BagOfCrisps 24 Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 Perhaps it is worth pointing out that above article is dated: Friday, March 16, 2007 Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 My guess would be that Nozawa is still "ailing" as the article says. Becoming more family oriented isn't a bad idea, though skis, ski wear, and ski lessons for your kids all quickly add up. A lot of folk simply can't afford it. If they are just going for the kids, there are cheaper places that are closer to Tokyo than Nozawa. The other stumbling block with families is that Japanese urban mothers are a hard group to satisfy. Lots of them don't like the cold to start with. The numbers for this season in Hakuba to 3/31 were in the Ooito Times last week. Year on year, December up 18%, January down 2%, February down 15%, and March down 15%. Overall, down 6%. Goryu beat Happo slightly at around 350,000 so far. Iwatake got 150,000. 47 just under 100,000 so far. The total for the seven resorts was one million and twenty thousand. Link to post Share on other sites
iiyamadude 6 Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 You are probably right Mr Wiggles, though the name/brand of Nozawa does have some pull. It's one of those places where people who don't ski come even in winter for the onsen etc. Link to post Share on other sites
Amos in Utsunomia 0 Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Is there much connection between the remaining Prince hotels now? They seem to off-loaded quite a lot of them the last few years. Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 They are still part of Seibu I thought. Link to post Share on other sites
smileyrider 0 Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 Originally Posted By: iiyamadude You are probably right Mr Wiggles, though the name/brand of Nozawa does have some pull. It's one of those places where people who don't ski come even in winter for the onsen etc. Interesting discussion. My first Japanese resort was Nozawa, was taken by friends. Those friends still go there every year at least once in winter and also summer. It does have an appeal with a lot of people, even for people who don't ski. Obviously that's not going to do much good for the ski resort! I also try to go back there and often have problems booking places on the weekends if I don't do it in advance enough. I'm sure glad there isn't a big Prince plonked down in the valley! Link to post Share on other sites
I'm Sexy 0 Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 I wonder how the numbers are from Naeba in 0809 season. Up or down again? Link to post Share on other sites
SnowJapan Admin SnowJapan 178 Posted May 10, 2009 SnowJapan Admin Share Posted May 10, 2009 I haven't actually heard yet but we will probably post some numbers when we get them sometime this month. Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted May 13, 2009 Author Share Posted May 13, 2009 Just one number to nibble on. Friend of mine has a lodge near Ishiuchi - said that the numbers for Ishiuchi Maruyama were about 20% down on the previous season. That is a big drop. The lack of deep snow and hence shorter season sure didn't help. Link to post Share on other sites
joshnii 2 Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 20%. That is a lot. How about the peak times? Link to post Share on other sites
TheOriginalMyoko 0 Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 I recall around -10 for Minamiuonuma in peak. The shorter (or at least not-much-snow season will have brought the numbers down further). Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted May 17, 2009 Author Share Posted May 17, 2009 Don't know joshnii..... Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted May 17, 2009 Author Share Posted May 17, 2009 Apparently, this is from a friend in Yuzawa, Friday was the last day of work for over 50% of the Naeba Prince staff - either taking voluntary redundancy or moved to another Prince. Link to post Share on other sites
Jynxx 4 Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 End of an era ... I wouldn't have imagined it coming. but then Naeba was all about being cool, and something got lost there ... I wonder it just doesn't appeal to the Japanese market anymore. For one thing, it's not a core snowboard place. No onsen ... and it doesn't look pretty with all those villas.. Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 A town/resort not looking pretty doesn't seem to bother many Japanese though..... Link to post Share on other sites
Jynxx 4 Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 True.. most of them don't look pretty... Link to post Share on other sites
Myoko Guy 0 Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 Maybe if they wait long enough it (and a number of other ski towns) will just become really retro and cool looking again (bit like Moji in Fukuoka-ken). Just have to hope things don't go completely down the toilet between now and then. Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 Was never really on our radar that region. Still isn't. Link to post Share on other sites
Curt 1 Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 Can't imagine some of the run down 70's buildings ever looking retro cool again! But I share the hope that these communities and resorts don't go the toilet way. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 Originally Posted By: Jynxx End of an era ... I wouldn't have imagined it coming. but then Naeba was all about being cool, and something got lost there ... I wonder it just doesn't appeal to the Japanese market anymore. For one thing, it's not a core snowboard place. No onsen ... and it doesn't look pretty with all those villas.. there are a couple of onsen in Naeba Link to post Share on other sites
Jynxx 4 Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 Really? for all the time we had been in Naeba we didn't know and missed it? I can't believe it! These thing do happen to me... Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 there are 2 in town that I know of, the one closer to the smaller Naeba ski field is the best IMO, its bigger and less crowded. Don't know its name. The Prince hotel also has a rotenburo Link to post Share on other sites
SKI 15 Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 Naeba isn't really known for onsen though as such. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 true, but they are there Link to post Share on other sites
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