dyna8800 3 Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Noticing that I am _way_ behind on my yearly average of days of skiing/snowboarding, I decided to take a few weekdays off and go, especially with a much warmer and milder spring and hotter summer predicted for this year. The benefits of weekday skiing includes uncrowded slopes, cheaper prices, and oh, did I say cheap prices? The downside is that many resorts do not open all lifts on weekdays. One type of tour that was appealing to me was the bus tours. Since many depart from Shinjuku, it is closer for me to get to than taking the bullet train from Tokyo station. Also, since I always take my own skis/boots or snowboard/boots, this saves on having to lug it around on trains and buses. Bus tours originate from Shinjuku and Ikebukuro areas, and Tokyo station. Most of the ones that depart in the morning leave at 7 or 7:30 am, travel 2-4 hours to the slopes, then return about 5 pm to get back about 9 or 10 pm. I decided to go to Hunter Mountain, as there was a special price for a bus tour for only JPY 3,800, including round trip bus and lift ticket. The bus companies also wisely dropped the baggage charge, as there were lots of complaints about the extra JPY 500 charge for bringing a snowboard or ski bag. So, for the price of less than a lift ticket, I could have transportation included as well. Arriving in Shinjuku near the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Offices, the pickup point, at 7 am, I was on my way to the meeting place. But along the way, I saw a woman holding the tour company sign, and she said that the meeting place was in a different location upstairs. So, I went up the stairs, turned left, and there were a couple of ladies with clipboards checking people in. After giving my name and destination, she told me to check the whiteboard for the location of the bus. All the buses are designated with a large number on the door. It was only after checking in that I realized there was a huge line of people waiting and I had inadvertently cut in front of them all, after going up the stairs and left, seeing the check in woman, I did not see the line of people standing to the right. Dumb gaijin me! When I had gone on a similar bus tour in the past, there was a makeshift counter and people standing in line in front, so it was easy to understand where to go. In this case, I totally missed the line...sorry people! I checked the whiteboard and found my bus, all the way at the end of the street, and put my luggage in the baggage hold. With lots of time saved from not standing in line, and 25 minutes left before departure, I decided to find a vending machine. Well, let me tell you, there are no vending machines anywhere near the Tokyo Metropolitan Office...so I walked underground through about 3 buildings and finally got to a Metro station, where there was a bakery. Oh, and by the way, if you have to use the restroom, be sure to do it at the station before you go to the check in location, because the restrooms are hard to find in that area, unless you duck into one of the big nearby hotels like the Hilton. For the bus, there was a seating chart which showed the location of the assigned seats. The bus started to fill up, mostly with young people. No other old timers like me. Near the departure time, a tour company woman came aboard and gave us our vouchers, good for the lift ticket to exchange at the resort ticket window, as well as a voucher for the bus. At 7:35 we departed, getting on the highway. Unfortunately in Saitama, we ran into some heavy traffic, but the bus driver was able to get off and use the streets. We got back on the highway and stopped at a parking area for a toilet break. Back on the highway, we got off and made our way to the resort, arriving about an hour late, but after getting dressed, I was able to get on the slopes by noon. On skis, I was able to get through the whole mountain in a few hours. But I ski _fast_. One of the highlights of my day was the halfpipe. In the afternoon, with the sun peeking through the clouds, it gave me enough light and shadow to properly navigate, as I do not like flat light when conducting death defying feats such as going at the halfpipe with snowboarders who look like they were born for it. Another fun experience was the Pole Bahn, where you pay 100 yen to do a GS course. The course attendant warned me of the variable condtions, and told me to "be careful"...but with one patroller and three instructors hanging out at the top talking to the attendant, I had nothing to fear. If I crashed, patrol could pick me up. If I really sucked, maybe an instructor would give me helpful hints like not to hook my ski on the inside of a gate. Well, anyway, the course was less steep and less icy than expected, and I had a great run. Unfortunately, or fortunately in my case, the 100 yen does not include the timer. Other courses that I have seen have a coin operated gate that starts the timer when you go through the gate and flashes the time at the end, just like in a real race. After about 20 times up the various lifts, I decided to call it quits after 4 pm. The bus departure time was 5:10 pm, and I did not want to deal with the crowded dressing/locker room like in the morning when all the buses arrived at the same time. I almost forgot to return my IC lift chip and get the 1,000 yen deposit back, but with extra time, I made it, as well as buying some local Nihonshu. After departing, with the obligatory stop at the gift shop down the hill, we