Snowboarding in Japan

deadfingers

Hi Guys,

Myself and my mates are planning a trip to Japan around Christmas. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to go. I am thinking Hakuba, basically because it is close to Tokyo and has many ski resorts in the one valley. Has anyone been there?

The things that concern me are

1. Not being able to get lessons in English ( we would be average snowboardes)
2. Overpriced when compared with the quality of the slopes in Europe
3. What the craic would be a night

Just on a side note, I live in Sydney and I have ever only gone skiing in Threbo and Pershier. Has anyone been there? If so how do they compare it Europe and else where? I really enjoyed myself there but everyone says that you cannot compare them with Europe and elsewhere.

Cheers

Static M.e.

I think someone from here is going to Japan this year, hopefully they will pipe up with some information, I've never been so I dont know much about it.

Although all the Japanese people I meet in Ireland or New Zealand had perfect English so the language mightn't be a problem..

edmund_f

yep, me

heading to Hokkaido - from the reviews all the resorts there are pretty low in comparison to Europe, but all get pretty good snow, the best (apperantly) is in Niseko Grand Hirafu - heading there the 12th Jan.

As far as i can gather a lot of instructors from Australia head up there so i doubt english lessons would be much of a problem in the larger resorts

Again, as best i can tell the prices are similar or less than the prices on European slopes, but that is just from reading about on other forums, so it is at best third hand speculation

Craic?.. it is where you bring it Hifrau has night skiing which seems to be a lot more devolped over east than here- every review i have read says that the people are incrediably friendly and (once drunk) very outgoing, (usual disclaimers apply).

Imposter

I'm in Japan at the moment for work/holiday but know nothing of the skiing/boarding facilities here and this is just talking out loud:
- Don't count on japanese people having more than maximum a few words of english.
- Nightlife will be interesting but I wouldn't expect it to be anything like your typical european apres-ski.

deadfingers

Cheers Guys.

Imposter, I am not sure what part of Japan you’re in but do you have any advice on where to stay in Tokyo? I was thinking Shinbu? (Spelling!!) Also what is the average price for a meal and a beer? Would you also recommended booking in advance for the bullet trains? Is travelling expensive around Japan? Sorry to ask so many questions

edmund_f did you book your trip as part of a ski package deal? My mates and I are planning to book all the stuff (i.e. lift passes, accommodation, etc). Just thinking now it may be more convenient to book a package deal.

Sorry Mods if some of the questions are not snow sports related. I hope you forgive me!

edmund_f

could not find a package that i liked as we are going to spend a few days in Tokyo as well. Closest i came was a few package operators in the UK. I ended up going to a small travel agent here in Waterford and booked everything through them, although i specifically told them what i wanted. Reasoning behind this is as the holiday is so expensive and i have no clue about the language i wanted the fall back that i could call someone that could sort out any problems if anything went wrong.

It is all pretty easy (well as easy as any ski holiday) to book yourself, i was just being a whimp

(11 weeks to go!)