ippy 66 Posted September 11, 2010 Share Posted September 11, 2010 Yeah, the castle was put in so i could make some kind of obscure reference to finnegans wake. So this year and based entirely off the strength of this one clip: I bought myself a pow stick and decided im going to deepest darkest Hoth. But i dont know anything about it. I dont suppose you guys would be so kind as to furnish me with some details. I guess first: good resorts in and around the area worth hitting up? Since im doing it all public transport it'll likely need to be on a decent network (rail from asahikawa is a bonus). Second, where to base myself? Ive got about three to four weeks holiday in late jan/early feb so it'll be nice to get a bit of possible diversity in if i can. Third, accommodation. Anyone have any solid recommendations. English speaking would be lovely, under 4000 per night would be fantastic (under 3000 would be dreamy). Finally, any decent season passes that i might want to look into? I'll be all on my lonesome, coming from korea no doubt, and want to play in trees. So i guess that means somewhere nice and varied with lots to do, with good hubs and cheap accommodation, and with a liberal policy on dotting into the trees and out of bounds. But not too pricey. There! thats a bit of a stretch, but hope you guys can help me have my mad crazy powder season PPS. Kamui looks kinda nice if small. Furano looks a bit... :? Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted September 11, 2010 Share Posted September 11, 2010 Nice clip. Ah, winter and snow. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted September 12, 2010 Share Posted September 12, 2010 sweet video. Nice. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted September 12, 2010 Share Posted September 12, 2010 But wait a minute; you're in Nagano. There must be similar very close by. Link to post Share on other sites
ippy 66 Posted September 12, 2010 Author Share Posted September 12, 2010 nah, im in korea now Plus i wants hoth pow, not possibly maybe 1 dump every two or three weeks if im lucky in the middle of peak season the way things have been going in nagano the last three years pow. Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted September 12, 2010 Share Posted September 12, 2010 Originally Posted By: ippy I'll be all on my lonesome, coming from korea no doubt, and want to play in trees. Originally Posted By: thursday But wait a minute; you're in Nagano. There must be similar very close by. Link to post Share on other sites
Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted September 12, 2010 Share Posted September 12, 2010 Nagano, South Korea. Right across the border from Wigan, North Korea. (which by a commodious vicus of recirculation brings us back to...) Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted September 12, 2010 Share Posted September 12, 2010 Originally Posted By: RobBright Originally Posted By: ippy I'll be all on my lonesome, coming from korea no doubt, and want to play in trees. Originally Posted By: thursday But wait a minute; you're in Nagano. There must be similar very close by. Location under username was Nagano. Seems to have changed. Link to post Share on other sites
ippy 66 Posted September 12, 2010 Author Share Posted September 12, 2010 incidentally, whats the off piste policy at furano like? Most of the net say its pretty much enforced, but was trawling through threads on here, (why yes, i did actually try and find the info before i posted ), and it seems that people are suggesting that within the last year theres been a bit of a policy change and although its not official or anything, rope ducking is tolerated? Is that it? Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted September 12, 2010 Share Posted September 12, 2010 although I haven't been, I have also heard the same Ippy. Apparently the patrol were becoming more relaxed at their views of off-piste usage. Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted September 13, 2010 Share Posted September 13, 2010 Ippy, patrol there is chilling out at Furano, so we will be making a trip back again I think. Kamui has great snow, and when they call it heavy it felt like how it was around Niseko/Rusutsu area. Small resort, only like 900 vert I think or maybe a bit less. We had two days there and it was off the hook, by far the best snow Ive ever had - better than other places in Hokkaido and Shiga Kogen, which until Kamui had been the best. Everything there is skiable so patrol will never say one thing. Lots of pillows. Trees are a bit tight - nothing like Niseko/Rusutsu, but not a problem at all. The terrain around Furano is sick. Soooo much terrain off the backside of the mountain, and skiers left and right. Could have some really long runs at a 1000+ meters straight and a nice pitch of 35+ the entire time. We will be back hitting there and Kamui again. Hope you have a good trip. As far as transportation goes, I cant help. We had a car and that seemed to be the ONLY way to get around out there... Link to post Share on other sites
ippy 66 Posted September 13, 2010 Author Share Posted September 13, 2010 Got a nice quick answer from the Tourist guys at furano. Thanks dude if youre reading this. Heres what they said: It is nice to hear that you are coming to Central Hokkaido to ski/board for 3 weeks or so. There isn't a season pass that covers all the resorts. There is however a multi resort pass. 5 to 7 day Furano lift ticket will give you the option to ski either Kamui or Tomamu. 8 day+ lift ticket will allow you to ski both Kamui and Tomamu. There are shuttle buses from Furano to Kamui and Tomamu on certain days of the week. Furano season pass is 56,000 yen Kamui season pass is 50,000 yen Furano's out of bounds policy is a difficult question. Furano's policy has not changed in regards to riding out of bounds. It is still not allowed unless you have a guide. I have only been here for one ski season. People do ski out of bounds(including myself) and some have been caught last year but no one lost their pass last season.Just a few warnings. In the past I have heard it was strictIy inforced, lots of ski patrols(not so many now), people loosing passes etc. Furano ski resort is leaving more ungroomed runs and an has an increase in guided backcountry tour groups getting permission to go out of bounds. In time I believe it will allow skiing out of bounds like Kamui or Tomamu but this is not the case just yet. I hope that answers your question. If you have any other questions please feel free to ask. Best regards Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted September 14, 2010 Share Posted September 14, 2010 Tomamu has a great policy they can learn from. But I much prefer the food at Furano. But if your lift ticket includes Kamui, Tomamu, go for it. Link to post Share on other sites
