Japan 2013 (redux)

If that's the case then that place is probably hella haunted like hell.    But suicide is pretty common in Japan, they even have suicide clubs where they meet up and commit suicide.    I think it was Russia that beat out Japan as the most suicidal country.

It's not that bad.  It's a forest near Mt Fuji that people go to when they want to commit suicide.  So if you're hiking around there, you may come across a body.  I think it was a documentary from Vice where they followed a guy who patrols the forest as a suicide prevention officer.  Whenever he comes across someone whose out there camping, he talks to them and see if they're suicidal or not.  

In the documentary, they may have come across a body...not sure though...

are you serious man...

that place ain't no entertainment my dude..

amazing man...

my trip in feb turned out PERFECT also. was pukin every single day literally. our plane almost had to turn back to Narita too because of blizzard-ness at Chitose. i'll be chasing this for the rest of my life...

I was thinking niseko because you can score cheap accommodation... its just youre going to be paying through the ear at the combini unless you take a trek to the supermarket half way to kutchan, and the lift tickets can be pricey... this can be mitigated by buying peoples unused day passes/hour passes when they leave. Its also mitigated by picking up the hourly tickets as well over the day passes. But its still likely to tip you over that 10,000yen/day mark (about $120/day).

As i say though this is a question ENTIRELY dependent on how long youre here, and when you plan to come. Best advice is if youre young enough (you need a bit of vitality and the capacity to put your life on hold for upwards of 5 or 6 months), and youre willing to actually do the job then youll be able to ride 100+ days for nothing. Cant get cheaper than that. And guess what? The two places that youre most likely to get that job is niseko and hakuba. Two of the best areas to ride in japan. 

i can only speak for niseko. but it's totally possible to live there on a budget during the season. PLENTY of places to stay at on a budget and i'd say decent amount of part time gigs you can pick up from what i see.

Heres a decent resort review to get your head around it: 

I am a local rider in Minakami that has been riding Tenjin for the past 13 years. As the on piste terrain is very limited, it is likey that intermediate to advanced on piste riders would start to get bored by the end of the day unless you are into powder (which there can be a lot of on piste). There is one good run for beginners but because of the huge amounts of snow and sometimes windy conditions it is not the most comfortable field to learn on. (I recommend Houdaigi in Minakami) If backcountry (bc), big mountain, trees and deep powder is your thing, then welcome to paradise. On average Tenjin is always in the top 5 ski areas for snow depth, with consistant falls of very light dry powder. There is a huge range of bc terrain ranging from melow tree runs to 60 deg mountain chutes. I rate it as one of the best bc mountains in Japan. However, the risks at Tenjin are also high. One of the sweetest runs is known as Avalanche Alley for a good reason. Every season a class 2 - 3 avalanche (big enough to take out a good sized house) drops with a number of smaller slides also ocurring. If you want to ride the bc, make sure you have: -avalanche gear -know how to use it -a buddy to ride with -guide(optional) The patrol can be difficult at times and do not condone bc riding, so it is best to be discrete. The wind problems in the past have been somewhat rectified with the new high speed (and stable) Gondola that can hold 15 people. The lift tickets have also dropped to 4000 yen making it a good choice for bc enthusiasts.

you'll be good at shinjuku, it's a MAJOR train hub there.

this is a good site for train directions:

Heres a subway map so you can find the big things...

(two secs, ill MS paint the shit out of this...)

Nozawa

Madarao 

shiga kogen

Kita shiga Kogen (yomase, kijimadaira, ryuoo et al)

Hakuba

Tangram. 

versus

versus... lets pick my nagano mountain: 

Its a trap i fell into when i went there. If you pop back to the 2011 thread i think it was, youll see me moaning about the very thing. Middle of peak season, both niseko and nagano being hammered, and furano barely getting a top up. By my last two days IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PEAK SEASON (it irked me :)), the mountain was starting to peak through the snow in a few key places. It wasreally depressing to be honest. I wrote a review on the place where i moaned about it. Go check it out. Nice mountain though, fun to ride, and super cheap compared to niseko, but dont expect the same levels of powder. You might get dumped on, and thats great, but its much less likely in furano. If you end up feeling powder starved then remember kamui and tomamu are near enough to break up teh fatigue and might have some decent lines. If it drops and theres a bus to kamui, definitely take it. Time it right and itll be one of your favorite days on the snow. 

For some reason they only take bookings up to three months in advance and OBVIOUSLY public holiday weekends (new year; 12th-14th jan; 9th-11th feb) and school holiday periods (late december to 8th Jan and late march to early april) are going to be super busy. But a weekday outside those dates on an unpopular flight should score a 20,000 yen round trip without much hassle. 

I was THIS close to just picking up a ticket for the 1st (a few cheap tickets left) to the 7th. About 26,000 total. Not the best, but not awful. Just as i was about to confirm i thought what the hey! its goig to puke in nagano then too anyway... might as well not have to pay for a plane ticket and accommodation. 

Oh, and there also these dudes:

You can only do it from osaka, but its way cheap!