SnowJapan.Com#3 0 Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 A new feature, "A Westerner's Japanese Ski Adventure" by Dick Michelson, has been put online. http://www.snowjapan.com/e/features/features-61.html "Greetings from Seattle, USA! In mid March I returned from a very enjoyable, month-long ski trip in Japan involving 11 ski areas (Nozawa Onsen, Shiga Kogen, Hakuba Happo, Niseko, Furano, Appi Kogen, Zao, Tengendai, Naeba, Myoko Suginohara, and Arai listed in the order visited). The purpose of this article is to share some of my experiences, personal observations and fond memories of traveling through some of Japan’s beautiful mountains; skiing at many very good ski resorts; staying at delightful, small, family-owned-and-operated pensions; enjoying delicious Japanese food; relaxing in spotlessly clean onsens; and enjoying the gracious, kind, friendly and helpful people I met wherever I went." http://www.snowjapan.com/e/features/features-61.html Please note that the views expressed in any Features on Snow Japan are not necessarily those of Snow Japan. Discuss it here.... Link to post Share on other sites
rach 1 Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 Wow, well done! Sounds like you had a fantastic experience. Link to post Share on other sites
IceEiji 0 Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 Wonderful. I am glad that you enjoyed your experiences in Japan, please come again. Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 If only you could have met up with some rope duckers. Most of the resorts that you went to are good if you know where to look. Suginohara has cliffs if you just go to the right spot. Link to post Share on other sites
xxx 2 Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 Sounds great! Thanks for telling us all about your trip. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 Good job you didn't bump into any of those out-of-control, stand-on-one-leg skiers we have in Japan. They can really spoil your day... Link to post Share on other sites
BigSausage 0 Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 Good one, I don't suppose many people do that kind of thing at all. It must have cost a bit too! Link to post Share on other sites
enderzero 0 Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 Hey there Dick. How's the weather in Seattle? I'll be headed back there next month. Nice article. I see you have made some of the same observations as I did. The terrain here is really tame compared with the Pac NW. Where do you ski most? Stevens? Crystal? I found Arai to be the closest in terms of terrain, and that was not terribly steep. What did you think of the powder? It is good you hooked up with some nice people right at the beginning to ease you into the solo Japan traveling. Were there any things that surprised you about the culture in general? Thanks for the good read. Link to post Share on other sites
snowboard_freak 0 Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 Great read! It's a good intro into the snow scene in Japan. Good for a first time visitor to read. Link to post Share on other sites
klingon 10 Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 enderzero - you leaving Japan, or is it just a holiday? Link to post Share on other sites
hide 0 Posted May 17, 2003 Share Posted May 17, 2003 Very interesting. I am also glad you enjoyed it in Japan. Link to post Share on other sites
fantastic 0 Posted May 17, 2003 Share Posted May 17, 2003 Nice one Dick-dude! Link to post Share on other sites
Thunderbird2 0 Posted May 17, 2003 Share Posted May 17, 2003 If you could choose just 1 resort to stay at for 4 or 5 days, which would it be? Link to post Share on other sites
SnowJapan Admin SnowJapan#Andrew 6 Posted May 17, 2003 SnowJapan Admin Share Posted May 17, 2003 We're sure Dick will look forward to reading all your comments and might respond here in this thread, but believe that he is away travelling once more until the middle of June. So you'll probably here from him towards the end of June. Many thanks SnowJapan.Com Link to post Share on other sites
peterson 0 Posted May 18, 2003 Share Posted May 18, 2003 Read it last night - nice article. Link to post Share on other sites
brit-gob 9 Posted May 19, 2003 Share Posted May 19, 2003 Nice to see you had such a good time here. Link to post Share on other sites
echineko 1 Posted May 22, 2003 Share Posted May 22, 2003 It's very interesting to read like this adventure for visit Japan! Link to post Share on other sites
DickMichelson 0 Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Quote: Originally posted by Fattwins: If only you could have met up with some rope duckers. Most of the resorts that you went to are good if you know where to look. Suginohara has cliffs if you just go to the right spot. High winds plus 100cm of new snow put avalanche danger too high for me this time. Dick Link to post Share on other sites
DickMichelson 0 Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Quote: Originally posted by rach: Wow, well done! Sounds like you had a fantastic experience. Thanks for your note. You got my message right. Dick Link to post Share on other sites
DickMichelson 0 Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Quote: Originally posted by xxx: Sounds great! Thanks for telling us all about your trip. My pleasure. Dick Link to post Share on other sites
DickMichelson 0 Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Quote: Originally posted by enderzero: Hey there Dick. How's the weather in Seattle? I'll be headed back there next month. Nice article. I see you have made some of the same observations as I did. The terrain here is really tame compared with the Pac NW. Where do you ski most? Stevens? Crystal? I found Arai to be the closest in terms of terrain, and that was not terribly steep. What did you think of the powder? It is good you hooked up with some nice people right at the beginning to ease you into the solo Japan traveling. Were there any things that surprised you about the culture in general? Thanks for the good read. My pleasure. Stevens is my primary "local" area with Crystal being my local choice when I'm willing to spend another hour traveling. Whistler is only 4 hours away so I get there when the conditions are prime. Dick Link to post Share on other sites
DickMichelson 0 Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Quote: Originally posted by Thunderbird2: If you could choose just 1 resort to stay at for 4 or 5 days, which would it be? Sorry for the delay, I've been traveling across the US and up into Newfoundland---another good trip. I'd select Shiga Kogen since it has the most lift-connected terrain,a few decent steeps, and a good lift system. The Hakuba area, staying in a pension at the base of Happo, and skiing at the vareous resorts in the area could be interesting. I only skied Happo which is quite good and would have skied the other nearby resorts if I had had the time. Dick Link to post Share on other sites
DickMichelson 0 Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Quote: Originally posted by Thunderbird2: If you could choose just 1 resort to stay at for 4 or 5 days, which would it be? Shiga Kogen due to its large, lift connected terrain with some decent steeps. Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Hey good to hear from you Dick Link to post Share on other sites
xxx 2 Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 Hi Dick Good to hear from you. Planning on coming back to J land? Link to post Share on other sites
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