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Myoko Kogen buy blow

Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen. Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers. Snow Cams. Active Threads Search forums. Log in. Active threads. Search Everywhere Threads This forum This thread. Search titles only. Search Advanced search…. Everywhere Threads This forum This thread. Search Advanced…. Members Registered members Current visitors. Toggle sidebar. Install the app. There's more to this forum than meets the eye! Join today. Register to remove the ad below Join today. Forum Ski Travel Japan. JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser. Thread starter shepski Start date Jan 20, Register to view full-size images Join today. Feb 5, Perth. Inspired by elSpike's mint trip report , thought I'd give it a crack but please lower your expectations! I also found heaps of useful info in this thread posted by Sandy. Most of our trips have been in a group of up to 8 but the last couple and this one are just Anna and myself. We booked flights via Cathay Pacific shortly after Japan announced the border opening. I'll put costs in here where I remember them as it may be helpful. We started at the Aspire lounge at Perth Airport as I get entry via my credit card. Comfortable seating, lots of food and drinks including alcohol so we of course had a couple and they'll even make you the ever annoying 'espresso martini' if you ask politely. Mandatory masks on the plane for our Crap night sleep on account of my neighbouring seat member not Anna, she fell asleep straight away in her window seat who encroached in to my space, but it was nice to be back on a plane for the first time in 3. We left late and got in to HK late, ground crew were late and they rounded upall the Haneda connecting passengers and rushed us through the airport to the next flight which left only slightly late. We arrived in Japan about 1. Airport crew gave us the pink form fully vaccinated with certificates etc which we showed to about a dozen people on the walk through the airport and on to passport control with no wait at all. As I'd declared that I was carrying medication Narcotics, in this case Codeine and had done the right thing and had a permit approved this got their attention and I was taken in to a back room for processing while Anna went straight through to get the bags. All good in the end, they let me through and the Snowboard bag arrived before the luggage surprisingly. You then use your second QR code for customs which got their attention a second time and I had to get the permit out again along with the medication from my bag, he took a quick look and sent us on our way. I imagine lots of people go through here with medication that requires a permit without even knowing and don't get pulled up, I think I'll do it again in future just in case. In the past the Cathay flight used to leave earlier and arrive in Tokyo in the morning leaving us time to get the train to Nagano, do a bit of shopping and get the last bus about 5. In this case this wouldn't work so we chose to use the Chuo Taxi service 31, yen for 2 people, plus 2,yen for the airport sign, plus 1, for a third bag rather than the Nagano Snow Shuttle 15, yen per person which didn't leave until 9. We waited for one other passenger and left the airport around 3pm. Vehicle was a big Toyota van, plenty of room for bags with only 3 of us. You could have eaten off the floor. Ordered a snack and back on our way. I think it was pork, it was delicious. We dropped the other passenger off at a bar in the middle of nowhere in Nagano and arrived at Prince West about 8pm. Was pretty happy with the Chuo taxi service as an alternate to the train, really simple if it's your first time there and don't want the hassle of lugging around bags. Driver was super friendly, absolutely lovely and helped with bags all the way in to the hotel. Anna and I are both probaly best described as intermediate Snowboarders, she rips it up on the groomers whereas I much prefer powder. As we haven't been in the snow since we planned to spend the first couple of days lapping Yakebitaima behind the Prince hotel wings. Day 1 - a sprinkling of snow from the night before. Super cloudy or is it foggy? The number 1 gondola from the East Wing wasn't running until about midday I think so we mainly stuck to the area off the number 2 gondola from the South Wing and the number 3 quad from the East Wing. Shiga hasn't had as much snow as we're used to from our last couple of trips and there is a lot of foliage coming through areas which would usually be full of powder like off to the side of the ungroomed area under the number 2 gondola. First 2 pics are from top of the number 2 gondola, when the number 1 opened we headed over that side and it was pretty sketchy as the wind picked up with low visibility making for an interesting day number 1 return to snow. Not a complaint mind you, just an observation. Groomers were mint with the cloud cover keeping them in good condition. Late lunch was at the Ramen restaurant next to Prince West. Both dishes were good, the miso ramen with spicy char-siu pork was a bit better than the special miso ramen. We lapped the area and headed off for an onsen and a walk up to Ichinose to the Kombini at Villa for snacks. Day 2 19th Jan - Beautiful shiny day. I'll be honest, I much prefer the sky full clouds you don't get snow without them, but it was nice nonetheless. Groomers were running nicely, everything off to the side was pretty crusty without fresh snow topping things up. It hit positive temperatures I think in the afternoon so some areas were getting a bit icy later on. Lunch was at the dining hall at Prince West, we've never eaten there before. The curry was nice, spent the afternoon all over Yakebitaiyama then off for our usual onsen and