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yea, they get like 500 inches a season. look up niseko. its south of sapporo. apparently the pow there is like the dryest, like utah comparable. but the terrain is weak/boring. great tree skiing, just not a lot of variety. although, its overrun with arrogant aussies. niseko is becoming the new bali.
if you decide on nagano then hakuba is the place to be it is called the japanese alps and has backcountry that would make an alaskan feel at home. snow is a little more damp, more like tahoe.
just look around on the snowjapan.com site, everything you want to know is there.
Hey everyone for the help,
I forgot I made this thread. I ended up moving to Toronto for work instead of taking some time off to go skiing. I was living in Nagoya when I posted the thread. I thought about doing some skiing in Japan the next winter but a ton of student debt meant I had to do get to work with my brand new degree in finance. Now I'm living in Toronto working a great deal and skiing very little.
Some friends from Nagoya are moving to Hokkaido next winter so I'll visit them for two weeks and hopefully find some redic pow. I had a dope time living in Japan this summer.
The film is entirely backcountry/freeriding.
I just saw Long Story Short, it has an interesting Japan segment with freeriding in the Niseko area and urban rails as well.
Congratulations on your college! I have to say, first there is no wrong way to spell, although many abide by a standard since it's just english versions of japanese alphabets, you just need to get the sound right.
But, I would say to investigate the area around tokhu, aomori etc. As said Niseko is nice, but too many tourists. In North Honshu you will find small resorts with huge powder and nice little ryokan (Japanese style bed/breakfast, family run usually). For the price of a big place like Niseko you can be the only one on the mountain, at a different place every day! This is probably my favorite thing to do, although certainly do not rule out Hokkaido.
snowjapan.com is excellent and if you can read the reviews on Hakkoda (my favorite example) you will see it is a good experience!
Greetings,
Well, I am looking at spending a season somewhere. I want to be able to rent an apartment on the short term. Maybe spend 1-2 months in small places and another 2 months in Niskeo. I have heard Niseko can get very busy with Australian tourists. How "busy" does this mean? Do you mean Whistler type busy or the Japanese equivalent to Whistler busy (VERY busy)?
Can you find an apartment by the month in some of these places? I am very interested in spending a season in Hokkaido.
I am not sure where I will be skiing next season when I visit my friends, it depends on where they decide to live.
I'm awaiting my next Yoshinoya beef-bowl and Sapporo beer!
In niseko you will think you skiied right to europe! More white tourists than japanese! The slopes arent as bad as fewer people from Tokyo there, but most good territory is dominated by austrailan people. I will be in Aomori visiting a few mountains from November to January this coming year, but I don't think I will go to Hokkaido. I have a house in Aomori but no spare room sadly. Would be happy to have another good rider along though! I would search for a place called a gaijin house which rents usually on week or month basis. Or, I am sure there are places which cater to whites there due to the austrailians there. The resort is large and western styled. Check wikitravel.com entry on niseko and hokkaido for places to stay. As far as parks, why waste your time in parks in Japan when there's real skiing to be done! Parks are for people with no access to cliffs!
Enjoy,