NECK 14 Posted May 28, 2013 Author Share Posted May 28, 2013 Thanks NECK. Did you walk up the ski runs at all or just wander round the base? Yeah, we hiked up to the mid-station of the gondola and then up to almost the top station. The road was still covered in snow so we couldn't continue without snowshoes. Looked like some really good terrain up there though. Be great to get something going up there if you have sleds. Link to post Share on other sites
@tokyo 14 Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 I hope you did it properly and hiked up there naked? Link to post Share on other sites
onehunga 26 Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 Seems a lot of people weren't thinking very straight during the bubble era, although hindsight is a lot easier than foresight :-) Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 Absolutely. There's been this discussion on here before. Apart from those mad costs it had going on, Arai was just a bit too far out to get the audience it wanted. If it were closer to Myoko, or that Shinkansen was open 15 years earlier than it will open, perhaps things might have been a bit different. Link to post Share on other sites
NECK 14 Posted May 28, 2013 Author Share Posted May 28, 2013 I hope you did it properly and hiked up there naked? Ummmm...... I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, plus a thick layer of sun cream! Link to post Share on other sites
yamaski 0 Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 I used to like Arai. But it was too over the top for it's own good and then we entered the era when most people didn't want to spend all that money. Lots of the folk who stayed at the hotels didn't even go skiing. The snow was great though up there. Link to post Share on other sites
NECK 14 Posted May 28, 2013 Author Share Posted May 28, 2013 I used to like Arai. But it was too over the top for it's own good and then we entered the era when most people didn't want to spend all that money. Lots of the folk who stayed at the hotels didn't even go skiing. The snow was great though up there. I heard the conditions were epic up there peak season! Thanks for confirming this yamaski I really wish I'd had the chance to ride there....... Link to post Share on other sites
xxx 2 Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 Thanks for that NECK. Got any more pics you can throw up? Link to post Share on other sites
METAL 0 Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 This was one of those articles that Blair (used to work there) did on the site http://www.snowjapan.com/international-snow-season-workers-in-japan Will the others be appearing SJ? Link to post Share on other sites
SnowJapan Admin SnowJapan 178 Posted May 28, 2013 SnowJapan Admin Share Posted May 28, 2013 Thanks for reminding me METAL. Yes we still have those articles, I suppose they will make for interesting reading for those interested in the Arai story. Got some things we need to get done in the next few days, but I'll try to get those up on the new site sooner than later - and update this thread when that is done. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
joshnii 2 Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 Might go take a look myself some day. Did you look in the windows of the hotels etc? Hollowed out or looks like people have just abandoned it? Link to post Share on other sites
NECK 14 Posted May 28, 2013 Author Share Posted May 28, 2013 Got to peep through a lot of windows and the place was simply abandoned. I'm talking like, rooms looked made for the arrival of guests and the dining room was set for dinner. Pretty weird really..... Link to post Share on other sites
LiquidX 0 Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 That is strange. In other places, that would have been ransacked by now. Wonder if the guest rooms still have TVs in them? Surely they would have been taken out and sold or something. Link to post Share on other sites
NECK 14 Posted May 28, 2013 Author Share Posted May 28, 2013 It looked as though none of the damage to the place was due to vandalism. The elements had done their thing to the exterior of the buildings, but from what we could see through the windows, the inside remained exactly how it was left on the last day of operations in 2006. There were a few signs indicating that the place was under camera surveillance so you shouldn't enter. We did actually see one fixed camera overlooking the plaza, but I doubt that anyone was actually watching the screen. That is assuming that the camera was even real.... Link to post Share on other sites
mina2 6 Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 Sad story to see, whatever. Link to post Share on other sites
OzOzOz 2 Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 Thanks for that, very interesting. Link to post Share on other sites
634-maru 4 Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 Another one who would have liked to get to try the place out. Unfortunately it seems there were not enough of us when it was open! Link to post Share on other sites
634-maru 4 Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 This must be one of the bigger of the higher profile busts? Any other major places fail and crash and burn so spectacularly? Link to post Share on other sites
onehunga 26 Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 This must be one of the bigger of the higher profile busts? Any other major places fail and crash and burn so spectacularly? Sekia Hills, Oita seems to have crashed and burned spectacularly, from what I've read on the interwebs. Info and pictures posted earlier. Link to post Share on other sites
nagpants 1 Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 Not as major as Arai though really, big ski resort in Niigata. Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 There's a Japanese guy with a blog who goes to closed ski resorts in winter and I think there were security people at the base when he went. I went three or four times when it was open. Just to ride, not to stay. Link to post Share on other sites
systemsguy 0 Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 Does the city technically own it now? Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 It was all Blair's fault I reckon. Just kidding. Link to post Share on other sites
NECK 14 Posted May 28, 2013 Author Share Posted May 28, 2013 There's a Japanese guy with a blog who goes to closed ski resorts in winter and I think there were security people at the base when he went. I went three or four times when it was open. Just to ride, not to stay. Do you have a link to his blog wiggles? Would be keen to have a read. Link to post Share on other sites
SnowJapan Admin SnowJapan 178 Posted May 28, 2013 SnowJapan Admin Share Posted May 28, 2013 This is a good one that has a lot of closed down resorts on it and he adds new ones frequently. http://old-skier.seesaa.net/ (Please remember our annoying little 'we're not a link directory' oddball thing, one of the few things we ask, and if you want to post links let us know first. We'll almost always say yes and we'll always say thanks for asking. Thanks). 1 Link to post Share on other sites
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