jsalbaugh 0 Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 you'd be a 50 year old Yank traveling to Japan/Hokkaido for the first time. Feb. or March. How would you weed through all the info to plan your trip? Your not looking for a high end resort experience. You prefer smaller funky resorts, no crowds, great snow and a reasonably "real" cultural experience. You've been skiing the Sierras, Wasatch and the Rockies your whole life, Telemark for 15 years, you prefer off piste but loves carving a good groomer too. You'll have 5 days to play on snow with a few extra to visit family in Sapporo. Basing out of one location is fine and your willing to travel for a day trip elsewhere if the mood strikes you. Good food is a bonus but nightlife is not a necessity but is also a bonus. Public transportation or shuttles would be your mode of travel and cost is not an issue. I can imagine this gets asked allot but I'm not asking you guys to give up the gems, well maybe I am, but some locals knowledge really goes a long ways. Thanks in advance, Jeff Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Id check out Kamui in Asahikawa!!! Link to post Share on other sites
panhead_pete 27 Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Welcome to the site, where abouts from Co are you? Wanna stop by the Never Summer factory for me and pick up some boards Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 "if you were me" I would hire a car at Shin Chitose, base myself at Asahikawa, go to Asahidake, Kurodake, Kamui, visit Furano for the delicacies, and drive to Sapporo to return the car. Link to post Share on other sites
JA2340 16 Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Methinks thursday has the goods right there! Link to post Share on other sites
Chriselle 158 Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Originally Posted By: thursday "if you were me" I would hire a car at Shin Chitose, base myself at Asahikawa, go to Asahidake, Kurodake, Kamui, visit Furano for the delicacies, and drive to Sapporo to return the car. I concur. And maybe a nighta at Santa Present Park right off route 12 just heading out of Asahikawa towards Kamui. Link to post Share on other sites
jsalbaugh 0 Posted February 2, 2010 Author Share Posted February 2, 2010 Originally Posted By: panhead_pete Welcome to the site, where abouts from Co are you? Wanna stop by the Never Summer factory for me and pick up some boards Fort Collins. I'm 45 miles north of Denver. I believe Never Summer has roots here and you can see the Never Summer mountain range from town. Just send me a blank check and I'd be happy to oblige your request. Link to post Share on other sites
jsalbaugh 0 Posted February 2, 2010 Author Share Posted February 2, 2010 Originally Posted By: thursday "if you were me" I would hire a car at Shin Chitose, base myself at Asahikawa, go to Asahidake, Kurodake, Kamui, visit Furano for the delicacies, and drive to Sapporo to return the car. Great info. Thank you. Asahikawa looks to be a beautiful city, great location and a place I would love to visit but the size of it does not intrigue me for a ski trip. All four of the mountains are right up my ally though. This site lists Kurodake as being closed. Is it real time updated or are most of the mountains on Hokkaido closed? TW Link to post Share on other sites
jsalbaugh 0 Posted February 2, 2010 Author Share Posted February 2, 2010 My last question, for a while. I'm trying to figure travel times and routes between areas. Can someone give me that type of info? Thanks again, Jeff Link to post Share on other sites
panhead_pete 27 Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 [quote=The Wheel Fort Collins. I'm 45 miles north of Denver. Sorry to get off topic here guys but small world. I went to CSU for a semester and lived in Maple St in Fort Fun. Many crazy nights in Washington's etc. Can you still buy those really good strawberry Margs in town? Link to post Share on other sites
Thundercat 60 Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Have a look through google maps. You should be able to find all the relevant distance/time info you are looking for. Link to post Share on other sites
jsalbaugh 0 Posted February 2, 2010 Author Share Posted February 2, 2010 Originally Posted By: panhead_pete [quote=The Wheel Fort Collins. I'm 45 miles north of Denver. Sorry to get off topic here guys but small world. I went to CSU for a semester and lived in Maple St in Fort Fun. Many crazy nights in Washington's etc. Can you still buy those really good strawberry Margs in town? It's my thread so hijack away. Small world it is. The Rio is still open and still three's the limit. They have at least 8 locations now, Steamboat, Austin, Boulder ect and The Washbar is still The Washbar. Link to post Share on other sites
