Well I have been stationed in
Japan
for two years in the
Aomori
prefecture which is the northern most part of the mainland perfect location for
snowboarding. But I have also snowboarded in Iwate and
Hokkaido prefectures. There are 157
different resorts between these 3 alone. I have only been to 5. The season in
Japan
starts around mid November and end sometime in the month of May. (Varies by
resorts) The peak of the season is usually in February.
Snow varies from resort to resort anywhere
from 140cm to 400cm+. But just like anywhere else it has its good seasons and
its bad.
Since I live in Japan I drive to the resorts on the
mainland. Depending on the resort I would go to the cost for toll roads could
be anywhere from 800 Yen to 3000 yen roughly $8-$30. It is expensive to get
around but if you come on vacation then you probably won’t have to worry about
this because you will stay at a resort. My friends and I got smart and learned
the back roads and saved over $2000 dollars in tolls. No that’s not a typo, the
resort we would go to was far away, but worth it. i included some photos they are not very good, because id rather snowboard than take pictures. :)
Aomori
Resort: HAKKODA
This place is pure back country riding.
There is no out of bounds areas and no groomed runs. This place is also a
magnet for snow. In the month of February Hakkoda had an average of 330cm. So
there is powder everywhere. There is only one way to the top and it’s by cable
car, everyone packs in and it takes about 15 minutes to get up. Tickets are
bought every run, or for 5000 yen you can buy 5 runs. That should last you all
day long. Depending on the path you choose it can range from tree runs to cliff
drops. Has everything a back country rider is looking for. NO park facilities. No
night boarding Getting lost is easy and ski patrol won’t look for you until
morning if you go missing.
Iwate
This is where I spend most of my time
but in the 2008 season I only went to Appi Kogen because it offers the most.
And Hachimanti Forrest was shut down and only accessible by snowmobile.
Hachimanti Forrest
Again this place is closed and accessed by snowmobile only.
Maybe it will open again
I rode here in my 2007 season. This place only has 3 chair
lifts, a single and 2 doubles. And about 4 groomed runs. Doesn’t sound like
much but there is no out of bounds, that means you can bring snow shoes and
hike for some very good runs, or you can just leave the resorts groomed runs
and make your own. There are cliffs drops everywhere from 10-30 feet, plus
natural kickers. Snow fall is about an average of 300cm in February. No park facilities. No night boarding.
Tickets were 3500 Yen for an all day ticket Getting lost
is easy and ski patrol won’t look for you until morning if you go missing.
Okunakayama
I only rode here during the 2007 season.
This resort is a smaller resort in Iwate; I went here
because it was closer and cheaper than other resorts. There are 6 double lifts
here and 11 runs, longest run is 2000 meters. They have a no drifting policy
but they are pretty relaxed if you do go off course. Even though it’s a small
resort there is a lot of fun here. Some runs are steep and fast with powder,
others are long and groomed. If you explore here you can find small cliffs.
They have a very small park with one box one rail and some kickers. If they get
a lot of snow they have a small half pipe, but its nothing special. Tickets are
3000 Yen for an all day and another 1500Yen for night boarding.
Appi Kogen
This resort is the best resort in the Iwate prefecture it
has the most to offer from deep powder to groomed runs and a decent park for
beginners to intermediate riders. There are about 20 lifts here which include
gondolas, quads and doubles. There are 21 courses, longest course is 5500
meters. In February they had 280cm of snow and the powder in certain spots was
waist deep. This resort has a no drifting policy but is relaxed with it. So if
you cut under gondolas or certain lifts you will find very good powder. Tickets
are 4700Yen for an all day and another 2200Yen for night boarding which last
until 8pm. There is one hotel, and 2 annexes to stay at as well as cabins.
As for the park it usually opens around the middle of
December and will get fully built up by mid February unless snow just dumps on
it. It stays open until mid April. My friend and I call it the junk yard
because it not your typical park. The guy who runs it gets creative with stuff,
and the items are not very board friendly. The park includes 4 kickers from 5
feet to 25 feet. Boxes from 5 to15 meters. Strait, wave, rainbow, C and kinked
rails. There is a Wall, mini snow ramp, Hip and mini jumps with a tree tap at
the end. The park also host competitions from box sessions to the Volcom Peanut
Butter and Rail Jam.
The guys that run the park have many sponsors some of the bigger ones are
Volkl, Spy, Volcom Ride, Bent Metal and Flux. As well as domestic Japanese
brands. Hiking is allowed in the park or you can make laps by using the lift
which takes about 20-30 minutes per lap.
volcom PB rail jam over 300 riders
HOKKAIDO
This is the northern island of Japan
and this is the best powder in the world.
Niseko
I went here in February with 4 other people. Each of us paid
about 50000Yen which included a round trip train ride 3 days of lift tickets to
3 resorts and a 3 bed room house. I took an extra 30000 Yen for food and drinks.
So it was about 80000 Yen total about $680 with exchange rates (when the dollar
was worth something) I was kind of shocked when I got up there because is 60%
Australian people. They own bars and restaurants, so there more than just
Japanese food there.
Anyways this place was by far the coolest place I have ever
snowboarded at, even though we went on a horrible weekend because of snowstorms
and high winds, causing the mountain to close on our last day there. The time I
got to snowboard was well worth it because the powder is unbelievable. We paid
12000Yen for a 3 day pass to 3 different resorts. I don’t even know how many
lifts or runs there are on this mountain but it was ridiculous. They have
strictly off limit areas but there is no need to go in there because they have
back country access all over the place. In the back country there are natural
kickers and HUGE cliff drops everywhere. The powder seemed endless, was easily
up to my waist in the stuff. As long as you keep your bearings you will make it
back into the resort with no problems. They have park facilities all over the
place. But their main park is called the Quick Silver Stomping Grounds. It
starts with a 100meter Pipe then goes into several kickers, and ends with a jib
place with rails and boxes. They also have a bus in there.
I will probably never snowboard like I did in Japan again in
my life, the best part is they are the nicest people I have ever met, and they
don’t have all the “Hating” that goes on in other countries. I’m not very good
when it comes to the park, so I would ask them for tips on doing stuff, and
they would be more than happy to try and explain how to do things. But if you
are coming to Japan for a
snowboard vacation I recommend going to Hokkaido
because it offers the most. I’m not sure about flight directly to Hokkaido, more than likely you would fly into Tokyo and then fly up
there. Once in Japan
round trip air fair is around $400. if you want more info on snowboarding in japan check out
www.snowjapan.com
[Edited by drenmaster on 4/30/2008 at 9:53 AM]
[Edited by drenmaster on 4/30/2008 at 9:55 AM]
[Edited by drenmaster on 4/30/2008 at 9:56 AM]
