bring ski gear or buy in Japan?

Hello! I am a 39 year old female traveling to Japan for the first time. I will be there for 3 months from Nov.15-Feb 10th. I am going to sight see for the first 3 weeks and then find a ski resort town to live in for the rest of the time. (I love snow and skiing!) My question is: Its seems like a hassle to lug my ski gear on the plane and then all around with me as I do not have a set plan. Do those of you with experience recommend for me to just buy a set of skis and boots there? I am on a budget but this is my big dream trip so I would be willing to splurge if it made everything easier.. but I also don't want to spend a fortune! For size my ski boot is 27cm (size 8 USA) and I am an advanced powder skiier. (Also, if you have your favorite Japanese ski town, I would love to hear it! I am going to pick a resort and just buy a season pass.)

Which airport in and ski resort?

I fly into Narita and I expect to be in a ski resort near Sapporo. I still haven't decided that! Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Hi. I don't sking at the present, but Furano might be most popular ski resort near Sapporo. Of course Niseko and Sapporo-kokusai are major as well. I would recommend you to check their web site. I suppose that most of major ski resort in Japan have their own website, and English page would be acailable.
I know you need a good gear because of expert skier, but a rental is one of choice for you. It must be reasonable and it could be available at many ski area.

Hi
My recommended ski shop for high level skier.(japanese)
http://www.ici-sports.com/shop/

It is the sports shop chain with the store in each place.
http://www.alpen-group.jp/english/shop/index.html

Do those of you with experience recommend for me to just buy a set of skis and boots there?

I would recommend buying in the US and bringing it over since higher end ski equipment is quite a bit more expensive in Japan than in the US, plus it is very easy to transport skis and boot both on the plane (usually counted as a piece of luggage) and in Japan (cheap to send by takyuhaibin). That and you'll have more options, especially in shoe size.

(Also, if you have your favorite Japanese ski town, I would love to hear it! I am going to pick a resort and just buy a season pass.)

Hakuba, Niseko, Shiga Kogen or Yuzawa would be my first choices. There are so many big resorts in those areas to keep you busy, plus most have a combo season pass that is good for multiple resorts.

Thank you so much for your input! Shige, is the takyuhaibin the service that is in the Japanese airports that you use to send luggage forward? I've read some about it....and I need to look into it more! I hear its really hard to get on the bullet trains out of the Narita airport with too much luggage. This may be a good solution.

Here is one of the takQ-bin web sites, for Yamato in English.

http://www.kuronekoyamato.co.jp/en/

You can send your ski set at Narita to your final destination directly for skiiing as you have to tell your hotel your plan in advance. You can send your ski set back to the airport as well to pick upon the departure.

If you start skiing in the second week of December, Hokkaido is your best choice. I don't know much about hotels over there, but it sounds to me that the hotel rate per night would be $100 at a famous ski resort. If you stay there 75 days... I guess there should be some cheaper way by staying in a minshuku (guest house, shared room) like below. You need a good search.

http://www.niseko.info/

Many thanks for your time! Very helpful info. Cheers!

One place I didn't see mentioned was Hakkoda in Aomori. It gets so much snow it's still piled up in June. If you like deep powder, this is one of the best places in the world. You can get lost in the back country because the snow's so deep you can't get your bearings. Guides to get you home are available. There's just nothing else to do. It's kind of like Grand Targhee in the US - lots of powder and top skiing only.
http://www.powderhounds.com/Japan/Honshu/Hakkoda.aspx

I get my gear in the US because I'm US-sized and most equipment in Japan is for smaller and lighter skiers. One shop in Japan just laughed when I was just shopping around for boots. When I rented at Shiga the skis were so soft that they wouldn't carve on-piste at what I thought was a slow speed.

If you have reservations at a hotel, you can send your gear there and they'll store it until you arrive.

". . . I hear its really hard to get on the bullet trains out of the Narita airport with too much luggage."

You probably know this but you cannot get the bullet train from Narita. There are the N'ex and Keisei Skyliner express trains into Tokyo. They both have plenty of luggage space & have never been overly crowded any time I have used them. The N'ex goes to Tokyo station where you can transfer to the Bullet train. You are not supposed to take more than two pieces of luggage on the Bullet train and the space is more limited so the maximum length of any luggage is 200cm or 79inches. See this article http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2274.html

Thank you, Stan...I definitely did miss that detail...that's a great help, thanks!