# Thinking of going to Japan....



## Milo303 (Apr 6, 2009)

I know a girl in Japan right now, I will ask her.

Just bump this thread if I never post back in it and that will jog my memory


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## Milo303 (Apr 6, 2009)

Here's her reply




"Oh wow...I don't even know where to begin there...Getou is really nice, and Hakkoda seems like it'd be awesome if you don't catch it at the end of the season like I did. I also liked Hachimantai-Panorama. I've heard Zao and Niseko are awesome, but I haven't been there. Tell him to check out hakkodapowder.com and snowjapan.com. Best time to come is probably Jan-Feb."


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## Guest (Jul 24, 2010)

Japan is awesome. If you want ridiculous powder and easily accessed backcountry Niseko is the bomb.


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## Zandax (Jul 24, 2010)

If you're realy looking for the japanese experience i wouldnt go to niseko since it's crowded with aussies and also owned by them. There are alot of resorts in Japan and like milo suggested you should check out snowjapan.com . Other big resorts are Hukabu (wich hosted the 1998 olympic downhill,...) Myoko kogen and Rusutsu.


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## RaID (Aug 27, 2009)

Ive been going to Hakuba for the last 3 seasons
For two week trips in Feb ive always got at least 1m of fresh snow over my trip

Hakuba has proper mountains with 1000m vertical, about 5 proper resorts to choose from.
Easily accessed backcountry with avalnche knowledge required, endless hiking if thats what you want.
Can get steep tree runs, great varied terrain. I love the place.
Parkwise dont expect anything close to north american parks. You come here for the powder and BC not park riding.
Hakuba has definitely got more english signs and facilities for westerners in the 3 years ive been coming but you can still get authentic feel in the town.

Havent been in Niseko but from my research it has slightly better snow, but more flat terrain ie big hills rather than mountains. Its pretty much aussie town like whistler which i wanted to get away from.


There is buckload more great ski areas that are less known, so dont discount them, the above are the most popular with westerners.

Ask any questions if you have about Hakuba.

If you want powder you cant loose coming to Japan


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## HoboMaster (May 16, 2010)

Man I want to go to Japan.... Where's the hell is the dead distant relative with tons of money.


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## Zandax (Jul 24, 2010)

RaID said:


> There is buckload more great ski areas that are less known, so dont discount them, the above are the most popular with westerners.


Doesn't there appear a problem when you go to the resorts that almost never see westerners? i doubt there will be alot of people that will speak english.


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## HoboMaster (May 16, 2010)

Well, probably if you want to go to the smaller resorts you might want to learn basic Japanese. Japanese actually isn't that hard to learn, nothing like mindfuck makes no sense English.


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## RaID (Aug 27, 2009)

Zandax said:


> Doesn't there appear a problem when you go to the resorts that almost never see westerners? i doubt there will be alot of people that will speak english.


Japanese will help, however youll find that Japanese people are very accommodating and will go out of your way to help you even with the language barrier, and show off their country. If youve got a sense of adventure I wouldnt discounted.

We had a 50 year old guy in Nagano stop a group of us (4 guys) on the street, and proceeded to drive us around the city to for 6 hours showing us the historic spots. He just wanted to speak English with us. He even wanted to pay us, where as we wanted to pay him for his time.


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## Thumper (Mar 17, 2008)

japan is great. I've lived here for the past eight years. Been boarding for 3 years. Although a bit of Japanese will definitely help, like the other's posted, it's relatively easy to get by without it. Also you'll find lots of westerners working in many of the bigger ski resorts.
I've done all my boarding in Nagano and Niseko. Definitely recommend both. 

Nagano (Hakuba) has a lot of different mountains to choose from. I think the best is "Goryu/47". Great mountain, great park (best I've ever been to), lots of good food. Happo is also good, most of the Nagano Olympics was held there. Also great in Nagano is Shiga-Kogen. It's a huge resort with about 80 or more lifts across three mountains.

