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THIS ... exactly!   Example - standing on a station in Tokyo a couple of years ago, looking at the destination board, we were about to walk off towards the platform we'd decided was the right one an

Madarao, ryoo, togari and myoko are all in the vicinity of Noz, are they not? That said I don't know how easy it is to visit them from Noz, perhaps your accommodation would arrange it for u if u asked em

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Nozawa is great, and not at all hard to get too. But neither are any of the other places near there. If you stay in Tokyo, you can get a 5 or 10 day pass for JR East for a really good price. From there you can go all the way to Akita or out to Nagano and anywhere in between. For convenience sake, you can catch a bus from Nagano to most of these places directly, so its a really good base. Last March, I went to a different resort every day for two weeks and it wasn't at all tiring. I just caught the first Shinkansen from Tokyo in the morning and was back around 7 every evening. With all of these places, aim for riding during the week and resting on the weekend. Its nearly empty during the week, but on the weekend its crazy busy.

 

My picks would be:

Nozawa Onsen - great resort. not crowded at all. There are a lot of long runs that are great for beginners and stuff to keep you busy. There are free onsen all over town and the town's people are really friendly and helpful. I think they all have some ownership in the resort but I could be wrong. The ski patrol actually stopped and started talking to me for no reason. The lift operator too. There's a bunch of places all over the resort to eat as well. Hands down my favorite resort, just based on the experience.

 

Myoko - Big resort. A lot of fun. Most guys in the board shops in Tokyo recommend this place.

Hakuba. There are a bunch of resorts that are connected here. A lot of stuff to ride. And they run really good lift ticket deals for the connected resorts.

Yuzawa is closest but it gets boring really quick and it can get very crowded because of that. Its also not that big of a place. They run a package deal with JR EAST for around 11,000JPY or so, but I'd skip it unless you absolutely have limited time. Its not a place I'll be going back to, probably ever.

 

If you're adventurous, Zao Onsen for the Juhyo (Snow monsters) is great. Mid February is apparently prime. just missed them when I went in March, but I'd go again. The resort is pretty big, and beautiful, and also an onsen town (complete with an onsen in the middle of the mountain for a mid ski dip). Beautiful place, however it seems to be more of a skiier's mountain, as there is a lot of flat spots and its a little confusing. There were not many people there at all.

 

Also, check out the board shops in the Jimbocho area of Tokyo for recommendations. My favorite place is called Rhythm by FBO Snowboards. There are some guys that speak English there and they are super cool and very helpful.

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Hakuba. There are a bunch of resorts that are connected here.

 

47 and Goryu are connected.

Cortina and Norikura are connected.

That's as far as the connections go though.

 

Yuzawa is closest but it gets boring really quick and it can get very crowded because of that. Its also not that big of a place.

 

:confused:

With Naeba, Kagura, Gala/Ishiuchi, Yuzawa Kogen, Iwappara, Kandatsu and a few more I haven't mentioned and even more just closeby in Minamiuonuma, I think it's plenty big.

You can easy spend a week in Yuzawa and not get bored at all.

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Yeah, tbf Yuzawa isn't a ski resort.....it's the nearest town. Within 20-30 minutes bus ride you have some cracking resorts. Some are on the small side and would be boring if u went every day for a week, but some are quite big and Kagura and Naeba offer a huge area to ride. Kagura has some great slack country lines that don't involve hiking or nakedness at all to be gnarly. It all depends which resort you went to. Also Gunma is actually closest to Tokyo, Kawaba and Tenjindaira spring to mind as definitely worth a visit, however Yuzawa is the EASIEST to access from Tokyo due to the Shinkansen stop in Yuzawa town.

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Yes lets get this right. Yuzawa is the name of a town. A number of the ski resorts around the town have the word Yuzawa in them - Gala Yuzawa, Yuzawa Kogen, Yuzawa Nakazato.

Like Hakuba is a village that has a number of ski resorts around the village with the name Hakuba in them.

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Only mentioned Yuzawa (meaning Gala Yuzawa) because I think someone else mentioned it, and its the most convenient (And their ads are everywhere in Tokyo during the winter). And as Far as Hakuba, there is a pass that allows you to use many of the resorts in the area.

I should have been more specific, I apologize.

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Gala Yuzawa might well be the most convenient, but there are more than 10 other places within 10 minutes of Echigo Yuzawa Station. (And all within 90 minutes of Tokyo).

 

I can't think of any town that can beat that.

 

I can't really see any logic behind comparing Gala Yuzawa (a skijo) with Hakuba (a village).

 

But anyway :wave:

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Yeah, you only went to one resort, as Muika pointed out there are many more nearby. I'm not a huge fan of Gala either to be honest but if you are in the area and its a weekday and they have the south section open then it is definitely worth a day. Most if it is ungroomed and hardly anyone seems to venture over there.

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Much as I appreciate your attempt to help out a fellow newbie, jludovic1, you might want to spend a bit more time on the forums before you start offering advice that contradicts the suggestions of people who either live here or have spent multiple seasons skiing & boarding here, lest you earn the dreaded JONG award.

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This

 

Only mentioned Yuzawa (meaning Gala Yuzawa) because I think someone else mentioned it, and its the most convenient (And their ads are everywhere in Tokyo during the winter). And as Far as Hakuba, there is a pass that allows you to use many of the resorts in the area.

I should have been more specific, I apologize.

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In his / her 1st post jludovic1 offered as much as he / she knew and thought to be correct.

 

A number of subsequent post corrected his / her information.

 

In his / her 2nd post (quoted above) he / she recognised that all that he / she had written was not correct and unambiguous and apologised.

 

I'll be very surprised if we see a 3rd post.

