Perty 0 Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 Our family is looking at going to Japan in January - we have 2 boys aged 11 and 8 who have skied in Australia for 5 years. We have heard Niseko is good but the weather can be overcast and the visibilty an issue - is this true? Our preference is for good weather rather than fantastic snow - also prefer groomed runs. We are looking for a good family resort with a high standard of accommodation. The Cultural experience is no big thing for us - we would get that elsewhere in Japan - don't need it in the snow I would be interested in your feedback - good or bad to help us in making a decision on where to go - ie Resort and Accommodation Thanks Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 you've named a good one for the family. If you can take the blizzards between your blue sky days, then Niseko would be great. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 Originally Posted By: Perty Our family is looking at going to Japan in January - we have 2 boys aged 11 and 8 who have skied in Australia for 5 years. We have heard Niseko is good but the weather can be overcast and the visibilty an issue - is this true? Our preference is for good weather rather than fantastic snow - also prefer groomed runs. We are looking for a good family resort with a high standard of accommodation. The Cultural experience is no big thing for us - we would get that elsewhere in Japan - don't need it in the snow I would be interested in your feedback - good or bad to help us in making a decision on where to go - ie Resort and Accommodation Thanks prob be best going to Europe TBH. The resorts here are usually overcast, while there are bluebird days they aren't the norm. Japan is good because of the amount and quality of snow it gets, tons of snow means that there are also lots of clouds (filled with the white gold), if you don't care about the snow and just want bluebird days then the Alps are the place for you Link to post Share on other sites
HelperElfMissy 42 Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 I agree with Tubby. Head for Zermatt if you are after bluebird days, groomers and not after the powder snow experience. Sounds exactly like our Jan 09 trip! Having said that - Niseko is awesome, your kids would have a ball, the accomodation standard is excellent and the nighta's are something else! Link to post Share on other sites
Myoko Guy 0 Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 You'll have more chance of blue skies in Myoko, Hakuba, Shiga or Nozawa. Unlike Niseko, where the snowfall is more constant, snow at the above comes in big dumps. So you might get crap weather or you might get days where you'll think you've died and gone to snow heaven. Suginohara has some nice cruisy groomed runs and there's some nice places to stay there. Link to post Share on other sites
Jynxx 4 Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Problem is, a few beaut days in a row makes the snow slushy. Unless you are over 2500 m or so. My eyes start to hurt, too. Perty, what do you look for when you say high standards of accommodation? I agree with Ma' bear. I'd also consider Italy and Austria. Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Good weather is possible but tends to be towards the end of the season. In the middle, from what I remember and have seen, especially on the Nagano/Niigata coast line, clear sunny days don't last very long, and can very quickly wreck the conditions for that day; turning the nice soft snow, into hard, icy conditions. Go to the Austrian Alps if you want good weather. Went there a few times in my youth/teenage years, and remember there was many sunny days, and dumps at night. Link to post Share on other sites
foreversnow 5 Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Niseko is great but February is poor visibilty but big dumps of snow and very cold. We found March to be warmer and more bluebird days. The call of the big dumps of snow though we go in February. Link to post Share on other sites
biri 0 Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 never been to niseko but have skied furano and kamui [ 3 trips ] . furano usually starts out sunny but by afternoon the clouds and snow roll in . weather is very cold in furano but i have never seen a blizzard or white out , snow quality is like silk . kamui is a good day trip also available tomamu / sahoro /asahidake . my kids are about the same age as yours so if you feel like a day off , try the asahiyama zoo in asahikawa . best accommodation in furano is the new furano prince hotel and the furano prince hotel , both in the prince group of course . fresh powder apartments are good and about 30 meters from the kitanamine gondola . furano has great tree cruisers and the only line up you will find is on the furano side ropeway [ 101 pax / 2330m in 5 mins ] , tough to hold onto the rope at that speed ! finally no trip to japan is complete for the kids without a visit to disneyland and disneysea in tokyo . learnt to ski in austria , spent a couple of seasons in hopfgarten , if you like krauts crawling all over your skis , go for it . first trip to furano i booked thru travelplan now i book everything thru the net myself . good luck with your trip . ps - noticed the gaigin [ round eyes ] in furano had doubled in nos. this year to previous . pss - furano is a town which happens to have 2 ski fields behind it . not a purpose built ski resort . psss - if you think the cruisers are easy give challenge and kumatoshi a go . out of bounds is frowned upon but!!!!!!!! Link to post Share on other sites
SKI 15 Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 Quote: pss - furano is a town which happens to have 2 ski fields behind it. Those being "Furano" and ??? Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 Kitanomine Link to post Share on other sites
biri 0 Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 Originally Posted By: SKI Quote: pss - furano is a town which happens to have 2 ski fields behind it. Those being "Furano" and ??? biri island Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 pppsss not supposed to mention that travel agent dude. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 Furano is a decent town. Plenty of eats and plenty of drinks. AND cheese. Meets all criteria for a decent ski vacation or otherwise. Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 I don't follow the above, can someone explain? Link to post Share on other sites
squashie123 0 Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Hi Perty, Given your stated preferences, I'd suggest Hakuba rather than Niseko. In my experience Hakuba has almost as much snow as Niseko, but has a much higher frequency of Bluebird days. There is some very high standard accommodation available in Hakuba. Link to post Share on other sites
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