jsalbaugh 0 Posted February 2, 2010 Author Share Posted February 2, 2010 Originally Posted By: Black Mountain Have a look through google maps. You should be able to find all the relevant distance/time info you are looking for. Thanks. Will do. Link to post Share on other sites
Go Native 70 Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Originally Posted By: The Wheel Originally Posted By: thursday "if you were me" I would hire a car at Shin Chitose, base myself at Asahikawa, go to Asahidake, Kurodake, Kamui, visit Furano for the delicacies, and drive to Sapporo to return the car. Great info. Thank you. Asahikawa looks to be a beautiful city, great location and a place I would love to visit but the size of it does not intrigue me for a ski trip. All four of the mountains are right up my ally though. This site lists Kurodake as being closed. Is it real time updated or are most of the mountains on Hokkaido closed? TW Kurodake should be fully open by March. It's so bloody cold there mid winter that they close for a bit. Not really much of a ski resort but Sounkyo at the base is a beautiful little town and Kurodake is all about the off-piste which is awesome. Link to post Share on other sites
panhead_pete 27 Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 Originally Posted By: The Wheel It's my thread so hijack away. Small world it is. The Rio is still open and still three's the limit. They have at least 8 locations now, Steamboat, Austin, Boulder ect and The Washbar is still The Washbar. Wow great news re Rio - stoked to see them grow so much. Well if you get to Steamboat and find yourself at the 8th St Bar, ask for Danya and say hi for me, she awesome, but I am a tad biased as I used to work there Enjoy your trip to Japan. Link to post Share on other sites
jsalbaugh 0 Posted February 3, 2010 Author Share Posted February 3, 2010 Originally Posted By: panhead_pete Originally Posted By: The Wheel It's my thread so hijack away. Small world it is. The Rio is still open and still three's the limit. They have at least 8 locations now, Steamboat, Austin, Boulder ect and The Washbar is still The Washbar. Wow great news re Rio - stoked to see them grow so much. Well if you get to Steamboat and find yourself at the 8th St Bar, ask for Danya and say hi for me, she awesome, but I am a tad biased as I used to work there Enjoy your trip to Japan. I've spent my share of time at 8th street. Great little bar. My best friend has been in The Boat for 18+ years so I make it up every few months. Link to post Share on other sites
jsalbaugh 0 Posted February 4, 2010 Author Share Posted February 4, 2010 Originally Posted By: Black Mountain Have a look through google maps. You should be able to find all the relevant distance/time info you are looking for. I'm finding Google maps to be a bit of a chore to use. It doesn't recognize many of the resorts, areas, stations ect. Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Learn Japanese! Or ask us questions. We might help. :thumbup: Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 You might want to check some of the maps on this here site http://www.snowjapan.com/e/maps/index.html Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted February 5, 2010 Share Posted February 5, 2010 Actually, when you hire your car, choose one with an English speaking GPS. The writing will be Japanese but at least the oral instructions will be in English. Rav4 comes to mind. Get the phone numbers of the places you wish to visit (or the GPS code) and have those handy. You may have a little difficulty using the GPS menus though if you don't know a bit of Kanji. But that's minor. Link to post Share on other sites
jsalbaugh 0 Posted February 5, 2010 Author Share Posted February 5, 2010 Originally Posted By: thursday Actually, when you hire your car, choose one with an English speaking GPS. The writing will be Japanese but at least the oral instructions will be in English. Rav4 comes to mind. Get the phone numbers of the places you wish to visit (or the GPS code) and have those handy. You may have a little difficulty using the GPS menus though if you don't know a bit of Kanji. But that's minor. Thanks for the heads up though navigation is the least of my worries at this point. Right now it's getting the lay of the land to plan the trip. What town to stay in and what areas to ski. Link to post Share on other sites
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