wanted: recommendations for Japan

I'm looking for recommendations for companies that can arrange a
snowboarding/skiing trip to Japan from the US. Thank you.

Nobody wrote:
I'm looking for recommendations for companies that can arrange a
snowboarding/skiing trip to Japan from the US. Thank you.


Sorry i don't know any companies that arrange snowboarding trips to
Japan but if you do a little research on the snow end of it you could
arrange your trip with a regular travel company who operates to Japan.


I lived there for 5 years, rode for 3 year in the north Kanto area
(north of Tokyo) and in Nagano. The ski resorts in both these areas
are mobbed every weekend by Tokyo-ites with lift queues sometimes
taking 20-30 minutes on a Saturday. Weekdays will be much lighter so
you could plan your trip around that, that is, take tourist trips at
the weekends unless there's powder.

You could also look into Northern Kanto, there are plenty of good
resorts, for example, Mount Zao, it's pretty big and it gets a wild
Siberian wind blowing in. The best place i rode in Japan and one of
the best in the world (in my humble opinion) is called Kokusai Hirafu
on the Northern Island of Hokkaido. There was nobody on the hill at
all. We went in February for 10 days - free runs everywhere but they
are a bit anal about backwoods. It was forbidden(same at most Japanese
ski resorts), they would take your ticket off you pretty quickly, so
maybe it's best not to do it! That might have changed since i was
there. The base level is 2-3 metres until March and if you go in
January you're almost guaranteed powder. One guy i talked to when i
was there told me of a 1 metre dump at the beginning of January. His
eyes started to glass over and he was lost for words when he was
talking so it must have been good.....

For accessibility, the Nagano resorts are easy to get to with bullet
train/normal train connections almost to the steps of the resorts from
Tokyo. The Northern Kanto resorts have ski buses that run to them from
the nearest main line stations but you would need to check out times.
They're really for people coming up from Tokyo for a day's fun on the
snow. Usually takes a couple of hours.

Hirafu in Hokkaido is more difficult to get to. First, check if you
can get a direct flight from the States to Sapporo International
Airport on Hokkaido. If not, transfer from Tokyo International airport.
Transfer is about a 2 hour flight i think. When you get to the
Sapporo Airport buy a good map and hire a car is probably the best
thing to do and remember they drive on the other side of the road!
Should take you another 3-4 hours, i can't remember exactly. Maybe it's
a good idea to stop a night in Sapporo at a 'business hotel'. they are
cheaper option. On the way back, stop over in Tokyo for a few days of
tourist stuff.

For Hotels, any agency going to Japan should be able to hook you up
with hotel accommodation of a high standard if that's what you want at
the mountain or close to the mountain with a short bus ride to the
slopes. It will be expensive just like in Colorado or Whistler. It
might be more difficult to access cheaper ski lodge type accommodation
but it definitely exists. You could risk not booking until you get
there but i wouldn't recommend that for the resorts the Tokyo-ites go
to.

Maybe try to google the Japanese tourist organisation at
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/ or google skiing/snowboarding resorts in
Japan. I know there are some ex-pats out there who have web sites about
the ski resorts they go to.

One last thing, if you go to Hokkaido you could try to do it when the
Sapporo Ice Festival is on, i think it's Feb. It's supposed to be a
great spectacle. One thing though, prices on flights, accomm etc in
Sapporo would be higher than ususual. So my advice is go early to mid
January and take you scuba snorkel with you for the powder!!

The Dollar should go a long way so don't necessarily think it's going
to be any more expensive than a trip to the big North American resorts
once you've paid for the flights. It will be a trip of a lifetime,
that you can be guaranteed!
Hope this ramble was of some good to you......

d

I've seen this mentioned that off-piste is not allowed at many Japanese
resorts...so my question is with all this excellent powder they have, how do
you get to enjoy it??? No tree runs, why go?

I have a business trip in Tokyo this winter so going to do some riding
there...sounds like plenty of options in that area. I've heard the Hikkaido
area is where its really at?


wrote in message
ups.com...

Nobody wrote:
I'm looking for recommendations for companies that can arrange a
snowboarding/skiing trip to Japan from the US. Thank you.


