Japan 2026

jamesdeluxe said:
Tony and I had the "daily driver" discussion while at Serre Chevalier during a snow drought. I told him that his mid-90s didn't make sense for me when you're skiing mostly onpiste hardpack or offpiste with a bit of loose snow. People always swear that their mid-90s "are easy to get on edge" but IMO they look like a recipe for skidding most turns. I know that I'm not good enough to get my 98s on edge without a few inches of fresh snow.

Yesterday at Loveland -- my 82s next to someone's 115s. Why anyone would choose to use those right now in Colorado makes zero sense to me but hey, enjoy and get it on (ZZ Top reference):

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We are both not accomplished skiers. Kylie in particular doesn’t carve turns regardless of what skis she is on.* I can and do get my Rustler 10s (102mm) on edge in good conditions. They are so fun. I love the feeling of being propelled out of a wide turn. There is no doubt I couldn’t get them up on edge in anything like icy conditions.
I’ll take my Armada Declivity 92s to Europe in about 5 weeks time. I find they work ok for me in up to about 8 inches of snow and they are certainly grippier on harder surfaces that my Rustlers.

*She seems to have fun anyway.
 
I’m at the Mammoth industry demo now for the 7th time. Last snow here was Jan. 8 so we will be testing lots of under 90 skis.
 
On the change of weather this time of year.
The hotel presented us with a special festival dinner last night to celebrate the end of winter.
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Edit. I don’t know why the hotel has us back in February 2020. I certainly don’t want to relive the couple of years after that time.
 
Since I know virtually nothing about Japan's many ski areas, for the past year or so I've been gathering info from people's past trips here and on the German forums so I'll have initial guidance when I go there at some point in the future (for the moment, it's armchair travelling). I copied Sbooker's recent itinerary above and asked AI to provide an overview of the various stops:

That list is a real mix, from genuinely small/local hills to pieces of much larger interconnected zones. Here’s the practical breakdown from a skier’s POV:

Larger / more destination-scale (or part of major systems)​

Myoko Suginohara
• One of the bigger standalone mountains in Myoko
• Long vertical, more legit destination feel
• Not “mega resort” by Alps standards, but definitely not small

Madarao
• Mid-sized to fairly substantial
• Known for tree skiing and sidecountry
• Bigger than a local hill, smaller than Japan’s giants

Yakebitaiyama (Yakebitaiyama & Okushiga area / Shiga Kogen)
• Large by Japanese standards
• Major groomer infrastructure
• Part of the broader Shiga Kogen complex

Okushiga Kogen
• Not huge alone, but upscale and substantial
• Functions as part of the larger Shiga Kogen ecosystem
• More “serious destination sector” than small ski hill

Medium / mid-tier​

Ryuoo Ski Park
• Mid-sized
• Big ropeway, decent vertical
• More substantial than it first appears, though not elite-scale

Yokoteyama
• Individually modest, but high-altitude and linked within Shiga Kogen
• More about niche terrain and snow quality than size

Smaller / feeder / local-feel sectors​

Yomase / X-Jam Takaifuji
• Smaller to mid-small
• Fun, often underrated, but not large

Ichinose Diamond
• More of a sector/base area than a major standalone mountain
• Useful in Shiga Kogen network, but individually modest

Kumanoyu (Kumamoyu)
• Smaller, old-school, weather-dependent
• More character than scale

Bottom line​

Clearly not small:
• Myoko Suginohara
• Madarao
• Yakebitaiyama / Okushiga (especially within Shiga)

Middle:
• Ryuoo
• Yokoteyama

Smaller:
• Yomase/X-Jam
• Ichinose Diamond
• Kumanoyu

Important context​

Japan can be deceptive because many areas function as “pods” within broader regional networks rather than giant single-resort brands like the Alps or North America.