a walk up to Ichinose to book Friday dinner and watched the grooming machines do their thing for a while. Last edited: Jan 20, Reactions: Kimski , fennekeg , lncrdj79 and 20 others. Jul 28, 1, 6, You write very well. Looking forward to more! Reactions: Hyst and shepski. Day 3 - 20th January. Yet another sunny day, no need for the low light lens in the goggles. Up the 2 lift from Prince west down to the 2 gondola at Prince south we headed to skiers left and across to Okushiga Kogen keep your speed up through the transition section. Then up the gondola I think this is known as the James Bond gondola, it's quite funky as it closes around you and you sit back to back with the other two passengers followed by a few laps of the forest course. Usually you can cut through this section when the conditions are right but lack of snow makes it not so good right now. We then headed back up to the top on pair 2, 3 and 4 and back down the downhill course to the gondola base for a snack at Restaurant St Christoph. Got there a bit late to get the fresh pastries so loaded up on the cheesecake, chocolate cake yen each and a couple of other little goodies yen for both and hot chocolate yen each. On the left as you walk in there is a cabinet with some gear from the Nagano Olympics as well as some other historical items like proper old fashioned timber skis. Technology has come a long way. As it's been hot the deck wasn't covered in snow so we were able to eat outside. Could have gotten a suntan it was beaming that hard out there. We headed back over to the other side of Okushiga for a few more runs then up over the top to Yakebitaiyama, headed down then up to Ichinose Diamond for a while before calling it a day after a few gnarly stacks. Lots of sun made for a few icy like sections. Still really crusty off to the side but did see a few tracks going in to the gated area of Okushiga. All of these pics are from the Okushiga side, none from Ichinose. The usual onsen then writing the first post in this thread made us forget about lunch and we were still full of cake so all good. SnowRabbit sorry I hadn't replied to your question in the other thread, hopefully this gives you an idea of conditions to date. In short, groomers have been good until the sun really kicks in and makes them a bit dicey in sections in the arvo. Off piste not fun with no new snow. The last couple of nights as we've had a late big lunch we've just had noodles for dinner from the Kombini, but tonight we ate at Izakaya Time at Hotel Diaroku sometimes known as red lantern bar. Have been there before, and did not disappoint tonight. I think we over ordered with salmon sashimi, fried rice and one each of the pork bowl and chicken bowl with a few drinks to wash it down. Great service from the friendly crew. I should mention this is less than a 10 minute walk from Prince West so if anyone is concerned that Ichinose is not walking distance, don't stress. It's only another 5 mins or so up the hill to some of the other restaurants plus the hotel does a shuttle if you don't want to walk. View attachment We went for a bit of a walk to burn off dinner and saw the Ichinose Family area open for night skiing, and as at 8pm, it's snowing! Lightly, but still nice to see. It had been groomed so with the snow on top the conditions looked pretty good. Shiga Ichii hotel which has the Narutoya Ramen restaurant mentioned by elSpike has a cool display of Nagano Olympics gear, worth a look if you're passing by. General tidbits of thoughts while I think of them: Prince hotel could do with a spruce up but generally clean and tidy though we've got a couple of questionable stains on our carpet and chair. The smoking room is right by the lifts so you'll get a whiff when you pass down that way but we haven't had a problem in the rooms. The wifi can be hit and miss, strongest in the lobby if you need to make a call using wifi. Breakfast is ok, there is both Japanese and western options so you'll get by. It seems a lot of the hot food gets cold quickly as the lids on the containers are now left open due to covid policy. You get gloves on the way in before you help yourself to food. Most people wear masks, few don't, and for some reason a few Aussies think its ok to wander around at breakfast with no shoes on. The bath is pretty good though not a traditional onsen. It's nice with the cold breeze coming through though. There is a small gift shop with snacks, a ski rental shop with other gear helmets, gloves etc, haven't actually looked in there this trip and a tiny hole in the wall shop with gear and I think a guide service. Noticeably different from our last couple of trips here, there are a lot of older Japanese skiers out there. Really good to see, and good chance a lot of them were probably here during the 80's ski boom. Not sure if there has been a resurgence of late? There was a older fellow yesterday with an oxygen tube in his nose using skins to head in to back country off the top of the 2 gondola, followed by another guy using snow shoes. If I'm still going that hard at his age I'd be proud. More broadly, I think after a few years off and also due to long term poor technique I've lost some of my snowboarding mojo and just don't really feel comfortable right now. I've booked in a private instruction session for Sunday with Shiga International Ski School over at Okushiga Kogen to get some help as if I don't get it together I don't reckon I'll enjoy this trip as much as I should. Reactions: Hyst , fennekeg , lncrdj79 and 17 others. Hyst Untenshu - kangoshi Ski Pass. Nov 23, 5, 5, Copenhagen. Click to expand Reactions: elSpike and skifree. LMB Old but definitely not Crusty! Ski Pass. May 6, 42, 58, 1, Perth. How cool is that yellow light from your night skiing photos!! Love it! As for the technique being off. Getting a private will polish that up