NateidOpf
New member
Between 2001 and 2004 I lived and worked in Japan on the northern part of the island of Honshu. I really didn't know what to expect of the skiing when I moved there but was pleasantly surprised by what I found. Where I lived, most of the ski areas topped out around 5 or 6 thousand feet. However, these mountains were blasted by snow each winter resulting in some of the best powder I have ever skied. The terrain was often underwhelming as was the planning of the resorts. I'm still convinced that one person, a scholar in chaos theory, was hired to plan the Northern Japanese resorts akin to Jack Nicklaus planning many of the golf courses in the region.
Most resorts in Japan have fairly strict rules regarding off-piste skiing. Basically, the rule goes, don't do it. For the resourceful and crafty skier, however, this meant a plethora of untouched powder stashes could be found in wayward locations far from the congested runs days after storms hit. In my three years skiing Japan, I never had a pass pulled but was chased by the 'Angry Man' (ski patrol) on more than one occasion, once resulting in my tumbling 25 feet down a frozen waterfall. TJ Burke I am not!
There were two places I skied that I would go back to visit in a heartbeat; Hachimanti Forest in Iwate Prefecture and Hakkoda in Aomori prefecture. Both of these resorts were magnets for powder hounds and off-piste enthusiasts. Many people have heard of Niseko on the island of Hokkaido, but few have heard of the two aforementioned areas on Northern Honshu although Hakkoda has received some press in the recent past.
My last two years in Japan, I helped run the Mogul Mashers Ski Club based out of Misawa, Japan. At the time, instead of taking pictures, I was doing a lot of filming with a cheap Sony MiniDV camera. I took countless hours of footage of my friends skiing and boarding and we had fun putting amateur videos together for our club's end-of-the-season party. Unfortunately, I suffered a hard drive crash and lost a lot of my captured footage. I wasn't too worried, however, as I still had the original tapes. Then, upon moving to Alaska, my cabin was burglarized and most of my tapes were taken. The link below is a video I put together from the footage I had left.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhwnUPaPso0
I didn't take a lot of pictures while skiing but usually tried to take a few each trip. I lost a lot of them in the hard drive crash, but managed to salvage a few that I had saved to disk. Below are a few of my favorites that I still have. (Yes, I do have backup systems in place now
)
Dale and Taishi stopping for a rest. We were doing some climbing out-of-bounds in order to access the peak and more vert. Tazawako, Japan.
Taishi and Dale with Lake Tazawako in the background (for the geophiles - a caldera similar to Crater Lake in Oregon)
My buddy Yoshi posing next to a sign that he claims says "Pussy Warmer". The area was rife with geothermal activity and I spoke hardly any Japanese, so who was I to question him? This was on the way up to Hakkoda in the spring.
Roadside snowbanks on the way to Hakkoda. Believe it or not, but this was a low snow year. There is a famous poster showing tour buses driving through this area with the snow banks twice as high as the bus!
Me at Shimokura Ski Area posing in front of the active Mt Iwate volcano. We were always wanting to ski on Iwate, but it was closed due to the unfortunate deaths of a couple of skiers who were overcome by volcanic fumes near the peak.
Dale and I at the top of Hachimanti Ski Area. Most of the great skiing was off to the right. There were other peaks to access that were great if you put the effort in to it.
Some backcountry terrain in the Hachimanti area. Tons of stuff like this in the area. Great skiing!
One of the 7 peaks in the N Hakkoda range. Many, many backcountry opportunities in this area
That's about it for my ski pictures. If you ever get the chance to ski Japan, take it! It is quite the unique experience and something you will never forget!
**After ski season was over, it was on to surf season. The beach behind my house on the Pacific Ocean.
Cheers!
Most resorts in Japan have fairly strict rules regarding off-piste skiing. Basically, the rule goes, don't do it. For the resourceful and crafty skier, however, this meant a plethora of untouched powder stashes could be found in wayward locations far from the congested runs days after storms hit. In my three years skiing Japan, I never had a pass pulled but was chased by the 'Angry Man' (ski patrol) on more than one occasion, once resulting in my tumbling 25 feet down a frozen waterfall. TJ Burke I am not!
There were two places I skied that I would go back to visit in a heartbeat; Hachimanti Forest in Iwate Prefecture and Hakkoda in Aomori prefecture. Both of these resorts were magnets for powder hounds and off-piste enthusiasts. Many people have heard of Niseko on the island of Hokkaido, but few have heard of the two aforementioned areas on Northern Honshu although Hakkoda has received some press in the recent past.
My last two years in Japan, I helped run the Mogul Mashers Ski Club based out of Misawa, Japan. At the time, instead of taking pictures, I was doing a lot of filming with a cheap Sony MiniDV camera. I took countless hours of footage of my friends skiing and boarding and we had fun putting amateur videos together for our club's end-of-the-season party. Unfortunately, I suffered a hard drive crash and lost a lot of my captured footage. I wasn't too worried, however, as I still had the original tapes. Then, upon moving to Alaska, my cabin was burglarized and most of my tapes were taken. The link below is a video I put together from the footage I had left.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhwnUPaPso0
I didn't take a lot of pictures while skiing but usually tried to take a few each trip. I lost a lot of them in the hard drive crash, but managed to salvage a few that I had saved to disk. Below are a few of my favorites that I still have. (Yes, I do have backup systems in place now
)Dale and Taishi stopping for a rest. We were doing some climbing out-of-bounds in order to access the peak and more vert. Tazawako, Japan.
Taishi and Dale with Lake Tazawako in the background (for the geophiles - a caldera similar to Crater Lake in Oregon)
My buddy Yoshi posing next to a sign that he claims says "Pussy Warmer". The area was rife with geothermal activity and I spoke hardly any Japanese, so who was I to question him? This was on the way up to Hakkoda in the spring.
Roadside snowbanks on the way to Hakkoda. Believe it or not, but this was a low snow year. There is a famous poster showing tour buses driving through this area with the snow banks twice as high as the bus!
Me at Shimokura Ski Area posing in front of the active Mt Iwate volcano. We were always wanting to ski on Iwate, but it was closed due to the unfortunate deaths of a couple of skiers who were overcome by volcanic fumes near the peak.
Dale and I at the top of Hachimanti Ski Area. Most of the great skiing was off to the right. There were other peaks to access that were great if you put the effort in to it.
Some backcountry terrain in the Hachimanti area. Tons of stuff like this in the area. Great skiing!
One of the 7 peaks in the N Hakkoda range. Many, many backcountry opportunities in this area
That's about it for my ski pictures. If you ever get the chance to ski Japan, take it! It is quite the unique experience and something you will never forget!
**After ski season was over, it was on to surf season. The beach behind my house on the Pacific Ocean.
Cheers!
