Looking for tips for a japan trip

wasatch_rat

wasatch_rat

Active member
Just starting to plan a japan trip, still in the extremely early stages, but I'm trying to go for at least 2 weeks, hopefully closer to 3. Looking for recommendations

Where to ski? Which island and which resort(s)?

Where to stay? How much did it cost?

What to do on bad weather days?

Where to eat? What to eat?

How to get from place to place? Rent a car, public transit, uber etc?

Any and all advice or experiences are appreciated. Thanks newschoolers
 
topic:wasatch_rat said:
Just starting to plan a japan trip, still in the extremely early stages, but I'm trying to go for at least 2 weeks, hopefully closer to 3. Looking for recommendations

Where to ski? Which island and which resort(s)?

Where to stay? How much did it cost?

What to do on bad weather days?

Where to eat? What to eat?

How to get from place to place? Rent a car, public transit, uber etc?

Any and all advice or experiences are appreciated. Thanks newschoolers
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Are you going to purely ski for the 2/3 weeks?

if so don’t bother hiring a car just get the Shinkansen bullet train from Tokyo they go to both Hakuba and Sapporo (smaller train onwards to niseko). Hire a car if you want to do some other travel around the country and maybe want to go to the warmer south

On really bad weather days I highly suggest drinking lots of hot sake or Strong Zero (aka Japanese 4loko)

or go for a walk and explore the beautiful and culturally very different town / city you are in

defiantly should eat lots of Okonomiyaki whilst there. Other wise most restaurants are very nice. Super markets a kinda weird compared to the west but you can still find some “standard western items like eggs”. But I recommend jumping right into the the Japanese food as it’s a big part of the experience and very tasty if your willing to try new things

niseko and hakuba are the biggest resorts but also are the busiest. There are other smaller resorts as well which could be worth looking into. I’ve heard there are some hidden gems around Yudanaka. Resorts on both islands get heaps and heaps of light and dry snow, so I wouldn’t say either is better for pow. I was in Niseko in January and found there was only really a big cue for the gondala first thing in the morning and once everyone spread out the lift lines were very good. Can’t say if this is always the case, just what I found

one last thing is Hakuba is a much larger city then niseko, if you wanna go to one of the big resorts, then just keep that in mind. Like Hakuba is basically a small city where is Niseko is a more traditional resort village with the main town of Kutchan being a drive/ bus away.

hope this helps
 
Thanks for the reply. Experiencing a new culture is definitely a big part of the appeal, which is why i'm kind of leaning away from niseko, it sounds like a tourist town. I've heard good things about rusutsu, but i know that there are lots of resorts on the hokaido island. the japanese alps around hakuba sound like the best terrain, but i've heard the weather can be a bit more finicky.
 
14096244:wasatch_rat said:
Thanks for the reply. Experiencing a new culture is definitely a big part of the appeal, which is why i'm kind of leaning away from niseko, it sounds like a tourist town. I've heard good things about rusutsu, but i know that there are lots of resorts on the hokaido island. the japanese alps around hakuba sound like the best terrain, but i've heard the weather can be a bit more finicky.
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I can only speak for Niseko, and yeah it’s defiantly all English speaking people. Only liftys and cooks were really Japanese’s. Heaps of Japanese stores to still visit but defiantly felt like a little haven for rich foreigners to buy a crib or a hire store
 
All right dog this season might not be the best for Japan due to more complex global weather systems. Look at the forecasts, there really isn’t much snow coming down at all. Hakuba is getting it really rough, so if I where you I would honestly wait till next year!

Nonetheless If you plan on staying in Hakuba I highly recommend you stay at Bohemiams Shelter. An awesome French guy runs it and he will make your stay there a lot easier - he has a lot of knowledge on the BC so he can help you with that. And also will shuttle you to the resorts each day. In off days at Hakuba there is a trampoline park, snow monkeys, onsens and a lot of nice places to eat.

If you’re going to Hokkaido don’t go to Niseko. The Australians really suck. I’d say try and rent out a camper van if you have the money and hit all the smaller resorts. Trying to catch buses everywhere from resort to resort will just wear you down. If you wanted to stay in one place I recommend rusutsu, look into staying at Chise house.

Also try and spend like a week in Tokyo and hit up Odaiba, I went there today and had my mind blown. It’s like a futuristic tech city.

Pm me for more info if need be :)

**This post was edited on Jan 13th 2020 at 8:42:35am
 
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