Snowboarding in Japan

[HappyPuppy]

Ok, nothing to do with skylines but I'm thinging of going next winter with a mate. Probably somewhere in the Nagano region. We'll probably stay at/near an Onsen resort too - would be fun to drag him around in a happycoat completely blind drunk and with only me and my 1.5yrs of Japanese lessons :-)

I was wondering if anyone's had any experiences/recommendations they's like to share?

[ferni]

I'd love to check out the slopes in Japan... spending the last 4 years mainly in the US snowboarding was wicked... but i've heard some awesome things about the pow pow in japan....

[hayai32]

haven't been to nagano b4 but hokkaido was gold. slopes were good, sapporo was great and it's just a good place to visit. very spaced out, as in spead out/ more space

[Demon Dave]

I haven't snowboarding in Nagano myself, but several friends/students of mine have and they highly recommend it.

One of the best places to go is Shiga Heights - they have very heavy snowfalls in the winter. There are also plenty of hot springs/hotels and onsen - the area was host to the 1998 winter olympics...

http://www.avis.ne.jp/~amagawa/HPenglish.html

[Demon Dave]

Tourist info on Nagano can be found here

Funnily enough, I was in Nagano yesterday (my sons school trip). The bonus for me was driving past the Nissan Skyline Musuem (Nagano branch) - I knew it was in Nagano, but no idea where. I shall be returning to check it out sometime in the next week, will post pics if there's anything interesting.

BTW - if you're interested in living in Nagano, there is a beautiful city set in a huge circular valley, with a massive lake in the centre. Flanked on all sides by mountain ranges, you couldn't ask for a more picturesque place to live...

only problem is the name: Suwa City

(pronounced Sewer! ...."Hey mom, I'm living in Suwa city!" :D )

[DCD]

Can't go wrong with snowboarding/skiiing in Japan. I went to Nagano twice, first time during a school trips many years ago(the school conveniently had a chalet there...cool or what!). I've been to Hokkaido in Sahoro, Nagano again, a few other spots close to Ibaraki, but IMO nothing comes close to Zao in Yamagata-ken. I go there almost every year...superb spot, very Japanese and only packed during the busy season/days. Never ending slopes to ski on, it'll take you a good 3-4days to do them all properly. Snowfall reaches silly amounts...I think they get 6-7 m at the top where the snow-monsters form around the pine trees. Amazing place! And the best....after a hard days skiing a nice hot onsen outside while snow is falling!

[Parag0n]

haven't been to nagano b4 but hokkaido was gold.

My car is in Hokkaido

[HappyPuppy]

Thanks guys. Yeah I had a chat with one of my J teachers and recommended Shiga for skiing and Nozawa for Onsen. I'll definitely scouring the web for more info....not to mention cheap places to stay ;-)

Which leads me onto the next question, would a Rail Pass be suffient to get around these places or is it car only traveling due to big pointy things called mountains?

[NRB]

I spend 4 weeks in Japan December/January 2002/2003 and spent a bit of time boarding. All I can say is the powder is excellent, very deep, and often untouched. I spend a day where I didn't cross a track made by another snowboarder!

Look for the midweek deals, where you can get 1/2 price lift tickets too. I found that Raicho Valley and Nagareha had lift tickets that equated to about $15/day...