Niseko 2017
8 nights in February, cannot wait.. Two years since my last visit there. Anyone else just as excited as us to get back out there?
Feel free to chat about anyting Niseko. Reccomendations, past experiences, accomodation, powder boards, etc.. May as well make this the 2017 Niseko thread
I’ll be in Kutchan in feb, but not sure if I’ll be ridin United while I’m there!!!!! Maybe Annupurri/Moiwa stint if anythin!!!!!
I’m hangin to get over there though!!!!!
Nice! Yeh we’re thinking of maybe taking a day or two off of riding Niseko and trying out one of the other mountains - but will see how we go. Still haven’t tried any other mountains down there, because it’s too good to leave every time I land in Niseko haha (apart from the slightly crowded chairlifts these days)! @Mizu Kuma
If you’ve never ridden Rusutsu, and you love the deep stuff in the trees, then this is a must!!!!! @The Blind Kid
It does get the crowds at first lifts, but the mountain quickly delivers freshies for all, and keeps deliverin a lot longer than Niseko!!!!!
Ah epic! Yeh I was actually concidering booking our week in Rusutsu, but we’re bringing to girls along for the first time to Japan, so thought I might stick with the family friendly mountain again this year. But I’m super keen to get over there. I might save hard this year and try get over there again next year and just make it another boys trip haha..
What board have you been riding over in Japan? I’m super keen to get on a powder board this year (or at least something that excels in powder). Something that’s a bit of an all mountain powder board would be best. K2 has been big on a my radar, and they’ve just released a new board called the Party Platter. Love the shape of the board as it’s still quite traditional, only shorter and wider with a bit of a scooped up nose. Thinking of just taking my normal board + that little guy. @Mizu Kuma
How old are your girls @The Blind Kid ? I have to miss out on Niseko this year, my little man is just too young. The other half is going though… no doubt I’ll be extremely jealous come January!
Ah epic! Yeh I was actually concidering booking our week in Rusutsu, but we’re bringing to girls along for the first time to Japan, so thought I might stick with the family friendly mountain again this year. But I’m super keen to get over there. I might save hard this year and try get over there again next year and just make it another boys trip haha..
What board have you been riding over in Japan? I’m super keen to get on a powder board this year (or at least something that excels in powder). Something that’s a bit of an all mountain powder board would be best. K2 has been big on a my radar, and they’ve just released a new board called the Party Platter. Love the shape of the board as it’s still quite traditional, only shorter and wider with a bit of a scooped up nose. Thinking of just taking my normal board + that little guy. @Mizu Kuma
@The Blind Kid Last feb I took a NS Swift and an Arbor Shreddy Krueger!!!!
Here’s a link to my crappy Swift Review!!!!!
http://www.boardworld.com.au/forums/viewthread/19379
Other boards I reckon would be awesome for Niseko would be the Jones Stormchaser, or the Jones Hovercraft!!!!! Personally I’d love to get the Stormchaser, but I just spent my last coin on a Hovercraft for Mrs Mizu, and another trip to Japan!!!!! ? The Hovercraft would suit both Japan and back here at home on a semi fresh day, or even on light groomed!!!!!
You can ask @amine on here about the Jones Boards, and even see @rider26 for one off the rack if ya keen!!!!!
Oh, and @rider26, the Vimeo Embed not showing/working now?????
Oh, and @The Blind Kid, I reckon your girls will be fine over Rusutsu as there’s a few greens and reds!!!!! Bust trip with lift pass goes for about ¥6000 and leaves from the Welcome Center in Hirafu!!!!!
And if ya don’t go there, definitely take them around to Moiwa cause that place is perfect for any age/level!!!!!
Hello All .... @The Blind Kid & @Mizu Kuma - here is some of my feedback on the Jones Hovercraft & Storm Chaser;
HOVERCRAFT - I love this board. I ride it everywhere, literally. I don’t just save it for POW days, as it is such a versatile board for resort shredding. And I say that because it is super solid in edge (mellow magnetraction + camber placement), the taper/setback combo gives it a nice loose feel (almost surfy, especially in our common AUS resort slush!), and it allows you to ride it super short compared to your regular resort twin. I guarantee you will be surprised how well this POW MACHINE rides the whole resort in any snow condition. (please however bear in mind the waist width can make the board fell slower edge to edge at SLOW speeds, but at speed it responds very well).