quick smart. Reactions: shepski and elSpike. PiggabeenBoarder Addicted. Dec 28, Actually that's a good idea for the snowboard lesson. I picked up boarding late and have never had a lesson, then when we had kids I just assumed lessons where for them, not properly considering any for myself. Might look into one in a few weeks while we're in Nozawa. Reactions: shepski , LMB and elSpike. Day 4 - 21st January. Snow, and lots of it!! This is the powder we'd been waiting for. Grand plans to head to Yokoteyama went astray when I couldn't find my low light goggles right before we were due to get the bus, tore the room apart and couldn't find them. Amazingly they were on top of the bin in the locker area, someone had put them aside!! As the conditions were mint and we know Yakebitaiyama well we thought we'd stay here for the day and make the most of it. Quick squish test of the snow, yep plenty soft and light. We went straight over to Prince South and took the 2 gondola up to the top and headed down the Olympic course, super deep, little bit churned up by the lucky folks who weren't faffing about looking for goggles but super fun. We did a few laps of the 3 high speed lift which has some fun stashes under the top section of the lift. The 2 gondola was then out of action for quite some time and we finally saw the 4 romance lift running, I don't think I've ever seen it move before. Had to be used though with the gondola not running. Towards the top of this lift there is powdery fun to be had, did a lap there then Anna wasn't feeling too well so she headed back to the hotel. I stayed out and when the gondola was up and running headed back up and did a couple of runs down the Super Giant Slalom Course I think which while churned up still had some fresh stuff off to the side. I was all over the place with no particular plan as indicated by my strava map: No chance of uploading videos as Wifi here is struggling, but a quick screenshot of a pic from the top of the 2 gondola was a good indicator of conditions. Snowed solidly up top and a little less down the bottom. Went between big fluffy snow and smaller bits. Anna was feeling a bit better at this stage so I headed back via Ichinose Diamond and we met for lunch at the little pizza place at the back of Hotel Kuhls Shiga Kogen facing the Ichinose Family area. We shared a pizza, pretty tasty. Snow continued most of the afternoon and it started again on the way back from dinner, tomorrow is looking good. Nice reset for the mountain. Noticeably busier today being a Saturday but the longest wait I had was still only about 3 minutes. So good. Booked for 6. Bookings needed for sure. We had a taco each and the Chorizo, little pricy but expected at a ski resort. Snacking away with goodies from the Kombini at Villa I think the icecream was about the richest chocolate I've ever had. Highly recommend. I'm still searching for the elusive 'melty bar' I had a few years back with a cherry sauce filling. The other one is like a snickers. Thanks for the tip Hyst - we'll try and check it out. Is it walking distance from Yokoteyama or bus between the two? I couldn't quite tell from the map I've got. Looking forward to my lesson tomorrow. Reactions: Hyst , lncrdj79 , Born2ski and 10 others. Reactions: skivet and elSpike. Jan 11, 1, 3, Sydney. LMB said:. Reactions: shepski , skifree and elSpike. Day 5 - 22nd January. Maybe a small dusting of new snow and the day started sunny, moving to overcast before midday. I had a 3 hour private lesson lesson 27,yen booked with Shiga International Ski School based at Okushiga Kogen so jumped on the shuttle bus from Prince West for a 9am start. Quite the lifestyle. Part of me feels like there were more things we could have worked on but maybe I'm being critical and its best to work on just a few things at a time. I feel like I've got some of my confidence back but we'll see how I go on the days where the conditions are average which is where I struggle. Not many pics today, but after my lesson Anna and I had a break for a couple of hours and headed back out in the afternoon. Temperature was still cold so the snow was in good condition. Lots of trendy young folk with bluetooth speakers playing some sort of J-Popk, and lots of kids out there with their parents. Some of these kids really rip out there, no fear and full confidence. We hadn't booked anywhere for dinner so headed out early and Teppa Room was able to squeeze us in before their later bookings they had a fully booked sign up at the door. All very nice, would go back again for sure. Reactions: Hyst , DeskRider , Spence and 5 others. Great that the lesson was of value. When you say you struggle when the conditions are average do you mean ice management? Reactions: Tanuki. Day 6 - 23 January. No new snow. Headed straight to the top and down the Shibutoge side for a look, small area but would be really good on a powder day for newbies as there is a nice wide ungroomed area under the lift. Off to the side there looked to be plenty of lines through the trees. Back up to the top and did a top to bottom run before heading to the top again to Crumpet Cafe. Nice little cafe with heaters to sit around and warm up. Recommend a visit if you're heading to the area. Couple of pics from the viewing deck outside the cafe, view is amazing. Beasty looking truck parked out the front of the cafe. Since I'm much better at snacking than snowboarding and Anna is happy to indulge my desire for baked goods, we went on over to the bakery opposite the cafe. It was packed so grabbed an apple and custard tart for yen, scoffed it and got going. Wind had really picked up by this stage so we headed to the mid part of the mountain for a couple of runs before heading back on the bus towards Ichinose. Next time we'll make the effort to check out Kumanoyu. Thought we'd head back down the family