Hokkaido rightfully gets a lot of attention here but don’t ignore the main island - Honshu. Some cracking spots within 3 hours of Tokyo. Enjoying a new one this weekend!
1200m descent. Some very steeeep options at the top, down through a long valley and then a short traverse out back to the gondola.
Standard routes straight off the top chair and out the gate there are myriad options off the ridge line with 700m of vert meeting the piste at the bottom. Popular with Snowboarders as no pole outs!
Other side duck the rope and hit the Monkey line. Superb steep gully but need a vehicle to pick you up from the river.
Best steep terrain I’ve skied in Japan. Beats Hakuba Happo One. But significant avi risk - Kieren who runs Tenjin lodge was a great guide.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Just have to put up with a lot of Snowboarders
Summit just under 2000m
After all it is free
After all it is free
Tremendous
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Looks very nice.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Looks pretty darned good Bob.
Just back from another pretty epic Niseko trip.I think next trip might be to Honshu maybe.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
rogg wrote:
Looks pretty darned good Bob.
Just back from another pretty epic Niseko trip.I think next trip might be to Honshu maybe.
Just met my mate at the airport who’d done a 10 day touring trip around Niseko / Furano. Vintage Hokkaido pow conditions by all accounts!
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
BobinCH wrote:
rogg wrote:
Looks pretty darned good Bob.
Just back from another pretty epic Niseko trip.I think next trip might be to Honshu maybe.
Just met my mate at the airport who’d done a 10 day touring trip around Niseko / Furano. Vintage Hokkaido pow conditions by all accounts!
I think it snowed every day we were there, 14 days, during each 24 hour period. Super light, super dry apart from one day which was a fraction heavier (but still pretty darned light in comparison).
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Out the bottom of the valley
Benefit of a guide… it hadn’t snowed for a couple of days so he took us out the other side of the resort down a valley the Monkeys use « the Monkey Line »
Me and 2 Danish fellas the only skiers?!?! Don’t bring your all mountain skis here!!!
Last edited by So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much on Tue 7-02-23 4:39; edited 2 times in total
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Forgot the warm up run - a 10 min hike up the ridge onto the lower South face of Tanigawa. Happiness is when the guide lets you go first!
Wow. Some glorious photos - to the untrained eye just heaving with potential avalanches.
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
pam w wrote:
Wow. Some glorious photos - to the untrained eye just heaving with potential avalanches.
Yes it’s avalanche prone terrain - steep slopes with deep snow leading into a valley floor, aka a terrain trap. There was a fatal avalanche last week in the forest
That’s why I went with a local guide and fortunately the snow pack had stabilized. We still skied one at a time - usually him first on the more exposed slopes and didn’t hang around in the valley.
Great photos.
Almost a decade ago now we spent our honeymoon on Honshu near Nagano.
Myoko, Seki Onsen and Suignohara.
Western sea board gets almost as much snowfall as Hokkaido but with more interesting terrain.
Plus perhaps a more authentic Japanese experience with less Australian tourists.
Bullet train makes it easy to combine with a few days in Tokyo.
I can tell you that the pistes in Verbier are skiing very nicely so just think what you are missing out on here
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Haggis_Trap wrote:
Great photos.
Almost a decade ago now we spent our honeymoon on Honshu near Nagano.
Myoko, Seki Onsen and Suignohara.
Western sea board gets almost as much snowfall as Hokkaido but with more interesting terrain.
Plus perhaps a more authentic Japanese experience with less Australian tourists.
Bullet train makes it easy to combine with a few days in Tokyo.
Word!
I’d never heard of Myoko before I went in 2020 based on some massive reported snowfalls. Turns out to the powder capital of Japan! I only got to Akakura Kanko (which was a bit flat if insanely deep) but Lotte Arai and Seki Onsen with more vert and crazy snow records should be on every powder hounds list.
And Hakuba, especially Happo One, with a bit less snow but fabulous Alpine terrain is another gem in good conditions.
But Tanigawadake Tenjindaira trumps them all IMO with the combo of proper steep terrain, Alpine + trees and a great snow record. 2h30 from Tokyo. If you have a couple of days free from Tokyo stick it on your priority list!
After all it is free
After all it is free
rungsp wrote:
Yeah...well it looks OK I guess@BobinCH.....
I can tell you that the pistes in Verbier are skiing very nicely so just think what you are missing out on here
Coming! Will you show me some of these fabled pistes tomorrow?
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
And another big dump coming. Should be magic again next weekend for anyone in Tokyo…
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Great report @@BobinCH,
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Lived in Sendai in 1990 an skiied a lot of the resorts in Miyagi and beyond. Wonderful - and in those days no-one skiied off-piste. Yamagata Zao with "snow monsters" but lots of great little resorts. Similar to smaller North American resorts - much smaller than Euoropean - but then Europe doesn't have rotenburo! (outdoor onsen for anyone who doesn't know). Recommend anyone to stay in a Ryoken in this part of the world
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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