Rusutsu!!!

Let's get this out of the way right away: Rusutsu is awesome!

First of all we got a really good deal on RT bus fare plus lift ticket from the resort's very own shuttle bus. The bus ride was basically free! And guess what?! The bus was so comfortable that even Ryan was able to fall asleep! That's grounds enough for us to make day trips to Rusutsu a common thing!

Ryan had checked the weather before we left and it said we would have light snow and a high of -9 so we packed accordingly. Apparently they underestimated the snow! Even just on the bus ride there we had poor visibility. The evergreens in the distance looked like ancient giants in a sea of fluffy soft white.

From Rusutsu

I was feeling a little apprehensive about the weather since the last time we went skiing in something like this I had a pretty scary experience (Niseko) but can you believe I had a great time?! I credit Rusutsu's amazing powder snow for this. We had at least ankle-deep powder everywhere and in many places the snow was up to our knees!

Here's a video of us on the lift:

From Rusutsu

We stuck mainly to the intermediate runs which had hardly any steepness at all. In addition to the amount of snow we had to wade through, this made for slow-going on the courses. We hit a few ungroomed runs as well and I found that not being able to see the moguls made it easier to get through the course! Haha. The advanced runs we got to go through were a little steeper so we hope to go on those another time.

I was doubly blind in this weather since I was having problems with my glasses/goggles fogging over. There were a few times when I actually got dizzy and nauseous because I was so disoriented! The snow was flying in all directions, I could barely see the treeline, I couldn't see the terrain, I was trying to keep my speed up to keep Ryan in sight...it should have been a nightmare but I was having a good time. Ryan was a saint for staying close by and not reacting to my whining negatively.

This is a shot that's been cleaned up a bit...so imagine that there's less contrast in this photo and you'll get a good idea of what it was like.

From Rusutsu

Rusutsu is a pretty good contender for "best ski resort" in my book! It is large, seems to have a good variety of terrain, has awesome snow, and is not crowded. I'd love to visit it again when the weather's a little better. Even though I don't snowboard anymore, I think Rusutsu is great for snowboarders and I'm even considering snowboarding at Rusutsu at some point.

Rusutsu is one of those mountains that was basically built around the idea of being a resort rather than a mountain that became a resort area. Because of this, there isn't much variety in accommodation. The big hotel is practically your only choice. And what a choice it is! It houses a variety of restaurants and shops and even has a carousel inside. It seems to have been built around an "olde Europe" theme, which I find is very popular in Japan. I believe that this resort also has its own wave pool. Rusutsu also has its own amusement park and golf course- both of which are strictly summer activities of course!

Please check out the album for more pictures:



(trying out the slideshow...click on a picture to go to the album.)