I'm thinking about going to Nozawa Onsen for skiing too, have you been there before? I have questions on how you're gonna get there from Tokyo and where you would recommend to stay.

JR East Nagano-Niigata pass, take the Shinkansen to Iiyama, then from Iiyama there is a 20-25min shuttle bus to the town.

As to where to stay, uhhh ... I honestly don't know what's best. I stayed on a small minpaku along the main street near the Shinden bus stop (for the shuttle bus to the slopes). The location also not too far from town -- around 10mins walk -- for shopping and meals.

https://www.nozawaholidays.com/wp-content/u...6-Season-LR.pdf

For ski'ing I based out of the Nagasaka area instead of the Hikage area (the Hikage area is the bigger base I guess) because that's where the shuttle bus dropped us off first lol. Anyway we went with Sports THANX for the rental which was awesome cos they have a decent size ski storage area so once you get off the slopes you can dump your skis and boots there and head straight to town in normal shoes instead of having to lug everything back to your minpaku/ryokan/hotel.

Nozawa onsen is an onsen village that happens to be at the base of a ski area (rather than a purpose built ski village) so there isn't much ski-in ski-out stuff.

For dinner, I remember the mushroom soba at Yoshimi Soba was quite nice.

Anyway blogwh0re post here: http://look-see-eat.blogspot.com/2016/02/n...awara-plum.html



This post has been edited by deodorant: Nov 6 2018, 06:17 AM

Thanks for getting back to me so soon.

I figured that you'd need to take a shinkansen and then transition to a bus to get to the hotel, which is the norm for ski resorts on Honshu. I was hoping that there would be a bus from town that would take you there like the resort liners in Hokkaido. This is mostly because I travel with my own equipment, and it's quite the hassle. My previous trips to Furano and Niseko were much more convenient than Hakuba and Madarao because the transition from airport to hotel were so seamless

Is the mountain big enough for a week's stay?

I was planning on something like

Day 0 - fly to tokyo and arrive at night via AAX
Day 1 - Shinkansen to Iiyama
Day 2 to 5 - SkI
Day 6 - shinkansen to tokyo
day 7 - walk around town and go back home

Current Events guy Ah in that case there are shuttles from the airport but they're 6 hours (instead of SKS/bus which is about 3 hours).

https://www.nozawaholidays.com/shuttle-bus/

No, the mountain isn't big enoigh for a week. I think even 4 days might be a little boring if you only stick to on-piste (unfortunately I'm not skilled enough for BC/SC so no experience there). I'd say at most 3 days, then take the 4th day off to go see the snow monkeys or something, or extend your trip and do 2-3 days nozawa onsen and another 2-3 in a different nagano area resort. Myoko kogen maybe?

Thanks for sharing the link for the bus transfer. That's a pretty good service, unfortunately the last departure is still before the flight lands in tokyo.

I've never considered going from resort to resort because I usually don't rent a car and avoid taking taxis because the price is quite extravagant. Maybe it's time I look into how to get from one resort to another via bus. I know some resorts offer inter-resort buses (like Niseko - Rusutsu) so maybe that's an option.

Hi everyone, just asking
Can i still go to Japan if my passport validity is less than a year but more than 6 months? I want to book the flight ticket to Tokyo for Mar-May 2019 but my passport is due to renew in the end of 2019.

you cannot even leave. unless you depart from other country before the 6 months.

just go renew it.

I'm currently in Japan now using Travel Recommends Pocket WiFi. Very good coverage . No complains so far. With single full charge, it lasted from morning till night.

Same here.... easy pick up from airport and full coverage plus battery life last for whole day.

Japan does not practice the 6 months rule. As long as its valid during your entire stay that it should be fine. I did that about 6 years ago when my passport has less than 4 months. I did not realized it until the day I travel when the Malaysia immigration inform me. He says he will let me go but not sure if Japan will allow me to go in. So I took the risk.
You can find the FAQ in AU Japan embassy: https://www.melbourne.au.emb-japan.go.jp/co...r/visa/faq.html

As someone mention you might not be able to leave the country.... but since it is more than 6 months then it should be fine. You can call the airline/immigration to confirm.

And if you want a peace of mind, go change it.

Why not just get it renew, since you still have time to do that and worry free. Purchase flight ticket doesn't need the passport number yet.

Last year end, we went to Taiwan.. and I only notice my husband's passport have just 6mth before due. It was Friday night (when I found out during packing ) and we flying off Sunday. Immediately get it done on Saturday... phew.. lucky no system down issue.

