Niseko Grand Hirafu (ニセコグラン・ヒラフ）

Niseko United

When visiting Niseko Annupuri (ニセコアンヌプリ）, I had the option of purchasing an eight-hour lift ticket just for Annupuri (¥4400) or getting the Niseko United Pass (¥4900). In addition to Annupuri, it granted access to Niseko Village (ニセコビレッジ), Niseko Grand Hirafu (グラン・ヒラフ), the Hanazono Area (花園エリア), multiple backcountry gates, and shuttle bus service between all base areas. Overcoming my ever-present cheap skate factor, I splurged the extra ¥500 and after a hard day of skiing within the combined 2,000+ acres was left quite the happy man.

Niseko Annupuri Kokusai (ニセコアンヌプリ国際）

After Hakkoda (八甲田山） we hopped a ferry to Hakodate (函館市) and drove our way up to Niseko Annupuri. The deep base (450cm), bright sun, and gorgeous view of Mt. Yōtei (羊蹄山) made the day pretty great.

Pretty deep snow for 400m elevation

Hakkoda (八甲田山)

After a long drive from Chiba (千葉県) to Aomori (青森県） we kicked off our March road trip/ski extravaganza at Hakkoda.

Nozawa Onsen (野沢温泉)

Saving the best of my visit to Joshinetsu (上信越) for last: Nozawa Onsen.

Always a good sign

Waist deep; downhill…not telemark.

A higher power

Alone in the sidecountry

Skied out, but Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah

Backcountry opportunities abound

Town below

Shiga Kogen (志賀高原)

The trip to Joshinetsu (上信越) wasn’t perfect. Inclement weather barred Seki Onsen (関温泉) and the weekend wasn’t long enough to get over to Hakuba (白馬). Saturday at Nozawa (野沢温泉) though was amazing and Sunday…Sunday we got to see Shiga Kogen (志賀高原). Touted as both the largest ski field and highest lift serviced elevation (2307m) in Japan, the fact that it hosted the Giant Slalom during the Nagano Olympics was really just icing on the cake out of reasons to visit.

Comprised of more than 21 resorts (22 by my count) the ski field is massive and includes 71 lifts, gondolas, and ropeways. Access to all resorts within the area comes with purchase of the lift ticket and is a really good deal at ¥4,800 for full day and ¥3,800 for half. There still was a long drive back to Tokyo ahead of us, so we opted for the half day hoping to get ahead of the traffic. Weather was really nice; bright sunshine and deep blue skies. The only flaw was the ever-present haze obscuring my view of the Japanese Alps.

Evergreens covered most the ski field, giving it a similar feel to western North America. Most the terrain was kind of bland; either winding cat tracks or wide open cruisers. Not much to really challenge. Tree runs can be found, but they are usually short or the trees extremely dense. Keep an eye on your map because it is possible to ski blindly into numerous ravines. As the day progressed, it actually got well above freezing except at the highest elevations. While nice and toasty, it showed me that Shiga’s high elevation can’t be counted on to guard against warm fronts.

Shiga Kogen is big and tall; however, it offers a lot of the same. The trees were found lacking, temperature was an issue, and ultimately it is located as far from Tokyo as some of the nice resorts in Tohoku (東北). My final recommendation is that you’re better off going someplace else to ski. If you still have your heart set on Shiga, you can check out my upcoming posts reviewing individual resorts within the ski field.

Tangram Ski Circus (タングラムスキーサーカス)

Students don’t have school, why should teachers have to be there? That logic was good enough for me and my fellow ski bum teachers. Not going to mention names, but one of my colleagues called me from the road at 9:00pm on a Thursday night. A scant two hours earlier he had been hard at work in his office when he had what I understand to be a moment of clarity, “Screw it, going to Nagano.” Some of us may have had a department meeting the next morning (Friday, February 20), but the decision was already made. We were on the road.

