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Skiing in Japan
A recent NY Times article has peaked our interest. We've brought Niseko, Japan's largest ski area, to your attention before, but the new article does a great job of presenting other skiing opportunities in the country.
As it turns out, Japan actually has many more, perhaps a hundred more, ski areas than the U.S., according to the website Snowjapan.com.
While the vertical drops aren't quite what some have come to expect in the Alps or the Rockies, due to Japan's unique climate, with winter winds blowing in from Siberia, ski areas can get tons more snow than comparable resorts in the U.S. For example, Niseko gets over 600 inches of snow, while Vail only averages 348. And the powder is supposed to be incredible.
Americans will benefit from the increased traffic from Australian skiers, who have gone to Japan in droves, blazing a skiing trail. Japanese businesspeople have responded by putting up more signs in English and catering to English-speakers. The Times suggested contacting Australian-run tour operators, like Skijapan.com, for more help.
And an additional feature that really intrigues us: the large number of available hot springs ("onsen") for apres-ski.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
albion Nov 21st 2006 6:01PM
Japan sounds like an amazing ski holiday destination! I hope that it will offer what is unique to Japan in terms of culture, rather than being taken over completely by Australian culture. Having said that, it is wonderful to see Australians taking lead as they are full of life and so much fun to be around.