# Myoko 2017



## snowklinger (Aug 30, 2011)

Japanuary......


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## whitelinesman (Jun 30, 2016)

snowklinger said:


> Japanuary......


Agreed. Especially with how this season's shaping up for the land of the rising sun.....


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## sureshock (Oct 2, 2012)

whitelinesman said:


> Agreed. Especially with how this season's shaping up for the land of the rising sun.....


It's looking like a pearler! Will be in Myoko middle of Jan also. Tokyo just got their first snowfall in Nov for 60 odd years.... here's hoping that keeps going!


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## The Shogun (Sep 25, 2016)

well Honshu is yet to really get going but tbf that is kind of normal.....this week should see the Japan Alps get their share. Hokkaido has been off and running for a few weeks now. Yeah it snowed in Tokyo but its useless in Tokyo....we want it on the mountains, not the plains! Also it melted in a day and its currently a balmy 17 degrees in the Tokyo area today. This is however all normal, the temps will drop, the snow will come and by mid-January I'm sure everything will be white and fluffy.


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## jellyjam (Jan 14, 2012)

Hi all. We are booked for early Feb as well. Staying in Akakura.
Would be keen to hear any good tips, info, experiences as well...
Hey whitelinesman; what have you in your quiver?

Cheers


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## whitelinesman (Jun 30, 2016)

jellyjam said:


> Hi all. We are booked for early Feb as well. Staying in Akakura.
> Would be keen to hear any good tips, info, experiences as well...
> Hey whitelinesman; what have you in your quiver?
> 
> Cheers


Hey bro. Sounds cool, should catch up for some runs! This year I am running a 161 Burton Fish (much to the disgust of some people) and a 150 K2 Party Platter. The Party Platter looks interesting and should be a good board for a variety of conditions. How about yourself?


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## jellyjam (Jan 14, 2012)

Howdy. Yeah, should be fun!
I am taking a rome powder division ST 148 and korua Tranny finder 157.
I was thinking maybe something a little longer if it gets really deep but I am assured these will do. 

It would be great if it got REALLY deep. 

Where ya staying? We are in the Akakura Park Hotel.

Never been over there or experienced that kind of snow (coming from OZ) so would be keen to get out of bounds as well but am a little apprehensive of booking guides etc when I may be struggling in the conditions!


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## whitelinesman (Jun 30, 2016)

Myoko has been kinda epic so far...


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## jellyjam (Jan 14, 2012)

Right!!!

Looks like i'll be flying solo so I'll msg in a couple of weeks. Find out where all are at. 

Looks awesome!


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## whitelinesman (Jun 30, 2016)

Sweet bro. When do you arrive? Stay in touch and I can take ya to a few stashes! I'm flying solo too.


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## Tycho (Nov 17, 2010)

whitelinesman said:


> Myoko has been kinda epic so far...


Konichiwa!
Just popping in to say how incredibly jealous I am, I've been watching the snow reports on Myoko with my eye on a possible trip there, or possibly Tenjin next winter. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the terrain as a snowboarder in Myoko. I did a month in Hokkaido last winter (several resorts, Niseko mostly) if you have any experience there I'd love your thoughts on how it compares. Also any photos you'd like to share I'd love to see!


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## whitelinesman (Jun 30, 2016)

Ill give you a full run down shortly. The short of it is, I was there 3 weeks, rode 15 days, it snowed 4m while I was there, I had about 10-12 foot plus pow days, and I queued for a chairlift once.....


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## motleybeast (Mar 25, 2015)

Tycho said:


> Konichiwa!
> Just popping in to say how incredibly jealous I am, I've been watching the snow reports on Myoko with my eye on a possible trip there, or possibly Tenjin next winter. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the terrain as a snowboarder in Myoko. I did a month in Hokkaido last winter (several resorts, Niseko mostly) if you have any experience there I'd love your thoughts on how it compares. Also any photos you'd like to share I'd love to see!


Same. Would like to hear about the whole trip actually. Accommodation, getting around, crowds. Oh, and the snowboarding!