Actually I was thinking to take the risk, as I was a frequent traveller to certain countries and this thing "pass-able" when they see your track records. But my hubby is not a frequent traveller, hence we better play safe.

Just came back yesterday from a 2.5 weeks solo trip to Tohoku. The autumn foliage was amazing. The places in Tohoku region were so peaceful and scenic.

Pics below taken at Tsutanuma, purposely wake up at 3.30am and drive in the dark to witness this amazing sunrise scenery, they call it the 蔦沼 朝燒 aka The Morning Burning of Tsutanuma.

The surface of the mountains is illuminated in a burning red color from the morning sun. This scenery can only be seen for a moment when the sunshine in the morning behind the mountains comes up and lights up the red leaves and trees. When the sun goes high, the color gradually changes to yellow or a pale red.

This post has been edited by limchee: Nov 7 2018, 04:21 PM


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Amazing !

amaizinnggg

I actually wanna ask, what other things can I do if my travel member gets sick during the trip? We have tried for medications from pharmacy but it doesn’t works.

Anyway it’s my day 4 here in Kansai. Morning so cold in Nara, Osaka is a bit warmer (maybe because in middle of city, or maybe I woke up very late ) Weather have been ever so lovely since Monday.

U dont have travel insurance?
Its 16C in osaka right?

Guys, can you guys advise the following? I will purchase the season 5 days tourist pass and will start use once I travel from Takayama to Toyama on Day 5, till Day 9, but will sacrifice one day for Kamikochi as it is not within the pass.

Day1 - Reach Nagoya Airport 7am+.
Nabana no Sato, Nagoya Castle
Stay in Nagoya.
Day2 - Take early train to Takayama. 1 day trip in Takayama.
Takyama Old Town, Hachiman Shrine
Stay in Takayama for 3 days
Day3 - Take early bus to Shin-Hotaka Ropeway. 1 day trip in Ropeway.
Day4 - Take early bus to Shirakawago Area, 1 day trip in Shirakawago
Day5 - Take early train to Toyama. 1 day trip in Toyama,
Kurobe Gorge, (another place, still researching)
Stay in Toyama
Day6 - Take early bus to Kurobe Alpine Route. 1 day trip for 1st half in Alpine Route
- Stay in Murodo ( Hotel Tateyama )
Day7 - Continue 2nd half in Alpine Route.
- Stay in Matsumoto.
Day8 - Take early bus to Kamikochi.
Stay in Kamikochi ( Unable to find hotel )
Day9 - Travel back to Nagoya. Stay in Nagoya for 2 days.
Day10 - SCMaglev & Railway Park + free and easy
Day11 - Travel back in the morning

I'm having hard time getting hotel at Kamikochi. And I also unable to book the bus ticket from Matsumoto to Kamikochi. Hotel Tateyama seems like the only hotel I can book. The rest are full. And yes, it is expensive... Around SGD570...

Sounds like you had a good trip! Glad to hear that did you enjoy Nikko? Not sure if you managed to get to Kinugawa and see the suspension bridge?

I think a lot of people gave their feedbacks. If you ask me, as long as your return date (on the day you're due to fly back to Malaysia from Japan) your passpost validity is no less than 6 months, it's still okay.

But if you're worried, might as well go renew it. Passport renewal is fast and efficient these days i went to UTC Sentul the last round at around 6.30pm and there was no one. I was served immediately and within 15-20min I got my new passport ady.

Awesome!!!Did you go to any onsen?

What about the gassho-zukuri (triangle roof houses) in Shirakawa Go? It needs to be booked early as well because if it's last minute it's usually full. Your itinerary seems fine to me

I stayed in Sukayu Onsen (Sour Hot Spring) which is on my way from Towada Lake to Hirosaki, which houses the "Senjin Buro" a.k.a The Bath of 1000 Bathers, massive mixed indoor onsen. Accidentally tasted the hot spring water, it is really sour!

also went to Nyuto Onsen's Tsurunoyu for a day spa during my stay at Tazawa Lake, another mixed onsen but outdoor. It was raining that day, having the top half of the body exposed to cold weather and your bottom half in warm onsen, amazing experience indeed.

so all together i tried 2 mixed baths during this trip

This post has been edited by limchee: Nov 8 2018, 10:38 AM

Was it near Kamikochi? It is really weird that after I go around from Takayma -> Toyama -> Alpine Route -> Matsumoto -> Kamikochi, I end up come back to Shinrakawago.

I do not think I am able to come back Matsumoto on time right? I check the bus traveling time is around 2 hour.