damian 0 Posted February 14, 2003 Share Posted February 14, 2003 hello hello, what are peoples prefered destination in Yuzawa? It seems GALA is generally regarded as a crowded let down. Where is worth the trip? thankyou for reading this post. db Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted February 14, 2003 Share Posted February 14, 2003 My top 5 in order of preference: Kagura Naeba GALA/Ishiuchi Iwappara Kandatsu Kogen Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted February 15, 2003 Share Posted February 15, 2003 I didn't read your post db... Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted February 15, 2003 Author Share Posted February 15, 2003 Ocean, yes you didn't. Fresh snow today, -12 forecast for tomorrow. This sounds like reason to go to Yuzawa. Just need to get over the guilt of leaving my GF at home. I really don't want to pay for 3 weekends in a row for her. My guilt is gone. I will go snowboarding tomorrow. thanks for the list grungy. Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted February 15, 2003 Author Share Posted February 15, 2003 I have decided to go to Kandatsu Kogen as: - mogski likes it and he is a legend - it is small and I want to try a small resort, perhaps less popular, crowds flock to the big places. But then it takes less crowd to fill the small spots, so perhaps this will backfire. - it is reported to be steep. Steep is my preferred feature. - it is also reported to be popular with beginners due to the small scale. Beginners may leave the steep alone, the steep may be less crowded. - it has Kogen in its name. What does Kogen mean? I will let you know what it was like. Link to post Share on other sites
mikazooki 0 Posted February 15, 2003 Share Posted February 15, 2003 Quote: Originally posted by db: Nowhere. I am tired of all the train travel. My shoulder hurts. The slope and rain last weekend cost me far more than it was worth. I am waiting until I have cause to go. This is a weekend off. didnt have to wait long!! good luck Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted February 15, 2003 Author Share Posted February 15, 2003 yeah, fresh snow and a cold forecast is all i was after. Besides, I am excited as I just managed to fit all my days gear into my snowboard bag. so this time I will travel light, one piece. Unlike my other sherpa trips. Link to post Share on other sites
Will Lee 0 Posted February 15, 2003 Share Posted February 15, 2003 "Kogen" loosely translates into highland. But then again all Japanese ski areas like to use that word. Are you going by train db? Kandatsu will definitely be crowded, esp on a weekend in Feb so good luck. It does have some steep slopes and a pretty decent board park but many people feel the snow is just a tad heavy for their liking(compared to Nagano`s stuff). Link to post Share on other sites
TheOrange 0 Posted February 15, 2003 Share Posted February 15, 2003 2 things. This is too late for you, and it will be good to hear what it is actually like but,... - I think Kandatsu might be quite busy today (Sat), it's quite a trendy place. - I don't think Kandatsu is too suited for beginners - not much to choose from. Better for intermediates. I'm just going on what I've heard and my 1 time going there. Anyway, looking forward to your experiences there. Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted February 15, 2003 Author Share Posted February 15, 2003 Ok, the first thing I need to say is wow, what a pleasure to only have 3 hours door to snow rather than the five required for Hakuba resorts. Crowds - not really that bad. Usual Japanese standard that I have experienced thus far this year. Certainly seen more crowds at other resorts. Many times I rode directly onto the lift. Some narrow sections of runs got the usual japanese crowds, but that was not due to the qty of people, more no the idiot way they were positioning themselves. snow - again, had better and worse in other regions of Japan. I took quite a few tree runs today. There was no ropes and all I did was veer off the side of the course. There were plenty of tree runs I didn't do as that would have been obvious rope ducking and literally pioneering your own way down the hill. This is something that appeals to me very much, but I didn't want the confrontation. The tree runs were good. Ok powder and enough speed to get face shots. I was happy with this as I in teh past I have not gone very fast in trees. Steepness - There are several sections of different runs that have steeper sections, however I would only call one or two steep. The rest were 'steeper', but not steep. There were some that could have been groomed but were not, which sucked. I spent most of the day in training for my trip to Jacksons Hole (he he - dunno when but its gunna happen). ie, I decided to find the steepest and ugliest runs and do them over and over again. Some where pretty hard to negotiate but not owing to the steepness, rather the very large lumps and veedub sized humps and moguls (some were not even moguls, just ugly big ridges and mounds). Yesterdays new snow was well chopped up as well which makes it hard to ride a consistent surface. Also, in classic "I hate it when people do this to a good run" fashion, there were large sections where boarders had slide sideways all the way down and scrapped clear into the ice from last week. All these things on top of the reasonable gradient made it a challenge to get down a run without putting my hand on the snow (excluding when you do a front side turn - it is ok to brush teh face of teh slope then, it reminds me of surfing). It was good fun, but I was trying to do these sections reasonably fast so my knees and ankles are really sort from all the pressure. They were actually pretty weak and tender before I went today. By the end of the day my ankles could take no more and I pulled up early at 3pm. In all I wouldn't advertise that this place is steep. So long as it is smooth you can go steeper than that. Can someone please tell me where I can find such a place in easy reach of Tokyo? Oh, the 'steep' sections where almost totally empty, which was what I hoped for. For those interested, the ugliest steep part I found was on the hard right of a generally steep very bumpy section of a run that heads directly onto the main eating area. I think the patrol had made a lame attempt to rope it off, hard to tell. The training was worthwhile as I identified a problem with my turning off teh heel edge onto teh toes in areas where it is icy, steep and restricted in space. I worked on this fault but didn't feel happy. More work needed before I rent a helicopter . All up this place was pretty small and I would go back if a mate was going, but otherwise I would try somewhere new. As suggested above, it did seem like a popular place with trend setters and beginners. Not much on offer for the beginner though. There was also quite a few big jumps in a variety of places about the resort. Some of these jumps where quite large (compared to others I have seen). Had a few smokes watching skiers do some cool tricks. The skiers seemed to be pulling off the more radical jumps. The only jumps I have actually enjoyed are those occurring naturally in off piste powder areas, so I didn't try the ones I saw today. I am in pain even though I didn't have a proper crash, so it must have been a good day. Link to post Share on other sites
frannyo 2 Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 Nice one. GALA/Ishiuchi Maruyama together is a good day. Don't bother with the Yuzawa Kogen part - a waste of time. Link to post Share on other sites
xxx 2 Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 Kagura without a doubt Link to post Share on other sites
nagoid 4 Posted February 18, 2003 Share Posted February 18, 2003 Naeba is real good when the crowds aren't there with you. Link to post Share on other sites
g'day 0 Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 I went to Kagura yesterday. It was excellent - great snow still top notch. Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted March 8, 2003 Share Posted March 8, 2003 I was going to make my way to Yuzawa today, but gave up with all the rain going on yesterday. Time to do a bit of shopping in Shibuya I reckon Link to post Share on other sites
takahashi 0 Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 I have visited the area for long time, and for me best resorts is Kagura Tashiro and Naeba. Also Maiko Korakuen in nearby town. Link to post Share on other sites
Wizz 11 Posted March 12, 2003 Share Posted March 12, 2003 Never been to Maiko, perhaps worth a visit? Link to post Share on other sites
IceEiji 0 Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 This year I thought that Yuzawa was not as good as usual - maybe because of snow when I went - but after this last week snow I think the end of the season will be good. Especially at Gala, Mitsumata, Tashiro. Link to post Share on other sites
wendy-cake 0 Posted March 16, 2003 Share Posted March 16, 2003 Many people say this, but I agree. The Kagura resort area is the best. Not only is the snow good and its high up, but the area is big and there are lots of good runs to choose from. Link to post Share on other sites
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