Originally Posted by
evergrn
Just wanted to report back that NASPA really was excellent and served our purpose well. ...
As for skiing, it's a small mountain, and I kept doing the same run over and over. Nonetheless it was surprisingly satisfying. There's this very wide intermediate run just to the left of the quad chairlift on the left side of the mountain. I kept doing that one over and over, and I never got tired of it. On the last day, I discovered that the terrain at the right base of the mountain was pretty awesome although only ~400m long, and I started doing that one over and over. I was just about the only person skiing that run, so had it all to myself. Despite the hotel being sold out, zero queue at any of the chairlifts. Ski school was wonderful. Again fraction of the fees at Whistler. My kids did group lessons, but only 1-3 other kids in the group each time. Teachers were wonderful, all professional.
I'm thinking about taking my son skiing outside Tokyo one of these weekends. He's been to Niseko, and loves it there, but it's gotten too expensive and I always have problems with the Hilton's on-site snow school. The school seems to cater mainly to beginners, so every group lesson ends up being a beginner lesson.
I'm still looking for a suitable option so your post about NASPA was really timely. Did you sign your kids up for private or group lessons? I only see the option for private lessons on their website but you mention group lessons. Do you recall the cost?
Have you been to Gala Yuzawa? How would you compare NASPA to it? I've done a day trip to Gala Yuzawa and found it to be extremely crowded (relative to Niseko at least) but I liked the range of terrain.
What I also liked about Gala Yuzawa is that it's really easy to get to, especially if you can use the JR Tokyo Wide Pass for confirmed Shinkansen seats.