run and weaved our way through countless groups of learners on the way down, bad timing as its a nice little run and the snow was in great shape as its mostly shaded. Dinner was at the burger place at Hotel Sankt Moritz. Burgers were ok, wouldn't rush back but if you're hanging for one it's not too bad. I had the cheeseburger, Anna had the Teriyaki. There is a table tennis table which you can use if you buy a drink. Goes without saying we're big fans of Shiga Kogen. It's not a party town which doesn't bother us as we're not here for that, the terrain options are huge, more than enough food options and as the elevation is high its less susceptible to higher temperatures. I guess we got a bit unlucky with only 1 snow day out of 6 but that's been the exception as our last 2 visits had plenty, just an average year. Won't put us off coming back, thats for sure. We're going to spend some time in Nagano tomorrow before heading to Myoko, weather forecast is looking good so fingers crossed for some quality snow. Reactions: lncrdj79 , DeskRider , Zeroz and 13 others. Yep, pretty much. I think a lot of it is in my head, I'll see a patch that looks sketchy and something just clicks and I think I'll stack it, then promptly stack it. It'll come in time I hope! Reactions: shepski. Feb 13, Sydney. Apr 2, 10, 8, Melbourne. Some fantastic photos in here so far Shepski, beautiful shots of the food, slopes and scenery! Looking forward to the rest of your TR. Kash One of Us Ski Pass. Jul 9, 1, 3, Sydney. Great trip report so far, your writing is excellent. Agree with LMB about bending your knees. That can be easier said than done on the toeside its rarely a problem heelside , so i find trying to push the shins into the boots important to get that bend rather than focusing on doing a squat. Watch this guy. Kash said:. SnowRabbit said:. How late is the burger place open? Is it a dinner option? We're staying at Prince East. What time did the bus to Yokoteyama leave the West? Reactions: elSpike and SnowRabbit. Day 7 - 24 January. Checked out of Shiga Prince West and on the first Nagaden bus at 9. We'd planned to store our bags at Nagano Station and walk up to the Zenkoji Temple , about 1. All of the snowboard bag size lockers were taken so a quick google search found the Ecbo cloak which had a location on the way to the temple. You need to book on the website which I couldn't get working properly so we went to the location which was a little pharmacy and even with no booking they took our bags, rearranging a whole heap of their store to fit them in. Love Japanese hospitality. Stroll on up to the temple, the intricate detail on the carvings is amazing. First pic is the first gate, then the second gate then the temple itself. This bell, made in was sounded to open the Nagano Winter Olympics. We walked around the grounds, there is a small charge to visit certain parts of the various buildings but no charge for most of it. Light snow started falling, excitement levels rose. We stopped at a couple of the food shops on the way back down to the station to do what I do best snacking. They're delicious. Headed back down the hill for a quick shop at the Monzen Plaza Tomato supermarket lots of fresh food, sushi etc and then go to a batting cage to whack some balls around and got an email from Mieko, our host at our accommodation Kogakuro in Myoko Kogen letting us know that our 5pm train from Nagano would not be running and to get on the first train possible out of Nagano. By this stage the snow was getting heavier. Quick stop to pick up our bags, they were so nice and didn't charge us even at my insistence, lovely people! We missed the 2. No photos, smashed them down in the waiting room on platform 2. Should note here that the train to Myokokogen station is not a JR train, it is part of the Shinano railway so there is a separate ticket office and machine at the station. Train left on time and we made it to Kurohime station, one stop before Myokokogen station where an announcement was made that the train could go no further. Seeing us looking confused she let us know what was going on, we headed to the waiting area at the station where she took the lead and spoke with the station staff for an update. I just love this bit - as the train couldn't proceed they organised a taxi to take us to the Myokokogen station. What service. In Australia you'd be on your own. Took a while as the weather was getting really bad and roads were being closed but after about 1. You can see in the pics below that the snow was building quickly on the covered part of the platform. I think we ended up with 7 in our taxi van and made our way via some backroads to Myokokogen station where our transfer driver from Kogakuro was nice enough to take everyone else so they weren't stuck thanks again to Nozomi for translating!! We'll be dropping by Myoko Snowsports later this week to thank her again!! NHK news reporting on the closure from the station: Check out the height of the snow in relation to the platform: Absolutely knackered by this stage so grabbed a pizza and some Karaage Chicken from the kitchen at Kogakura, horrible outside so wasn't conducive to heading out for dinner. Knew we had a big day for the 25th given all the snow so early night for us. I think we left there about 7. Yokoteyama bus left Prince West at 8. You'll swap to a different bus at Yamanoeki. Sep 16, Gold coast. Reactions: Kimski. Day 8 - 25 January - holy cow that's a lot of snow. Not many pics sorry as it was blowing a gale and take the gloves off resulted in them filling up with snow! Akakura Kanko lifts were opening late at 9. It was made clear when buying lift tickets that wind may shut them down and no refunds! Only the Kumado quad was running at the start, and maybe the Ginrei 3 pair not sure if it started a little later so we headed up to the top and