enderzero 0 Posted February 21, 2003 Share Posted February 21, 2003 I was just saying to barok on the drive to Arai yesterday that I really enjoyed the snow in Japan, but I missed the varied terrain of home. I do like to ride through trees, but I really like big steep bowls and cliffs. At the least an occasional drop to bomb off of. Well the snow gods must have heard me because a short time later I was dropping off a nice little 5 meter lip into a sweet bowl. Arai has awesome terrain! Exactly what I was hoping for (save maybe a nice, accessible cliff band). But there are all kinds of little rolls and dips, groves, and wide open bowls. The terrain reminded me a lot of Vail (although a small fraction of the size). Getting there was considerably easier than I anticipated, as well. Total drive time from the expressway onramp in Nagano-city to the parking lot was just over an hour. This is just a little bit further than Hakuba, and about the same (if not shorter) than the trip to Cortina or Nozawa. You do have to pay for the expressway, though. It was only 1150Y on the way there (we got off at exit 18), but it cost us 1700Y when we headed back, getting on an exit earlier. Still not too bad considering if you can fill a car it is around 500Y each. Upon arrival, my first impression of the hotel was not quite as amazed as that when I first glimpsed the behemoth at Cortina, but when I walked into the central court I was duly impressed. A huge brick concourse screams out "skateboard park." A place like this in the States would need to employ a full time security staff to keep the skaters away. The place definitely had an air of sophistication. From the restaurants to the lodge that housed the rental, gift shops, and Gondola, it was obvious a lot of design and money went into it all. But I wasn't there for the architecture, and the mountain did not disappoint. Right off the bat the gondola takes you up over an awe inspiring cliff band, very much off limits. Good thing there wasn't a foot of new snow, because with all the boasting going on in that gondola we would have all had to drop it. At the top of the gondola lies the quick covered quad which serviced just about all of the runs we took throughout the day. There are three great lines from this point. One, along the far skier's left, had a killer drop-in that just felt so right. From there it was a mix of rolls and tree with an occasional lip to pop off of. The second was right along the ridge under the quad. This would have surely been closed at any of the Japanese resorts I have visited, but when barok veered too near the course (and the set up slalom gates) he was directed to "get back off course." The third was to the right of the quad where a great bowl opens up out of a natural half pipe. This was good, but would have definitely been better on a day with more powder. While the powder was lacking, the snow conditions were far from bad. A bright sun overhead made the snow soft (the sun even warmed the car to the point where my water was very warm upon return in the afternoon), and while I found some slush in a few places, for the most part it felt quite fast. There were even plenty of fresh lines to be had off the peak, a nice 15 minute hike off the top chair. The hike was far from strenuous and really made me realize how lucky I was to be out there in such a beautiful place, doing something I love so much. From the peak we were able to traverse over to some great terrain out of a bowl, but the numerous other times we hiked we stopped about two-thirds of the way up to hit the perfect wind-lip and fresh tracks through the lower bowl. Even this line allowed us to ride some great terrain with drops and trees to negotiate on the way out. Overall I was nothing but impressed with Arai. Sitting down by the hotel in the central area (notably empty) sipping an Arai microbrew, which could have easily passed for an American micro, I thought, "Now this is where I would take my buddies if they came over for a snow vacation." It would be great on huge powder day, but it is still nice on non-powder days, unlike a place like Nozawa. There was a lot of controversy on the forum early in the season as to why Arai didn't open even though they had enough snow. I agree with the point of view that they should have been better prepared, but I don't think that this should stop anyone from checking the place out. Hey, I wasn't in Japan yet when they opened anyway. () Link to post Share on other sites
seanbird 0 Posted February 21, 2003 Share Posted February 21, 2003 No cliffs,no Bowls,open your eyes and look at the mountain range west of Hakuba,get your snowshoes and poles out and start walking mate. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted February 21, 2003 Share Posted February 21, 2003 I thought I knew what a 'bowl' was, but I'm a tad confused here (I thought it was a concave dip in the hill). Can anyone define it for me? Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted February 21, 2003 Share Posted February 21, 2003 Nice writeup - I'll be off there in mid March hopefully. Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted February 21, 2003 Share Posted February 21, 2003 Arai is nice but when the snows turns bad there is nothing to ride. Ender the cliff has killed people. Ocean your are right about bowls. They resemble a spoon. Link to post Share on other sites
enderzero 0 Posted February 21, 2003 Author Share Posted February 21, 2003 Fattwins - oh yeah those cliffs look very deadly. But a lot of things have 'killed people.' I didn't say we hit it, just that there was a lot of talkin' goin on. Can you explain more about what you mean by there isn't anything to ride when the snow is bad. I mean, there isn't a park (other than the pipe we saw), but how is it different than anywhere else, like Nozawa for instance? Most places suck when the snow turns bad. What was your experience there? Seanbird - sure dude, I am down, but I haven't been here very long and haven't had many chances to do any exploring outside of quick hikes form the ski areas. Takes some amount of knowledge to just head west of the mountians of Hakuba eh? I imagine more than just openening my eyes. The terrain I am talking about is easily accessible off the lift at the places where I come from (Steven's, Baker, Whistler). It was just nice to finally see that kind of terrain off the lift here in Japan. Ocean - Right, by bowl I mean big wide spoon type terrain usually opening up off a ridge. The bigger the better. You can usually launch of the ridge and haul down through the bowl. The first long drop off the skiers right about 3/4s down Skyline at Nozawa is a bowl, albeit a small one. There were a number of larger bowls at Arai. Link to post Share on other sites
