skichef 0 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Which would be the best one to ski the most? Any ideas. Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Id venture a guess and say Iwatake. Why are you interested in those two out of all the resorts in Hakuba valley? Link to post Share on other sites
stemik 14 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Sun ALpina is the three resorts of Sanosaka, Aokiko & Kashimayari. This season Aokiko will not be opening, therefore breaking the Sun Alpina link. (Aokiko is in the middle). There are no shuttle buses running to Kashimayari from the main Hakuba accommodation areas. (There is a train) Link to post Share on other sites
skidaisuki 0 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Answer: depends what level of ability you are, and when you're going. I've skiied both and Iwatake is better - it is on average slightly higher and more exposed, with more interesting runs. Sun Alpina is a good mid-season resort when there's been plenty of snow and it's also in shade for most of the day which is a plus. On the minus side it offers very little challenge for intermediate & advanced skiiers - but for beginners there are plenty of wide and gentle pistes which I've never seen crowded. Mid-season, Sun Alpina is well worth the effort if you want to avoid the sort of crowds that you always get on weekends at Goryu's main piste in front of Escal Plaza, for example. SdS Link to post Share on other sites
tripitaka 0 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Originally Posted By: stemik Sun ALpina is the three resorts of Sanosaka, Aokiko & Kashimayari. This season Aokiko will not be opening, therefore breaking the Sun Alpina link. (Aokiko is in the middle). There are no shuttle buses running to Kashimayari from the main Hakuba accommodation areas. (There is a train) What's the deal with Aokiko? That messes it up for SO and KI. Link to post Share on other sites
tripitaka 0 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Originally Posted By: skidaisuki Answer: depends what level of ability you are, and when you're going. I've skiied both and Iwatake is better - it is on average slightly higher and more exposed, with more interesting runs. Sun Alpina is a good mid-season resort when there's been plenty of snow and it's also in shade for most of the day which is a plus. On the minus side it offers very little challenge for intermediate & advanced skiiers - but for beginners there are plenty of wide and gentle pistes which I've never seen crowded. Mid-season, Sun Alpina is well worth the effort if you want to avoid the sort of crowds that you always get on weekends at Goryu's main piste in front of Escal Plaza, for example. SdS That's my take on it as well, but there's actually some great tree skiing over on the Kashi side. It also is sheltered to some degree from strong winds when it's havoc over at G/47 and Happo (apparently). Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 It could be financial Tough titties Markie, Sun Alpina stuffed for you. Link to post Share on other sites
stemik 14 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Yes it is financial....they hope to find a buyer for the season following this one. It's a real shame for Sun Alpina and Sanosaka in particular. Link to post Share on other sites
tripitaka 0 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Originally Posted By: stemik Yes it is financial....they hope to find a buyer for the season following this one. It's a real shame for Sun Alpina and Sanosaka in particular. It's going to make it tough for them. I always like the "vibe" over there: people are friendly and a bit more "Japanese" with the emphasis on family. I always thought the food was good too. Link to post Share on other sites
stemik 14 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 me too. I usually go over to Sun Alpina a few times a season. Link to post Share on other sites
skichef 0 Posted November 25, 2009 Author Share Posted November 25, 2009 Thanks for the info. So Aokiko is closed for the season? That is a great shame. It was always good to ski all 3 resorts. The food was decent and the people really friendly compared to other Valley resorts. What train station serves Kashi? I was thinking of buying a pass for Iwatake, then skiing other Hills on other days as the Iwatake pass is cheap enough to allow me to do this. Link to post Share on other sites
skidaisuki 0 Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 Stemik, I have to say that's a bummer - presumably that means that the steep chair lift going up to Kashimayari won't be running. The views of Aokiko from that lift could be amazing. I fear that the two that are open will suffer for Aokiko being closed. Sanosaka I don't particularly rate but it is a good place to go with beginners. What a pity. These 3 resorts cooperate sensibly, employ plenty of people and work honestly and deserve our support. If you are in Hakuba and you want to get away from the crowds, get to Kashimayari anyway. It's well worth it for 10 minutes extra on the bus. SdS Link to post Share on other sites
tripler 0 Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 Originally Posted By: skidaisuki If you are in Hakuba and you want to get away from the crowds, get to Kashimayari anyway. It's well worth it for 10 minutes extra on the bus. Is Kashimayari another name for Sun Alpina? I plan to visit Sun Valley if we get some snow before mid-December. Would you be allowed to drive a snowmobile up the closed resort? Link to post Share on other sites
best skier in hakuba 5 Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 It is one of the Sun Alpina resorts in the Hakuba valley. Well, 2 this year. "Sun Valley" is in Shiga Kogen. Link to post Share on other sites
