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Following on from other discussion here about Naeba and revenue sharing. There was a suggestion about closing Suginohara down. I think Suginohara has huge awareness as a resort and it would be a mistake to close it down.

 

I'd like to see the companies get round the table and show a bit more co-operation. At least they started this year with the Myoko Pass, Big-4 Pass and free shuttle, so you've got to give them credit for moving in the right direction.

 

The ideal thing would be to have a gondola linking Akakura Onsen, Akakan, Ikenotaira and Suginohara (a link to Seki Onsen would be nice too but not cost effective). That would give some great coverage over a lot of terrain. You could buy an all resorts pass, a dual-resort pass or a single resort pass.

 

Myoko still lags behind in a lot of aspects but people tell me that's part of the appeal too - small friendly town with great snow.

 

Just wondering about what some SJ'ers might think?

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Whats the about share of each of those resorts Myoko?

 

Can you tell me what those passes are you mention?

 

I never really see much of a 'town' in Myoko, but then again it's day-trip reachable for me.

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It hasn't really catered for foreigners much which is one thing.

 

The suggestion about closing Suginohara down was just another of those laughable bombastic sweeping comments put forward as if there was actually some sort of knowledge behind it.

 

Hoping for a gondola is like dreaming of something that just won't be happening. Like you said though just more general co-operation would help the place as a whole.

 

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Man, a gondola would be so sweet! Higher lifts on each of the resorts would also be a good idea. I love Myoko and spend a load of time there each winter. Akakan and Akakura Onsen need to sort out their differences...

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Muikabochi, I can't give firm figures but I'd say the heirarchy would probably be:

Suginohara

Akakura Onsen

Akakan

Ikenotaira

 

The Big-4 is a season pass to the 4 resorts for 60,000

The Myoko Pass is a day ticket for 3 of them, inc. a free shuttle for 4,500

 

Generally people refer to the village areas that sit at the bottom of each resort - Akakura, Suginosawa, etc. There's no huge concentration of concrete apartments or massive hotels as such.

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I see thanks.

 

Akakara is the the little onsen village high up right with the road of hotels and the foot bath at the top, right?

 

Would be interesting to see how many people used that Myoko Pass and how they used it.

 

Good to not have all that concrete!

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Myoko do seem to be increasingly interested (as always these things seem to take time!) and I think there will be more co-operation between Myoko and SnowJapan as well as more general Myoko info on the site come next season.

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>Akakara is the the little onsen village high up right with the road of hotels and the foot bath at the top, right?

 

That's the one. Get's quite a bit of tourist traffic during summer too from people on the Kanto Plains wanting to escape the heat.

 

>It hasn't really catered for foreigners much which is one thing.

 

Yes, they could do a little better in that regard. Just depends how hard they want to chase that market.

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Originally Posted By: Black Mountain
shhhh... it'll be our little secret! wink


Comments like that always make me laugh. It would actually seem rather counterproductive if that were the case. Which is often isn't. Hence the post. etc. wink
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I like Myoko.

It lacks the open busy kid of feel of Yuzawa, which is a good thing.

 

Were there ever plans for a complete linkup in terms of lifts etc?

 

I'm sure I heard rumors of bad blood between Akakura and Akakan.

 

I think one of the things is confusion over what "Myoko" is with some of those names. Even I get confused (and I live relatively close-by).

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>Were there ever plans for a complete linkup in terms of lifts etc?

 

Don't think so. There was a lot of smaller areas that have been swallowed up and amalgamated (Kumado, Champion, Yodel, etc). Hopefully they're moving toward more of that.

 

>I'm sure I heard rumors of bad blood between Akakura and Akakan.

 

Possibly. Wouldn't want to venture into that argument without knowing much more first hand.

 

You've got Myoko City (formerly Arai), Myoko-mura and Myokokogen-machi. Formerly three entities but now one. When skiers discuss 'Myoko' it generally means Myokokogen.

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Myoko first Japanese ski area i visited way back in the early nineties.

 

I heard this year that they had 5000+ foreigners visitors (or it could have been visitor nights).

The resort pass is a step forward but they have to use shuttle buses.

 

With the new Shink going to passes Myoko it can only more appeal to foreign tourists.

Great tree skiiing at Suginohara.

No real town to Myoko, including shops etc...

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>With the new Shink going to passes Myoko it can only more appeal to foreign tourists.

 

Ah no, that's another chestnut. It will completely bypass Myokokogen - it will head to Joetsu (Wakinoda - middle of nowhere) via Iiyama then down the Nihonkai (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hokuriku_Shinkansen). Myoko didn't have the political clout or cash to compete. In fact the rumour is that the Shinetsu Line will disappear completely when the shink extension goes through and be replaced by buses. So there's a few nervous nellies about the impact that will have on the local economy (if it's true).

 

You're right - there's no real town per se. I'd love them to try and get a bit activity around the eki at least and dress that area up a bit.

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Yes I had heard that about the Shinetsu line though I imagine a hearfelt fight put up on that's behalf if they get any more than rumours!

 

I don't know how much it does, but I would see a good idea for Myoko to position itself with Nagano as much as it can (rather than Niigata). After all, it's right there on the border anyway and also quite close to the other resorts over there and can muscle in on some lets try a few resorts plans.

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It does make complete sense SKI but that might tread on a few toes in Niigata City and elsewhere. Regional pride runs deep and you can't ruin the wa. That said if the Nagano border was moved a few kms east and I woke up in the morning with the town announcing we were now part of Nagano-ken I would not be miffed.

 

As far as other links go Akakura Onsen are members of the Mt.6 group which also includes Nozawa, Zao, Shiga, Kusatsu and Happo-one.

 

Myokokogen apparently did ask to be part of the 98 Olympics but that little line on the map probably made all the difference.

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I'm sure it did.

 

Is there a Prince Hotel at Suginohara? Can't recall though I know there is (was) one at the Lake nearby on the way to Madarao. Not much use for skiing I suppose.

 

Problem I find with Suginohara is that there just isn't anything there other than pensions dotted around etc. Nowhere to go.

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When you think about it Myoko really has a lot of strong competition with Hakuba, Nozawa, Shiga Kogen all within similar reach from Nagano. All of those currently arguably have a higher profile. I suppose many people associate Yuzawa with Niigata and from Tokyo thats obviously much easier and quicker to get to.

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One thing I noticed over the years were a number of closed down hotels and boarded up shops along the 'main strip' in Akakura Onsen. Friends who have been going there since the early 90's told me that it used to be quite a popular resort.... So what's different about it now? The mountain is obviously the same... is it the lift systems? prices? accessibility? Or is simply that the trend has passed?

 

It seems to me that one move in the right direction would be to get rid of all the hotels and shops that have closed down. Nobody in Japan ever seems that interested in buying old dilapdated buildings but the land is probably quite valuable. A breath of fresh air around the place would be nice and would go a long way to convince visitors that Myoko Kogen isn't a resort area in decline.

 

Everyone seems to love 'renewals' and it might be the only thing to keep this area alive. Personally, I love Myoko Kogen and drive right past a number of resorts to get there almost every weekend during the winter season.

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Definitely. That "closing down" look sure doesn't help.

 

Difficult to see much big-style fresh air being breathed in with the current pennies and yen situation.

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