[Kingswood]

Myself and 2 friends did a DH trip to Japan at the start of June.

We flew from Oz to Tokyo, and then did the 2 hour train ride out to Nagano prefecture to a town called Fujimi.

In their summer they run the gondola for hikers and riders. There are 3 DH courses ranging from 9 minutes to 15 minutes of ride time. They have a 4X course and some dirt jumps there as well.
The courses aren't that hectic, but they are wide, fast and loooooong. The faster you hit them the harder they get.

I will post up some helmet cam in a minute too.

Enjoy.

One of days we skipped the resort and did some shuttles with a guy called Paul from Free Ride Adventures. He took us to another mountain about an hour away that had 2 great tracks about 15 minutes long each.

And then back to Tokyo

 

[Kingswood]

This is the middle section of the "C" (easiest) course.

And this is the bottom half of the "A" (hardest) course. This is where they hold their big races, with some slight line changes.

 

[ridingsupreme]

nice looks like fun!

 

[Whoops]

Pricey?

 

[Kingswood]

Pricey?

Really cheap, once you get out of Tokyo it's cheaper than in Australia.

Being in Australia, this trip was probably half the cost of going to Whistler, most of that is thanks to cheap airfares.

Not sure how it would go coming from the states, but once you are there we paid about 8000Yen per day for accomodation, breakfast, lifts to the resort and huge dinner every night. Lift tickets where 4800 yen per day.

It's also a good option for us as it's only a 9 hour flight and only 1 hour difference in time zones.

Edit - Just noticed your from NZ, so you would be in the same boat as us if you can get reasonable flights.

 

[Whoops]

Thanks.

How was it getting your bikes there and back?

 

[trailrider1]

japan is awsome! and full of hott girls. ( wich is why my girl friend isnt coming to japan with me next year) lol

 

[Kingswood]

Yeah I forgot to mention how much fun it is travelling in Japan. I've bene there 6 times now with MTB'ing and snowboarding. Japanese people are so accomodating, language isn't an issue, just a really cool place to visit. Just as long as you dont spend all you rtime in the city and you get out into the mountains.

Getting bikes there was easy, we just packed em up and had paid for the excess baggage when we booked the flights. That was with Jetstar. The hardest part was hauling them through Shinjuku in Tokyo and then trying not to get thrown off the train for taking up about 6 seats with our bikes, but only paying for 3.

 

[kellyn7]

I wish I wouldn't have seen this! Right now I'm just south of Tokyo for work with nothing to do this weekend and after seeing these pics I wish I would have brought my bike. Looks like a lotta fun!

 

[klunky]

That trail looks soooo fun.
I always wanted to go to Japan - That might just push me over the edge!

 

[Deeboy]

That looks very sweet. I have been up north to Hokkaido to snowboard. Best holiday ever, the Japanese are strange yet very helpful.

Can you post up where you stayed & any hints for others here. I want to head back one day in summer.

I would really recommend Japan as a holiday destination. If the biking is cool, then it just got a heap better

 

[dhmike]

 

[El Diablo]

How does Nagano compare to OZ?
I`m tempted to try riding over there now.

 

[Starbury]

Looks like you guys had an awesome trip!

Thanks for sharing!

 

[dump]

thanks for the pics! looks like fun.

 

[RMboy]

Mann that looks like fun.. Cheers for the pics!

 

[CBJ]

Super cool. Would love to visit Japan and if it could be combined with riding then its perfect.

 

[shirk007]

One of days we skipped the resort and did some shuttles with a guy called Paul from Free Ride Adventures. He took us to another mountain about an hour away that had 2 great tracks about 15 minutes long each.

Paul Chetwynd is a MTB Hall of Famer. One of the original Deep Cove Boys.

http://www.freerideadventuresjpn.com/about.html

 

[Kingswood]

Can you post up where you stayed & any hints for others here. I want to head back one day in summer.

Paul (see link in shirk007's post), was the biggest help. It was hard to get info in English for Fujimi and the resort. He is based in the area, he hooked us up with the sweatest accomodation, and they then got us around to the resort, shops, onsen etc.

We just had to get ourselves to Fujimi train station, and everything was cruisy from there. So many Japanese people went out of there way to help us out.

How does Nagano compare to OZ?
I`m tempted to try riding over there now.

Here at home we have shorter tracks, with no chairlifts, full of rocks and not very wide as they are all hand built illegally so no machines can be used.

There is some really fun stuff, and really tech stuff, but a radically different style to what you get at Fujimi.

There are some race tracks around the country that have been properly built, but none close to us that can be ridden all the time.

There is a ski field called Thredbo about 1500km's away that runs a chairlift in the summer. The track there is really really good but there is only one course.

Paul Chetwynd is a MTB Hall of Famer. One of the original Deep Cove Boys.

http://www.freerideadventuresjpn.com/about.html

And just an awesome guy, he really looked after us, still dealing Cove over in Japan, and still on the pace.

 

[trailrider1]

the japanese are so nice. and most people dont think of japan as mountians and nature.

 

[zahgurim]

I've been to Japan a few times, taking my urban bike. Have yet to hit up the DH shenanigans...

I've been trying to find out info about lift-serviced resorts. Happy to see this thread!

 

[Whoops]

Sweet info, thanks. Spent 2 weeks in Japan a couple of years ago and had a blast - always looked like there'd be some great riding there.