STORMCHASER - I love this board too surprise surprise. But the Chris Christenson rocker profile is much looser than the Hovercraft’s Directional Rocker (which is mainly Camber + nose rocker) - so its easily “best in class” in deep pow, but a touch looser on piste….
So Amine’s short answer;
The STORMSHASER is literally the ultimate pow board, and the HOVERCRAFT is epic in pow, but pretty amazing everywhere else as well (I am constantly surprised by how close it ride to the Flagship a lot of the time!!!).
HOPE THIS HELPS GUYS. SAFE TRAVELS!!!!!
Thanks for all the feedback legends, much appreciated.
Haha sorry guys, after reading it now I can see why you assumed I was talking about our kids - but I was just referring to our girlfriends haha! Still a few years before the little ones will be popping out lol. The girls are still very amateur though, so I sort of treat them like kids - nothing too crazy for them as far as mountain runs go haha. @Billy
I had a look into Ratsutsu and I think we’re going to do a day trip (or possibly two) from Niseko. Will be great to get a little taste of what it has to offer for my next Jap snow trip. Excited to see another mountain - so thanks for the recommendation. @Mizu Kuma
As for the board recommendations, the Hovercraft sounds pretty awesome. My only concern is losing the ability to ride switch, as I still like to do little spins and play around on side hits etc. I definitely want to go directional, but not completely directional. If I was to pick a good Jones board for what I want, I would probably say the closest board would be the Explorer or a shortened version of the Flagship. @amine
In saying that, there’s just something about this K2 Party Platter that just gets me pumped - but I’ve heard it’s a little stiff between the bindings - so hopefully I won’t loose too much playfulness because of it. The board only got released this year too, so there’s a good chance I won’t be able to find much feedback until the US season is back - so it’s a little bit of a risk buying it too.
Oh also, if I can recommend any accommodation in Niseko - I’d recommend Yotei Cottage. We stayed there on our last trip and it was the best value for money by a long shot. It’s a quaint little cottage, owned by an elderly couple, but hired out through Ski Japan. We stayed 7 nights and it only cost us $1150 each from memory including lift passes and return transfers. It’s a tiny bit of a walk from the lifts, but they do have a shuttle that pops by every 30 min or so. It’s got 4 beds, and it’s 3 stories - kitchen and lounge on the bottom floor, with 2 bed + bath on the 1st floor, and another 2 bed on the second. We tried to book it again this year, but the couple who own it unfortunately are spending most of February there - so we had to go somewhere else and decided to upgrade to something a bit nicer for the girls - and it’s cost us nearly double what it cost us to stay at Yotei haha.
In that case, the girls will be 100% fine over Rusutsu!!!!! @The Blind Kid
Isola is ideal for what you want, cause you can drop into the trees, and the girls can ride above or below and meet you back at each lift point!!!!! And if the pow is on, its insane!!!!!
Sounds like a done deal then haha! On another note - took a leap and purchased my first powder board today. I was really steering towards the K2, but I had a local seller popup on instagram that had their hands on a brand new 158 Capita Powder Pill at a good price (which I had recently had a good look into but couldn’t find anything for sale locally) and I jumped right on it. It’s a pretty out there board from what I’ve heard, but I’ve only heard good things about it. Really looking forward to trying her out in the pow @Mizu Kuma
Can anyone tell me if you can Black Cat between islands? We’re thinking of doing Niseko then Myoko. But we’re hoping a friend will also come along who is currently living in Indo but her board bag lives with us and she’s keen on the Myoko leg of the trip only at this point.
Started own thread.
Will be there from mid december until towards the end of feb.
Have a car so going to go check out a few diff resorts too.
Also - I have a spare room im thinking of renting out for a week or two here and there if anyone knows anyone keen.
Just out of hirafu. walking distance to hirafu, about 400m from ace lift