Niseko IMO is best though. Great views, huge mountain, good restaurants and night life, but most of all you chances of getting really good quality powder is far better. I also love that the whole mountain is lit up from about 4 and you don't need another seperate ticket to ride at night. (Most of the resorts in Nagano close down for 1 hour between 4:30 and 5:30 and then you need a new ticket after that.) 

But either way you can't go wrong with either. :thumbsup:


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## Flant (Sep 7, 2011)

I've been boarding in Japan 4 times and it's awful. The powder is terrible, the people not friendly and the food sucks. I hate it so much I'm going back again to Myoko in Feb for 3 weeks.


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## snowklinger (Aug 30, 2011)

how are lift ticket prices?


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## chupacabraman (Jul 30, 2009)

From my research a couple of the better resorts would be Happo One and Nozawa Onsen.
Be sure to chill with the monkeys in the hot springs 
-- Edit --
Sorry for the tiny pics, but the forum restricts it like that. (nothing like shrinking a 11000w pano down to 600w lol)


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## RaID (Aug 27, 2009)

snowklinger said:


> how are lift ticket prices?


~US$50 day depending on resort


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## Tarzanman (Dec 20, 2008)

Basic phrases in Japanese are not that tough. Anything more complicated than "I want this", "How much is that", "Where is this", etc gets complicated very quickly if you do not have a rudimentary understanding of the language.

This is different from other languages (like Mandarin) that share the subject-verb-object syntax of English.

Most Japanese know at least a few English words, so its not like you won't be able to communicate at all if you get stranded.


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## HoboMaster (May 16, 2010)

Command-Japanese is very easy to learn and use, having a conversation is definitely the hard part.


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## pjstyles (Mar 9, 2011)

I live in Japan.
I can't speak for Nagano and Hokkaido since I've never been there but this is what I've heard what the differenes are. Nagano has the better terrain, less crowds, and less foreigners. Hokkaido has the snow quality but smaller mountains and way more foreigners.

I live in Tohoku (North East Japan). And it is pretty damn good:
















http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fL3mSswlspM


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## mike50 (Sep 23, 2011)

I never been to Nisseko but been to HAkuba a load of times - Hakuba suits me becasuse it never gets too crowded and if you stick to day passes as opposed to a sason pass for a specific area you have a huge choice of areas, I live here so I always get the season pass that covers Goryu, Imori and 47 good variety here for me. My friends go to Happo where I am told there is a lot of off piste and trees. Hope this helps !


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## HoboMaster (May 16, 2010)

pjstyles said:


> I live in Japan.
> I can't speak for Nagano and Hokkaido since I've never been there but this is what I've heard what the differenes are. Nagano has the better terrain, less crowds, and less foreigners. Hokkaido has the snow quality but smaller mountains and way more foreigners.
> 
> I live in Tohoku (North East Japan). And it is pretty damn good:
> ...


Super pow-envy. I will get to Japan one day with a snowboard, one day.


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## JaneR (Sep 22, 2011)

Japan is awesome! I have been to Hakuba once and Niseko twice. Whilst Hakuba is steeper terrain I actually prefer Niseko as it gets more snow and has a lot of off piste terrain through tree runs. Hakuba has the off piste potential through the trees too but the Japanese believe that people's spirits are in the trees and it is disrespectful to board in the trees. So in Hakuba it is not allowed which is a bit frustrating if like me you want to spend the majority of your day off piste. Niseko has a more liberal approach so you can do the tree runs and they are normally not too busy as the Japanese tend not to do them. Niseko has great night skiing as well which covers several pistes.

The Japanese people are lovely and the food is great and the Onsen (hot spa)is awesome. 

