Japan 2013 (redux)

do it!

looks like i'm headed up to hokkaido again this season. i'm never making it to nagano! LOL

just being in the East Coast USA is a torture every season!

yeah, i'm aware of that site. i use it thoroughly when in i'm in japan

i'll be up in Rusutsu and Niseko in Feb!

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! 

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. 

Nozawa

Madarao 

shiga kogen

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

Hakuba

Tangram. 

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

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

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

this is a good site for train directions:

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.

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.