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Snowboarding Sushi Style!
where_ur_at : step-on
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> snowboarding sushi style
The mountains of Japan are
perhaps one of the least visited by foreign
snowboarders. Perceived as being expensive,
distant and crowded, most Europeans and North
Americans are happy ripping it up on their home
turf. However, in a world where thirst for the
unknown is ever increasing, more and more people
are making the long haul to sample the far eastern
delights of snowboarding, sushi style!
The Terrain
You may know that Japan is famous for over weight
blokes wresting in giant G-strings, but are
you aware that it boasts the most ski areas
in the world? As a small country which is about
80% mountainous, wherever you are in Japan,
there is bound to be a piste within range. Making
the most of their geography, the Japanese have
carved out slopes all over the place and the
current official count now lies somewhere between
600 and 700 different places to ride.
However, with that being said, this huge number
is a little deceiving. As with their cars, cameras
and computers, the Japanese do with ski resorts
what they do best: miniaturise. Compared to
North American and European resorts, Japanese
ski areas are generally much smaller, with some
consisting of just one lift and a single short
run. But it’s not all small talk - the
presence of the winter Olympics not once but
twice in this country prove that Japan has what
it takes to provide world class terrain, and
more importantly, world class snow.
The Snow
What Japanese resorts lack in vertical drop,
they make up for in snowfall. Just like the
Japanese ladeez, the slopes in Japan are often
short, but sweet. The country cops cold air
streams coming down from Siberia which pick
up moisture on their way over the Sea of Japan,
and when they hit the mountains they bust their
almighty load all in a big way. The result:
a country that receives one of the highest snowfalls
in the world.
Japan is made up of four main islands, and it
is possible to ride on even the most southern
(Kyushu), despite having a latitude on par with
Morocco. However, for the crème of the
crop, the main island of Honshu, and the northern
most island of Hokkaido are where it’s
at. In fact, Hokkaido has been long known as
prime territory for global powder hounds, where
the cool temperatures keep the snow fine and
offer arguably the best powder riding on the
planet.
One of the most famous resorts in Japan is Niseko
in Hokkaido. Now owned by an Australian company,
(like sand, those aussies do have a habit of
getting everywhere) the boys from down under
have made this their second home. Although not
a huge resort, the perfectly spaced trees and
the deep, deep powder, make this area a world
class pow zone. Other big names include Hakuba,
and Happo-one, both in Nagano (central Japanese
Alps.), but there are hundreds of decent places
to ride throughout the country. The season is
longest in the north of the country, starting
in November, and continuing till May, but due
to the lack of glaciers, summer snowboarding
is not an option.
The Scene
Japans snowboarding industry is booming. As
an extremely fashion conscious country, snowboarding
is super cool, and has been used to advertise
everything from cars to cigarettes. The kids
can’t get enough, and all but a handful
of tiny ski areas now allow boarding on their
grounds.
Like other countries that lack huge vertical
drop, such as Norway, Sweden and Finland, the
Japanese have turned much of their efforts to
terrain parks. Even the tiniest of ski areas
tend to have at least a couple of kickers, and
many have full terrain parks with half pipes,
rails and chunky cheese wedges.
With beautiful mountains comes tranquillity,
or so you’d think, but if you like to
cruise down the piste with nothing but the sound
of powder spurting out of your exhaust, you
might find Japan’s love for blasting out
music across the pistes a little rude at first.
Forget the serenity, and think crass J-pop mixed
with phat hip hop coming at ya from a lift pylon
near you.
Japan is famous for being a super high tech
country having pimped out their Nintendos, Playstations
and tamagotchis to the rest of the world. However,
in many aspects they are still in the stone
age. Although you would be hard pushed to find
a drag lift in a Japanese resort, the existence
of rusting, one man chair lifts is common. These
are an experience in themselves to ride; with
no foot rests, or safety bars of any kind, hold
on tight for the ride of your life. Their toilets
too, are somewhat of a gamble. Either you get
the power arse washer model complete with heated
seat and control pad resembling a console, or
you get a hole in the ground.
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