Sorry i don't know any companies that arrange snowboarding trips to
Japan but if you do a little research on the snow end of it you could
arrange your trip with a regular travel company who operates to Japan.


I lived there for 5 years, rode for 3 year in the north Kanto area
(north of Tokyo) and in Nagano. The ski resorts in both these areas
are mobbed every weekend by Tokyo-ites with lift queues sometimes
taking 20-30 minutes on a Saturday. Weekdays will be much lighter so
you could plan your trip around that, that is, take tourist trips at
the weekends unless there's powder.

You could also look into Northern Kanto, there are plenty of good
resorts, for example, Mount Zao, it's pretty big and it gets a wild
Siberian wind blowing in. The best place i rode in Japan and one of
the best in the world (in my humble opinion) is called Kokusai Hirafu
on the Northern Island of Hokkaido. There was nobody on the hill at
all. We went in February for 10 days - free runs everywhere but they
are a bit anal about backwoods. It was forbidden(same at most Japanese
ski resorts), they would take your ticket off you pretty quickly, so
maybe it's best not to do it! That might have changed since i was
there. The base level is 2-3 metres until March and if you go in
January you're almost guaranteed powder. One guy i talked to when i
was there told me of a 1 metre dump at the beginning of January. His
eyes started to glass over and he was lost for words when he was
talking so it must have been good.....

For accessibility, the Nagano resorts are easy to get to with bullet
train/normal train connections almost to the steps of the resorts from
Tokyo. The Northern Kanto resorts have ski buses that run to them from
the nearest main line stations but you would need to check out times.
They're really for people coming up from Tokyo for a day's fun on the
snow. Usually takes a couple of hours.

Hirafu in Hokkaido is more difficult to get to. First, check if you
can get a direct flight from the States to Sapporo International
Airport on Hokkaido. If not, transfer from Tokyo International airport.
Transfer is about a 2 hour flight i think. When you get to the
Sapporo Airport buy a good map and hire a car is probably the best
thing to do and remember they drive on the other side of the road!
Should take you another 3-4 hours, i can't remember exactly. Maybe it's
a good idea to stop a night in Sapporo at a 'business hotel'. they are
cheaper option. On the way back, stop over in Tokyo for a few days of
tourist stuff.

For Hotels, any agency going to Japan should be able to hook you up
with hotel accommodation of a high standard if that's what you want at
the mountain or close to the mountain with a short bus ride to the
slopes. It will be expensive just like in Colorado or Whistler. It
might be more difficult to access cheaper ski lodge type accommodation
but it definitely exists. You could risk not booking until you get
there but i wouldn't recommend that for the resorts the Tokyo-ites go
to.

Maybe try to google the Japanese tourist organisation at
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/ or google skiing/snowboarding resorts in
Japan. I know there are some ex-pats out there who have web sites about
the ski resorts they go to.

One last thing, if you go to Hokkaido you could try to do it when the
Sapporo Ice Festival is on, i think it's Feb. It's supposed to be a
great spectacle. One thing though, prices on flights, accomm etc in
Sapporo would be higher than ususual. So my advice is go early to mid
January and take you scuba snorkel with you for the powder!!

The Dollar should go a long way so don't necessarily think it's going
to be any more expensive than a trip to the big North American resorts
once you've paid for the flights. It will be a trip of a lifetime,
that you can be guaranteed!
Hope this ramble was of some good to you......

d

Yeah J I know what you mean but i guess it depends what you're in to.
If you're strictly backwoods then you would need to do a lot of
research to find the right places. If you're happy scooting around a
resort that will take you a week to see it all then there are a good
few places. Then again, if the whole reason for going is to experience
riding in a place with a completely different culture then it's the
real trip.

i remember one time i was riding it had dumped two feet the day before.
i arrived pretty late in the morning and expected it all to be cut up
but there was still loads of powder at the sides and underneath the
chair supports. I couldn't believe it,they just didn't like going in
to it. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a backwoods culture there
now though. The Japanese tend to follow any trends coming out of the
US so if backwoods has become popular there, then you can bet your
bottom dollar that some people in Japan are in to it. It's been 5
years since i was there so i wouldn't be up to date with what's going
on....


Sorry but i haven't heard of the Hikkaido area, is it near Tokyo?