Once you have been you will want to go back


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## saudade101 (Nov 5, 2009)

I went to Hakuba in Feb of 2009 and going back this coming Feb for 10 days of boarding. Haven't been to Niseko before, so can't comment from personal experience. But like the others have said, there's more chance of getting powder and having nicer days. On the other hand, from what I've researched, there are a number of cons that are holding me back from going for the time being;
1) Bit of a trek to get there, especially if you're only planning a short trip
2) Run and overcrowded with foreigners, so you tend to lose that traditional feeling in town
3) Fewer mountains to chose from, and smaller vertical drops

I'll eventually make my way up to Niseko, but even after spending 13 days in Hakuba in 2009, I feel as though there's heaps more to explore and conquer. JaneR is right on the money with the concept of tree runs being frowned upon in Hakuba. We were always so surprised that barely anyone was doing them, until we got chased off them by guys in snow mobiles! Didn't stop us from doing it though, added to the danger!  So there is an abundance of off-piste action in Hakuba with no one taking advantage of them, besides the very few foreigners that we came across.

Hakuba is absolutely stunning! From the moment we arrived, to the moment we left, everything about the place was magical. All the locals treated us with such kindness, and were always impressed when we tried to speak basic Japanase, so I would definately recommend learning the fundamentals. Out of 13 days of boarding, one of those was rained out, and basically everyday we had some fresh powder to carve up. With such a large selection of mountains and runs to chose from, every day was an adventure, and we got nowhere near tiring of the place!

I can't wait to go back there in a few months time, got my fingers crossed for some epic snow and decent weather


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## JaneR (Sep 22, 2011)

Well done avoiding the ski patrol in Hakuba Saudade101. If they catch you they tend to take your lift pass away which is what put us off going into the tree runs until our last day when it didn't matter if we lost the pass.


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## mike50 (Sep 23, 2011)

Happo one doesn't care about you going between the trees check it out


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## JaneR (Sep 22, 2011)

Thats good to know Mike 50. Have you been there recently and found this to be the case? When we were there 3 years ago it was a problem at Happo 1. Awesome news if they have eased up on this. I would go there again if thats the case.


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## Flant (Sep 7, 2011)

Personally I respect the rules and wishes of each resort and just because it's my last day doesn't mean I can do 'whatever'. The more respectful we are in someone else's country, the more we receive. I expect the same here.


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## mike50 (Sep 23, 2011)

I'll see if I can check - I wasn't there last season but a friend was and he is always in and out of the trees.


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## dreampow (Sep 26, 2011)

Hi Everyone

I have been living in Japan for the last 10 years. I have only been sbowboarding the last 3. I used to live in the deep south where there is no real snow. Up north the powder is a plenty and when its good its incredible. Nagano has many many places other than Hakuba, but the Hakuba area is the most English friendly. English Menus and places to stay with foreign staff so you can get by without any Japanese.

Hokkaido has many many places other than Niseko, but again its the most English friendly. Even the websites don't have English for lots of places. 

Hakuba and Niseko will get good powder regularly. Niseko more so. 
As others have said Hakuba is steeper terrain than Niseko.
If you just want to shred and not really bothered about seeing another way of life/culture they could be spot on.

One thing I personally don't enjoy in Hakuba is that they don't like you going in the trees and will probably take your pass away if they catch you. A few years ago an avalanche caused by some dudes in the woods killed a couple of people on a regular trail. Hence they don't like you going in the woods.

They are both good but if you are adventurous and want a more Japanese experience do some research and go to another resort. If you speak even a few words the locals will appreciate the effort and be even more helpful than usual.

My personal recommendation is Nozawa onsen. Its in the north of Nagano and gets more pow than Hakuba. 
Takes a little longer to get there and the village has no nightlife. You can have a beer in a bar but its a small small village and its real Japan. Having said that they do have English speakers working there and all the staff speak basic (very basic) English.
In Nozawa they don't mind you going in the trees because the way the terrain is the only person at real risk is you and others off piste of which there are few. Still its no joke and don't go in unless you know what you are doing and where to go or are with some locals who do.
Some of the off piste routes are 5 kilometers until you come back to civilization and pretty knarly.
There are also lots of runs where you can just pop in and back out onto a piste quite quickly, which I recommend unless you are with a local (or me). 
There is a park but its not that big.
Mostly powder and wood junkies will enjoy. Great pistes too.

There are many many other great places I have yet to shred. Naeba in Niigata prefecture is recommended by a trusted friend and Zao in Yamagata prefecture.