DrMabuse 0 Posted February 21, 2003 Share Posted February 21, 2003 Have you sent them any questions to answer? I'm really looking forward to that one. Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted February 21, 2003 Share Posted February 21, 2003 ender - i would sound the same as you if I had what you had. I however have been twice, a total of 6 days all up and all I have seen in rain every daY and if not the snow was slurpy mud sluch anyway. If the snow isnt on and the conditional zones not open then I suspect that your tune would be very different. Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted February 21, 2003 Share Posted February 21, 2003 Yeah ender will explain. If you get a day when its all cookies there is nothing to do. My beef is just that, if the snow sucks ie. melt freeze and so on there are no jumps and one groomed course, that I remember. Yeah the place rocks for freeriding lots of stuff to do but it gets skied out fast on a regular year not this year. After posting back and forth to blair, I have no doubt that they will change somethings too and improve. I didnt think you would jump that cliff. just wanted others to know, that my japanese friends have talked about people going off blindly in a strom. You can drive the regular road from nagano to Arai over the mountain and into arai about 30 mins longer I think. sauce that out to save money. While you got your travel bug go to Myoko Suginohara. The resort has mostly mellow terrain but also nice trees. dont buy a full day ticket and hike above the top lift between 1 to 2 hours hike, depending on the snow conditions. there you will find cliffs rocks that you can scout on the way up. The view from the top is breath taking. Japan sea and Hakuba resorts can be seen. If you want to buid massive Q pipe hits that is the place but not all the way up. Hike around where the biggest gullie feeds down the mountain about 10 mins from the lift or less to the base or the start point of the accent up. riders right of the main face. great in the spring dude. Link to post Share on other sites
enderzero 0 Posted February 21, 2003 Author Share Posted February 21, 2003 Wow, that sounds sweet. Any chance you'll be making it back up this way come spring? We should head out that way with the cameras and build something big. Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted February 21, 2003 Share Posted February 21, 2003 We will try its a bit far tacking on the extra 2 hours back to kyoto to go there. I wish I lived in Nags. We should make it to Nagano again end of spring though. My company just put me into the pension and health plan, ouch. tighting the belt as we speak. What I am thinking is to do a back to back week. You guys come up here then we go up there, or visa versa. Youll like the parks here the biggest jump is not as big as the 47 big kicker, but perfect. The landings are huge and many jumps so many jumps. Link to post Share on other sites
enderzero 0 Posted February 21, 2003 Author Share Posted February 21, 2003 You know me dude, I am always down. Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted February 21, 2003 Share Posted February 21, 2003 Enderman It's always nice to see someone whose seen the goods in North America praising some of the lines here in Japan. Normally all you get is people praising the availability of pow and laughing at Japanese riders for not indulging. I've never skied or boarded overseas, so it's hard to know what "good" is. I've only seen Arai with the conditional area open, but when it is and there's pow, it's a great place to be. Catch you round sometime. Fattwins If you need to cut some corners, you and your lady can crash at ours if you like. You'd better promise to remain clothed though. Link to post Share on other sites
scoobydoo 0 Posted February 22, 2003 Share Posted February 22, 2003 I'm planning a spring Niigata/Nagano trip, including Arai - hopefully the snow will hold up. Link to post Share on other sites
talktalk 0 Posted February 24, 2003 Share Posted February 24, 2003 I went to Arai at the weekend. Like the place, good courses nice snow good views, friendly staff. Link to post Share on other sites
DrMabuse 0 Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 I'm off there at the weekend. Anyone else heading up? Link to post Share on other sites
big-will 7 Posted February 27, 2003 Share Posted February 27, 2003 I'll be there on Saturday probably. Link to post Share on other sites
RayInJapan 0 Posted February 27, 2003 Share Posted February 27, 2003 Ok - after reading this, I've figured out a "bowl" is some form of concave/spoon shaped depression on the side of the mountain. My question is: Once you ride into a bowl, can you normally ride out? Or is it really shaped like a bowl and you have to hike out? What is special about a "bowl" compared to other types of terrain? Forgive my ignorance, up to this point I've pretty much just pointed the board down the mountain and went, trying to stay out of ravines I'd get stuck in and have to climb out... domo, Link to post Share on other sites
enderzero 0 Posted February 27, 2003 Author Share Posted February 27, 2003 Yes you can usually escape from most bowls. The bowl would be concave, but at the angle of the hill, so any cereal or milk in the bowl would pour out. It would not be a bowl sitting on a table waiting for a hungry snowboarder to slurp up its treats...errr. Anyway, a bowl is probably a quite common thing to see when looking at mountains, it just seems there aren't many you can ride off the lift in Japan (or Nagano at least). Link to post Share on other sites
heather 0 Posted March 1, 2003 Share Posted March 1, 2003 Arai is one of the two resorts I have been to in Japan so far, and my family really liked it - we had 2 good days there. Link to post Share on other sites
Karnidge 2 Posted March 9, 2003 Share Posted March 9, 2003 The thing I find interesting about Arai is how little snow there seems to be in the immediate area at the base and Arai city. Then suddenly all that huge amounts of snow when you get to the mountain. In May its summer like at the bottom and loads of snow still up top. Fushigi. Link to post Share on other sites
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