I do have one snippet of information that you might be able to follow
up on and research. I always regretted not going to a place i saw on a
television show once. I think it was called Tenjin-Daira. It's close
enough to Tokyo for a day trip i think. It's not actually a ski
resort more like the set up in switzerland. There's a big cable car
that takes you up a mountain ( take your snow shoes and a friend/guide)
and you have a choice of a few runs to get down to where the cable car
is situated. It looked fantastic, lots of tree runs in 4 foot of
powder, chutes, gullies and you get to see some of the wildlife too -
monkeys, mountain goats etc.. There was an article in a us
snowboarding magazine a few years ago about this place and the reporter
raved about it and reckoned it was comparable to heli-skiing.

My advice is to try and find someone or a group through the internet
that would be happy to invite you along to one of their trips. I saw a
photo on one web site, of a bunch of guys who call themselves the Mina
Kamikazes. Check out any of the english based sites/discussion groups
for foreigners. A lot of the teachers and ex-pat community would enjoy
taking you out for the day. Nonetheless, a truly Japanese experience
would be to find a group of Japanese, the most hospitable of people.
There are a lot of mountains out there so i'm sure there are backwoods
die-hards too.

i just did a search for you, it looks like the place i was talking
about had only a vertical drop of 300 metres!! So maybe it's not as
good as i thought. My dream has been burst!

check these out and maybe it will start your search for a good spot:

http://www.snowjapan.com/e/voice/rea...efecture=Gunma

http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/r..._tanigawa.html

http://www.worldsnowboardguide.com/r...keTenjindaira/

http://www.snowjapan.com/e/resorts/r...l.php?resid=14

www.jandodd.com/japan/guide.htm

www.minakami-onsen.com/english/map.html

http://www.snowjapanforums.com/ubb/u...pic/5/102.html





BTW the place i went to in Hokkaido was called Niseko Hirafu, fantastic
place.......


Let me know if you find anywhere in Honshu with backwoods delights,

Good luck,
d


J wrote:
I've seen this mentioned that off-piste is not allowed at many Japanese
resorts...so my question is with all this excellent powder they have, how do
you get to enjoy it??? No tree runs, why go?

I have a business trip in Tokyo this winter so going to do some riding
there...sounds like plenty of options in that area. I've heard the Hikkaido
area is where its really at?


wrote in message
ups.com...

Nobody wrote:
I'm looking for recommendations for companies that can arrange a
snowboarding/skiing trip to Japan from the US. Thank you.


Sorry i don't know any companies that arrange snowboarding trips to
Japan but if you do a little research on the snow end of it you could
arrange your trip with a regular travel company who operates to Japan.


I lived there for 5 years, rode for 3 year in the north Kanto area
(north of Tokyo) and in Nagano. The ski resorts in both these areas
are mobbed every weekend by Tokyo-ites with lift queues sometimes
taking 20-30 minutes on a Saturday. Weekdays will be much lighter so
you could plan your trip around that, that is, take tourist trips at
the weekends unless there's powder.

You could also look into Northern Kanto, there are plenty of good
resorts, for example, Mount Zao, it's pretty big and it gets a wild
Siberian wind blowing in. The best place i rode in Japan and one of
the best in the world (in my humble opinion) is called Kokusai Hirafu
on the Northern Island of Hokkaido. There was nobody on the hill at
all. We went in February for 10 days - free runs everywhere but they
are a bit anal about backwoods. It was forbidden(same at most Japanese
ski resorts), they would take your ticket off you pretty quickly, so
maybe it's best not to do it! That might have changed since i was
there. The base level is 2-3 metres until March and if you go in
January you're almost guaranteed powder. One guy i talked to when i
was there told me of a 1 metre dump at the beginning of January. His
eyes started to glass over and he was lost for words when he was
talking so it must have been good.....

For accessibility, the Nagano resorts are easy to get to with bullet
train/normal train connections almost to the steps of the resorts from
Tokyo. The Northern Kanto resorts have ski buses that run to them from
the nearest main line stations but you would need to check out times.
They're really for people coming up from Tokyo for a day's fun on the
snow. Usually takes a couple of hours.