Try to hit the resorts on weekdays or at least as many weekdays as you can manage on your trip.
I'm sure thats true anywhere but with 120 million people in a place smaller than some US states it can be crowded at weekends. I personally don't bother on weekends I work for myself and when there is a combination of weekday and fresh I head up to shred.

Jan and Feb give you the best chance of powder but I have been in amazing pow in April.

A word of warning though you might love it here so much that you stay. I came 10 years ago for a year originally, but just loved it here so much. I am married and have a child with a Japanese woman (who I tought to shred and is now decent).


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## WaltzingMatera (Sep 30, 2011)

I have snowboarded at different resorts on Honshu (main island) as well as Niseko in Hokkaido (northern island). I have also been to Banff (Sunshine & Lake Louise) and Australia locally over the years. 

All in all, Niseko wins hands down. You really have to go there to experience the huge snowfall. I was there for one week and it almost didn't stop snowing. For other Japanese resorts not in Hokkaido, you will have good seasons and bad seasons. For Hokkaido, I have not heard of a bad snow season.

Yes there are a lot of Australians in Niseko but remember that Australians have to travel to go snowboarding/skiing as Australian resorts are not really worth worrying about. I haven't been yet to United States but I would choose Hokkaido certainly above Canada for almost guaranteed good snow. It is no wonder that Australians have called it home.


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## dreampow (Sep 26, 2011)

Again been living in Japan 10 years. Agreed Hokkaido will get the most snow. Having said that I have friends who have spent 4 days in Hokkaido in Feb with slush conditions. Nagano and northern Japan also get lots of snow and almost never has bad years for snow (Nagano hosted winter Olympics a few years back).
Also Hokkaido is not just Niseko. If you want easy English speaking convenience and don't mind trading that for some authenticity Niseko could be spot on for you. Some people want to feel they are in Japan and have a cultural experience as well as shred.
In that case I recommend doing some research, as I said before Nozawa is great in Nagano and if you prefer Hokkaido there are many places (Tomamu and Rusutsu to name but two).

Enjoy.


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## WaltzingMatera (Sep 30, 2011)

dreampow said:


> Again been living in Japan 10 years. Agreed Hokkaido will get the most snow. Having said that I have friends who have spent 4 days in Hokkaido in Feb with slush conditions. Nagano and northern Japan also get lots of snow and almost never has bad years for snow (Nagano hosted winter Olympics a few years back).
> Also Hokkaido is not just Niseko. If you want easy English speaking convenience and don't mind trading that for some authenticity Niseko could be spot on for you. Some people want to feel they are in Japan and have a cultural experience as well as shred.
> In that case I recommend doing some research, as I said before Nozawa is great in Nagano and if you prefer Hokkaido there are many places (Tomamu and Rusutsu to name but two).
> 
> Enjoy.



When it comes to mother nature, it is always fingers crossed to some extent (just like for surfing you want good waves and golf you want a clear day). I have also been to Canada and Whistler was closed as there was no snow. 

I went to Nagano once and there wasn't a lot of snow but would love to go during a bumper year. 

I can speak Japanese so never thought about 'English speaking convenience' but could certainly see how that could be a factor for people planning overseas trips. 

I certainly recommend to go to Japan in general as it is great fun with great food and onsens, etc.


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## dreampow (Sep 26, 2011)

good on ya if you can speak Japanese:thumbsup:.
will make being in Japan a whole lot more fun and for anyone that can't, pick up a few phrases (even just thank you [Arigato] + head nod type bow and [sumimasen] which means sorry or excuse me, again little bow of head) before you come it will make your trip way better.

I watch the snowfall pretty obsessively (as many boarders do) in the winter and it is true its always a gamble.
Hokkaido has the most snowfall but there are times when its localized to the region around Nagano or to the north of there like Niigata and Yamagata or no snow in that region and buckets in Hokkaido.