were on the highway and back to Shinjuku about 8:50 pm, about 20 minutes later than the scheduled time. The dropoff location was different from the pickup location, and closer to the JR station. All in all, it was a satisfying day. For the price, it was great. But I am not a large size gaijin with long legs. Most of the people on the tour were probably students, and thank goodness I had my iPod, although most people fell asleep as soon as we hit the road. Oh, and I just found an online bus trip for 1,919 yen on certain weekdays...but this one from Tokyo station. Or maybe I will go for the "Mystery Bus Tour" where they do not tell you the destination until you get on the bus. Probably will hit Okutone for snowboarding since it is convenient from Shinjuku, going out Nerima on the Kan-Etsu. Whew. Formal review for Hunter Mountain to follow, as this post has grown pretty long on its own. 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nagoid 4 Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 3800 yen? How can they afford to do that? It's less than the lift ticket price! Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 you only get a half day though, so maybe more than a half day ticket. Link to post Share on other sites
JellyBelly 1 Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Good point indeed. Link to post Share on other sites
JellyBelly 1 Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Great write-up btw! Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 still incredibly cheap, but if I do the bus tours its usually the overnight (which is uncomfortable) cos I like to be there for a full day and try and get some good untracked powder Link to post Share on other sites
dyna8800 3 Posted February 25, 2011 Author Share Posted February 25, 2011 Thanks JellyBelly! The ticket that we got was indeed a one day ticket, not a 5 hour or half day ticket. Even at that, the price for 5 hour ticket is JPY 3,900...Full day is 4,200 so not a big price difference. But you figure that these bus tour companies are getting the tickets for a deep discount, considering they are bringing customers in that would not normally be getting to the resort. Factor in the cost of bus/driver/petrol/tolls, etc. for 40 or so people... TB, I agree about the overnight bus trips, but what kills me is that they drive on the local roads, not the highways, and stop in rest areas for hours at a time. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 No they don't. They drive on the highways as well although I don't know if they do it for the full journey, and stops are usually only 20 mins or so. I was on one the other week up to Togari onsen. They ARE uncomfortable though, my legs were squashed against the chair in front with no room to move. On the way back it was different....but that only took 4 hours. Link to post Share on other sites
Mick Rich 78 Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 I think I'd put up with some discomfort for those prices - unbelievably cheap!! Link to post Share on other sites
dyna8800 3 Posted February 26, 2011 Author Share Posted February 26, 2011 TB, I went to Myoko, and after about an hour on the road, the bus got off the highway and drove on regular roads. We stopped about an hour at one place which was full of similar bus tours, then before arriving at the destination, we spent another hour or so in a parking lot... Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 Yeah that sounds poor. I've used the night buses a lot over the last few years and I've never spent more than 20 mins in a rest stop. Usually we are on the highway as far as I can tell, however I do try and get some sleep so don't really pay too much attention to that Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 Are they often busy those buses? Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 usually full on weekends Link to post Share on other sites
lin 0 Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 Missed that when it was in the main section, glad I noticed it now. Thanks dyna. Might be making a trip there when I'm in Tokyo. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Dyna, I had one of your bus trips from hell! Went up to Inawashiro at the weekend, had a 1hour wait in a rest stop.....pointless! Then arrived at the ski-jo at 4.20am!! WTF is the point in that? Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Get there are 4:20am!? Yikes! What time do you leave to go back? Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 bus left at 5.40pm Link to post Share on other sites
Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Originally Posted By: Tubby Beaver Then arrived at the ski-jo at 4.20am!! WTF is the point in that? To give time to hike up before the non-gnarly masses get there, surely. Link to post Share on other sites
Thundercat 60 Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Yeah TB, you should have had time to get to the top before sunrise. Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Would think it has something to do with 'what the bus does next', so to speak as well. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 yeah maybe has something to do with that....still its a pretty shoddy reason if you are a punter on the bus. I'm just not gnarly enough for Hiking Link to post Share on other sites
kokodoko 67 Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 thanks for the info, that is really cheap. Link to post Share on other sites
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