did some runs down the panorama course and Karamatsu course, ankle deep powder on the groomers, super deep off to the side. Very few people around so lots of fresh powder to be had. Lines were getting refilled with fresh snow really quickly. The Kumado 4 triple and Kumado 3 pair were still closed at this stage so no chance of dropping off the side to those spots early, but the 4 triple opened a bit before lunch so we headed down there for some runs, the utopia B course is short and the lift is slow but still had a blast. You can go through the trees at the top of the run, just check to see if they've dug a ditch near the lift line first as it'll stop you going all the way through. First pic from the restaurant above the 6 quad, second pic from the top of Utopia B. Anna was cold by this stage so she headed back to the hotel to warm up and I headed over to the other side of Akakura Onsen closer to the Kanko side. Quite a few lifts closed with only the Yodel 1 and 5 triples and 4 pair open. Deep powder everywhere though I headed a bit too close to the closed 3 lift and had to dig myself out before heading skiers left back down to base of the hill. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Epic day, no lift lines, couple of school groups out but they'd always let you through in the lift line. Super polite. This sort of day is what Myoko is known for and is a marketers wet dream. It snowed for 24 hours straight well into the night. For dinner we headed to Kebab shortly after 6 and he had a sold out sign on the door! It's a little caravan on the main strip and gets a lot of business from the passing people after they get off the bus and head back up to their hotels. We're determined to have one on this trip so we'll head back another night. Stopped in at Full Circle it's very Australian to see if they still did a steak sandwich not anymore but they had a pulled pork burger which was really nice. An old fashioned on the side for Anna, think she's trying to get fancy. We'll wander around a bit later to make some bookings, managed to nab a spot at Yakitori Asagao on Saturday night underground at the top of the T junction. Book well ahead, it's tiny and they're a busy little spot. As I write this now at 2pm local time it's started snowing again after a sunny morning. Forecast looking good for the next days, hopefully it's accurate! SnowRabbit Some might call it the storm of the decade but I don't think it lived up to what was predicted. Only found out about it afterwards. We'll try and do it the next time we've got a bit of time in Nagano. Tanuki Old n' Crusty Ski Pass. Sep 29, 23, 24, 1, sMelbourne. Jul 13, 50, 68, 1, Middle Oz. Not crazy about local food? Reactions: Hyst. Tanuki said:. We also missed the steps, I wonder what's down them? Is there still a store on Akakura main street selling eggs cooked in a volcanic fountain? I imagine covid has nixed it. Last edited: Jan 27, Reactions: elSpike , Tanuki and skifree. Reactions: skifree and Tanuki. Day 9 - 26 January. Thought we'd try something different with a cat ski intro day through Thunderbird Tours. Got picked up at 7. The area hadn't been ridden since the snow from the last couple of days so it was untouched. Cost a bit a touch less than advertised on the site but what the heck, we work hard, haven't travelled in a few years and wanted to try something new. Also includes a lift pass for a night session at Akakura Onsen so you can round your day out. Mark the man behind Thunderbird tours is a great bloke, lots of experience, loves a chat and his offsider Eric was good value too. Early days for the operation, I hope they go well. Back to Akakura Onsen and I got the kebab I was longing for. Yes I know its western, but I promise my next post shortly we'll be back on track for Japanese food! Snow started again early afternoon with nice fluffy flakes to top up the mountain for the 27th. Not as much as the few days before but was looking good. Reactions: Hyst , lncrdj79 , DeskRider and 7 others. Oct 3, 98 Need to book as it's small probably the best feed I've had in Japan and it's cheap! Day 10 - 27th January. Snow still falling first thing in the morning, conditions looking good, a blanket of white: Plan was to split the day between Akakura Onsen and Akakura Kanko so bought a 'fast pass' from the hotel for 6,yen. Nice layer of powder across the groomers and a top up off to the side though still quite chopped up from the previous day. Little to no wind too, great conditions. Looking down in to the top of Utopia A from the Kumado 1 Quad. Fun little run off to the sides, you can drop in early through the trees once you've come back up the 4 triple, or late from the right hand side of the start of the course. Lift doesn't start early so came back to it later. Low hanging cloud looking back towards Akakura Onsen. Nice ride up the 1 Quad with the snow covered trees. Headed over to the middle of Akakura Onsen and up the little 4 Yodel Pair. Hardly a soul to be seen. Eerily quiet. Nice powder off to the side. If you head left off the top of this lift, there is a small steepish section with plenty of powder to drop into. Quick lap down and back up heading skiers right you can see the exit on the above pic to take us to the Elegant Course, Anna loves her groomed runs surrounded by trees. Nice easy run, did a couple of laps here before making our way to Akakura Kanko via the Champion 3 lift and down Champion C course. I wish I'd spent more time getting to know Kanko, there are plenty of deep powder opportunities and I had a good run under the 3 hotel hooded lift, just need to make sure you hook left well before the drop at the bottom of the lift. Photo doesn't do it justice, got worse after this so played around in the snow off to the side of the runs before heading back to Akakura Onsen side. Did a few runs on Utopia, still