Since Japan is such a small country you can travel easily around the north and even to Hokkaido on the train (Bullet train for some sections).
There is a rail pass that is pretty cheap for foreigners (Japan rail pass) it allows unlimited travel for 1 week or 2. 
If you like an adventure get the pass and just go where the powder is best at that time. They have overnight sleeper trains up to Hokkaido which are cool and no need to pay for accommodation that night.

As for accommodation at the resort you can find it cheap as you go.

I always go when the powder falls and never book in advance and I have never had a problem finding a reasonable place to stay. 
Stay at an Inn or Minshuku for cheap prices and the full Japanese experience. A fancier place would be a Ryokan you will pay more but get better food and they sometimes have rooms with their own private tub with hot spring water on tap.

The other bonus of having the rail pass would be that you could hit 2 or 3 different regions in 1 trip and stop off in Tokyo in between. If there is no pow for a day or two just hop on a train and see some other cool stuff. 

If I was coming to Japan for a 2 week trip or even 10 days that would be my style (I did this 10 years ago with no real Japanese ability at that time).

That way you'll see much more of Japan and get to shred more different terrain.

Of course if you'd rather just settle in 1 place and book everything in advance and hassle free (which is cool also), Niseko gives you the best chance of lots of fresh pow.


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## mike50 (Sep 23, 2011)

JaneR said:


> Thats good to know Mike 50. Have you been there recently and found this to be the case? When we were there 3 years ago it was a problem at Happo 1. Awesome news if they have eased up on this. I would go there again if thats the case.


Re: Above I checked and asked my friend (Reular Happo visitor) and here is his totally un-edited reply: " Not allowed but definitely not patrolled. Never had an issue."


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## dreampow (Sep 26, 2011)

If you are unlucky enough to seen by a ski patrol while coming out of the woods they will have your passes.
2 of my buddies lost theirs 2 years back. No warning no argument just like that give us your passes now.
None of us have been back since.
I seriously doubt they have changed their policy in the last 2 years.
Having said that if you are careful and keep and eye out for the patrol dudes that are rare, you should be sweet.
I prefer to not worry about that and shred somewhere where I know they will at least warn me first.


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## mike50 (Sep 23, 2011)

All well and good - personally I think if you are nt supposed to go into the trees / off course etc. then don't !


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## WaltzingMatera (Sep 30, 2011)

Yeah rail pass is a great idea for first time travellers to Japan if you are not in such a rush. I started my pass from Kyoto to Tokyo to Hokkaido. I stayed at Hakodate along the way to Niseko and could enjoy some wonderful onsen experiences.

When I was living in Japan, local snowboard shops would post daily snowfall conditions of resorts so you could get a good idea on where was good. As I could not get a rail pass as you can only pick up when you are outside of the country because it is for tourists, I could never get up to Hokkaido as at the time I couldn't really afford the luxury of buying plane tickets and hotels so it was a bit of a dream to go to Hokkaido. It wasn't until I came back later for a short Japan trip where I saved some money that I could finally get up to Hokkaido.


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## JaneR (Sep 22, 2011)

I agree Mike50. If they don't like you in the trees don't go and thats why I always go to Niseko instead of Hakuba. My one trip to Hakuba I did go in the trees for a couple of runs on the last day but did not feel comfortable about it. I don't want to annoy anyone, apart from skiers that is...just joking.


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## Nino (Oct 26, 2011)

I've been going to Japan every year for the past 5 years.

Niseko: As people have said you are guaranteed powder. As previously reported there are four main resorts going up different sides of the mountain and you can cut across to all of them from close to the peak. Tree runs are a go

Rusutsu: about an hour from Niseko on the other side of mt yotei. Rusutsu has hree mountains to ride. It's got nowhere near as many people as Niseko and not really much of a nightlife. But in my mind this resort offers best powder runs, tree runs than Niseko does. It's got 10% of the crowds too and you are pretty much guaranteed freshies every day and it's mostly japanese. So you can avoid all the partying westerners. Even after 3 days of no snow you still find freshies.

Here's two videos I made last season in Rusutsu. Went there with my brothers and a few other guys.

RSTU Style - YouTube
RTSU AUSBoardies Run - YouTube


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