Hirafu in Hokkaido is more difficult to get to. First, check if you
can get a direct flight from the States to Sapporo International
Airport on Hokkaido. If not, transfer from Tokyo International airport.
Transfer is about a 2 hour flight i think. When you get to the
Sapporo Airport buy a good map and hire a car is probably the best
thing to do and remember they drive on the other side of the road!
Should take you another 3-4 hours, i can't remember exactly. Maybe it's
a good idea to stop a night in Sapporo at a 'business hotel'. they are
cheaper option. On the way back, stop over in Tokyo for a few days of
tourist stuff.

For Hotels, any agency going to Japan should be able to hook you up
with hotel accommodation of a high standard if that's what you want at
the mountain or close to the mountain with a short bus ride to the
slopes. It will be expensive just like in Colorado or Whistler. It
might be more difficult to access cheaper ski lodge type accommodation
but it definitely exists. You could risk not booking until you get
there but i wouldn't recommend that for the resorts the Tokyo-ites go
to.

Maybe try to google the Japanese tourist organisation at
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/ or google skiing/snowboarding resorts in
Japan. I know there are some ex-pats out there who have web sites about
the ski resorts they go to.

One last thing, if you go to Hokkaido you could try to do it when the
Sapporo Ice Festival is on, i think it's Feb. It's supposed to be a
great spectacle. One thing though, prices on flights, accomm etc in
Sapporo would be higher than ususual. So my advice is go early to mid
January and take you scuba snorkel with you for the powder!!

The Dollar should go a long way so don't necessarily think it's going
to be any more expensive than a trip to the big North American resorts
once you've paid for the flights. It will be a trip of a lifetime,
that you can be guaranteed!
Hope this ramble was of some good to you......

d

Wow, thanks for all the information, very much appreciated.

Hey, I wonder if our definition and the Japanese definition off off-piste is
different? What I mean is that anything within resort bounderies is ok and
outside not...much like many resorts in the US. Or are the Japanese resorts
even further restrictive in that you can't even go off the designated
trails? That would just be wrong with all the powder I hear they get...why
go?

Thanks,
J
wrote in message
ups.com...
Yeah J I know what you mean but i guess it depends what you're in to.
If you're strictly backwoods then you would need to do a lot of
research to find the right places. If you're happy scooting around a
resort that will take you a week to see it all then there are a good
few places. Then again, if the whole reason for going is to experience
riding in a place with a completely different culture then it's the
real trip.

i remember one time i was riding it had dumped two feet the day before.
i arrived pretty late in the morning and expected it all to be cut up
but there was still loads of powder at the sides and underneath the
chair supports. I couldn't believe it,they just didn't like going in
to it. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a backwoods culture there
now though. The Japanese tend to follow any trends coming out of the
US so if backwoods has become popular there, then you can bet your
bottom dollar that some people in Japan are in to it. It's been 5
years since i was there so i wouldn't be up to date with what's going
on....


Sorry but i haven't heard of the Hikkaido area, is it near Tokyo?

I do have one snippet of information that you might be able to follow
up on and research. I always regretted not going to a place i saw on a
television show once. I think it was called Tenjin-Daira. It's close
enough to Tokyo for a day trip i think. It's not actually a ski
resort more like the set up in switzerland. There's a big cable car
that takes you up a mountain ( take your snow shoes and a friend/guide)
and you have a choice of a few runs to get down to where the cable car
is situated. It looked fantastic, lots of tree runs in 4 foot of
powder, chutes, gullies and you get to see some of the wildlife too -
monkeys, mountain goats etc.. There was an article in a us
snowboarding magazine a few years ago about this place and the reporter
raved about it and reckoned it was comparable to heli-skiing.

My advice is to try and find someone or a group through the internet
that would be happy to invite you along to one of their trips. I saw a
photo on one web site, of a bunch of guys who call themselves the Mina
Kamikazes. Check out any of the english based sites/discussion groups
for foreigners. A lot of the teachers and ex-pat community would enjoy
taking you out for the day. Nonetheless, a truly Japanese experience
would be to find a group of Japanese, the most hospitable of people.
There are a lot of mountains out there so i'm sure there are backwoods
die-hards too.

i just did a search for you, it looks like the place i was talking
about had only a vertical drop of 300 metres!! So maybe it's not as
good as i thought. My dream has been burst!

check these out and maybe it will start your search for a good spot:

http://www.snowjapan.com/e/voice/rea...efecture=Gunma

http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/r..._tanigawa.html

http://www.worldsnowboardguide.com/r...keTenjindaira/

http://www.snowjapan.com/e/resorts/r...l.php?resid=14

www.jandodd.com/japan/guide.htm

www.minakami-onsen.com/english/map.html

http://www.snowjapanforums.com/ubb/u...pic/5/102.html





BTW the place i went to in Hokkaido was called Niseko Hirafu, fantastic
place.......


