Skiing, DH Mtb if you live in Tokyo

**MacDaddy** · 05-17-2007, 04:16 PM

FT you are stoked! and you have a beautiful family!

TGR never ceases to surprise me!

**workinforturns** · 05-17-2007, 04:38 PM

i willl be leaving japan to come back to the states around the new year. so any early season before that.

**fattwins** · 05-18-2007, 05:38 PM

Thats a hard call. usally around mid december the base starts to pick-up. Some years we can hit the big shit some years we are just hitting the small stuff in bounds. for example; 2 years ago my place was buried under the snow and I had to pay money to save the house. This season we had to hike for the goods early no snow.

Id say come check it out if your into biglines. See what we have and plan for later.

thanks macdaddy were you here this year?

**StuntCok** · 05-18-2007, 08:12 PM

There is lift accessed mountain biking in a few of the resorts in Hakuba at least (I never go but I see them going up the gondala when I am there for the water ramps). Curiously more popular is paragliding, if you want to get into that. Also, I think Naeba in Niiigata runs lift accessed MTB and that is an hour and a half from central Tokyo. There are no more MTB terrain parks (as of last year), however, within easy access to tokyo but that may change as I know the owner of one resort in Niigata who is thinking about it.

**StuntCok** · 05-18-2007, 08:14 PM

Oh yah, there is lots of traffic going up on the weekends from Tokyo so it is possible to car pool and cut costs. I often have room but I am told I drive like a maniac so you may want to reconsider.

**fattwins** · 05-18-2007, 08:33 PM

Stunts I stillneed help with bike info cause Im a noob. The DH course near the water ramp is coming along well. it is open now

**StuntCok** · 05-18-2007, 09:17 PM

What was the problem again? I am not much of a bike tech but I think Ian knows a bit... You know, thinking about it, you should get on the MTB forums in Japan (if there are any) and drum up some summer traffic for your lodge...

**fattwins** · 05-19-2007, 03:11 AM

Dude i know jack about biking really.
I want a good XC bike but not grand. full sus would be great but I dont really care. I then have to refit my DH bike with new forks and rear shocks and they aint cheap (again I cant find a deal cause im a kayaker not a biker). this season we are gardening and enjoying the crisp clean air.

**StuntCok** · 05-19-2007, 05:40 AM

Originally Posted by fattwins

Dude i know jack about biking really.
I want a good XC bike but not grand. full sus would be great but I dont really care. I then have to refit my DH bike with new forks and rear shocks and they aint cheap (again I cant find a deal cause im a kayaker not a biker). this season we are gardening and enjoying the crisp clean air. want to sell the place next season.

Want to sell the place?! Dude, that is the centre of international ski-bummery in Japan. The most core place in the most core part of Japan. That is big news...

**fattwins** · 05-19-2007, 08:25 AM

ps miss typed i aint going no where for life

**bbirtle** · 05-19-2007, 09:37 PM

I remember many a Saturday morning, around 5:45 on the Ginza subway link Shinbuya to Tokyo Central, transfer to the Shinkansen where suddenly the dead early morning is transformed into a chaotic mess of 80's 1 pieces, super carvers, and steaming breakfast cakes...

Catch the sunrise on distant Mount Fuji out of the corner of my sleeping eye whizzing through flat lands at warp speed. Vague remeberance of air pressure rising and falling through tunnels, awake to the sound of a phone alarm, stirring passengers, "Mamonaku, Nagano ni teisha itashimasu. Shuten desu." Snow falling on ceramic tile roofs, suddenly out into the samurai ink block painting.

Onto a bus (not the highlight), arrive at Happo One around 10:30 after a quick check into the hotel. Riding powder turns until the wheels fall off.

Mate you're in for a fun year.

As for the car, I always took the trains but towards the end of my stay was considering buying one. Tokyo weekend traffic is a bitch but it may be worth it. You could drive there Friday night for example, or as others have said, get to some great resorts that aren't easily accessible by train.

There is also the overnight Chuo line to Hakuba via Matsumoto, but I never took that because I suck at sleeping on trains and figured the delayed start was worth the extra hours in a real bed.