Lots of questions - ski in Japan

Hey guys,

Alright so I'm heading to Japan again this December. I'm thinking to start in Osaka/kyoto, spend afew days there, go through Nagoya to meet a friend and then either make my way up to Tokyo first or go straight to Nagano.
I have skied in Myoko Kogen and Nozawa onsen before.
My japanese friend really wants to go back to Myoko and will meet me there in Myoko Kogen where we will ski from Christmas to New year eve. After that I go back to Tokyo to celebrate new year and then am thinking to go try another ski resort. I don't want to go to Hokkaido because I'm on a budget and January is packed there. So I guess I will go back to either nagano or niigata. Might sound strange going there and back but the transport between resorts are pretty limited. e.g going from Myoko Kogen to Nozawa Onsen requires you to go south back to Nagano and go north east again.

Any suggestions for another resort?

The Madarao resort website shows it has shuttles to and from nozawa onsen but how do I go from Myoko Kogen to Madarao? Is Madarao even worth it? Perhaps for tree skiing I guess but the last time I tried that I was lost in the woods for 2 hours lol not even kidding.

I've heard great things about the freestyle parks near Yuzawa e.g Ishiuchi Maruyama and Gala-Yuzawa. Anyone know much about them? Pretty keen to try learn some tricks there. Yes I know what you're thinking...what da bleep goes to Japan to ski park. this crazy m-fudder right here.

Does anyone recommend hakuba? I have a feeling it's gonna packed as in Jan and the accommodation prices are through the roof.

Also since I will be skiing quite abit I think investing in some skis will pay off very quickly. I already have boots. I know Tokyo has this street/district where ski shops are lined up so that's why I'm thinking to go from nagoya to tokyo first before I head to Myoko kogen. Does Osaka/kyoto have a street like that?

Regarding ski pass, I hear you can get early season discount lift passes. How?

I might have more questions. I will add more later. Would really appreciate the helpful comments :)