plenty of untouched knee deep powder on either side. Anna headed off as she was cold so I found my own fun with a nice little line at 3pm: And again 20 minutes later: Dinner was at Lamber Jack 2, time for Okonomiyaki and Yakisoba! How it started: How it ended I butchered it cutting it in half, but it looked half decent until then! Anna's Yakisoba Delicious food even with my unskilled hands in charge of the utensils. Came to a shade over 4, yen with a couple of drinks, price varies depending on what you add in. My Okonomiyaki was with everything and green spring onion side. Snow is coming down solidly, looks like good conditions for tomorrow. Unsure of plan yet, play it by ear in the morning. Reactions: Hyst , Froff Life , whether and 4 others. Day 11 - 28th January. Spent the day at Akakura Onsen though in hindsight should have gone over to Akakura Kanko for the steeper runs as any diversion off the side of the groomers which were boot deep by this stage was met with waist deep powder and a very abrupt but pleasant stop. Utopia opened up a bit later and was knee deep. Great little run. Didn't get many photos as taking the gloves off wasn't much fun. Noticably busier than usual being a weekend, no more lifts or on mountain restaurants open than what had been open all week. Lap after lap after lap until we were frozen solid. Brilliant day, fun had by all. Dinner was at Yakitori Asagao. Top of the T junction on the left hand side underground. Bookings are a must, tiny little place and very popular with good reason. We had a the chicken breast, chicken and spring onion and chicken gizzards, spicy fried rice and the chicken with avocado sauce washed down with one of the local beers. Loved it - well worth a visit if you're in the area. About metres down the hill on the same side of the street is a crepe shop who also sells all kinds of trinkets if you're looking to buy gifts. Choco banana custard with creme crepes for both of us then back to the hotel for a couple of drinks by the fire and a few games of Uno I won more though Anna may see it differently. Reactions: lncrdj79 , DeskRider , Froff Life and 6 others. Day 12 - 29th January. If there is more than 3 in your group get a taxi as it'll work out cheaper and quicker. Bus leaves from the carpark opposite the post office. Sun shining through in the morning, looking up the hill. From the top of the terrain park Mitahara 2 high speed lift. My favourite section of Suginohara. Off to the right of the pic there is a tree section, its not steep but it was spot on today. They look to have done some logging since our last visit so it opens up in to a massive powder field then back in to the trees, few little jumps through here. Be sure to keep speed up and hook left before you get too far down, you'll see the course head left so veer in that direction and you'll be on track to pop out before the fenced off section. Lines under the Mitahara 2 high speed lift. More than a few people digging their way out of here today. From the base of the Mitahara 2 high speed lift. Lake Nojiri off to the left There are 5 or 6 restaurants at the base of this lift, I think 4 were open. Chicken cutlet curry and some spring rolls, not sure what it is but this curry warms me up like nothing else. It was the top most restaurant, didn't catch the name but it was packed and they churned out the food quickly. Tasty, and did a couple of top to bottom runs afterwards. It was super busy out there I've never seen so many selfie sticks in my life but conditions were mint, snow was soft even after being churned up and still getting fresh powder lines at 3pm. Dinner at Yakiniku Yoroku. Keeping in the theme of cooking our own food this place was recomended by Mieko at Kogakuro hotel. I can see why. We probably overordered with the Set A which was amix of meats the beef was the best part, melt in your mouth good , Gyoza, the beef sushi and some extra pork to cook. We had a couple of passes for the night skiing on the Panorama Course at Akakura Onsen, less than 10 people out there and while the course was rough, the snow was still soft. Couple of young blokes out there doing all kinds of spins and tricks, effortlessly cool as most of the young Japanese snowboarders seem to be. Reactions: lncrdj79 , DeskRider , Froff Life and 7 others. Loving your trip report Shepski! Who can go wrong with great skiing and great Japanese food! My two fav activities! Oh man, that's what it's all about. Great hills and riding, great food and a nice town. Reactions: Froff Life. Day 13 - 30th January. Bittersweet, our last day in Myoko Kogen, heading back to Tokyo tomorrow for the night, Anna is heading home for sporting commitments then I'll go to Kitakami for a few days at Geto Kogen. Today started off with a bit of sun, light wind then about 11am the powder tap was turned on and things went nuts. Groomers filled up with ankle deep powder by early afternoon, hardly anyone in the Akakura Onsen area, plenty of deep powder on the side of most of the runs, blinder of a day. Anyone at any of the Myoko resorts tomorrow should get up early and aim to get first lifts, it's going to be mint. I'd stick to the Akakura Kanko section early. From the bottom of the Kumado quad around 3pm. Not sure where I took this one, possibly near the kumado hut which hasn't been open all week. They were digging out the top of Kumado 3 pair today so hopefully it starts spinning soon so you can avoid the bottom Ginrei lifts if you prefer. Skipped lunch as the conditions were so fun we just kept on lapping. Good fun to be had dropping in either before or after the entrance to the Utopia Course. If you can smash through the powder it'd be nice heading left after the Kumado 3 pair and working your way down to the Rabbit course. Overall we've loved our time at Myoko. Reactions: whether , bluestick , DeskRider and 