Snowed In. A month in Myoko.

[spook 0]

OK, I’ve been meaning to get this TR done for a few months now but it’s been delayed. It’s here now though. It's a bit of a long one. Hope you like it.

 

This winter (mid-Jan to mid-Feb) we were lucky enough to spend over a month in Japan. This was our fourth trip to Japan, and armed with more time than money we flew into Japan with no fixed plan. There were a few resorts in Niigata that we were keen to check out and we wanted to keep some flexibility in our schedules.

 

(Nagano station)

 

(on the hill...)

 

 

First stop was Myoko. Our first day on the hill was a banger - 70cm of fresh overnight and with local trains cancelled due to heavy snow, we almost didn’t make it up the hill. Conditions were pretty amazing. It was our first day snowboarding in 3 years and it was niiiiiiice!

 

(hot dawg. this is what we came for)

 

 

 

After a couple of fantastic days at the Myoko resorts all thoughts of checking out the other places on our list went out the window. We stumped up for season passes and settled in. I think we made the right choice. We had a lot snow and a great time over the month we were there.

 

(postbox. i just like them)

 

(a little bit flat but fun as hell)

 

(spookette in the trees)

 

There’s 3 main resorts at Myoko - Akakura, Suginohara and Ikentoaira. Akakura has tons of trees, steeps and some pretty burly terrain. Suginohara is the next largest, it boasts a couple of fast and long lifts, allowing for some excellent long runs. Ikenotaira is pretty small. There’s some fun trees, but not much in the way of freeriding. The main attraction here is the park - they’ve got shedloads of jibs, rails and intermediate kickers. There’s also a rad yellow kombi that sets up in the afternoons and cranks out reggae tunes and cheap chicken kebabs. Koichi-san, the rasta in charge of it all, is a very friendly guy. Make sure to get a kebab off him.

 

 

 

 

Prior to the trip I’d done a bit of research into Myoko, but wasn’t really sure what to expect. The resorts are pretty good. The lifts systems are efficient and there’s free shuttle buses to ferry you around between the resorts. I’d say that advanced level skiers/snowboarders would be a bit bored in Myoko. The resorts are large without being huge, and the terrain is fun without being too challenging, although there is some pretty wild stuff to hit at Akakura.

We don’t really like riding around groomed trails all day, and stay out of the park. For us, we were there to hit the trees, and we had a ball.

 

(cold beers)

 

 

 

[spook 0]

One thing I would say, is that some areas of the resorts aren’t as steep as you’d like. They’re not flat by any means, but a slightly steeper pitch would be good. Of course, there are some very steep sections and runs through the trees, but if it was just a tad steeper overall, a ton more terrain would open up. Also, there’s some serious gullies and valleys offpiste, which hinder where you can and can’t go.

 

(rush hour in town)

 

Conditions warmed up during the last few days of our stay, but apparently it was one of the better winters in Myoko and Niigata for a while. I’m basing that on what several Japanese people told me on chairlifts and in town. If that’s untrue, feel free to let me know. I thought conditions were great but not spectacular.

 

(ski bunny)

 

(tunnel vision)

 

 

We did get a lot of snow when we were there, but didn’t think we got that much. I would like to think it was an average amount, rather than an excessively good winter. Because if that is a lot of snow for Myoko, then I hate would hate to see what it’s in an average year. A couple of big storm systems rolled through when we were there, the biggest dumps were about 60-80cm overnight and we had that three different occasions. It’s a ridiculous amount of snow and blazing through it just off the groomed runs was awesome.

We also had a couple of warm days - two separate days of rain in the first few weeks of the trip, and then three depressing days of drizzle towards the end. Again, I can’t comment if that is normal or not, but I would hope not. Overall I found the weather pretty mild. There were only a couple of days when it got proper cold (temps I’ve experienced before in Hokkaido and British Colombia). Often it would warm up after a big dump, so the morning would have lovely dry powder, which would get heavier as the day went on, even a mid-mountain.

 

(monkey business. jigokudani onsen monkeys)

 

 

 

 

We stayed at Suginohara for 3 weeks of our stay, mostly because we got a great deal on accommodation, plus we were ski-in/ski-out. There’s something nice about looking out your window and seeing the lifts, and then riding down the road and onto the runs. Suginohara probably isn’t the best place to stay if you’re over on holiday though, as there’s no shops, bars or restaurants. It was great for us as we had plenty of little creative projects to work on in the evening. At the end of our trip we moved to Akakura for a week, just for something different. There’s a great vibe in the village and plenty of places to get a tasty feed and a drink.

 

 

(our digs for the better part of our stay)

 

Ok. All round a very very good trip and definitely one of the best holidays I’ve ever had. Myoko’s not going to be to everyone’s taste, but I love it and will be back for sure.

 

(Matsumoto on the way back to Tokyo. Check it out. It's a cool little town)

 

[grungy-gonads 54]

Quality photos.

Excllent.

[HelperElfMissy 42]

Those aerial pic's are INSANE!

[thursday 1]

Excellent photos

quality

[thursday 1]

Those are travel mag standard. Fantastic.

[thursday 1]

and those kebab ones look delicious

[RobBright 35]

 

what settings did you use for this?