The goal was the Joshinetsu (上信越) area of Nagano (長野県) and Niigata (新潟県), particularly the powder Shangri-La known as Myoko Seki Onsen (妙高関温泉). Locals and rabid devotees from across Honshu hold it in mythical regard for its lack of frills, laid back atmosphere, and heaps of snow. It usually contends for most snow in Japan and was on my wish list right below Hokkaido (北海道), Hakkoda (八甲田), and Getou (夏油).

Sadly, the great snow gods frowned upon us with the delivery of unseasonal rain. Without question this was the work of Loki because most the drive from Tokyo was through heavy snowfall and slowed by mandatory chains. We actually were funneled off the expressway, into a service area (SA), and inspected. With Seki pretty much out of the question, a local friend suggested Tangram Ski Circus (タングラムスキーサーカス). The name honestly confused me a bit. I mean what the hell is a ski circus? It didn’t matter though because we traveled all that way to ski, we were going to ski; crazy names or not.

Rain was falling everywhere in Joshinetsu and it definitely didn’t miss Tangram. All the moisture made the snow very sticky. My Japanese friends started calling it “mochi” (餅) which means sticky rice cake. Keeping both skis under control while turning was difficult and pushing through the flats became a serious chore. Poor conditions were really unfortunate because Tangram is a very nice little resort. The vast untouched expanses of trees between the courses kept calling to me, but the heavy sticky snow just wore me out. All lifts were decently placed, allowing for good flow through the resort.

Tangram actually shares the mountain with Madarao Kogen (斑尾高原). Access to the other resort is provided by the No. 1 Lift (第一リフト). Still not sure if it is possible to buy a shared ticket as no one seemed even vaguely interested in the idea and I never got around to asking at the ticket counter. Eventually, the rain was too much and we took a lunch break to dry out. The cafeteria was nice and served typical Japanese resort fare. If you decide to try the curry, go for the green as it is much better than the brown. We ate and tomfoolery ensued until the sun came out. Then it was back to the slopes.

The snow conditions were still pretty bad, but blue skies and sunshine turned my mood 180 degrees. We raced around the mountain, in and out of trees; just happy to be there. At the end of the day I was tired, but had really enjoyed myself. Besides, tomorrow was Nozawa (野沢) and a big dump was forecast. I was getting stoked.

Rain, rain, go away.

Goofing around at lunch

Sunshine!

Snow Par Ogna Hotaka (スノーパル・オグナほたか）

The second of a two day visit to Katashina Village, Gunma (片品村, 群馬県) saw me wake in the Snow Par Ogna Hotaka (スノーパル・オグナほたか） parking lot to frost covered windows. It was a little disconcerting to see the frost on the inside of the car, but I had stayed warm and slept comfortably enough not to be too worried. This did however impress upon me the importance of checking low temperature forecasts for high elevations, particularly during the winter months. It’s always the obvious things that tend to bite me in the ass.

Snow Par has a decent elevation of 1800m, but isn’t really a challenging or even interesting resort. It definitely is for families with an emphasis placed on downhill racing. Days like this aren’t quite as bad when you remember it only cost about $30 for your half day pass. Venturing off the course and into the trees, as patrol informed us, was pretty much not allowed. This was actually my first negative interaction with ski patrol in Japan. There is a row of trees (maybe 10m wide) separating the Slalom (スラローム) and Training (トレーニング) courses. Snow wasn’t great, but it was untracked and we decided to go for it. That’s about when I noticed the patrol snowmobile watching down below.

We stopped and waited hoping that he would lose interest…he didn’t. Periodically he started sounding the siren, directing us to ski down. Eventually he realized we weren’t moving and decided to fire his way up to our position on the hill. No doubt he was ready to deliver a stern lecture, but then he saw the goofy ass grinning gaijin (me). Aptly judging my poor understanding of Japanese, he opted instead to cross his forearms and outstretched fingers in front of his face to form an “x”. He then said “駄目” (“だめ”), which basically translates to “No Good.” He gave us a hard stare and then let us ski off with our lift tickets intact.

