HelperElfMissy 42 Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 Originally Posted By: thursday Originally Posted By: Creek Boy Id say CNY Ski - I had to cue for 10-20 mins for the gondola at Niseko and Rusutsu occasionally around Xmas/NYs, but typically once you get up you didnt have to wait more than a few chairs worth. New ywars. Lots of people crowded around the Ace quad. At least a 20 minute wait. Interesting. Previously we have stayed at the Gondola Chalets - so pretty darn close to the lifts and we could look at the queues and choose whether we wanted to wait for the Gondola, do a quick run or three while the crowds dispersed on the King, or duck over to the Ace and go up... However this year we will be staying closest to the bottom of the Ace Family Pair lift ... and I reckon that will probably be the biggest bottleneck of all in the morning - with the majority of the village being closest to that lift. Trying to come up with a plan... Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 Easy. Don't stay at the The Vale, stay at Alpen. Link to post Share on other sites
HelperElfMissy 42 Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 Not staying at The Vale Link to post Share on other sites
Go Native 70 Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 Originally Posted By: thursday Easy. Don't stay at the The Vale, stay at Alpen. And god the Alpen is overpriced for the crappy little rooms you get. Link to post Share on other sites
Rag-Doll 0 Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 Originally Posted By: Mamabear Originally Posted By: thursday Originally Posted By: Creek Boy Id say CNY Ski - I had to cue for 10-20 mins for the gondola at Niseko and Rusutsu occasionally around Xmas/NYs, but typically once you get up you didnt have to wait more than a few chairs worth. New ywars. Lots of people crowded around the Ace quad. At least a 20 minute wait. Interesting. Previously we have stayed at the Gondola Chalets - so pretty darn close to the lifts and we could look at the queues and choose whether we wanted to wait for the Gondola, do a quick run or three while the crowds dispersed on the King, or duck over to the Ace and go up... However this year we will be staying closest to the bottom of the Ace Family Pair lift ... and I reckon that will probably be the biggest bottleneck of all in the morning - with the majority of the village being closest to that lift. Trying to come up with a plan... Grab a cheap rental car for the holiday. Let's you scoot all over the place and explore some of the other resorts in your own time and on your own terms. Particularly good when the weather closes the top of the mountain. Link to post Share on other sites
HelperElfMissy 42 Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 Have actually thought about this RD. Last visit one of the friends had a car that he had bought, but he no longer has it. We are talking about hiring something between the 3 or 4 families that are coming at the same time and sharing...not sure how well sharing works in reality - but we will have a think about it. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 hiring is actually very cheap Link to post Share on other sites
HelperElfMissy 42 Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 yeah...I was thinking we might be better off not sharing. The 'sharing' thing was not my idea. Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 Originally Posted By: SKI Originally Posted By: Matt Rain events last year - counted by looking at the snowjapan archives Niseko December 5th,8th,9th,10th,17th,20th January 19th,23rd,29th February 13th,14th March 6th,9th,10th,13th,14th,17th,19th,22nd,23rd Hakuba December 5th,9th,11th,12th,18th January 18th,20th,31st February 14th,20th,25th March 6th,14th,20th,22nd Unexpectedly and funnily enough there were actually more rain days in Niseko!! count em yourself... Glad I got this before you deleted it, Matt. At the end you added a sentence asking if they went to Niseko last season would they have been fed up and be going to Honshu this season? The answer to that is - no. The snow was still excellent pretty much all peak season in Niseko even considering the sometimes rain. Unlike in many Honshu areas, if I am remembering correctly, the rain did not last long and was often followed quickly by snow.... There were more rain days than that last winter (didn't even count November and April). But even with the rain, within 24hrs it was back to pow. Not many places can say that. Link to post Share on other sites
greymountain 0 Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Last season I went a few times up to Hakuba and Nozawa and was really put off with conditions. Timing of course, but it wasn't good for what was supposed to be peak season. Link to post Share on other sites
Jynxx 4 Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 OK I'm biased but I never thought Nozawa snow is good. Checking it out once is good enough. Nice place to visit with onsen and all, Japanese feel. Link to post Share on other sites
iiyamadude 6 Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Why are you biased Jynxx? If you go on a bad day, you'll find less than great conditions. Tons of great days though. Link to post Share on other sites
brit-gob 9 Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Yes had some fantastic days at Nozawa. Conditions up top are usually great. Link to post Share on other sites
Jynxx 4 Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Yeah, I know. I shall re-discover Japan snow scene again. Link to post Share on other sites
iiyamadude 6 Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 You coming on over this winter then Jynxx? Link to post Share on other sites
Jynxx 4 Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Love to, but my wife's back to school and she will be extremely unhappy if I go on my own. Definitely next year though. We'll stay for at least a year. When I was a teenager in Japan, going to the European Alps was like a dream. Now that I am here ... ( I've checked out 14 resorts the last 2 seasons) still I miss the onsen and the food. Link to post Share on other sites
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