21 replies to this topic

[Gary]

Saturday 20th:
All of my friends dropped out of a planned trip to Kagura, with such lame excuses as "Ive only got 20000 yen to last me two weeks" and "I broke my finger playing football today" so I had to decide whether to go it alone, or maybe go clubbing in Tokyo instead. Decided to wait on the weather.
Sunday 21st:
Decision time. Still hadnt decided by lunch time, so had a coffee and then checked the weather radar - big blue blob over Yuzawa! Clubbing could wait, maybe last chance for some powder this winter! Off I went to buy my ticket!
Monday 22nd:
The blue blobs hung around Yuzawa area most of the day and night so it looked promising for some nice powder up at Kagura. Got the train up there and checked the Yuzawa Now report - Kagura reporting 20-30 cms fresh! Fantastic!
Finally on skis by 10.30 am. Really didnt look like 20-30 cms at the bottom - more like 10-15 cms. Bit disappointing, but would still be good at the top!
And so it turned out! Got to the the very top and looked down from the lift - seemed the report wasnt far wrong after all!
Really was a beautiful day - nice and sunny, but remained cold all day, so all that powder stayed in great condition - even in areas exposed to the sun at the top.
From the top romance lift, its possible to hike a bit for access to some easy slack country through a small wood. I hiked maybe 10 minutes or so from the top. The runs though the trees were so sweet - once you got away from the exposed edge, there was maybe 30 or even 40 cms of powder!
Ive done maybe 5 or six trips to Kagura this year, including one in January where it was chest deep in places, but this really was one of the best! It was really nice to get access to the trees from the top lift and get some powder there too - with brilliant blue skies!
I took a few pics - nothing special - just took with phone and no action shots because I was on my own.

Hiking up from the top lift:


Couple of snowboarders relaxing before heading through the trees!:


The trees at the top:


More trees:


Some more trees:


Me preparing to ski down:


A fantastic little one day trip!
Looks like more snow is in the forecast for this week into the weekend so might even do it all again! Get it while you can!

[Go Native]

In Hokkaido we still have snow at sea level. We know it's not over yet!

Nice report. What an awesome day!

[muikabochi]

Great stuff Matt.
I am pleased to see that, might even kick me back into action!

[Man_In_Japan]

Yep, got me going now in a few weeks - just wished I had picked up spray magazine this season. :S

[mina2]

Nice, Gary.

How long does it take to get there from Tsukuba then?

[snowdude]

Nice pics, I may well go skiing this weekend at my local resorts, then finish with a day at Madarao next week or the week after.

[Gary]

Its a little awkward from Tsukuba as there is no direct train. It's best to go around to Omiya and take the Shinkansen from there. It takes 3 hours from Tsukuba station to Kagura ski resort (if the bus is on time!), so its not so bad. There are some resorts in Tochigi and Fukushima which are closer to Tsukuba, but they're not as good - actually I went to Alts Bandai in car earlier in the season - nice resort, but as my friend didn't have ETC, it cost almost as much as the Higaeri shinkansen deal - ended up taking longer to get there too!
I think the Higaeri trips just got a bit cheaper now its spring...

[TubbyBeaverinho]

but the times of the train up to Alts and then the connection of the shuttle bus makes it a pain in the ass

[Gary]

I meant comparing the day trip to Kagura on train with one in car to Alts. But yeah, the train up to Alts must be a real pain. I think for a day trip from near Tokyo, the JR Higaeri trips to the Yuzawa area must be the best option. There's always the bus to places like Hunter mountain, but I doubt the skiing will compare to Kagura and getting up at stupid-o-clock to sit on a bus for hours would kill me!

[muikabochi]

Out of interest, how much does the deal cost from Tsukuba, Gary?

[TubbyBeaverinho]

ah ok. Yeah Kagura is def the easiest good place to get to from Tokyo area

[Gary]

So on a weekend, it costs 9400 for the Shinkansen and lift ticket, you need to get the bus from yuzawa to the resort which is 600 yen return, then you need to get to Omiya, which is 2280 return. Bizarrely, if you have to get the non-reserved seats on the outward journey on a Sunday or return journey on a Saturday, its 1000 yen more expensive.
I think its a bit cheaper during the week, and also a bit cheaper early season and late (i.e. now) season.

[SKI]

[Metabo Oyaji]

Originally Posted By: Gary

There's always the bus to places like Hunter mountain, but I doubt the skiing will compare to Kagura

It doesn't. Unless you're taking about for beginners or little kids, which Kagura doesn't really cater to.

[muikabochi]

Season not as long either, right?

[TubbyBeaverinho]

doesn't look it from the pictures. I'd guess kagura still has full coverage. Now that I'm off work, I reckon I'll go to Kagura next week sometime

[muikabochi]

This year pretty good cover still on all resorts - even the ones down at town. Kagura would surely be 100% cover for a while yet. (Gary will know better of course being there recently).

[Gary]

No problems with cover at Kagura, even on the lower slopes and Gezan course, there didnt seem to be any thin areas. @TB, if you go next week, it looks like Monday or Tuesday would be the best chance of any powder - after that it looks like warming up considerably.

[SJ-David]

I was having a look round places this morning - even small town level places like Nunoba still have pretty much complete snow cover right now.

[TubbyBeaverinho]

Big change from last year eh?!