Hi - I am going skiing in Japan at the end of Feb 2018. I am traveling with a ski club.

I need advice on ski rental, ski guides, and restaurants. (I don't eat sushi).

Here is the itinerery:

6 nights @ the 5 Star Hotel Tokyu, Hakuba, Japan

2 nights @ the 4 Star Hotel Nikko in Kanazawa

2 nights @ the 4 Star Grand Prince New Takanawa, Tokyo

Looking at the map Kanazawa seems out of the way from Tokyo & Hakuba. What should I see while I am there? I will be there in Feb so gardens are out.

Any other tips or pointers are welcome.

If you are going with a ski club don't they have advice on the skiing part?

There is a lot of good food in Japan aside from sushi. Sounds like you need a good guidebook.

One site: japan-guide.com. Go there, use it, then come back if you still have questions.

I think you will find spaghetti, meat cutlets, curry , and breaded & fried vegetables, and curry on many more menus than sushi!

Most restaurants have very realistic plastic models of all their menu items in the front window, along with the prices. When you are ready to order, if they don't have an English menu, just motion to the waitress to come to the window with you. Point at what you'd like

Many Department stores ("Depato") in the cities have huge food centers in their basements. Most items are for takeout, but there will be a few "fast" restaurants done there, too. Wander around, as the stalls are all situated near other stalls selling similar items, eg the veggie section, dessert section, seafood, etc. On the top floors of these depato will be dozens of sit-down restaurants. Again, plastic models will be in the front windows to help you choose where to eat.

Ski resorts work the same in Japan as anywhere else. There will be a shop where you can rent anything you need. In the towns that contain the resorts, you will find ski shops that may have less expensive rentals.

Kenrokuen Garden is popular all year around.
http://www.pref.ishikawa.jp/siro-niw...on_winter.html
http://www.pref.ishikawa.jp/siro-niw...on-koyomi.html

Here are popular dishes in ski resorts in Japan.
https://snow.gnavi.co.jp/special/menu/

From them, I could pick up five resorts in Hakuba area.
Hakuba Iwatake https://snow.gnavi.co.jp/guide/htm/r0143gf.htm
Hakuba 47 https://snow.gnavi.co.jp/guide/htm/r0061gf.htm
Hakuba Tsugaike https://snow.gnavi.co.jp/guide/htm/r0144gf.htm
Hakuba Cortina https://snow.gnavi.co.jp/guide/htm/r0033gf.htm
Hakuba Sanosaka https://snow.gnavi.co.jp/guide/htm/r0326gf.htm

However, the nearest ski resort to your hotel is Hakuba Happo.
http://www.snowjapan.com/japan-ski-r...kuba-happo-one

SnowJapan is one of the major information sources for skiing in Japan in English.
http://www.snowjapan.com/

Their forum could be useful for you.
http://www.snowjapanforums.com

Try to explore the following sites as well.
https://tabelog.com/en/tokyo/
https://tabelog.com/en/ishikawa/
http://visitkanazawa.jp/
https://www.hakuba-h.tokyuhotels.co.jp/en/
http://www.hnkanazawa.jp/english/
http://www.princehotels.com/newtakanawa/

Thank you for the replies.

I have never been to Asia before & I feel nervous. I just signed up with the ski club because I wanted to go to Japan. Although I don't know anyone in the club I know I will get to know the rest of the people on the trip.

I would love to hire a ski guide & have them ski with me & show me the ski area. That is how I skied the Sella Ronda in Cortina, Italy & Verbier, France.

Ski guides would be rare in Japan. Japan is not on a continent. Ski resorts in Japan are rather small. Most of them are designed to be just a weekend destination. Very few stay more than three days in a single resort. By late February, students could fill the resorts even on weekdays. Their spring vacation could start then. Guides in Japan are basically for off-piste skiing and mountain climbing in winter. Shiga Kogen could be exceptional. It is wide and spreads in two-dimensional while Hakuba in 1D. I could find one English website for a ski guide company in Shiga. Hakuba and Niseko are more famous in foreign countries. For them, I could find several English sites but mainly for the backcountry.
http://www.shigakogen-ski.com/trail-map
https://www.goskinagano.com/
http://www.evergreen-backcountry.com
http://www.wing.bambootail.com
http://www.hokkaidobackcountryclub.c...puri-snowcats/
https://www.chisenupuri.com/cat-skiing-info