6 others. Day 14 - 31st January. Myoko to Tokyo via Nagano. Writing this on the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kitakami. Last pic from the hotel window. Still snowing, would have been a ripper day on the mountain. Got in about lunchtime, dropped the bags at the hotel and went for a wander over to Harajuku, cool area with lots of second hand trendy clothing stores, then headed over to Genki Sushi in Shibuya. It's not the best but its the first place we visited for food in Japan on our first visit after Anna, myself and two friends for some reason chose to fly Air Asia overnight, then got horribly lost in Tokyo station, walked around Shinjuku for a couple of hours so we ate our body weight in Sushi. If you're travelling with kids they'll love it, you order via a tablet and the food comes to you on belts. Checked out Miyashita Park, decent little skate park and lots of artwork, just a nice place to hang out on a sunny day. As I'll be away for Valentines day we thought we should do a date night and hit up a couple of bars. First up was Tir na Nog in Ginza. Cosy little Fairy Tale style bar, dark, comfy seats with exceptional service. Next up was Science Bar Incubator in Shinjuku. Run by a former biologist who turned his hand to a bar, with a science theme. Day 14 - 1st Feb. Bit of a sleep in then to the Tokyo Metro Government Office to check out the observation floor. As we walked in an elderly gent offered us a guided tour free! Super informative and picked up a few new places to visit that he pointed out from the observation floor. I might head back in a couple of weeks before I leave and check it out at night time. Took Anna to the airport for her 4pm flight, many hugs, few tears were shed but she'll be back at home in the Perth heat tomorrow to pick up our four legged friend who we've both been dearly missing. I'm staying at the Comfort Hotel in Kitakami across from the station, free bus daily from the station to Geto Kogen. View isn't as nice as Myoko, but nice to see snow falling! Reactions: Hyst , whether , skifree and 4 others. Day 15 - 2nd Feb. First day at Geto Kogen. Caught the free shuttle bus from the East Exit of Kitakami Station. Plenty of lockers, shop, rental options and a beer shaped snowboard. Day ticket is 5, yen, Main gondola and the two pair lifts were running on the left side, quad was open on the right side with the second gondola closed which would make accessing the right hand side much easier as the traverse across from the main gondola has a lot of flat. Cloudy at the bottom: Chaos up the top: I believe this weather is pretty common at Geto, but to their credit all the lifts stayed open even with the strong winds, though the tree runs were all closed at the start of the day. Visibility was next to nothing at times. That said, there was bulk snow. Pretty sure I covered all the courses and at some stage the Rabbit and Garden tree runs opened but I didn't see it until I was done for the day, called it early as conditions were getting worse and I didn't want to ruin my day by hurting myself. Had plenty of fun, for a smallish resort there is enough to keep me amused for a few days especially if the snow keeps up. Hoping to try a couple of the tree runs tomorrow if they're open and the conditions are better. Looked like most people respected the closure, only saw a couple of lines going past the closed gates. Ski patrol was noticable but not sure how heavily they police the closures. Either way still found a few fresh lines well after lunchtime. Geto Kogen - thumbs up! Reactions: Hyst , whether , lncrdj79 and 5 others. Heinz Travelling again Ski Pass. Oct 14, 31, 23, 1, Adelaide. Looks like a fairly typical day at Geto. They have done well opening up those tree runs. I have only ever seen that 2nd gondola running once. It may be that they only open on weekends. In Kitakami I can recommend this Izakaya just opposite the station west exit. Have enjoyed Okonomiyaki there. Jan 13, 7, 19, Melbourne. Great news on the lesson. You only need one. Reactions: elSpike. Day 16 - 3rd Feb. Geto Kogen turned it on. Tree run areas were open first thing as conditions were nicer, but still very windy up the top of the resort. Snow still in great condition given the low temperatures and lack of sun yesterday, and as most of the tree runs were closed, plenty of untouched powder. Morning line for the main gondola the second gondola was closed. The line only got about 20 metres longer, cleared quickly though most of the time only 4 people are in the 6 person gondola. Might be a covid thing, but it'd be a tight squeeze with 6 if you've got a few snowboards in there too. This area between the two runs makes up 5 tree runs shooter x 4, alta x 1. Big area, plenty of opportunity for fresh snow. Bit above my skill level so I didn't go in there, plenty of people did with lots of hooting and hollering going on. Food was nice and you can get a 'big' serve for an extra yen. Standard size was plenty. Weather really kicked in to gear in the arvo, near whiteout conditions at times at the top of the resort. I'd been doing laps of the left most pair lift and the Garden tree run which is the easiest, and the A3 course had bulk snow on the sides and few people going through it, most people stuck to the middle. This pic is from the entry point to the Summit tree run which is the next step up from the Garden run they're all rated easiest to most difficult. Really widely spaced trees in this section then it thickens up further down. Super deep, super soft. Mint day. It was busy relative to yesterday but still plenty of untracked powder. Plenty of big powder boards around and skis that resemble canoes, they're that massive and well needed. Looks to be some good rental options for powder gear in the main resort building. After I got back I went for a wander around