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I took some photos of what I think is called Extreme Carving.   Laying it over   Backhand turn   A close-up   going down the hill   Another perspective

Just thought I would start a thread to keep all my photos and others together and for crew to have a yak if they like.   I got a great present for xmas day. Some nice fresh snow. It was my best xmas

I posted a rough as guts video. try this.   Furano Ski Boxing Day   Today's photos, Boxing Day.   Top of Ropeway looking towards Dai-san lifto.   Top of Ropeway looking towards top of dai-

Can someone please tell me where about I should stay in Furano? Near the JR station or near the Furano zone side? My fear is that since I don't drive, I will have to be at the mercy of some local bus if I need to go downtown to get some nice sushi! :lol: Please help. :p

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Your best bet would be to stay in the kitanomine village area, there are plenty of good restaurants there and you will be a short walk away from the kitanomine lifts. I reckon the Furano zone has better slopes but you can get there quite easily from kitanomine, and if you feel like you need to try the restaurants in Furano town, a taxi from kitanomine will not be too expensive. The JR station is well away from the slopes, but I am sure there will be a bus that you can catch from there.

 

You are right about the Furano zone side though, there is only really the prince hotel there, so not a lot of variety for food etc.

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Furano is being marketed as the next Niseko. Somehow I don't see it. The snow is less, it's not "frontier" and when you mention Furano in a coctail reception, you get "where?"

Plus it's got far less terrain and they'd have to change their off-piste policy! :horse: That said, I'll hopefully be back up there in Feb. :thumbsup:

 

Can someone please tell me where about I should stay in Furano? Near the JR station or near the Furano zone side? My fear is that since I don't drive, I will have to be at the mercy of some local bus if I need to go downtown to get some nice sushi! :lol: Please help. :p

 

Depends on what your priorities are. If you're there just for the skiing/boarding, then as Surfarthur says, stay in Kitanomine as it's the most convenient place for the slopes and has a fair selection of restaurants. If you're there for a winter holiday with a bit of skiing but other stuff besides, then Furano town centre might be a better option for you. There is an ok-ish bus service between the two and you can also walk it but it gets bloody cold, especially walking over the bridge! Have a good trip! :thumbsup:

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Furano is being marketed as the next Niseko. Somehow I don't see it. The snow is less, it's not "frontier" and when you mention Furano in a coctail reception, you get "where?"

Plus it's got far less terrain and they'd have to change their off-piste policy! :horse: That said, I'll hopefully be back up there in Feb. :thumbsup:

 

Can someone please tell me where about I should stay in Furano? Near the JR station or near the Furano zone side? My fear is that since I don't drive, I will have to be at the mercy of some local bus if I need to go downtown to get some nice sushi! :lol: Please help. :p

 

Depends on what your priorities are. If you're there just for the skiing/boarding, then as Surfarthur says, stay in Kitanomine as it's the most convenient place for the slopes and has a fair selection of restaurants. If you're there for a winter holiday with a bit of skiing but other stuff besides, then Furano town centre might be a better option for you. There is an ok-ish bus service between the two and you can also walk it but it gets bloody cold, especially walking over the bridge! Have a good trip! :thumbsup:

 

Yes, a winter holiday, to take in all the sights of Furano would be better served by car. And of course, you'll see more if it was summer.

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Summer's good up there with the lavender fields and heso matsuri (see above) but on a clear, winter's day, the mountains (as opposed to the ski hills) look fantastic. & if you have the time (and patience), you can get around ok by local bus and train. The staff at the tourist info offices next to the JR station and up at the Kitanomine gondola speak English and will help you out with times, maps and sometimes discount vouchers.

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Yes, sure. Will do. Hey, just one more question. While looking up on google map, I noticed that there is ski resort called Biei cho min. But I checked on snowjapan resorts, there weren't such a resort. Not even on google, not much info. Anyone heard anything?

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Looks like that place has about 60m of vertical and 1 rope tow. If you are looking for a bit of variety near to Furano, you might want to consider Kamui ski links or Tomamu resort instead. I believe you can get shuttles to both of these resorts from Furano.

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Surfarthur,

I've been to Tomamu, nice place, very quiet and good quality snow. But it's a bit pricey $$$, lift ticket, ski rentals, food...etc kind of expensive. Overall a nice place, relaxing, and nice food in the Forest Mall. Kamui ski link, not yet, will go this trip. Anyway, you guys are awesome, I'll report back after my trip...Cheers :friend: .

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Yes, sure. Will do. Hey, just one more question. While looking up on google map, I noticed that there is ski resort called Biei cho min. But I checked on snowjapan resorts, there weren't such a resort. Not even on google, not much info. Anyone heard anything?

 

There are lots of local, one-slope, one-lift, ski hills scattered around Hokkaido and that's one of them. Definitely not worth bothering with, unlike Kamui Ski Links which is excellent. Alpine Backpackers runs a shuttle bus there 2 or 3 times a week. :thumbsup:

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Thanks for the info. Sure, I'll give Biei a miss. But I am only a beginner kind of snowboarder and Ok-ish skier so Asahidake and Kurodake are out for me. Since on this subject, in the winter, is Sounkyo worth a visit? I know that in the Summer everyone enjoys the great hike across those two mountains. :confused:

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Yes, I've Hirafu and Niseko village. Hirafu was a total disappointment to me. As I am a beginner boarder, I found it very tough, and to add to the disappointment, there were so many people at the family course, Singaporean, Hong Kong people....Why?

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I found Furano to be very quiet, so you shouldn't have any issues finding some space to learn. The bottom area of both sides offer extensive green slopes, and as you gain confidence, you can go up a bit higher and try some of the reds. Are you planning on taking lessons? There are english speaking ski/snowboard schools at both Kitanomine zone and Furano zone.

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kokodoko,

sounkyo close!? :omg: I'm really surprise. But if it's true then I better confirm that and not make my way there. :D

 

yes, you better check. I wanted to go there but found out that it was closed. forget where the info is now.. doh!

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Yes, I've Hirafu and Niseko village. Hirafu was a total disappointment to me. As I am a beginner boarder, I found it very tough, and to add to the disappointment, there were so many people at the family course, Singaporean, Hong Kong people....Why?

 

Why? Perhaps they were beginners too wanting to use the family run.

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