Japan - Off the beaten track
Having ticked off Niseko & Hakuba of places I’ve visited, in recent years, when I go to Japan I have been heading to resorts that aren’t really on Australian’s radars.
In January this year, having a few days to spare, me & the wife decided to go to Naeba.
It a very easy place to get to from Tokyo.
Take the Sanyo Shinkansen to Gala Yuzawa which is around 2 hours.
And from there its a 20-30 minute drive to Naeba.
We stayed at the prince, which is very reasonable priced (less than 100000 per night), and has a bus pick up from Yuzawa.
The resort caters for everything… you have restaurants, bars, convenience stores, snow sports stores & even a couple of onsens, so there is no real need to go anywhere else at night.
Also, there is Kuro Neko Yamato takubin (black cat courier service) located in the hotel, so there is no need to lug your ski gear.
Onto the boarding.
Naeba is big, steep & well serviced by lifts & gondolas.
The upper mountain isn’t really catered for beginners & it can get very windy.
I didn’t venture to the top because I thought I would be blown away in a siberian storm.
There are many ungroomed powder fields.
I found down lower in the trees collected loads of windblown, but you need to be careful as there are many ungroomed places lower down and if you haven’t got your speed up, you will be stuck in waist deep snow.
You can get a combined lift ticket that also services the sister resort of Kagura, which is a 20 minute ride on the dragondola.
So for guaranteed powder, head up to Kagura.
Kagura is basically three main areas, Tashiro, Mitsumoto & Kagura itself .
As well as being accessed by the gondola, there are 2 ropeways giving access to the resort.
When I was there it didn’t stop snowing, in fact it was snowing that hard that on one trail, there were using a skidoo to groom a track in the middle as even skiers were getting bogged down.
I didn’t venture over to Mitsumoto or the main Kagura area because I had NFI where I was going & didn’t want to get lost.
The dragondola takes you to Tashiro.
Tashiro is not that steep, but you need to learn to ride powder to get most enjoyment.
There are some blue/black runs but the best thing about Kagura resort is there are no ropes so where you go is up to you.
You don’t need to venture far to find powder as most runs I experienced boot to knee deep, with waste deep to the sides.
Kagura is a place I want to return.
In January (and maybe February), the snow can be relentless.
I didn’t see any sun at all, and most of the time it was a white out, so it was very easy to lose your sense of direction.
However, Powder snow is in abundance and that is one of the biggest reasons people head to Japan.
I do have some photos on my computer at home, so will post some at a later date… not really boarding photos because I was enjoying the powder too much.
Nice, I’ve been looking into different areas in Honshu the past couple of years and Naeba/Kagura have come up a few times so it’s nice to hear some first hand reports and I’ll certainly put it on my to do list as it sounds right up my alley!
A few days certainly wasn’t enough for me…
I think hiring a car would be good because the Yuzawa area has stacks of smaller resorts easily accessible from Yuzawa town
Last year & the year before, I boarded a few resorts in the Gifu region.
Gifu is certainly not on the radar of Aussies or other foreigners as I did not see another gaijin when I was on the snow.
Also, Gifu has a knack (like Niigata) of getting more snow than the surrounding prefectures.
A few days certainly wasn’t enough for me…
I think hiring a car would be good because the Yuzawa area has stacks of smaller resorts easily accessible from Yuzawa town
Yeah I’m planning on hiring a car for my future Japow trips.
Last year & the year before, I boarded a few resorts in the Gifu region.
Nice as in resorts around Gujo/Takayama? I’ve also been looking into that area so when you get a chance I’d be interested to hear what you thought of the mountains/towns.
I’ve already told myself my next Japan trip will be a driving tour around Hokkaido but I think a driving tour in some of the prefectures that form a ring around Nagano would soon follow.
When I went I stayed at pensions in & around the Hide interchange.
Not sure about eating out as we had dinner at the pensions.
There are hire shops, convenience stores, restaurants in the town, plus one awesome outside onsen. (Best feeling is sitting in the onsen whilst snow is falling on your head)
That area gets crowded on the weekend as it only a few hours drive from Kyoto/Osaka but weekdays the resorts are deserted.
Apart from Dynaland/Takatsu (Two resorts, same mountain, interconnected at the top), most of the ski’jo’s are fairly small & are within 30 minutes drive from the town area. (I think I counted about 9 different resorts in the area)
These smaller ones are worth a day, but at most you’d be bored after a day unless there is powder.
I went to one called Winghills where I was snowboarding powder until I called it quits around 4 on the afternoon a couple of days after a 40cm dump because the top half was closed the day after the snow due to winds.
Thanks mate, I really should stop reading as I’m not ready to get my Japan Juices flowing just yet! 
I loooove outdoor onsens lying back watching the flakes slowly fall before instantly melting as they hit you or the water.
I also want to spend some more time in Osaka in the future so it sounds like a convenient side trip as well.
I am not going next year, so I will be jealous of everyone who hits the JAPOW.
My wife is from the Osaka area, so I spend a fair bit of time there when I go to Japan.
If you need to go to any snow shops in Osaka, I know one in particular near the old international airport where I bought a K2 turbo charge board, K2 bindings & Burton Boots a couple years back all for the pricey sum of around AUD 760
Some nice info in there, Oji!!!!! 
I mostly got Powder, Powder, and Powder, from the first read through, so I’m gonna have to wait till my Japan Juices have been mopped up before I try and soak <strike>in an onsen</strike> the info up for future use!!!!!
Ohhh, and pics don’t have to be of boardin to get major appreciation around here!!!!!
We drool on pretty much anythin with powder, mountains, architecture, onsens, or alcohol, in them!!!!! 
Yes, pics of anything japow!!
Im all booked in for 2015!!! I missed out this year, and i cant wait to get my powder fix again!.
Nice as in resorts around Gujo/Takayama? I’ve also been looking into that area so when you get a chance I’d be interested to hear what you thought of the mountains/towns.
Been to Takayama but in autumn. Quite a charming place. We stayed in a ryokan which was also very nice. Went for a short walk in the mountains.
Naeba
dragondola linking Naeba to Kagura (Tashiro)
Winghills Shirotori Gifu, looking towards Snow Wave Park Gifu
And if anyone wants to know what Fugu Sashimi looks like