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So what are you the Internet police or something? :confused:

 

I seem to remember many times when you have picked people up on 'Niseko Resort Area' related issues, you like to be extremely precise with everything. I suppose this is somehow - whatever this is, just looks like some posts in a discussion to me - different.

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First time to Japan and want to get some days in I'd say Yuzawa was a great choice.

Different skijo each day sounds good to me.

I like the variation.

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So what are you the Internet police or something? :confused:

 

I seem to remember many times when you have picked people up on 'Niseko Resort Area' related issues, you like to be extremely precise with everything. I suppose this is somehow - whatever this is, just looks like some posts in a discussion to me - different.

 

Far from it.

 

And yes I give my experiences and opinions freely and in the process attempt to add to a discussion and educate where possible. And I know my thoughts aren't to everyone's liking.

 

And that's why it's called a forum.

 

But I have noticed a growing trend of 'elder's syndrome' creeping on here with some posts of the less than friendly variety.

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So what are you the Internet police or something? :confused:

 

I seem to remember many times when you have picked people up on 'Niseko Resort Area' related issues, you like to be extremely precise with everything. I suppose this is somehow - whatever this is, just looks like some posts in a discussion to me - different.

 

Far from it.

 

And yes I give my experiences and opinions freely and in the process attempt to add to a discussion and educate where possible. And I know my thoughts aren't to everyone's liking.

 

And that's why it's called a forum.

 

But I have noticed a growing trend of 'elder's syndrome' creeping on here with some posts of the less than friendly variety.

 

Ahhh, I see.... Police, then.

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TBF Mike, that's the way to cut through the marketing blurb that non-japan based riders are fed from the agents at home. I'm sure jLudovic didn't have a sinister agenda and was genuinely reporting his/her opinions, but since it is a public forum I think corrections need to be made so that people get the real picture of resorts in Japan. We may have a slight trend now to being quick in our replies to inaccurate information but I think thats as a result of bull marketing slogans from the big guns. A few years ago it was pretty bad out of Hakuba, but now its cooled off again but seems to be getting louder from Niseko again....I dunno maybe we're just hyper-sensitive to it all!

 

Either way I'm sure everyone would welcome jludovic's opinions and input on these forums

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The correcting could have been less... blunt... maybe? :) Maybe something more like...

 

"Damn Dawg! you went to yuzawa and only skied gala! Next time youre there you should definitely hit up kagura and naeba because itll blow youre fekkin head off! Pity you missed them this time. I knwo you said you didnt want to go back there, but you owe it to yourself to see what you missed! Yuzawa is HUGE man! Its got like 10 resorts and theyre all a short bus ride from the station. Hell, even if you only sit at gala, you can still buy a ticket that allows you to access Gala, Yuzawa kogen AND ishiuchi. Youll never do that in a day (i tried and have the review to proove it). Plus as tubby said, if you can get to the south side, gala can be pretty fun after a drop."

 

I think really one thing that comes out of the post is that if you do decide to try and cram in as many places as you can, you end up kinda missing some really fun and big things.

For instance. if id have spent 1 day at Zao i would be on these forums somewhat legitimately bitching about the poor terrain access for snowboarders, (plenty of unclipping if you try and navigate the two main areas), the horrendously priced food, and of course the sheer number of tourists without a snowboard piling into the gondolas ahead of you because they booked their tickets and you, being a dumb gaijin, dont realise that you had to do this, so you get in a strop about having an HOUR wait (after youve already waited for 20 minutes), and then scream **** THIS PLACE!!! to the shame and amusement of your friends and everyone else in the hall waiting for the gondola.

 

Day 2 was fun. Though we did completely avoid the gondolas and stuck in a few corners of the resort. It was a bit of a better day though, so i had a more positive experience.

Would i have had a third day i might even have braved the gondola and gone up to the snow monsters (the whole damn reason you go to Zao, frankly). As i didnt though, and saw about 40% of the resort for any meaningful length of time, i kinda have a very poor view of zao. Thankfully though there was a day 2, and that means that at some point in my future there will likely be a day 3 and i might also be able to get in the "Zao is awesome" circle jerk that everyone else is playing in. Until then though its To Be Decided.

 

I would also strongly recommend a few days off on a ten day trip. I always find myself a bit knackered by the fourth day if im going full pelt, which means i start cranking out the half days. A couple of days rest though and im good to go. So maybe a split btween two or three zones might be a nicer idea in the long run. Immediately head to the resort of your choice on day 1, save the tokyo/kyoto sight seeing for another time; then just work your way around. Maybe pop from a nagano area like nozawa for a couple of days, then to hakuba for four or so days (a few at goryu and maybe one or two at the others - honestly, on your own your enthusiasm to hit up all these distant resorts like cortina and the like when youve got a fully serviceable resort right up the hill from you is pretty low), then off to niigata (myoko/yuzawa) for a few more before getting the train back to tokyo or wherever.

 

This means you get to have a nice sense of the general lay of the land. You have some diversity to your trip meaning you dont feel that tedium of running through the motions by hitting the same place over and over again, and youre always pretty much based at or near your resort. I also think hakuba makes a nice mid mental break of it all. We all like the "japanese experience". But it can get overwhelming. A place like hakuba (particularly echoland) has plenty of creature comforts just to keep you sane and let you push through to your next base.

 

If i was doing what youre doing, i would probably hit up Nozawa (2 days), Goryu/47 (2 days), Happo1 (1 day), shiga kogen (3 days). The other two can be whatevers, maybe myoko if youre feeling gungho about boarding 24/7, but otherwise you can have a couple of days off somewhere like nagano or the snow monkeys between the areas. The nice thing is theyre all fairly accessible from one another so it shouldnt be too complex to achieve. :)

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