snow monkeys

Skiing in Japan is a blast and meeting the locals is half the fun

Nozawa Onsen offers a great

taste of traditional Japan,
plus awesome snowboarding

WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY CRAIG TANSLEY

With some of the best snow on the planet, and prices far lower than what you’d expect, it’s not hard to see why so many Australians are flocking to the ski slopes of Japan. Here’s the scoop on the three best ski resorts around Osaka and Nagoya.

HAKUBA

The Hakuba Valley will blow your mind with its huge range of ski runs – there’s terrain to suit everyone, from the first-timer to the professional. There are groomed cross-country courses, Olympic cross-country runs and you can even snowshoe, snow tube, toboggan or go snow rafting. Snowboarders are also well catered for, with half pipes literally everywhere, as well as terrain parks, bowls and kickers.

Hakuba is actually one huge expanse of 10 ski resorts accessing more than 200 ski runs. This is the ski centre of Japan and is notorious for its powder snow and vertical skiing. Happo-One has some of the highest snowfall in Japan, while Tsugaike and Iwatake are perfect for intermediates with their long, cruising runs. But novices are well catered for here, too.

Hakuba’s skiing is vast and varied and the nightlife is fun

After the slopes close at 8.30pm, there are plenty of off-snow activities to pursue. This is a ski region made for fun, with young people and families in mind. There’s Matsumoto Castle and Zenkoji Temple to explore and, for a Japanese ski resort, lots of choice when it comes to après-ski pursuits, including both Japanese and Western-style pubs and restaurants-cum-bars. Expect to pay about AU$5 a drink – cheap compared to other ski resorts across the world.

Free shuttle buses run between all resorts, or you can catch a public bus for AU$5. And never fear, there are plenty of onsen (natural volcanic hot springs) to soothe those aching muscles.

HAKUBA

Japanese beers at an izakaya help
dull the pain tooSki Passes: Purchase the Hakuba Valley Pass and ski all the resorts in the Hakuba area. A three-day pass costs AU$125 for adults and AU$72 for children.
Eating: Non-Jays is the area’s biggest izakaya and importantly, it has karaoke! The Pub & Grill at Mominoki Hotel is the most popular hang-out for late-night thrills; Zen, with its great Japanese food, sake and atmosphere is a must; try Uncle Stevens for the best Mexican; and Gravity Worx has the best pizzas and a climbing wall!

Kae Yoshioka, Sales Promotion Group, Hakuba47 Winter Sports Park

What’s the best ski run at Hakuba?
It’s very hard to decide as there are so many good runs. One of my favourites is R-1 at Hakuba47. A good run for intermediates to experts, it’s about 2,500m from top to bottom. Riesen course at Happo One is another; it’s good for intermediates and above. There are runs for kids and beginners such as Toomi and Limori slopes at Goryu, as well as Sattuka at Happo. For freestyle riders, R-4 at Hakuba47 has the biggest snow park with a half-pipe in this area.

Where’s the best place to eat in Hakuba?
I often go to an izakaya (traditional Japanese bar with cheap eats) at Jurono-yu, located between Hakuba47 and Hakuba Goryu ski resort.hey have a counter bar as well as irori (a Japanese-style hearth) where the owner cooks in front of you. After taking a hot spring bath, it’s a great place for a cup of sake (rice wine) and dinner.

Jason Jansen, Director Ski Japan Holidays

Where’s your favourite ski run at Hakuba?
On a powder day, I’d have to say Happo One at around 8am. After getting off the gondola you go up the Alpen Quad Chair and there’s an area known as the Kamushuka run. This isn’t actually a signed run, but ask any local snow-lover and they’ll point it out. Here, you can blast down a pretty steep run shooting in and out of the bordering trees. On a good day, waist-deep turns and a face full of powder are the norm.

Where do you recommend going for beers?
Japanese beer is pretty good and there are lots of cool little Japanese izakaya around the Hakuba Valley, but I go to 902. This is a cool little place with great tunes – the bar has more than 7,000 vinyl records dating from the 70s, 80s and 90s.

SHIGA KOGEN

The choice is yours at massive
Shiga Kogen
Photo: PhotolibraryShiga Kogen is like Disneyland for skiers and snowboarders because of its sheer size and incredible terrain, although there’s less going on at night than Hakuba if you’re in it purely for the party.

Shiga Kogen wins the title of Japan’s largest ski resort – there are 21 interlinked resorts on the one lift ticket! All up, it has more than 80km of slopes and the longest run goes for 6km. It’s impossible to see all the runs here but you can try – it has one of the longest ski seasons in Japan and is open every evening ’til 9pm.

Even the monkeys agree that a hot

onsen is the best way to soothe the

aches of a day’s snowplayThe ski resort of Yakebitaiyama is the most modern of Shiga’s resorts and offers the fastest lifts and the best variety of terrain.

