muikabochi 208 Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Thanks Mick Link to post Share on other sites
Mick Rich 78 Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 Any pics of/from the Amanoniwa course? Where did you hit the onsen? The only shots I took (apart from a few face shots in the trees ) were these two... The top station of the disused Hayama No.5 lift The reverse view of the start of the Amanoniwa (No.5) course. The onsen was in the Center House Bandai at the bottom of the Center Area. It felt more like a sento than an onsen though given that you can stumble in there from the slopes, it was well worth 500Yen! I'm currently penning a resort review which I'll upload as and when. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 Any pics of/from the Amanoniwa course? Where did you hit the onsen? The only shots I took (apart from a few face shots in the trees ) were these two... The top station of the disused Hayama No.5 lift The reverse view of the start of the Amanoniwa (No.5) course. The onsen was in the Center House Bandai at the bottom of the Center Area. It felt more like a sento than an onsen though given that you can stumble in there from the slopes, it was well worth 500Yen! I'm currently penning a resort review which I'll upload as and when. Sounds like an Ippy-esque tome Link to post Share on other sites
Mick Rich 78 Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 Sounds like an Ippy-esque tome Link to post Share on other sites
SKI 15 Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Hey Metabo Oyaji, did you get any word on how Fukushima places did this last season at all? Link to post Share on other sites
fruity-sachi 1 Posted June 9, 2013 Share Posted June 9, 2013 I think I heard on the news at the end of the season that it was up on the previous year, though can't remember any details. Link to post Share on other sites
Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted June 9, 2013 Author Share Posted June 9, 2013 I found an online article from late February that said Fukushima ski areas in the aggregate were up 0.5% over the 2011/2012 season, so some slight improvement overall. Of those, Grandeco and Nekoma were down 10%, blamed on bad weather making access to the Ura-Bandai area difficult (which comports with information I received separately), but with Omote-Bandai areas like Inawashiro and Alts doing better than the previous season. In the Omote-Bandai area, for example, Family Snowpark Bandai X2 recovered some of its school-excursion business, which helped. Of course 2011/2012 was itself lower than usual, but I think the message is that overall the bleeding seems to have stopped, and some signs of recovery may be in the air. So, good. Link to post Share on other sites
SKI 15 Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 Good to hear Metabo. Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 Good to hear. Seems Yuzawa had a reasonably decent year as well. There was something in the paper at the end of the season, forgot to write it up. Link to post Share on other sites
onsen tamago 0 Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 I wonder if Alts will be tempted to re-open a bit more if they had semi-decent numbers? Link to post Share on other sites
Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted June 13, 2013 Author Share Posted June 13, 2013 Good question. I imagine it would have to be soon, unless they have been taking good care of the unused lifts. They redid their course maps to eliminate the closed section, though, and have rebranded themselves as a family resort. (The closed part is mostly park features.) Not sure it would really make sense, actually. Probably better off moving the superpipe over to the Nekoma side, and transplanting one of the unused lifts to link up Alts and Nekoma directly. Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 That link up would be good! Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 Yes it would. Is it practical? Link to post Share on other sites
Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted June 17, 2013 Author Share Posted June 17, 2013 Yes it would. Is it practical? Looks like at minimum, one would just need to extend 400-500 meters from the top of the lobe in the foreground on the Nekoma side to reach the top of the ridge between the two. The Alts lifts already pretty much reach the ridge. Alts on the left, Nekoma on the right: No idea what 500 m worth of lift (or lift extension) would cost, but looks pretty technically feasible to me. It would certainly make for a much more attractive package. Maybe they could even leave the ALTS back bowl area open and accessible from the Nekoma side after they close the rest of the ALTS side in mid-March? Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted June 17, 2013 Share Posted June 17, 2013 wow!! It kind of seems crazy to NOT link the two up when you see how close they are. Wonder if anyone has done the numbers for it and decided that it doesn't add up Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 I might have missed this - are they owned by the same dudes, or different dudes? Link to post Share on other sites
fukdane 2 Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 Would be really great if they could do that. With Alts Bandai's recent history of spending money though (ie. not doing any of it at all whatsoever, and doing lots of cutting back), I can't see it happening unless there's some big change in outlook. Link to post Share on other sites
Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted June 18, 2013 Author Share Posted June 18, 2013 I might have missed this - are they owned by the same dudes, or different dudes? They're both owned and/or managed by Hoshino Resort. Their other resort is Tomamu. There was an interview with someone from Hoshino on SJ a few years ago where there was mention of a plan to physically link Alts and Nekoma, but I guess that plan was put on hold for whatever reasons. Link to post Share on other sites
Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted June 18, 2013 Author Share Posted June 18, 2013 Here is a quote from that interview: We have started a tie-up operation at the Alts Bandai resort. The guests can now enjoy both Alts Bandai and Ura Bandai Nekoma resorts using our free shuttle bus service and a common lift ticket. We are planning to connect these two ski areas in the near future. The distance between the two resorts is just 500m and while there are no firm plans that we can announce on how that will happen just yet, it is something that will happen. After realizing that, the skiing area will be a full 189hr, and it means this will be the biggest snow resort area in the Tohoku region. Because of the high altitude of the Nekoma mountain, we receive great powder snow all the season, especially on the north side. Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 Thanks Metabo. Interesting that, I didn't realise they were so close. It would really make it a much better prospect. Link to post Share on other sites
systemsguy 0 Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 Looks like a no-brainer to link those up would make for a great big area. Do it please!! Link to post Share on other sites
Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted July 28, 2013 Author Share Posted July 28, 2013 Looks like a no-brainer to link those up would make for a great big area. Do it please!! From your lips to Mr. Hoshino's ear. Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 Still haven't made it over there. That would surely encourage me to. Link to post Share on other sites
LukeLomond 0 Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 Hope it's not bad bringing this up but, what sort of distance from the nuclear plant is it 'safe' (officially!) to be? Link to post Share on other sites
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