So:
• Shiga Kogen = huge overall, but many individual sectors feel small
• Myoko = regional destination with several separate mountains
• Madarao = stronger standalone than many on your list

If your benchmark is:
• St. Anton / Trois Vallées → most are small
• Typical eastern U.S. independent hill → several are medium to large
• Powder/travel value → some punch above their size dramatically.
 
jamesdeluxe said:
Since I know virtually nothing about Japan's many ski areas, for the past year or so I've been gathering info from people's past trips here and on the German forums so I'll have initial guidance when I go there at some point in the future (for the moment, it's armchair travelling). I copied Sbooker's recent itinerary above and asked AI to provide an overview of the various stops:

That list is a real mix, from genuinely small/local hills to pieces of much larger interconnected zones. Here’s the practical breakdown from a skier’s POV:

Larger / more destination-scale (or part of major systems)​

Myoko Suginohara
• One of the bigger standalone mountains in Myoko
• Long vertical, more legit destination feel
• Not “mega resort” by Alps standards, but definitely not small

Madarao
• Mid-sized to fairly substantial
• Known for tree skiing and sidecountry
• Bigger than a local hill, smaller than Japan’s giants

Yakebitaiyama (Yakebitaiyama & Okushiga area / Shiga Kogen)
• Large by Japanese standards
• Major groomer infrastructure
• Part of the broader Shiga Kogen complex

Okushiga Kogen
• Not huge alone, but upscale and substantial
• Functions as part of the larger Shiga Kogen ecosystem
• More “serious destination sector” than small ski hill

Medium / mid-tier​

Ryuoo Ski Park
• Mid-sized
• Big ropeway, decent vertical
• More substantial than it first appears, though not elite-scale

Yokoteyama
• Individually modest, but high-altitude and linked within Shiga Kogen
• More about niche terrain and snow quality than size

Smaller / feeder / local-feel sectors​

Yomase / X-Jam Takaifuji
• Smaller to mid-small
• Fun, often underrated, but not large

Ichinose Diamond
• More of a sector/base area than a major standalone mountain
• Useful in Shiga Kogen network, but individually modest

Kumanoyu (Kumamoyu)
• Smaller, old-school, weather-dependent
• More character than scale

Bottom line​

Clearly not small:
• Myoko Suginohara
• Madarao
• Yakebitaiyama / Okushiga (especially within Shiga)

Middle:
• Ryuoo
• Yokoteyama

Smaller:
• Yomase/X-Jam
• Ichinose Diamond
• Kumanoyu

Important context​

Japan can be deceptive because many areas function as “pods” within broader regional networks rather than giant single-resort brands like the Alps or North America.

So:
• Shiga Kogen = huge overall, but many individual sectors feel small
• Myoko = regional destination with several separate mountains
• Madarao = stronger standalone than many on your list

If your benchmark is:
• St. Anton / Trois Vallées → most are small
• Typical eastern U.S. independent hill → several are medium to large
• Powder/travel value → some punch above their size dramatically.
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Shiga Kogen is large but the individual areas (some of which are lift linked or bus linked) are small. The individual areas have there own lift ticket and many Japanese people buy the pass for the small area where their lodging is and stick to that sector.
 
Sbooker said:
Or was that comment not about the quality of the writing?
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Absolutely positively not, cupcake! :icon-lol:

Instead of feature, perhaps I should've said "travel diary" or "travelogue." I was referring to the extent of the details, both written and photographic: a very German thing. Their reports often feature way too many photos IMO and mix magazine-worthy ski shots with less sexy parts of the trip that I wouldn't have bothered to include in my reports or articles.

For example, the spartan room in his one-star motel -- low-budget lodgings that I frequent a fair amount when travelling alone and don't need to be reminded of later:
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Similarly: the view from said room -- definitely "keepin' it real" and not the Japan that you'd see in a tourist brochure!
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Or this unglamorous office/warehouse area:
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In one report, there's a shot of his room's toilet, which I definitely wouldn't document unless it was very posh!

It's when things fall into a "Dear Diary" stage that I lose interest in a report but that's just my personal opinion.
 
jamesdeluxe said:
Instead of feature, perhaps I should've said "travel diary" or "travelogue." I was referring to the extent of the details, both written and photographic: a very German thing. Their reports often feature way too many photos IMO and mix magazine-worthy ski shots with less sexy parts of the trip that I wouldn't have bothered to include in my reports or articles.
Click to expand...
What the Germans do is similar to some Australian trip reports. Given that some Aussies plan their trips to another continent a year or more in advance, they are very interested in travel logistics and pictures of base areas and food. Same for trip reports that are to hike big mountains. The pictures aren't all just of great views or the hiking trails.

I don't bother to read many trip reports that are more than a few years old. Even in Japan, the situation continues to evolve in terms of lifts and the area near the base of many ski areas/resorts.
 
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