Japan- When and where

Hey all, I’m thinking of planning a trip to japan for winter 10/11 but am unsure of when the best time to go is and which resort would be the best to hit up in terms of price, pow and party atmosphere.. any suggestions?

You can’t go wrong in January and February.

Typically you get the best snow in Hokkaido. Niseko being the most popular resort in Hokkaido (it’s where all the Aussies go). Niseko is renowned for huge amounts of extremely dry powder. It snows all the time! The drawbacks of somewhere like Niseko is it can be a bit of a tourist trap and the terrain can be rather mellow (compared to elsewhere).

Somewhere like Hakuba in Nagano on the main island has much bigger and steeper mountains. While the quality of the snow doesn’t quite compare to Niseko, the snow quality is still world class, and some of the best anywhere in the world. I can tell you from previous experience, Hakuba is a must see. You stay in the town of Hakuba, which is a faily large alpine town itself, which is surrounded by different mountains in all directions (I think eight resorts in total). Your lift pass works for any of the resorts, and it’s only a short shuttle drive from mountain to mountain. Hakuba is the Japanese Alps and in my opinion offers the best freeriding experience in Japan.

Of course there are over 700 resorts in Japan, and each will offer a unique experience.

edit.

Thanks for the advice i think niseko sounds pretty good. What is the best way to get there? closest airports etc…

Fly into Tokyo then fly to Sapporo. I’m not certain but I don’t think you can fly direct to Sapporo.

Gonna bump this thread up-

so now that I’m unemployed, this does mean that hopefully there will be more time to shred.

So Feb., looking to cash in some mileage and go to Honshu / Hokkaido. I think rider26 has been to Honshu, what am I looking at in terms of costs (ticket, basic but comfortable accommodation, etc.). I’ll also look into investing into a JR pass, so I can have a bit of flexibility in my train travel.

It’s been five years since I last rode in Japan, and that was at Niseko. So I don’t have a good idea of the costs and so on, anymore.

Where are you flying from?

The bullet trains from Tokyo are incredible; so easy and fast to get around.

I was paying approx $100 AUD (approx 92 USD) a night in comfortable hotel type accomodation in a good location in Hakuba. I think $100 is fairly average for ‘standard’ accomodation (bed, bathroom, tv, fridge) in the resort towns.

I’m planning on flying into Narita, or if I start in Hokkaido, then Sapporo. I guess I’ll have to budget carefully, the hotels sound rather pricey, and I’m likely to be traveling solo. I recall paying around 50 Euro / night in the Niseko area, plus the transport / lift pass costs. I may want to head up north to Furano or maybe some other secret spots.

Did you book a package deal, or was it more of a DIY trip?

Japan is really good with shipping your luggage ahead of time, did anyone take advantage of this? It’s fantastic, the hotel will take care of it, and voila, if you know exactly where you’re staying the next night, when you arrive, the luggage is right there (even in your assigned hotel room).

So we’ll see.

I booked a package deal through my travel agent friend. He priced around and gave me a really good deal. That said, when I got to Hakuba, the people who owned the hotel said next time they would give a better price if I booked with them directly. I guess they save on paying the agents.

I didn’t know you could send luggage ahead, sounds great. How does that work exactly?

Good to know, Jeremy, thanks.

Perhaps you could let me know which hotel in Hakuba- it’s on my list of places to visit.

As for the luggage shipping, it’s darned convenient if you witness the immense crowds in Tokyo Station or Shinjuku Station, and also that the trains have precious little room for luggage (or really tall people, for that matter). Basically tell the hotel staff where your next place of lodging is, and the stuff gets there for a nominal fee ($10-20) in a couple of days. Basically, it’s a courier service for your luggage. Also, just bring along in a small bag the necessary stuff to last you for an overnight or two days, and you’re all set.

I stayed at High Mount Hotel near the bottom of Happo One. Highly recommended, family owned hotel, really nice family.

My 2 cents - I’ve been to Furano (Hokkaido) twice. Cool mountain with some great terrain and consistently good snow. They’re tight on out of bounds/tree riding though, so if you’re not smart enough and strong enough to outrun patrollers (some of which are on sleds on the groomers) then it may not be for you. There are a lot of great hills within daytrip distance - Kamui Ski Links, Tomamu Alpha, and Asahidake (incredible terrain, and the highest mountain in Hokkaido)

If you’re really looking to party I suppose Niseko is where you want to be with the rest of the Aussies. If you’re looking for a more intimate scene there’s plenty of drinking to be done in Furano. Another really cool option we did was to stay in Asahikawa for a few nights and ride Kamui Ski Links. Asahikawa is a bigger city so you have more of the city nightlife scene.

I can’t really remember too much about costs as it was a while ago and I got hooked up on accommodation.

J & J - The luggage service is brilliant! We only learned about it too late, but it made me feel a bit stupid after lugging my board bag through snowy streets!

Andy, great hints. Yeah, I missed that luggage service thing on my first couple trips to Japan. It was only after a work-related trip last year that I heard about the baggage delivery. The prospect was to ship the stuff ahead of time, or to schlep it through two station changes, Ueno and Tokyo Station. We chose to ship it- and after transferring in Ueno and Tokyo Station, which is a disorienting experience with crowds you could never have imagined, it was a wise move.

Oh, then I decided to check out Shinjuku station during rush hour. . .

7 days to go!

been a long time since i’ve logged on to the site but it’s beginning to feel a lot like snowtime again…quick question - am off to niseko mid jan and tossing up whether i should take my board with me (libby trs 159, no banana) or should i hire a more powder friendly board up there…would hate to be lugging around if not adequate for me in those conditions (i’m around 90kg weight)...any wise thoughts on this?

My strong recommendation would be to use a different board. The powder over there is super light and very deep. Your TRS doesn’t have the right shape or size to give you adequate float in Niseko pow. That’s not to say it can’t be done, but I would definately say it will make riding over there unecessarily difficult. Whether that means you should hire over there, buy a new board here, or borrow a friend’s board… that’s up to you. I am not sure about the rental boards in Niseko, does anyone know if they hire out good powder boards? I would guess they do. Rhythm Snowboard Store run a snowboard hire place in Niseko, and they would definately be my first point of contact. Check them out here.