[Yuki's Passion 1]

I was wondering how your season went Spook - those pics are really nice...especially your action pics. Sweet! How long were the runs over there in the trees? Was it something you lapped up? Tracked out quickly on those monster dump days?

[spook 0]

Cheers Sjers. Stoked you like the pics. Always nice to get some good feedback.

 

 

Originally Posted By: Creek Boy

I was wondering how your season went Spook - those pics are really nice...especially your action pics. Sweet! How long were the runs over there in the trees? Was it something you lapped up? Tracked out quickly on those monster dump days?

 

The Myoko resorts were medium/largish by Japanese standards. Still very small compared to something in North America, let alone Europe. The lift systems are excellent though. Best lift layout I've seen in Japan.

The tree runs at Akakura and Suginohara take some exploring to find the bext stuff, but after close to a month of riding we were still finding huge new areas in our last week there. A bit flat though. There is some serious backcountry possibilities if you know what you're doing.

On busy weekends they would get tracked, but during the week it would just be Spookette and I. Most weekdays it would pretty much just be us lapping different tree runs and by the end of the day there was still tons of fresh. Seriously, one day at Suginohara we just did the gondola run 20 times in a row, fresh stuff off to either side of the main trails, and there would barely have been a hundred people on the mountain. Weekends would get crazy packed though

Snow conditions wise, I was pretty happy with what we got. Having said that though, if we'd gotten much less I would have been disappointed. There was a lot of talk about how good the season had been up til then. Maybe I've been spoilt by Hokkaido, but I expect a lot of snow in Japan, and from what I heard maybe Myoko doesn't get as much as other areas...?

There was also talk about there normally being nice sunny conditions. Again, not really what I'm chasing. I found the snow a bit heavy too. By lunchtime the fresh snow would be starting to get a bit sticky fro mid-mountain down. So those comments from locals (about the sun/warmth and amount of snow) make me a bit wary about going back for another long stint, just in case we dud out.

The best bit though, was that it was just a quiet little Japanese resort town. Fun.

[spook 0]

Originally Posted By: RobBright

what settings did you use for this?

I shot on Aperture Priority, trying to get as fast a shutter speed as possibile. Something like f4, 1/250, ISO 200. Try and get the eyes sharp.
Obviously touched the photo up a bit later to bring out some colours, but nothing too extreme. The photo is pretty much how we shot it.

[muikabochi 208]

WOW!

Totally superb, spook.

 

Definitely worth the wait!

[Metabo Oyaji 71]

Originally Posted By: spook

I find this one oddly intriguing. What is he/she so intently doing?

Great trip report. Thanks!

[Tubby Beaver 209]

trying to squeeze one out

[cram400 0]

stellar pics. absolutely stellar.

[Mike Pow 52]

Brilliant.

[gerard 6]

Awsome pics. Maybe even as good as your surf shots. Good info about Myoko too. I haven't been there. May check out akakura next year.

[spook 0]

Check out Suginohara on a good day too. Just don't tell anyone else about it...

[big-will 7]

OK, fab photos some of them need to be in the photo nomination thread.

[2pints-mate 0]

Top pics. Or even above that.

[Jynxx 4]

Spook,

you guys must have been stoked after 3 years and what a treat!

I've never done a month at one location and now I'm looking forward to doing something like that.

As for you pics. You have the perspective and the quality that is artistic and connected. You take pics of monkey, you become monkey.

Even the pic of the room makes me feel I'm there with you guys.

 

[Mantas 3]

Originally Posted By: spook

So those comments from locals (about the sun/warmth and amount of snow) make me a bit wary about going back for another long stint, just in case we dud out.

Nah, tick that box and move on mate.
You scored big time. If you don't get it as good next time, you would always compare.
How would you rate the village of Akakura for a family stay. Are the lifts and runs right at the village?

[saucy 0]

Sweet.

Spent 4 days there and really enjoyed it.

Not sure about a month myself, I prefer to go to lots of places rather than be based somewhere, but you seemed to have had a rockin' time.

[ippy 66]

i had a season pass there last year. They are crazy short of foreigners, but its seriously awesome. Theres also something really special about the atmosphere of the place. It looks like it died on its arse about ten years ago and everyone just kind of gave up on it. Its a shame too, because signihara is serioulsy beautiful, and i love their policy of letting you duck under whatever rope you like and ride under any lift you like so long as you know youre liable if they have to rescue you. Still, it is as you say a teensy bit flat, and when it hits slush season theres honestly nothing worse than the bottom half of the mountain (well maybe tsugaike - hate that place). I also liked the fact the three main resorts were trying to keep themselves distinct.

 

Suginohara is definitely the jewel just because its so long and magical. Its a beautiful ride (if a bit flat).

Akakan seemed to really focus on skiers and families (what with akakura onsen next door).

And finally Ikenotaira seemed to be really pushing out the whole park rat thing with all those events it had. Also, again, ideal for families due to it being a gigantic wide open massive red--->green run.

If i lived there still, i guarantee id have the ikenotaira season pass because that thing is INSANE value for money.

[iiyamadude 6]

Quote:

They are crazy short of foreigners, but its seriously awesome

What exactly do you mean by that? Staff, or guests? You suggesting it is a good/bad thing, or what?