Thundercat

No one board with be the answer to park and pow. I may be wrong about this but I think every Burton board this year has some type of rocker to it. My own personal feeling is that if you are a pro~ish and spend most days of the season on the hill you'll notice a difference. Most other people probably won't. If you are looking for a Burton board suited to riding in Niseko, I'd say go with the Burton Fish. It's the best board I've riden in powder and it seems like it's built for a place like Niseko. I think this years model of the Burton Fish has gone back to a slightly stiffer board as

Yeah, for culture visa you need to prove that you study 20hours of the cultural subject you've chosen. @rider69, which area of Japan do you work in?

With takkyubin you can specify the date you want it delivered. You can send it along with a drop-off date a few days in advance without having to pay anything extra. They might not want to hold on to something for a week but a few days won't be a problem.

If you are looking for a job with vacations DON'T work for an Eikaiwa!

Seki has slightly tighter tree runs and slightly steeper as well... that said, the last time I was there was terrible because we hadn't had a good dump of snow the day before. It's a really tiny place unless you go hiking... compared to Akakan, Ikenotaira and Suginohara I can't really recommend it. My favourite is Akakan followed by Suginohara and Ikenotaira. Seki Onsen is always boasting of tons of snow... I think it's safe to say that the claims on their website are not independently verified, if you catch my drift.

Yep, you can definitely add Myoko to that list. All resorts there except Akakura Onsen have great tree runs.

LOL, as I said, I live in Japan so not so fussed about eating Japanese food in Niseko...

Think you might be mistaken thursday. It was open last year, and that was after the murder incident you mentioned.

The Camelback will almost certainly freeze up on you if you wear it external to your jacket, especially the mouth piece and tube. Boots are easy to buy and plentiful in Niseko. Don't know the Aussie prices on helmets but they'll cost about 10,000Â¥ depending on what you want. Booking dinners aren't that necessary... that being said Christmas night will probably be the only time you'll need to make a reservation. I go there every year for Xmas and New Year and never have any problems not booking ahead of time. Because I live in Japan I usually go for non-J food while I'm there. There is a

In the evenings the bus is basically free. The first time you use it you pay for a bus pass, 100Â¥ I think, and you can use it for the duration of your stay.

Alx, yeah, the courier is over a 24hr period. If it's sent in the morning it will be there the next morning. If I send it later in the afternoon or evening they won't guarantee that it'll be there the next morning... I usually use a company called Sagawa, but they are exactly the same service as BlackCat. I'm kind of surprised that the staff at the rental shop can't sort out the delivery service because of Japanese problems (it's pretty straightforward )

Well Alx, I usually send all of my snowboard gear from Shizuoka (100kms West of Tokyo) to Niseko for 2000Y. That's usually three boards, two sets of bindings, boots, and all my clothes. It always arrives on time. I would imagine that just sending it a few kms (Niseko to Sohoro) would be both cheap and reliable. Can't comment on the quality of rental gear though because I never rent stuff in Japan.

Well thursday, don't forget the massive time difference. The time you'd arrive on the hill would probably be before the time you left Japan. Coming back would be a pain though... The cost performance of a trip like that would be stupidly expensive though... the CAN$ is pretty strong right now and Whistler is a massively expensive place...

Whao! A month in Tokyo... you could easily burn through 13,000$ AUS in a month there. If your real purpose if to board then I would suggest limiting your time in Tokyo. The main resorts in Hakuba are much too far away to be making day trips to try and get a job or something (you'll spend 6 - 8 hours return in one day) You'd be able to find some real snow further north in Hokkaido early in the season. Flying up there from Tokyo can be super cheap if you book now (about 10,000Y). Both JAL and ANA have pretty good English websites for domestic travel. The cheapest company is Airdo but

Even Snow Town Yeti has been open since the end of October. There are various ways to there, all of which include trains and buses, so it's not all that convenient. Surely, there must be snow at Karuizawa by now (even though it's guaranteed to be fake).

I haven't done it so can't really help. However, a thread like this comes up every 2 months or so. Have a search through the previous threads and you'll find loads of info.

hehehe, well, I just found some info tucked away on the Hakuba 47 Japanese site (no English info!) So, I know the deal for 47 at least (short lecture, 1000Â¥ etc) but do other places offer the same system. I read somewhere that Cortina has the same system but I couldn't find the info on any 'official' websites.

Hey gang, I tried searching for a thread about this but no luck. Anyway, I finally decided to suck it up and go to Hakuba again this season (it's been about 5 years since I was last there). What's the deal with the controlled off-piste/slackcountry through the black diamond club? Just a short speech by patrol and then they let you go nuts? How many different mountains are doing this now?

Hey SC, you'll be fine sending a snowboard bag. I usually send mine with 3 boards, 2 sets of bindings, and all of my thermals etc jammed into it. One thing about sending it from Narita is there will be an extra airport handling charge... I think it's under a 1000Y though so nothing to worry about. I'll be in Niseko from the 22th of December to about the 10th-11th of January with a small crew if you are looking for people to ride with.

SdS, pretty much has it covered. I'd add though that almost any accommodation in Tokyo will arrange the takkyubin for you. All you'll need is to know the address of where you are sending it and to let the people you are sending it to know when to expect it. Don't worry about not knowing English, all you'll need to say to your hotel staff in Tokyo is 'takkyubin' and 'Niseko' and then hand them a piece of paper with the address written on it...

I agree with TB and SdS travelling by train will take forever! As well, there is a baggage delivery system in Japan called Takkyubin. I highly recommend it. From Tokyo to Sapporo it will cost 2000Y door to door and is usually delivered within 24hrs. I use it everytime I fly to Hokkaido because I can't stand being on a crowded train in Tokyo with all my gear!

Wear your boots onto the plane! That'll cut down on some of the baggage weight

ピーキャンプï¼ï¼ã€€(parking lot camping) I spend about a month each summer surfing and living out of my car. Toyota Hi-ace is the best way to go!

Sounds like an interesting itinerary. Definitely too busy for me! But if the main goal isn't only boarding then I can understand why you want to get around so much. I can't really comment on taking the train in Tohoku or Hokkaido because I've always used airplanes and buses for those areas. I suppose since you lived here(?) then you would know a little about travel times. Hyperdia helps with that. Anyway, I'm interested in hearing how the trip goes so don't forget to make a trip report here!

Check airdo.com. As well, Both ANA and JAL have been offering great deals recently (10,000 - 14,000). I booked 2 separate one way flights from Haneda to Sapporo for 9,800Y and 9,600Y this winter. Obviously dates are important... flying too close to New Years will result in higher fares.