tripler 0 Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 oops, sorry i meant Sun Alpina not Valley. Going to Sun Valley later. Link to post Share on other sites
iiyamadude 6 Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 Only a small part of Shiga Kogen of course... the first bit when you first arrive up there. Link to post Share on other sites
skichef 0 Posted November 26, 2009 Author Share Posted November 26, 2009 The view from the restaurant at Aokiko was excellent. The chair lift up to Kashi was a trip on it's own if it was windy. Crazy situation about the ski resorts closing. This was spoken about last season and now it has actually happened. European resorts have opened early this season as they did last year. There are hoping for a bumper seasson again. Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted November 26, 2009 Share Posted November 26, 2009 This is a real shame Link to post Share on other sites
Timmyhugecans 0 Posted November 26, 2009 Share Posted November 26, 2009 Yeh that's not good. Make it tough for the other 2 resorts also. Link to post Share on other sites
TheOriginalMyoko 0 Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 Shame to hear about that one not opening. I fear there will be more stories like that. Link to post Share on other sites
tripler 0 Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Originally Posted By: rainmaker European resorts have opened early this season as they did last year. There are hoping for a bumper seasson again. I heard all the early stuff melted. Recently a young Japanese person who I don't think was a big skier said skiing is less popular here than it was because the snow isn't as good. Interesting because I never heard that as a reason before, though often hear the powder was much better 20 years ago. Usually it's said declining poplularity is because people have to spend their money on monthly cell phone bills in the middle of a 19+ year recession. Link to post Share on other sites
skidaisuki 0 Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 tripler - this is quite similar to debates going on elsewhere, e.g. the "snow" thread. It's an objective thing, the quality of snow, but the quantities don't appear to be in decline and why would young people not take up skiing or boarding now? They obviously couldn't compare snow quality now with anything that had gone before... This brings us onto a kind of philiosophical point. When people say things were better in the past (on any topic), I think it's usually the distorting effect of nostalgia. Everything looked better to most people 20 years ago because they were younger and less embittered! Now I ski more and have better ability to enjoy my skiing, I look forward to the future with excitement and enthusiasm. As I said elsewhere, waiting for snow is OK because most people spend their lives waiting for nothing. I think any decline's mainly been economic, as you suggest, plus the fact that there were too many new resorts in the late 80s / early 90s which were built on shaky investment logic and which were always going to struggle to get enough customers to be viable. Oversupply is great for shortening lift queues, but it can't last forever... SdS Link to post Share on other sites
Oyuki kigan 0 Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 Um, no. Winters 20 or 30 years ago were consitantly colder and snowier. Japan as well as North America. In Fukushima, there are houses with 2nd story exits for getting out of the house when snow would bury the first floor. Now those areas get about a meter or so. Ask around and most old folk in nagano probably remember ice skating on ride paddys when it would get cold enough. same with the pond in Stanley Park in Vancouver. Not happening anymore. Growing up in Canada, the season would start mid-November at places like Fernie. Our own town had a local hill as well, but nowadays does not get enough snow to ride on. Driving up to the hill i grew up on, Kimberly, you couldn't see people on the sidewalk, the snowbanks would be so high! Nowadays, its maybe knee height. Enjoy the seasons while they last, because in all probability they won't Link to post Share on other sites
tripler 0 Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 Originally Posted By: skidaisuki It's an objective thing, the quality of snow, but the quantities don't appear to be in decline You meant snow quality is a subjective thing, didn't you? I disagree. Dry snow - powder - is good and wet snow is bad (though better than no snow). As someone mentioned in another thread, snow type can be analysed scientifically though it's probably not done much and Japan. But if winters are getting warmer you would expect more wet snow. As for quantity, a 38 year old woman in Azumino who'd lived there all her life told me as a child snow would be 3 or 4 feet deep and they'd build snow caves, now it's never above 1 foot. I agree lack of money is probably the main reason for declining the popularity with young Japanese. But even if they never experienced conditions of 20 years ago, there may be a feeling that the best snow is gone and that also feeds into a lack of desire to take up the sport. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 definitely in decline. as a kid in Scotland we used to get a lot of snow, we'd build igloos and snow caves, be off school for a week or 2 because of the snow. The hills also had a vable ski industry, now thats all changed and the cities get hardly any snow and the hills very little more. I don't think anyone would argue that the snow trend is in decline Link to post Share on other sites
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