There are a lot of good reasons to go to Japan. This video of skiing Rusutsu ski resort on the North Island of Hokkaido should get your ears perked. These reason’s below should give you the ammunition you need to ski Japan in the next two years before prices go back up.
REASONS TO SKI JAPAN NOW:
– Japan’s tourism is down 50% or more currently due to the economic crisis and the Fukishima nuclear situation
– Where you’ll be skiing is nowhere near the nuclear danger zone
– On the north island of Japan (Hokkaido) you can get a room, lift ticket, spa, and breakfast for $65/day
– It snows like clockwork in Japan in January
– February is also pretty much clockwork when it comes to snowfall but with a few more sunny days
– Flights from the west coast are only about $900 round trip to Tokyo and they don’t charge baggage fees
– Flights from Tokyo to Sapporo (Hokkaido, north island) are only about $110 one way with $20 baggage fee for ski bags
You can’t really go wrong in Japan but here are our recommendations via our experience.
JAPAN SKI RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. Go to Hakuba, Japan, home of the Nagano Olympic games.
1A. Hakuba has big mountains and big snow on the level of Alaska
1B. Ski at Happo-One Ski resort and Cortina.
1Ba. Happo-One is great for bigger lines and long untouched powder
1Bb. Cortina is the best tree skiing in the area and it snows almost 33% more than the other resorts in the area. Good sidecountry, too and some big pillow lines.
2. Go to the North Island of Hokkaido for
2A. Go to Rusutsu ski resort on the north island of Hokkaido
2Aa. No crowds, great tree skiing, pillows growing off of EVERYTHING, and plenty of terrain
2Ab. It doesn’t hurt that Rusutsu is a full-on amusement park with an indoor wave pool, 4 story indoor waterslide, and much more. It’s basically Disneyland for skiers…
Keep an eye on UnofficialJapan.com for the play by play.