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## whitelinesman (Jun 30, 2016)

Hey all

For those of you asking a few questions, I thought it would be a good idea to give a little more of a rundown of Myoko, the snow, the local area, the food, the people, from my experience.

Snow - Insane, so many foot plus days I lost count. I like to do stints of 2-3 weeks to ensure I get at least 4-5 good, deep days. I got probably 10+, and on the days with no snow, still found plenty of stashes. I was in Myoko Akakura for 21 days I think, did 4 days in Tokyo in the middle, when it warmed up for a few days, rode 15/16 days. I mostly rode at Akakura Kanko (5 min walk from where I was staying) couple days at Ikenotaira and couple days at Suginohara. I unfortunately didn't hit Seki or Madarao/Tangram, but heard excellent things.

Snow - Quality = awesome, not the super light, super dry stuff of Niseko/Interior BC etc, but still amazing, most snow seems to fall in the kinda -2c to -6c range, so is a little denser. But when you have day after day of 1-2ft days, who would complain?

Crowds - compared to Nth America or NZ, basically non existent, my last day riding was the busiest, had to queue for 5 mins a couple of times, as both the neighbouring resorts were closed, generally it was a 1min wait, or straight on the chair

Terrain - Its Japan, its a little bit flat, get a board that can deal with it!! There are still excellent areas with a good pitch, but there is some flat/low angle stuff. This is why you look to ride something like a K2 Party Platter, which just destroys the low angle stuff. Go fast and it wont seem as flat. Lost of little inbounds pockets that get little pressure and some kinda inside resort, out of bounds areas that don't tend to get patrolled. Most trees are fine, they get a little testy with under lift riding, like most of Japan.

Food - Heaps of good food options, cheap, authentic, friendly, run by Japanese people

Getting there - Easy, Shinkansen Tokyo - Nagano, local train Nagano - Myoko Station, 5 min taxi from there

Accommodation - I stayed at Yuki Dake lodge, awesome joint, operated by an awesome crew. It is run by gaijin, so not authentic japanese, but still a nice warm place, excellent location and good tips and info from the Canadian/Aussie/Kiwi crew. Comfy beds, heats pumps, cant go wrong!

Add up all of the above and it is awesome, but what I liked the most is its a chill place, amazing snow, but lacks the hustle and bustle of a Niseko, the snow is still amazing and there are no crowds. If I go back to Japan, I will go to Myoko - simple.


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## nickhaaa (Sep 29, 2016)

Awesome trip man! I just got back from Niseko a week ago; I really enjoyed it. I'll have to look into Myoko next time I hit Japan, which will hopefully be sooner than later.


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## htfu (Mar 18, 2015)

sounds like an awesome trip ... i did 2 weeks in hakuba valley 4 weeks ago. similar area general area iirc. was watching the snow reports and some of the resorts in japan were getting pelted \o/

will have to put myoko on the bucket list ... which will mean more japan trips, such hardship


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## JDA (Feb 10, 2016)

Nice report, we got back from a 3 week trip on the 8th of Feb, hopefully I can pull all the photos and videos together soon and post something up.

We did a week in Fukushima, went up to Zao Onsen then a week in Niseko (which I didn't like) but we got to ride Rusutsu and Kiroro too which were great!


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## The Shogun (Sep 25, 2016)

There are so many great resort areas in Japan outside of the usual Niseko-Hakuba double act. Having lived in sapporo for a couple of years and Kanagawa, the snow on Honshu is definitely not as light as that of Hokkaido. This year has been good for Honshu, last season was crap. Great to hear you had a great time.

FYI for anyone wanting to go to Myoko, you can also take the shinkansen to Iiyama station (which is convenient for Shiga kogen, Madarao and Nozawa Onsen too) and then a bus to the surrounding resorts. This cuts down on the bus transfer time from Nagano station. 

For the poster who wants to go to Tenjin, the "resort" itself sucks...its tiny but the surrounding mountains are pretty epic. Get in with local guides and do a back country tour of the area to get an idea where to go. Also Tenjin/ Minakami is near to Yuzawa which also has some good riding to be had.


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