Explore the Heart of Japan Group

About us: The "Explore The Heart of Japan" Group

The Explore, Ski and Stay in the Heart of Japan Group bring you the most up to date Myoko Kogen ski area information, the number one guide for places to stay in Myoko, maps, on the ground reports from members on our ski forum, weather forecasts, live cams for checking out snow conditions, road cams (for checking on road and weather conditions), ski and local videos plus lots of other information on local attractions, festivals, onsen and golf courses. We can even arrange delivery of snow reports straight to your inbox. We also provide the largest number of accommodation choices on the web for both Hakuba and Nozawa Onsen.

About us: Background

Our first site was first launched in 2003 as a simple one page of links, hints and pictures in an effort to consolidate the multitude of English information on the Myoko Kogen area and make it more readily accessible. At that time there was very little information available in English but that had changed by 2006 with Myoko's expanding international profile - partly due to our efforts we believe.

After the site grew to a number of pages with expanded coverage, it's popularity increased, links were made from other sites and we were even mentioned in a number of newspaper, magazine and web articles. Since then the Explore The Heart of Japan sites have also been linked or recognised as the authorative guide by a variety of websites and travel companies including MSN Travel, HIS, JNTO France, Sydney Morning Herald, Lonely Planet, The News Corporation Travel Section and Qantas Travel Insider. So in due course Myoko: Explore the Heart of Japan further established itself as the most popular and informative one-stop English portal for the Myoko-Nojiriko-Togakushi-Madrao & Tangram area.

Around the end of 2007 we became aware that there was a growing body of international skiers and snowboarders coming to Myoko Kogen. After visting Myoko many skiers and snowboarders, both local and foreign, despaired of the accolades poured out on Hakuba, Nozawa, Shiga-kogen, etc., whilst Myoko Kogen, with snow every bit as good, went seemingly unnoticed. This was in part due again to a lack of regularly updated and substantive ski information on the area.

Hence in 2008 we added the Myoko Kogen: Ski the Heart of Japan site as well as the Myoko Kogen Ski and Snowboard Community forum site to serve these needs. Myoko Kogen: Ski the Heart of Japan quickly established itself as the authoritative site for ski information in and around Myoko Kogen and we strive to continue adding features.

Our hotel and accommodation pages were also expanded in late 2008, as demand increased, to include not only Myoko Kogen but also Togakushi, Madarao, Lake Nojiri, Joetsu, Nagano City, Hakuba and Nozawa Onsen as well as stopover options in Tokyo, Narita Airport, Osaka, Kyoto and Nagoya. Group bookings are available too. Additionally, there was the provision of improved support from our major accommodation providers, as well as an increase in the number of establishments able to be booked in English. In response to many enquiries over 2008-2009 our real estate pages were initiated and now provide a great number of options for foreign buyers including sales by both private treaty and public auction.

In 2010 and 2011 we expanded our popular Hakuba and Nozawa Onsen sub-sites into their own stand-alone guides. We also (by request from local partners) started up two onsen focused sites - Onsen Town (featuring Togura-Kamiyamada Onsen in Nagano) and The Japan Onsen Guide. These additions now provide the Explore the Heart of Japan group the most substantive web presence for visitors to Japan's 'White Triangle' area covering Niigata and Nagano.

About Us: Websites

Explore the Heart of Japan
Ski the Heart of Japan
The Hakuba Accommodation Guide
The Japan Onsen Guide
Onsen Town
The Nozawa Onsen Guide

About Us: Webmaster

The information on this site was first collated by Nicholas Klar (author of 'My Mother is a Tractor') in 2003. Nicholas spent two years living in Omi-machi in Niigata (1995-97) and met his wife on a snowboarding trip to Myoko. They are presently living elsewhere in Asia but travel regularly to the area and still contribute to the site.

About US: Contributions & Recommendations

Please recommend this site to your friends and let your hosts know you found their information via this site. Feel free to contact us if you know of other useful contacts/links, have experiences to share (good or bad), know of other events or have found the information on this page useful

Many thanks to the numerous websites who have allowed us to link to their listed information and made this site so successful. Webmasters please advise us of any links you make to this page and we will endeavour to provide a reciprocal link if appropriate. Please take note of our copyright provisions (see below) and do not assume it is okay to simply copy swathes of information from the site!

We hope you'll join with us in spreading the word and building an Explore The Heart of Japan community. Why not help out by joining our forums and being a contributor?

Learn Japanese on your iPod or add a phrasebook

Getting it on at Seki Onsen (March 2008)

About US: Privacy & Copyright

All material on our sites is ©2003-2012 Explore The Heart of Japan Group. All rights reserved worldwide.

Where other content, images, graphics, etc., have been utilised it has either come with free or common license (such as jnto), or permission has been sought from the owner for usage. If you feel copyright has been infringed please advise us immediately.