but I'm open to any suggestions. Maybe some place you know has really good spring discounts on lifts, accomodation & the like. I'm all ears - big appreciative ones. Link to post Share on other sites
Dougy 0 Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 Don't like your chances for Gifu at the end of March as most resorts will be closing down then. Gumna is where we go as it has a few resorts open until the end of April. Marunuma is one of the better ones as it's fairly high. My wife and I are heading there for a week from the 26th. Link to post Share on other sites
snobee 0 Posted March 5, 2005 Author Share Posted March 5, 2005 Thanks Dougy - i think Gunma may be the place to be but beyond my reach as far as driving goes(12+hrs ???) I'm hoping with the extra cold/snowy conditions some other closer areas will be hanging longer than usual - if we don't get a pisser of rain. Any other forecasts for late march? Link to post Share on other sites
gamera 0 Posted March 5, 2005 Share Posted March 5, 2005 Hum... snobee, my place Hakuba is probably more than 6-7 hours drive from Takamatsu. Do you drive Takamatsu - Sakaide - Okayama - Tsuyama - then Chugoku Exp. way all the way to the east? Link to post Share on other sites
Wizz 11 Posted March 5, 2005 Share Posted March 5, 2005 Gifu resorts close that early on ? I thought they went on a fair bit later than that. Link to post Share on other sites
snobee 0 Posted March 5, 2005 Author Share Posted March 5, 2005 Gamera - If I go east I always drive Takamatsu - Awaji - Kobe to Chugoku exp. It's quicker & cheaper than Seto Ohashi. I guess I don't really mind a long(ish) drive, just don't want to find terrible conditions when I arrive (who does) after the BIG effort. Would Hakuba take 10 hours or more? Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted March 5, 2005 Share Posted March 5, 2005 most of the gifu areas will close around the second week of april Link to post Share on other sites
gamera 0 Posted March 6, 2005 Share Posted March 6, 2005 Hum Snobee, I think it takes 5 hours from Suita IC to Hakuba - 4hours for Toyoshina IC driving your car around 100kms/h and anothr 1 hour from Toyoshina IC to Hakuba. Just add the time from your place to Suita. If it's 2 hours, totally 7 hours. Link to post Share on other sites
HoTRoD 2 Posted March 8, 2005 Share Posted March 8, 2005 Many lower places in Nagano will close early April too. But some places open into May. Link to post Share on other sites
merryJim 1 Posted March 8, 2005 Share Posted March 8, 2005 Will "town Yuzawa" places be open later than usual this year anyone know? Link to post Share on other sites
highlandjin 0 Posted March 9, 2005 Share Posted March 9, 2005 Snobee! Count on Shiga Kogen, Nagano where snow is almost always guaranteed up until the golden week and much closer to you than the resorts in Gunma. Don't forget snow chains. If you are lucky you will have fresh snow even in April there. Link to post Share on other sites
slow 0 Posted March 9, 2005 Share Posted March 9, 2005 Yeah, Shigakogen(Yokote-yama) in April is great! Maybe you can see Okojo there! By the way, highlandjin. I'm your neighborhood, Iwatojin. Link to post Share on other sites
highlandjin 0 Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 Iwatojin, Ja, we are just the next door neighbors. We have common misery that the snow fields are so far away from us. Last weekend we went to Shiga-Kogen. Nagano-Tokyo shinkansen and Tokyo to our place(Keikyu)is same distance durationwise. We felt envious to the people getting off at Omiya or Ueno. Snobee, Myoko, Tsugaike and Happo won't be bad choice for end of March. Link to post Share on other sites
I'm Sexy 0 Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 Yes it is usually quite good in April also. Link to post Share on other sites
snobee 0 Posted March 12, 2005 Author Share Posted March 12, 2005 Thanks for the info guyz - I guess I'll wait a couple of more weeks and see what huey does. A drive to Gifu would be better than Hakuba, but maybe that's just what I need - a long challenging drive. Funny, back in Oz I could drive all day and not think too much of it - covered 1,300+k's on my bike one day in daylight hours. I must be getting older. Link to post Share on other sites
joshnii 2 Posted March 12, 2005 Share Posted March 12, 2005 Up high in Niigata is still good then./ Try Arai or Kagura for good snow, even places like Gala and others. There's more snow than usual this year so might be good even lower down than usual Link to post Share on other sites
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