Hakuba Valley is a chain of ski resorts in 1D, along with a train track. Here are maps of the resorts from the north to the south. You need to take shuttles to move among the valley. Only central parts of the ski resorts have English sites.
http://www.hakubavalley.jp/index_english.html
http://hakuba1.com/english/resort
Hakuba Cortina http://www.hgp.co.jp/cortina/ski/gelande/c/map.jpg
Hakuba Norikura http://www.hakuba-alps.co.jp/e-ski/img/guide/map.png
Hakuba Tsugaike http://www.tsugaike.gr.jp/english/im..._2017-2018.jpg
Hakuba Iwatake http://www.hakuba.jp/iwatake/en/map_big.html
Hakuba Happo http://www.happo-one.jp/wp/wp-conten...urse_guide.pdf
Hakuba Goryu+47 http://www.hakubaescal.com/winter-en...gelandemap.pdf
Hakuba Kashimayari http://www.kashimayari.net/wp2017/wp..._2017-2018.pdf
Hakuba Jigatake http://www.jiigatake.com/gerende/gerende.html
http://www.hakubanorikura.jp/en/
http://www.tsugaike.gr.jp/english/
http://www.hakuba.jp/iwatake/en/
http://www.happo-one.jp/english/
https://www.hakuba47.co.jp/winter/en/
http://www.hakubaescal.com/winter-en/

Thank you, LuisJp!

I have another question - should I take the optional tours?

1. Snow Monkeys & Zenko-ji temple

2. Matsumoto Castle & Traditional cuisine tour

3. Naraijuku & Matsumoto shopping tour

It totally depends on your interests.

Zenkoji in Nagano city and Matsumoto Castle in Matsumoto city are regarded as the top two in Nagano prefecture. There are many rivaling temples in Japan, but Matsumoto Castle is outstanding. The only rival could be Himeji Castle in the west of Greater Osaka.

Snow Monkeys are in season. Naraijuku could be better in a warmer month. Magome and Tsumago in further south appear to be more popular in Kiso Valley. But, it could be a good break to go to the south. In winter, snowy days should dominate in the north at the Japan Sea side Here is a current snow map. It seems Naraijuku is covered with snow. No snow on the ground both in Nagano and Matsumoto cities.
https://weathernews.jp/s/topics/map/sekisetsuanl.html

Each of these tours should require one full day. The tour #2 could be somewhat leisurely. This is for just Matsumoto, while the others go to the two places in a day.

You might not be able to do skiing for all your days in Hakuba. Late February should not be so bad. The peak of winter should have passed. But if strong winds are forecasted, then it would be better to take such a day tour, not staying a whole day in a hotel.
http://www.hakuba1.com/english/daytour

Here is a table for recommendation ranks by Jalan (Feb and Mar), a rating, and the number of votes. Zenkoji is the top in February and Matsumoto Castle is top in March.
1 2 4.3 1926 Zenkoji
3 1 4.3 2285 Matsumoto Castle
4 4 4.3 753 Snow Monkeys
53 28 4.2 325 Naraijuku
https://www.jalan.net/kankou/160000/

Thank you for the information. Sounds like Matsumoto Castle is not to be missed.

I just got back from Japan and had a wonderful time! I skied 3 days with a Valley Pass but I did not know to ask for the Senior Discount. I rented skis from Rhythm Sports. I got brand new Rossignol's. All the kids that work at Rhythm are from either Oz or NZ.

The shuttle busses to & from the ski areas were every hour in the am until about 10 am & then sporadically in the afternoons. But every bus stop had the times listed on them. Sometimes the busses were a bit crowded but the a special second bus would be right behind the first bus.

I skied at Iwatake, Happo One, & Hakuba 47. My hotel had an onsen so everyday after skiing I went to the onsen. After I started going the other women in the group got brave & started going.

The group had dinner two nights at Hotel Tokyo. One night at the French restaurant & one night at the Japanese restaurant. The meals were amazing, 5 star.

One day the group had lunch at Pilar restaurant at Happo One. It was another gourmet meal. One night we went to Otari & had a wonderful country dinner. The staff even made rice cake for us while we watched. Except for the sashimi course at the Japanese restaurant I really enjoyed all the food in Japan.

I did go to Matsumoto castle & I was glad I went.

I also visited Takayama, Shirakawa-go, Kanazawa, & Tokyo.

I followed Sally's advice & got my yen at the airport & I'm glad I did because other people in the group were having trouble getting money changed in Hakuba & using credit cards.

I LOVED Japan & I can't wait to go back.

"All the kids that work at Rhythm are from either Oz or NZ."

So ... still a language barrier?