ippy 66 Posted September 14, 2010 Author Share Posted September 14, 2010 How is tomamu? right now it feels like a coin toss between kamui and furano. Asahidake sounds kinda lame judging by the reviews, but never really thought about tomamu. Ill check out some reviews but anything you can add would be nice ETA: Forgot to say thanks creek for the info. Sounds good, youre half way to selling me it. Looking at the location of tomamu the evil demon voice in my head said, "hell, if im that close to sapporo i might as well go to niseko!" I'll be honest, the idea of just cruising up and down the walls outside the gates made me love niseko, but this time im determined to not pay a small fortune for tracked out powder! Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted September 14, 2010 Share Posted September 14, 2010 check out some reviews of Tomamu on SJ. Pretty detailed those. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted September 14, 2010 Share Posted September 14, 2010 And Furano aint too shabby either. Ace place too. Link to post Share on other sites
ippy 66 Posted September 14, 2010 Author Share Posted September 14, 2010 I think tomamu is off the radar as soon as i saw where it was. Its just a teensy bit far. Last year i did all the travelling thing, and this year i really want to sit and chill at 1 maybe 2 resorts that are pretty much within easy reach of each other. I dunno why, but tomamu just feels like its a tiny bit of a borderline mission. and as soon as i start, my brain immediately thinks "well since im doing that, i might as well also..." So far, number 1 looks like kamui and number 2 furano. Kamui for pow and trees, and furano for more amenities/terrain. Not quite sure how to balance them. Maybe week at kamui, week at furano, then four or so days at maybe niseko, then back to kamui and off to asahikawa airport. The only problem is that whole 'requiring a shuttlebus to get to kamui' thing, it seems like an epic buzz kill and a bit of a pain in the gonads. Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted September 14, 2010 Share Posted September 14, 2010 Originally Posted By: ippy How is tomamu? right now it feels like a coin toss between kamui and furano. Asahidake sounds kinda lame judging by the reviews, but never really thought about tomamu. Ill check out some reviews but anything you can add would be nice ETA: Forgot to say thanks creek for the info. Sounds good, youre half way to selling me it. Looking at the location of tomamu the evil demon voice in my head said, "hell, if im that close to sapporo i might as well go to niseko!" I'll be honest, the idea of just cruising up and down the walls outside the gates made me love niseko, but this time im determined to not pay a small fortune for tracked out powder! TBH, I really enjoyed skiing Kamui 2 days in a row, but I wouldnt enjoy spending any extended period of time there on vacation. Having a season pass and skiing on weekends would be fun, but going for a week would get pretty boring I think. Have heard mixed things about Tomamu from mates. I think I'd take it the same as Kamui, maybe just a few days. An extended trip at Furano could be doable - it has everything compared with Kamui, Tomamu, Asahidake, etc. Id go to all of em (Kamui, Furano, Asahidake, Tomamu) if I was you. Rent a car, its the only way to do a trip up that way. Link to post Share on other sites
ippy 66 Posted September 14, 2010 Author Share Posted September 14, 2010 alas, being british, i never felt the urge or need to drive I er, cant /blush Im a 35 year old man who cant drive in the modern world! Im also carrying not one, not two, but three snowboards around. And im glad youve confirmed my suspicion on kamui. It really does seem like a three day max type place. Ill also be on my own which is going to make it lose some of it luster. Ah, why do i bother? Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted September 14, 2010 Share Posted September 14, 2010 There are some parts at Kamui where being on a snowboard might suck as you guys cant traverse like we can, so some of the better runs you might have to unstrap and bootpack it out which would suck, especially if you are breaking trail that way. We had a snowboard mate with us and 3 skiers, so we could set a runway and then he could just haul ass behind and ride out pretty easy. Sucks to be a snowboarder Link to post Share on other sites
ippy 66 Posted September 14, 2010 Author Share Posted September 14, 2010 haha, i reckon after you said that im reconsidering Probably gonna have to base at furano eh and do a couple of days a week at kamui. Tcha, such a pain in the nads this one Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted September 14, 2010 Share Posted September 14, 2010 Whats Tcha? And when ya going again? Link to post Share on other sites
ippy 66 Posted September 14, 2010 Author Share Posted September 14, 2010 tcha is a noise, kinda like pshaw or aii-shya! (or aii-go in korean). And probably heading there sometime around the end of january i reckons. Not restricted by needing to cram it all into my three week jr pass this time so can be a little more leisurely about it. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted September 14, 2010 Share Posted September 14, 2010 how you spell that farty noise when yoo lean over on the train and just let it slip out in a wuft. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted September 14, 2010 Share Posted September 14, 2010 Tomamu is just down the road from Furano. I'd base myself in Furano and go do the places. Then go back to Furano for a very nice dinner and wines. Plus the cheese. And the icecream. And the pizzas. Link to post Share on other sites
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