Let me know if you find anywhere in Honshu with backwoods delights,

Good luck,
d


J wrote:
I've seen this mentioned that off-piste is not allowed at many Japanese
resorts...so my question is with all this excellent powder they have, how
do
you get to enjoy it??? No tree runs, why go?

I have a business trip in Tokyo this winter so going to do some riding
there...sounds like plenty of options in that area. I've heard the
Hikkaido
area is where its really at?


wrote in message
ups.com...

Nobody wrote:
I'm looking for recommendations for companies that can arrange a
snowboarding/skiing trip to Japan from the US. Thank you.


Sorry i don't know any companies that arrange snowboarding trips to
Japan but if you do a little research on the snow end of it you could
arrange your trip with a regular travel company who operates to Japan.


I lived there for 5 years, rode for 3 year in the north Kanto area
(north of Tokyo) and in Nagano. The ski resorts in both these areas
are mobbed every weekend by Tokyo-ites with lift queues sometimes
taking 20-30 minutes on a Saturday. Weekdays will be much lighter so
you could plan your trip around that, that is, take tourist trips at
the weekends unless there's powder.

You could also look into Northern Kanto, there are plenty of good
resorts, for example, Mount Zao, it's pretty big and it gets a wild
Siberian wind blowing in. The best place i rode in Japan and one of
the best in the world (in my humble opinion) is called Kokusai Hirafu
on the Northern Island of Hokkaido. There was nobody on the hill at
all. We went in February for 10 days - free runs everywhere but they
are a bit anal about backwoods. It was forbidden(same at most Japanese
ski resorts), they would take your ticket off you pretty quickly, so
maybe it's best not to do it! That might have changed since i was
there. The base level is 2-3 metres until March and if you go in
January you're almost guaranteed powder. One guy i talked to when i
was there told me of a 1 metre dump at the beginning of January. His
eyes started to glass over and he was lost for words when he was
talking so it must have been good.....

For accessibility, the Nagano resorts are easy to get to with bullet
train/normal train connections almost to the steps of the resorts from
Tokyo. The Northern Kanto resorts have ski buses that run to them from
the nearest main line stations but you would need to check out times.
They're really for people coming up from Tokyo for a day's fun on the
snow. Usually takes a couple of hours.

Hirafu in Hokkaido is more difficult to get to. First, check if you
can get a direct flight from the States to Sapporo International
Airport on Hokkaido. If not, transfer from Tokyo International airport.
Transfer is about a 2 hour flight i think. When you get to the
Sapporo Airport buy a good map and hire a car is probably the best
thing to do and remember they drive on the other side of the road!
Should take you another 3-4 hours, i can't remember exactly. Maybe it's
a good idea to stop a night in Sapporo at a 'business hotel'. they are
cheaper option. On the way back, stop over in Tokyo for a few days of
tourist stuff.

For Hotels, any agency going to Japan should be able to hook you up
with hotel accommodation of a high standard if that's what you want at
the mountain or close to the mountain with a short bus ride to the
slopes. It will be expensive just like in Colorado or Whistler. It
might be more difficult to access cheaper ski lodge type accommodation
but it definitely exists. You could risk not booking until you get
there but i wouldn't recommend that for the resorts the Tokyo-ites go
to.

Maybe try to google the Japanese tourist organisation at
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/ or google skiing/snowboarding resorts in
Japan. I know there are some ex-pats out there who have web sites about
the ski resorts they go to.

One last thing, if you go to Hokkaido you could try to do it when the
Sapporo Ice Festival is on, i think it's Feb. It's supposed to be a
great spectacle. One thing though, prices on flights, accomm etc in
Sapporo would be higher than ususual. So my advice is go early to mid
January and take you scuba snorkel with you for the powder!!

