Good base for snow week

[tantrum 0]

Hi!

 

We're visiting Japan in 2005 for the 3rd year in a row, to spend a week in Niseko and do some other travelling around.

 

This time we'd like to spend a week visiting some other resorts, either in Hokkaido or northern Honshu. A road trip is probably the least preferred option - I was wondering if someone could suggest a good base for visiting several different resorts within the week.

 

It would need to have good transport to the resorts and preferably be a reasonably interesting place in itself, because we will have a 20-month old baby to look after and either mum or dad might want to stay behind at the base for the day.

 

There will be at least 3 of us, maybe more. We're intermediate to advanced snowboarders, who really like riding powder amongst the trees. Steeps and terrain parks aren't so important.

 

We're not really back country types - more like the types who like riding into a bunch of trees between the groomed runs. When people talk about not being allowed to go off-piste at most Japanese resorts, do they include this? Or is it just riding well away from the resort?

 

Thanks for any help you can provide!

[grungy-gonads 54]

Check out Nozawa, nice nice place.

 

Other than that, you might want to look into Hakuba.

 

Oops, I don't suppose they come under "northen Honshu".

[tantrum 0]

Ah well, by northern Honshu I pretty much meant north of Tokyo. Looking more closely at the map, I think I should even make it north of Aichi. We're pretty flexible.

 

Thanks for the tips though - I'll check them out!

[jared 0]

If your powder in the trees type people you could Shinkansen to Morioka from Tokyo and go to Hachimantai Forest bus it to Aomori (2-3ish hours) and go to Hakkoda then train or ferry and bus to Niseko.

If your groomed trails kind of people, from Morioka there is Appi, Shizakuishi, Amihari, etc..skip Hakkoda and go straight to Niseko.

[tantrum 0]

Cool tips, thanks. We're probably only into a limited amount of hiking and my wife loves onsens, so we're definitely going to have a look in at Nozawa.

 

Thanks again...