A must-see is Shiga Kogen’s Monkey Park where you’ll see monkeys bathing in hot springs – well worth a photo!

Ideally, stay in the village of Ichinose as it’s the most central and has the best range of accommodation and restaurants. A free shuttle bus runs all day.

SHIGA KOGEN
Ski Passes: One-day adult pass AU$48, child AU$24; three-day adult pass AU$130, child AU$65.
Eating: The Grand Phenix Hotel has the finest cuisine in Shiga Kogen. Ichinose village offers the most fun at night – drop into Kamoshika for Indian or Taimu for Japanese, followed by drinks at the Back Bowl Café or Jalon Sports Bar.

Shitaka Shingo, head coach of Yakebitai-yama ski school

Where’s your favourite ski run at Shiga Kogen?
The one I especially enjoy is a run at Yakebitai-yama, which was used for alpine-slalom in the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics. The course doesn’t look too challenging at first glance, but once you go out to the field, you’ll find it’s really steep and you’ll just go out of control if you relax too much. One more course that I really enjoy is “The Giant Course” – you have to change your speeding, turn-sizes, and positioning as the slope gets progressively steeper downhill.

Where do you go for a good beer?
I often go out for a drink in the Ichinose area as it’s close to where I live. One of my favourite places is Taimu, which is an authentic izakaya that serves great food and cheap beers. Make sure you try hokkeno-hiraki (a kind of grilled fish) – it’s the house speciality.

NOZAWA ONSEN

Nozawa Onsen is famed for its
traditional culture, which includes
soaking in outdoor and indoor onsenNozawa Onsen is like taking a journey into the old heart of Japan. It looks every bit the classic Japanese ski resort with authentic ryokan (traditional Japanese inns), lantern lighting and cobblestone streets, all nestled at the base of the Kenashi-yama mountains. This is the place for those wanting a cultural excursion as much as a ski trip. As its name suggests, Nozawa Onsen is the place to come if you like to lounge in onsen; there are over 30 in the area, many of them are open to the public, some are over 700 years old!

But don’t be fooled, just because it looks old doesn’t mean you’ll miss out on any modern conveniences. Nozawa Onsen has more than 50km of slopes accessed by two gondolas, five quad-chairs, four triples and 13 double chairs, with one run being more than 10km long! The slopes close at 8pm.

The traditional atmosphere attracts a lot of older Japanese skiers, but its challenging terrain also brings Western snowboarders. Socialising isn’t huge here, but festivals are: the best one to see is the famous Dosojin Fire Festival on 15 January.

With 40% of the mountain dedicated to beginners, there’s plenty here for novices. But never fear thrill-seekers, there’s 1,065m of vertical rise and 30% of the mountain is advanced.

NOZAWA ONSEN
Ski Passes: One-day adult pass AU$46, child AU$21; three-day adult pass AU$120, child AU$55.
Eating: Try sliced raw horse meat, baby bees or other Shinshu specialities at Minato, or for something less exotic, the yakitori (barbecued meat on skewers) at Atarashiya is the best in town. Finish the night at Foot Bar, the Point or Stay. For those who need a karaoke fix, try Heaven.

Ko Katagiri, owner of Kiriya Ryokan

What’s your favourite ski run in Nozawa Onsen?
I like Yamabiko ski run. On the top of the mountain you can always get fresh powder snow.

Where’s the best place to eat in Nozawa Onsen?
My recommendation for sushi is Wakagiri, while for other Japanese food, check out Tsukusinbo, which is an izakaya.

HOW TO:

GETTING THERE
Japan’s trains are brilliantly efficient and the connections to the ski resorts are quite straight-forward with some signs written in English. Train travel to Hakuba or Nozawa Onsen takes 3.5 hours from Nagoya and
4.5 hours from Osaka, while Shiga Kogen takes 5 hours from Nagoya and 6 hours from Osaka.

ACCOMMODATION
A variety of good quality, mid-range Western-style hotels are available, with prices for double rooms starting from AU$58 per night.

TOURS
Ski Japan Holidays offers the widest range of holiday packages to these three resorts, including accommodation, transportation, lift tickets, lessons, rentals and day tours. Tel: +81 (261) 726 663 or check www..japanspecialists.com

MONEY
Although Japan is one of the world’s most advanced countries, the banking services are basic, so bring plenty of cash or traveller’s cheques.

Craig Tansley says:
My first snowboarding trip to Japan introduced me to powder snow I didn’t know existed. I couldn’t believe it dumped snowflakes bigger than my face! Each morning we’d wake to another foot or so of fresh snow and I had to teach myself how to ride all over again. For two weeks I didn’t see my legs.