Still not sure how to act after the chastising, we decided to make the three lift journey to the top of the resort. We bumped into an American snowboarder along the way and related our plight. He said that the resort wasn’t anything special in terms of riding; he had only ever used the lifts for backcountry access. The No. 6 Pair (第６ペア) lift delivers riders relatively close to the opposite end of the Mt. Hotaka (武尊山) ridge line mentioned in my Kawaba (川場) post. He told me that it wasn’t too difficult of a trek with snowshoes up to the ridge and that it was a really nice ride back out to the resort. I thought about following him up, but the trail wasn’t compacted well enough for me to boot pack without sinking up to my thighs and I was too lazy.

From studying the course map and a bit of preliminary scouting, the tree covered bowl west of the No. 6 Pair lift seemed fun and relatively safe. Ducking under a rope placed us into some good deep powder. We raced out of view from the piste still firmly aware of the ever-vigilant patrol. The upper portion of the bowl had widely spaced trees and nice deep snow. If these conditions were indicative of the skiing off the ridge, the snowboarder definitely knew what he was talking about. Tree spacings got tighter and tighter as we moved down through the bowl. I was still having fun; but again, I’m willing to put up with face scratching tight trees. Boarders and even most skiers aren’t recommended to try this area as the vegetation is just too close. Honestly, I probably won’t go in again (especially when the ridge has much better possibilities).

Near the end of the half day we tried skiing the No. 4 Pair (第４ペア) lift. Topography of the resort hides the trees north of the Daisawa (大沢) course from view and we were able to ski straight off the lift, over an old fence, and duck into the trees without drawing attention. The snow was pretty good and it was a blast skirting through the larch. Popping out of the trees at the end of the run can still be done in a discreet manner, too. I probably skied this area five times without incident.

Would I recommend Snow Par to families with small children looking for someplace close to Tokyo? The answer is yes. Would I recommend the resort to teenagers/adults of intermediate ability? Probably not because the resort is pretty small and boring. What about experts? If you’re into a backcountry and go on a good day it could be amazing. Otherwise, you’re better off trying someplace else.

Alright area, but much to be desired

Hanging out

Carvin’

Heaven

Oze Tokura (尾瀬戸倉)

Nestled up in Katashina Village (片品村) is quaint little Snow Park Oze Tokura (スノーパク尾瀬戸倉). I say quaint because it basically has nine courses serviced by four lifts and is located way out on a road terminating in wilderness. The wilderness in question is the relatively famous backpacking destination of Oze National Park (尾瀬国立公園). A future post will describe an autumn hike I took in the mountains above the highland marshes of Oze.

Oze Tokura has the distinction of being the second furthest accessible ski resort northeast from the Numata IC (沼田) with the furthest being Marunuma Kogen (丸沼高原). Driving along Route 102/401 to Oze Tokura takes 39km and can be quite slow as we experienced on a busy Saturday, January 17. Remember that the base of the resort is at 1080m, so be sure to either bring chains or have snow tires. During our visit the last section of the road was completely covered with snow.

Snow at the resort was light and dry and we decided to head up to the top to search for some powder on the Diamond Course (ダイヤモンドグレンデ). There were many people and we had a moderate wait to get on the #3 High Speed Pair Lift (第３高速ペアリフト). It took us up to the top of the ridge encircling the resort and we skied down to the #6 Pair Lift (第６ペアリフト). This lift took us up to the highest point of the resort at 1420m. While not a great top elevation for early/late season, it was just fine in January with 190cm snow depth.

We did a few runs on the Diamond course tearing up whatever little powder remained. If visiting the resort be wary of spike covered plants protruding from the snow. My limited horticultural knowledge leads me to guess that they are eleuthero AKA Siberian Ginseng. They reminded me of the amazingly fun Devil’s Club of the Pacific Northwest, but with spikes instead of spines. Mature versions that I saw at Oze Tokura were over 2.5cm in diamter and had a hard wood exterior.