The Dollar should go a long way so don't necessarily think it's going
to be any more expensive than a trip to the big North American resorts
once you've paid for the flights. It will be a trip of a lifetime,
that you can be guaranteed!
Hope this ramble was of some good to you......

d

On Wed, 18 Oct 2006 14:08:53 +0800, "J" wrote:

That would just be wrong with all the powder I hear they get...why
go?


My reason for going to Japan is to experience Japan and to have fun in
the snow. I schedule most vacations during a location's snow season.

I don't care if the powder is inbounds. I dislike groomed snow. I live
far from a real mountain. The local ski hills flatten snow as quickly
as their machines can move.

No problems with the information, i hope it helps.

As far as i know you can ride anywhere that's in bounds at Japanese ski
resorts. The problem with this is that most Japanese ski resorts are
heavily wooded or do not cover such a large area as resorts in North
America for example. The result of this is there is little off piste
area to discover that is outside the runs but inside the ski resort
area. I didn't ride so much in Nagano, there's a good chance you may
find more opportunities to ride above the tree line there.
Additionally, in Hokkaido i think there are greater chances of off
piste through woods but i didn't experience it myself.


Good luck with the search and enjoy the Japanese powder!

d


J wrote:
Wow, thanks for all the information, very much appreciated.

Hey, I wonder if our definition and the Japanese definition off off-piste is
different? What I mean is that anything within resort bounderies is ok and
outside not...much like many resorts in the US. Or are the Japanese resorts
even further restrictive in that you can't even go off the designated
trails? That would just be wrong with all the powder I hear they get...why
go?

Thanks,
J
wrote in message
ups.com...
Yeah J I know what you mean but i guess it depends what you're in to.
If you're strictly backwoods then you would need to do a lot of
research to find the right places. If you're happy scooting around a
resort that will take you a week to see it all then there are a good
few places. Then again, if the whole reason for going is to experience
riding in a place with a completely different culture then it's the
real trip.

i remember one time i was riding it had dumped two feet the day before.
i arrived pretty late in the morning and expected it all to be cut up
but there was still loads of powder at the sides and underneath the
chair supports. I couldn't believe it,they just didn't like going in
to it. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a backwoods culture there
now though. The Japanese tend to follow any trends coming out of the
US so if backwoods has become popular there, then you can bet your
bottom dollar that some people in Japan are in to it. It's been 5
years since i was there so i wouldn't be up to date with what's going
on....


Sorry but i haven't heard of the Hikkaido area, is it near Tokyo?

I do have one snippet of information that you might be able to follow
up on and research. I always regretted not going to a place i saw on a
television show once. I think it was called Tenjin-Daira. It's close
enough to Tokyo for a day trip i think. It's not actually a ski
resort more like the set up in switzerland. There's a big cable car
that takes you up a mountain ( take your snow shoes and a friend/guide)
and you have a choice of a few runs to get down to where the cable car
is situated. It looked fantastic, lots of tree runs in 4 foot of
powder, chutes, gullies and you get to see some of the wildlife too -
monkeys, mountain goats etc.. There was an article in a us
snowboarding magazine a few years ago about this place and the reporter
raved about it and reckoned it was comparable to heli-skiing.

My advice is to try and find someone or a group through the internet
that would be happy to invite you along to one of their trips. I saw a
photo on one web site, of a bunch of guys who call themselves the Mina
Kamikazes. Check out any of the english based sites/discussion groups
for foreigners. A lot of the teachers and ex-pat community would enjoy
taking you out for the day. Nonetheless, a truly Japanese experience
would be to find a group of Japanese, the most hospitable of people.
There are a lot of mountains out there so i'm sure there are backwoods
die-hards too.

i just did a search for you, it looks like the place i was talking
about had only a vertical drop of 300 metres!! So maybe it's not as
good as i thought. My dream has been burst!

check these out and maybe it will start your search for a good spot:

http://www.snowjapan.com/e/voice/rea...efecture=Gunma

http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/r..._tanigawa.html

http://www.worldsnowboardguide.com/r...keTenjindaira/

http://www.snowjapan.com/e/resorts/r...l.php?resid=14

www.jandodd.com/japan/guide.htm

www.minakami-onsen.com/english/map.html

http://www.snowjapanforums.com/ubb/u...pic/5/102.html





BTW the place i went to in Hokkaido was called Niseko Hirafu, fantastic
place.......


