stella 0 Posted December 31, 2005 Share Posted December 31, 2005 Hello SJ'ers, My hubby and I will be in Tokyo for 2 weeks starting Jan 21st and have decided on devoting 6 or 7 days to the mountains afterwhich we'll mosey on down to Osaka and then back to Tokyo for our flight home. Will be purchasing the JR Rail Pass so getting around shouldn't be much of a problem but I've been trying to find out if the JR Pass includes access to the Tokyo Circle or the Osaka City line. If anyone can tell me for sure it'll be great. I also understand that traveling to the mountains usually entails another train or bus ride from the Skinkansen. Will my JR pass cover those too? I am a total newbie and will most definitely need to go for snowboard/ski lessons. Man this is so going to be expensive since passes will be an average of 4500yen a day. Ski/board rentals about the same. And clothes/goggles/whatnots rental another 5000 yen. Oh and lessons will be about 5000yen too if I am not wrong? Question about lessons - would I still be required to purchase a day ticket on top of the lesson charges? After much (very much!) research and browsing thorugh this site as well as others I am now thinking of doing (at least) two different areas: Nozawa Onsen after seeing how pretty it is through pics posted on SJ site. I also think visiting a real Japanese village is a must do if I am in Japan. Accomodation I will pick Marunaka Lodge since they're pretty cheap plus they offer free shuttle bus service. If anyone has stayed at this place your comments will be much welcome. I only hope it's not too shabby or out of the way. If you have other places to stay that you'd rec (not too expensive please) please rec on! Now question for the other place to visit - should we explore the other side of the mountain like Hakuba et al or make our way down to Niigata? Will it be too much trouble to travel from mountain to mountain with my big luggage? I found a little accomodation at Yuzawa Park that's run by a nice family. This place got stuck in my mind simply because they have a resident dog and cat. I know it's a small resort suitable for beginners and from what I've seen has good access to other resorts like Iwappara but I wonder if Naeba would be a better choice as far as Niigata goes? Nozawa don't seem to offer snowboard lessons so it's probably a better idea to start at a resort that offers it?? I dunno. I am a little lost on how I should spend my snow holiday. Sorry so many questions! Any help/input will be greatly appreciated. Thanks ya'll. This site has been such a great resource! Link to post Share on other sites
stella 0 Posted December 31, 2005 Author Share Posted December 31, 2005 Oh! And have a nice long weekend guys. HAPPY NEW YEAR! And thanks again .... Link to post Share on other sites
Davo 1 Posted December 31, 2005 Share Posted December 31, 2005 My Mum & Dad could use their JR pass on regular JR lines as well the shinkansen as far as I remember. Don't they have the info on their site? 5,000 yen doesn't sound too expensive for a lesson and you'll probably have to pay for a ticket seperately. If you want lessons in English I know you can get them in Hakuba-wouldn't have a clue about other places. Hakuba is about 2 hours drive from Nozawa and probably a lot longer by public transport. Lugging your big bags around sounds like a pain in the ass-why don't you minimize your luggage or stick to one resort area. Enjoy your trip whatever you decide. Link to post Share on other sites
jade 0 Posted December 31, 2005 Share Posted December 31, 2005 You will be able to use your JR Pass on both the Tokyo and Osaka loop lines. I haven't been to either of the places you're interested in but I had an English snowboard lesson today at Sapporo Kokusai. It cost ¥10000 (2hrs) for up to 3 people. The instructor was Japanese but could speak a bit of English. I agree that hauling around a lot of luggage will be a real pain, especially if you are planning on taking it on packed trians in Osaka and Tokyo. Link to post Share on other sites
jade 0 Posted December 31, 2005 Share Posted December 31, 2005 Sorry, forgot to mention that the lift ticket is not usually included in the price of the lesson so you will need to purchase one beforehand. Link to post Share on other sites
sunrise 0 Posted December 31, 2005 Share Posted December 31, 2005 Yes, shinkansen should be included in the rail pass - it should cover all JR lines, whatever the type. Have fun, wherever you wind up going Link to post Share on other sites
stella 0 Posted January 3, 2006 Author Share Posted January 3, 2006 Thanks guys for the quick replies. It's good to know that my JR Pass can be used almos everywhere. I just wasn't sure if the circle lines belonged to JR. *blush* Found a school offering English lessons for boarding at Nozawa and they charge 4000 yen for a full day so yay. Can anyone advise if I should stay put at Nozawa Onsen for all of 6 days or will it be worth to explore another area? I have one roller bag containing 2 weeks worth of clothing to bring with me. That's not too much for traveling on the trains and buses right? Link to post Share on other sites
oo 1 Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 Might want to check out Ryuo ski park & Tenjindaira nearby. A little furthr but still quite near is Shiga Kogen and Madarao. Link to post Share on other sites
SerreChe 2 Posted January 4, 2006 Share Posted January 4, 2006 Welcome to the forum Stella. Well done on your searching. I think you got a pretty good deal at 4000 per day at Nozawa for the lessons. Personally I think changing locations too often when you got luggage is a pain lah! If you are a beginner, try going with the flow. If you get bored at Nozawa after 2-3 days then maybe you can try hitting some nearby resorts, but getting there could be an issue. There are probably a lot of interesting things to discover in Nozawa itself (onsens, etc...). I am sure the place where you stay should be able to help you out as well. As for your roller, I am pretty sure it should be ok. Good luck! Link to post Share on other sites
scoobydoo 0 Posted January 4, 2006 Share Posted January 4, 2006 There's some good pics of Ryuo on here if I remember correctly. I'm heading over there (Nozawa) myself in a few weeks for 5 days or so, and might want to try a few other nearby places as well. Link to post Share on other sites
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