nawsh 0 Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 Hi! I've been lurking for a while and thought I should introduce myself. I live in Brisbane, Australia and since 2007 have been going to Japan for 3 or 4 weeks most winters and spending 6-10 days on snow each visit. I board at what I'd consider somewhere between beginner and intermediate (being old and fat never helps). My Inlaws live in Saitama, so I'm usually based between there and Tokyo and the majority of the snow trips I've done have been to Nagano by bus out of Tokyo. So far I've been to Ryuoo, Nozawa, Togari, Happo One, and couple of car trips with brother in law to Niigata including Hakkaisan, Maiko and NASPA (terrible crowded ski only place that was). My wife (and interpreter) used to come with me, but now we have a 2 year old, she stays at home and I have to fend for myself. While the bus trips out of Tokyo are cheap and convenient, being on a bus full of teenagers all night, and trying to kill time until the bus leaves at midnight is starting to wear thin. So this year I'm thinking the train will be the way to go, so if anyone would like to suggest some places that aren't too much of a hassle to get to by train (and short bus trip), that would be great. I'm thinking Myoko might be a good option? Great site too! Thanks Link to post Share on other sites
Chriselle 158 Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 Can't help with the train advice as I drive everywhere but, welcome...come early and often. Link to post Share on other sites
ippy 66 Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 saitama = yuzawa area for sure. Not only that, but if you can get passed omiya theres a DIRECT local train that runs from the first week in jan to late feb that leaves sometime around 7am from omiya and arrives yuzawa around 9.30. Rather tragically im always guaranteed to find a seat on that train, whilst the shink is usually 40 people bundled into a corridor. Its busy, but its quick for a local train, and its nice and comfy. One caveat. On decent dumps the train is often cancelled and youll have to fork out for the shink. I probably had a 50% success rate on the mornings i turned up for it. The return journey was abit better, but i was a little disappointed to see them only offer this ride for such a short period. It could definitely make it through to march at least. Other than that, you could maybe hit up karuzawa, but honestly if youre travelling that far you might as well head somewhere proper Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 the shink deals are great value. Yuzawa area is the easiest to get to from Tokyo/Saitama and to counter Ippy's post, I've always had a seat on the shink. Most of the time, the JR deals are inclusive of a reserved seat. It costs about 10k return from Tokyo station....it might be a little cheaper from Saitama I don't know. I often get the 6.08am or 6.24am shink from Tokyo and it gets me into Echigo Yuzawa for the back of 8 and theres usually a shuttle bus scheduled to leave just after the shink arrives. I do occasionally do night bus trips but they are awful and for an extra 1k or so I can ride the shink in comfort. Myoko would be a bit more of a pain to get to using the shinkansen. Link to post Share on other sites
ippy 66 Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 yeah, and he gets a seat because he gets on in tokyo. We get on when all those jerks from tokyo have all had a nice sit down and are taking up all the space. So we, (saitama peeps) get to stand in the corridors with everyone else. Link to post Share on other sites
ippy 66 Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 oh and on the subject of myoko. Its not AWFUL to get to, but its not the easiest. Basically you have to arrive at myoko station before 8.58 to catch the bus to the resorts (8,58 to ikenotaira/suginohara; 9.00 for akakan/akakura onsen). Which means you have to arrive at nagano station for the 8.12 train. Miss either of these and unless you taxi it from the station (a good 2000 odd yen even to get to akakan - the nearest resort), youll be looking at the 11.30ish (i forget exactly when) bus. And if youre going to suginohara, youve then got a shank up the hill since only one bus a day actually goes to the resort, the rest (about 4) go to suginosawa (the village at the foot of it). Basically its pretty expensive, its an early start, and the earliest you can expect to be on the slopes is around 10ish. For the same price, and at the same kick off time, youd have likely caught the first chair at kagura. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 yeah, and he gets a seat because he gets on in tokyo. We get on when all those jerks from tokyo have all had a nice sit down and are taking up all the space. So we, (saitama peeps) get to stand in the corridors with everyone else. The JR deals include a reserved seat usually. If they don't then its a little cheaper....but you may have to stand in the corridor Link to post Share on other sites