Trees accessible from the #6 Lift down to the Romance Course (ロマンスコース） proved too tempting with all the untracked powder they harbored. We bid adieu to the Diamond course and began powder poaching. From the Romance course we had no choice but to continue down to the #5 High Speed Pair Lift (第５高速ペアリフト. We rode the #5 back up to the ridge and had to head left because there was a ski competition on the piste to the right.

We were lucky as it turned out the left side had great trees and the deepest powder in the whole resort (ankle to knee deep). Almost the entire area was ours as only a couple snowboarders and one very unfortunate beginner skier entered. Last I saw of the poor guy he was slowly sliding down on his ass like a dog across the carpet. After a few more runs we saw no sign of him and I’m pretty sure he made it back to the lift safely.

Near the end of the day the racing competition had finished, giving us a chance to try the trees off the right side of the lift. We skied for a bit on piste and then ducked under the rope. The trees quickly opened up into a nice clearing maybe 15m wide with 25°-30° slope. However, the clearing received enough sun to form a crust and we moved back into the trees for softer snow. Trees below the clearing quickly became more tightly spaced and we decided to go back and finish out the day in the forest to the left of the lift.

I can’t complain about Oze Tokura; in fact, I like it. Occasionally it gets some decent dry powder and it’s only a short trip from Tokyo. Off the #5 Pair Lift the trees have great spacing with runs of up to 560m in length. The only caution I can advise is to prepare for crowds on some weekends. Also, make sure to stop by the Hanasakunoyu Onsen (花咲の湯) on your way home if you’re like me and after a hard day of skiing need to soak your wary bones.

Gliding down

What Romance (ロマンス) at Oze Tokura looks like.

Nice lines

View of Katashina Village (片品村)

Nekoma (猫魔) Revisited

Graduation is this weekend so Friday was a free day at the college.  My colleague/ski buddy/friend from the Miyagi Zao trip suggested we head up to Urabandai Nekoma (裏磐梯猫魔). We both are huge fans of Nekoma and were excited to ski its beech (椈, ぶな) forest with 280cm of snow underneath. Rain early in the week was our only worry and we hoped that the upper mountain would be free from crust. Arriving in Kitashiobara (北塩原村) there was obvious melt since my last visit in January; we tried to remain hopeful.

Temperatures around the Nekoma parking lot were cold and the trees high up in the resort were still frosted with snow and ice. Snow around the lot was however hard and crusted. Unsure of the conditions and needing to return home early we opted for 4-hour lift tickets at 2800円 a piece. First, we took up the Guni 1 (雄国第１リフト) triple chair as it had been closed on my previous visit. From there we skied down the “powder” course (パウダーグレンデ) towards the Nekoma 1 (猫魔第1リフト) chair. The quotation marks were meant to indicate my dismay at Mother Nature for the lack of powder. Forest on either side of the piste had rain crust making control difficult.

Forest off the Nekoma 1 chair was crusted similarly so we headed over to the Maruyama 2 (丸山第2リフト) chair. My co-worker showed me a nice little tree run to the left side that deposited us back in the parking lot near the lift. Again the snow was crusted, but it was a nice ride amongst the trees which would be amazing with fresh powder. Vines admittedly unnerved me in this area. There was just something strange, even alien, as they seemed to fall from the sky.

Pulling myself back together, it was time to reciprocate by showing my tree run on the right side of the Maruyama 2 lift. Despite visiting Nekoma many times, my friend had never ventured into this area. The snow was again crusty, but we had widely spaced trees and even found a natural half-pipe. He really like the area so we spent the rest of the day here cruising through the trees. It wasn’t much compared to fresh powder; however, our legs became accustom to turning on crust and we had a lot of fun. That said, anyone wanting to visit Nekoma should probably wait until the crust gets covered up during the next snowfall. This includes backcountry as the crust went all the way up to the ridge. With any new snow pay attention to this layer as it was forming large facets.

Great spacing

Frosted

Who’s got two thumbs and loves Nekoma…this guy!!

猫バス (Cat Bus) group picture

Why’s this cat happy? He’s full.