J_T_ 0 Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 i Guys I am looking for some suggestions for the second leg of our upcoming 'Japanuary' trip in late Jan next year. We have 7 days in Nozawa booked and want to round it off with a further 3 days in a resort in the Nagano/Niigatta area. As we are only spending 3 days on the second leg, it needs to be relatively close to Nozawa – don’t want to lose too much time traveling, easy to get to as we will be taking our gear – don’t want to lose time waiting for tacque-bin to arrive. We were considering Appi or Zoa but I think the travel time would be prohibitive. Other considerations are the ‘Japaneseness’ of the resort – the more Japanese it is the better. The inverse being the fewer ‘gaijin’ the better. We have been to both Hakuba and Myoko/ Madarao before so those are not options I am very very interested in Charmant Hiuchi but while we can probably get there by hiring a car, it looks like a bit of schlep and i can't seem to find any accomodation in the area.....which suggests that it would be a big challange to get and stay there... Any ideas or views on whether Charmant Hiuchi worth the challanges? Thanks JT Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Tohoku resorts like appi or zao would be a bit of a trek by Shinkansen, never mind car. What about Yuzawa? It's got loads of resorts nearby and 2 big ones in kagura and naeba. It's on the shrnk line to Tokyo as well Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Charmant is somewhere close to the middle of nowhere. http://www.snowjapan.com/e/resorts/resort_map.php?resortNo=288 Nearest city is Itoigawa. Link to post Share on other sites
TheOriginalMyoko 0 Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 You would be looking at staying at Itoigawa or Joetsu probably, bit further Myoko. Not sure why you want to spend extended time there but if that's what you want....! Link to post Share on other sites
hellyer 216 Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Why would you not go back to Myoko - it is every bit as "Japanesey" as Nozawa, perhaps even more so. Same for Madarao - I was there for 7 days this year and only saw 3 gajin, and they were my room mates. Both places are easy to get too and have heaps of accommodation options also. Not to mention pow pow pow Link to post Share on other sites
griller 9 Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 "Going back somewhere" always strikes me as such an unadventurous thing to do. Especially when there are so many quality alternatives. Link to post Share on other sites
hellyer 216 Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Also you can get a direct bus from Nozawa to Madarao in 1 hour and Myoko is only another 40 minutes Link to post Share on other sites
J_T_ 0 Posted July 11, 2012 Author Share Posted July 11, 2012 Yeah have pretty much 'done' Myoko - last few seasons... and to Griller's point there's a lot of snow out there... Loved Myoko and prefered the whole vibe compared to say Nozawa but Nozawa offers a bit more terrain for my level of riding ... intermeidate/inbounds Hence my interest in Charmant Huichi but to my ealier points it's looking like a bit too much trouble ... that leaves Shiga and Yuzawa? I have heard that places like Naeba are very popular with other Gaigin and not Australians? Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 You will likely hear more Chinese spoken at Naeba than English. Still much less than a place like Hakuba though. Link to post Share on other sites
Slippery Jim 65 Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 For just 3 days after a week at Nozawa (and not wanting to return to Hakuba, Madarao or Myoko) I'd think Shiga or Ryuo are the obvious choices -- good snow at both, plenty of lodging and best of all you can get there the evening after skiing your final day at Nozawa. Link to post Share on other sites
SKI 15 Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 I would agree with that. Link to post Share on other sites
J_T_ 0 Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 Thanks guys - will check out Ryuo ans Shiga Link to post Share on other sites
iiyamadude 6 Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Well there's tons of more places you don't just want to limit to them. Even in the same kind of area theres Madarao, there's Sugadaira. Then there's Yuzawa and Minamiuonuma over beyond Nozawa. Link to post Share on other sites
Slippery Jim 65 Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 He's already crossed off Madarao, Sugadaira is weak sauce, and Yuzawa areas a lot more trouble than Shiga or Ryuo for less quality in terms of snow and terrain. Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Well, it surely depends on he kind of place they want to go to. Shiga Kogen has never impressed me in terms of snow quality. Not the way it is supposed to ace this region anyway. In fact, the times I have been I have been distinctly unimpressed by both the quantity and quality of snow at Shiga Kogen. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 In terms of quantity, I'd agree......yuzawa gets way more snow. I've only been once to SK and it snowed for 3 days some of the best snow ever BUT I regularly ride in the yuzawa area and consistently get great conditions....and also some crud, but you ride somewhere a lot and ur gonna get that Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 If I remember correctly when you went to Shiga Kogen over that New Year it was pretty much snowing awesome snow everywhere, Tubby. I'd be very happy to go again and discover this yet-undiscovered-by-me quality of snow, but in the times I have been that has just not happened. The same goes for Hakuba. Link to post Share on other sites
stemik 14 Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Yeah have pretty much 'done' Myoko - last few seasons... and to Griller's point there's a lot of snow out there... Loved Myoko and prefered the whole vibe compared to say Nozawa but Nozawa offers a bit more terrain for my level of riding ... intermeidate/inbounds Hence my interest in Charmant Huichi but to my ealier points it's looking like a bit too much trouble ... that leaves Shiga and Yuzawa? I have heard that places like Naeba are very popular with other Gaigin and not Australians? intermeidate/inbounds Shiga Kogen sounds perfect! Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 ....as does Yuzawa, and quite a few other places. Plus, more snow. Japan does in-bound really well. Link to post Share on other sites
fukdane 2 Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Got to say I was expecting a lot but not impressed with the snow at all in Shiga Kogen this past season and it disappointed me. In fact, the time I went it was pretty bad, and there wasn't a whole lot of it either. This was at a time when nearby Nozawa and Myoko were going off the scale. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 If I remember correctly when you went to Shiga Kogen over that New Year it was pretty much snowing awesome snow everywhere, Tubby. I'd be very happy to go again and discover this yet-undiscovered-by-me quality of snow, but in the times I have been that has just not happened. The same goes for Hakuba. Yeah, that's right. Compared to other places the amount of snow was low and the first day was bluebird and icy/well groomed but that nighta it snowed.......and the snow was awesome. But as I said, I'm usually up in jaguar/ yuzawa area and more often than not its top notch snow Link to post Share on other sites
Slippery Jim 65 Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 I seem to remember mentioning quality of snow & terrain, and ease of transportation. Getting to Yuzawa from Nozawa isn't impossible, or even really all that difficult, but nowhere near as simple as getting to Ryuo or Shiga. Yuzawa often has more snow, but rarely better and day-to-day unlikely as good (altitude rules!) Shiga has an enormous spread of terrain, most of it lift-connected and all of it on a single pass. Yuzawa has a couple of terrific areas, a lot of mediocre and, except Gala/Maruyama, separate lift tix for every area and spread out with poor transport infrastructure (unless the OP has a car which doesn't seem to be the case). Mitsumata-to-Naeba is linked up, but more of a pain to get to from Nozawa. Think about the needs of the person asking for advice. I've skied great knee-deep powder at what's now Yuzawa Park (well, shin-deep at least), and that's completely irrelevant to the OP's situation. Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Think about the needs of the person asking for advice. Yes, sir! You sure told me. J_T_, just ignore what anyone else says, because DiGriz is obviously "right". Sorry for trying to mislead you. Link to post Share on other sites
best skier in hakuba 5 Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 altitude rules! Simplistic, and not always true. Link to post Share on other sites
iiyamadude 6 Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 I agree (though DiPoliza may protest). Shiga Kogen had a pretty wretched season actually 11/12 considering what was going on very close by. Even hotel owners up there say that (privately). Link to post Share on other sites
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