nawsh 0 Posted November 1, 2012 Author Share Posted November 1, 2012 Thanks for the info chaps, really helpful and exactly what I was after. Will probably be trying to get 3 trips in, so will definitely look into Yuzawa and no doubt will be hitting up these forums for some more resort specific info closer to the date. Cheers! Link to post Share on other sites
hellyer 216 Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 G'day nawsh, I live just up the road from you and have also been doing the Japan thing for the past 5 years along with some mates from the southern states. Talking Myoko, if you are coming from Narita a good option is to get the JREast 4 day Flexi pass which will cover you on the Narita Express, the Asama Shink to Nagano and the JR Shinetsu line to Myokokogen station. The flexi pass is cheaper (Cost Y20k) than individual tickets and includes reservations also. It is also much less hassle just going through the wider station gates flashing your card to the attendant than struggling through the ticket turnstiles with your gear. Apart from covering you arrival and departure days airport to snow, you will still have 2 full days of train rides to check other places. Unlike trying to make the infrequent bus service from Nagano to Myoko that Ippy mentioned, the local train runs regularly at least every hour so gives you more flexibility with your times. Most accommodation places in Myoko (Akakan or Akakura Onsen) will pick you up from the station (15 minute trip) I reccomend staying in the Akakura Onsen area - good eating and izakaya options. Once there, there is a regular free ski shuttle to the other areas (Akakura Kanko, Ikenotaira and Suginohara) and an infrequent bus to Seki onsen - all good I have done the Myoko thing for the past 3 years and am happy to answer any other questions you might have. Link to post Share on other sites
Slippery Jim 65 Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 Nawsh, I'm not clear if you're looking for day trips or to make a few multi-day excursions. That makes a big difference. Link to post Share on other sites
ippy 66 Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 (the bus i mentioned isnt from nagano to myoko but myoko station to the various resorts ). Its a pretty bad service to be honest. But not that many people get off even for the 1 bus at 8.58. Even in peak season, theres me, my mates, and maybe 5 or 6 other people off to suginohara. The bus to akakan is only marginally more populated. Link to post Share on other sites
nawsh 0 Posted November 1, 2012 Author Share Posted November 1, 2012 DiGriz - Looking at multi day excursions, 3 or 4 days each trip, hopefully 3 trips. Would prefer on snow accomodation if available. Thanks snowjunky, ippy and Tubby, great info and I'll no doubt have a heap more questions. At the moment it's all still a bit up in the air as I'm not sure how many or when friends will be coming over. I'd say as friends arrive, I'll meet them in Tokyo and head out from there. Link to post Share on other sites
Slippery Jim 65 Posted November 2, 2012 Share Posted November 2, 2012 Nawsh: check out the multi-day packages at JR View offices at train stations, or at travel agencies like JTB or Kinki Nippon Tourist. Or, look up some of the Places to Stay on the SnowJapan.com main site and make some calls or send e-mails. The packages will usually offer the best deals, but doing it yourself isn't too difficult if you have half a dozen words of Japanese. Link to post Share on other sites
snowdude 44 Posted November 2, 2012 Share Posted November 2, 2012 Glad I always use my car jusr reading about the various trains and buses is hassle enough. Link to post Share on other sites
nawsh 0 Posted November 2, 2012 Author Share Posted November 2, 2012 The packages will usually offer the best deals, but doing it yourself isn't too difficult if you have half a dozen words of Japanese. I only have to do the research then my wife can do the bookings etc. (she's a native speaker). The 4 day flexi pass looks the goods, being able to use it for non consecutive days over a month, I should be able to get 2 trips out of it. Thanks! snowdude - Catching a midnight bus, trying to get a few minutes sleep between hourly stops with your face pressed against an icey window while a bunch of teenagers are screaming between constant snack munching and seat kicking, to get to a closed ski resort at 5am isn't as bad as it sounds. Honest, you should try it. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted November 2, 2012 Share Posted November 2, 2012 Yeah that sucks eh? March 2011 I went up to Inawashiro in Fukushima by night bus....leaving at 11pm and getting there for about 4.30!! Had to sit on the bus for an hour before anyone appeared to open up a cafe for us. There are also multi day shink deals that cover shink, hotel and lift pass....check out JR view in most JR train stations Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 Link to post Share on other sites
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