Let me know if you find anywhere in Honshu with backwoods delights,

Good luck,
d


J wrote:
I've seen this mentioned that off-piste is not allowed at many Japanese
resorts...so my question is with all this excellent powder they have, how
do
you get to enjoy it??? No tree runs, why go?

I have a business trip in Tokyo this winter so going to do some riding
there...sounds like plenty of options in that area. I've heard the
Hikkaido
area is where its really at?


wrote in message
ups.com...

Nobody wrote:
I'm looking for recommendations for companies that can arrange a
snowboarding/skiing trip to Japan from the US. Thank you.


Sorry i don't know any companies that arrange snowboarding trips to
Japan but if you do a little research on the snow end of it you could
arrange your trip with a regular travel company who operates to Japan.


I lived there for 5 years, rode for 3 year in the north Kanto area
(north of Tokyo) and in Nagano. The ski resorts in both these areas
are mobbed every weekend by Tokyo-ites with lift queues sometimes
taking 20-30 minutes on a Saturday. Weekdays will be much lighter so
you could plan your trip around that, that is, take tourist trips at
the weekends unless there's powder.

You could also look into Northern Kanto, there are plenty of good
resorts, for example, Mount Zao, it's pretty big and it gets a wild
Siberian wind blowing in. The best place i rode in Japan and one of
the best in the world (in my humble opinion) is called Kokusai Hirafu
on the Northern Island of Hokkaido. There was nobody on the hill at
all. We went in February for 10 days - free runs everywhere but they
are a bit anal about backwoods. It was forbidden(same at most Japanese
ski resorts), they would take your ticket off you pretty quickly, so
maybe it's best not to do it! That might have changed since i was
there. The base level is 2-3 metres until March and if you go in
January you're almost guaranteed powder. One guy i talked to when i
was there told me of a 1 metre dump at the beginning of January. His
eyes started to glass over and he was lost for words when he was
talking so it must have been good.....

For accessibility, the Nagano resorts are easy to get to with bullet
train/normal train connections almost to the steps of the resorts from
Tokyo. The Northern Kanto resorts have ski buses that run to them from
the nearest main line stations but you would need to check out times.
They're really for people coming up from Tokyo for a day's fun on the
snow. Usually takes a couple of hours.

Hirafu in Hokkaido is more difficult to get to. First, check if you
can get a direct flight from the States to Sapporo International
Airport on Hokkaido. If not, transfer from Tokyo International airport.
Transfer is about a 2 hour flight i think. When you get to the
Sapporo Airport buy a good map and hire a car is probably the best
thing to do and remember they drive on the other side of the road!
Should take you another 3-4 hours, i can't remember exactly. Maybe it's
a good idea to stop a night in Sapporo at a 'business hotel'. they are
cheaper option. On the way back, stop over in Tokyo for a few days of
tourist stuff.

For Hotels, any agency going to Japan should be able to hook you up
with hotel accommodation of a high standard if that's what you want at
the mountain or close to the mountain with a short bus ride to the
slopes. It will be expensive just like in Colorado or Whistler. It
might be more difficult to access cheaper ski lodge type accommodation
but it definitely exists. You could risk not booking until you get
there but i wouldn't recommend that for the resorts the Tokyo-ites go
to.

Maybe try to google the Japanese tourist organisation at
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/ or google skiing/snowboarding resorts in
Japan. I know there are some ex-pats out there who have web sites about
the ski resorts they go to.

One last thing, if you go to Hokkaido you could try to do it when the
Sapporo Ice Festival is on, i think it's Feb. It's supposed to be a
great spectacle. One thing though, prices on flights, accomm etc in
Sapporo would be higher than ususual. So my advice is go early to mid
January and take you scuba snorkel with you for the powder!!

The Dollar should go a long way so don't necessarily think it's going
to be any more expensive than a trip to the big North American resorts
once you've paid for the flights. It will be a trip of a lifetime,
that you can be guaranteed!
Hope this ramble was of some good to you......

d