Kitakami, cool little town with what seems to be an inordinate amount of hair salons. The big snow covered area was on the drive back on the bus, lots of farming land perhaps? Will have to look it up. Cool to walk through suburbia. The last pic was out the front of a restaurant that served horse. Stuffed with horse meat and bean paste. Didn't stop to try it! Reactions: whether , lncrdj79 , elSpike and 7 others. Day 17 - 4 Feb. Last day in Geto Kogen. All tree runs open from first lifts. Day started off with a bit of sun This mountain opposite Geto looks prime for its own resort. A sea of white. This pic is from the observation deck at the top of the summit run. If you look closely you can see people in the backcountry, just to the left of the centre of the pic. The weather turned not too long after this so hopefully they timed it right. Not sure how well this will turn out but you can see evidence of Avalanches in the backcountry area. Not sure if they avalanche bomb here, heard a big bang the day before could have been a tree breaking? Shortly after, it looked like this. Most of the day was spent in the Garden, Summit and Rabbit tree runs. Bit tracked out but still fresh powder to be found. Would recommend spending a half day or so with a guide or at least some time with someone who's done the area before if you're doing the more advanced ones. The areas I did you'd probably struggle to get in to too much trouble but there are some tricky spots. For dinner I checked out the Irohanihoheto that Heinz recommended. No Okonomiyaki this time around but I ordered their specialty chicken and some Yakitori. Didn't need the Yakitori as the chicken dish was massive it looked smaller on the menu , and delicious as were the skewers. It came with scissors and tongs to cut it up, convenient! I'll definitely add Geto Kogen to the list of places to revisit. Small, but bulk snow, plenty for beginners and the more advanced. I liked staying in Kitakami and didn't mind commuting though will explore the on mountain options again next time if we're just doing a short visit. Day 18 - 5 Feb. Transit day. Had some time to kill so hopped on Google looking for a batting cage, found one at 'American World', about a 30 min walk from Kitakami station. Weather was conducive for a nice walk. Hit a bunch of balls, checked out the baked goods, slot car track, remote control racing track, they also have an airsoft gun range and a massive shop with heaps of toys, music etc. Shrine was on the walk back. Now at Appi Kogen for 5 nights, 4 days on mountain, lets hope the weather plays nice. Reactions: whether , lncrdj79 , SnowCat9 and 9 others. Day 19 - 6 Feb. Day 1 at Appi Kogen. Breakfast at my accommodation 'Life Is Beautiful' more on that later then Tom Sato the owner drove me the 1km up to the resort. Day ticket is 5, plus the deposit for the card I assume its a deposit and I get it back , forgot to ask Tom for a coupon so may be a bit cheaper. You can get a cheaper ticket which only covers 1 lift, or a more expensive ticket that allows you to skip the lines and access the art show in the building at the top of the gondola. Sunny day, headed straight up the gondola to the Nishimori lift as recommended by Tom as its the highest with the most powder and a tree zone which I won't go in, its a bit gnarly for me. Pic from base and the top of the Nishimori lift. Back up the gondola, nice view with the clouds down below. Headed down a black run and ducked in to the 'Cruise 1' tree section where the powder was still in good nick, then out under the gondola which looked nice but was pretty crusty underneath with a few bumpy surprises. Would be mint with a bit of a top up fingers crossed! Over to the 'Sailor' courses. Going from the guide these are mostly ungroomed and had about 5cm of fresh snow on top of hard crust, super bumpy. Skiers looked to enjoy it more than snowboarders from what I could see, again it'd be awesome with a top up of fresh or maybe even an early grooming. It does warn on the website that its hard and bumpy, should have read it better before going there! Another resort off in the distance: Little 1 lift area on the hill behind: Cloud had gone by the afternoon: Lunch in the food court. Plenty of options and I chose a curry with a big naan in the hope that it would be as good as the naan at the departed Kamoshika restaurant at Shiga Kogen. It wasn't, but was still ok, though my expectations were high. Kamoshika was awesome, I miss it. Wind really picked up in the afternoon so did a few more runs and called it a day. Day 20 - 7 Feb. Almost 3 weeks in and I think my body is ready to fall to pieces so I had a day off, no new snow so probably a good day to have off, I think tomorrow will have no new snow either with some due tomorrow night so hopefully my last day on Thursday will be nice. View from the window towards the resort. Little bath, had a good soak this afternoon. I've been eating a lot of noodles lately and there are almost no that I know of other food options around so I went just up the street to 19Brew. I'm not a beer drinker Anna would have enjoyed a couple so it was food only. Burger and chips were yen so pretty pricey but was fresh, wouldn't rush back though. I booked breakfast only at the accommodation so I'll see if they can squeeze me in for dinner before I go. Reactions: Hyst , Dave. Ski , bluestick and 7 others. The Sailer runs are usually full on bump runs. Named after Toni Sailer an Austrian ski legend from the 50s who spent quite a bit of time in Japan including ski films and course design. Ski Hard Yards Ski Pass. Oct 21, 67 83 Melbourne. Nice to meet you Shep, enjoy the rest of your trip! You must log in or register to reply here. Similar threads. Advice needed Myoko vs Shiga Kogen? Replies 10 Views 5, Dec 30, Paradox. 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