Thundercat

so, Tokyo ~ Nagano then bus : 2.5 hours 9600Y Tokyo ~ Shinjuku ~ Matsumoto ~ Kamishiro : 4.5 - 5 hours 7560Y Is time or money more important?

Well, I heard that charges will be a flat rate of 1000Y on weekends excluding the metro Tokyo and Osaka areas...(but seems too good to be true!). Apparently changes are to take place the beginning of March. I was just hoping that someone knew for sure what is happening, if anything. Laws tend to pass slowly here so I'm not holding my breath.

I should add that I don't take the train from Tokyo but Kofu... makes a big difference!

BTW, what glass do you take up? Filters?

I was thinking this weekend might be a good chance as I'll probably be on the hill with my wife and not tearing it up too much (although she's turning into quite the ripper these days!) If I do I'll be sure to post a couple of my own! Why won't you be skiing it it's snowing?

What are you using anyway MB? I'm too scared to bring my Pentax ist DS up on the hill for fear of smashing it to pieces. Do you use a special case or something to protect it?

Funny stuff XilR8! However... Last year, again at Goryu, after lunch my mate noticed that his board was missing. He went into panic mode and started running around searching and amazingly found a Japanese dude walking off with his stuff. The potential thief just pretended that he had grabbed the wrong board and there wasn't much my mate could do. Luckily for the Japanese guy it wasn't me who caught up with him (especially after what had happened the previous year)! I'd like to believe that all Japanese are honest but that's just not the case. Lock up your gear!!

I've always taken the train from Matsumoto to Kamishiro (the station nearest Goryu). Never had a problem but the schedule may be an issue for you as the local trains are few and far between. You can check out the train schedules here http://www.hyperdia.com/cgi-english/hyperWeb.cgi

Does anyone have any information about the ETC changes that will be implemented soon?

This is the kind of stuff I like to here. Having lived in Japan for a number of years I really admire the day to day honesty when it comes to personal property. That stolen board is the one and only time I've ever had a problem. BTW SJF, I've had the same experience with my wallet!

I've noticed on a few of the threads recently that some people have had things stolen from resorts or accommodation. Thought I'd start a thread to find out when, where and what has been stolen. I'll go first: when: 2 seasons ago where: Hakuba Goryu (from behind Escal Plaza!!) what: K2 board with brand spanking new Burton Mission bindings .

mattaus, glad to hear you are a well travelled chap! Sounds like some pretty interesting places. I wish I could comment on the travelex card but I haven't got a clue what that is. As for walking around with 130,000Y... don't worry about it, that's only 13 bills!

I agree with Gary about the travellers checks. Don't really think its worth the trouble. Just bring cash and cards (bank or credit). I can't believe that Japanese banks would cash travellers checks without taking their cut. And, although I've never used them in Japan, I've also never seen any place other than banks that accept them or cash them for you. Cash is safe here. You won't be mugged and if you keep it with you it won't be stolen either. Just out of interest, is this your first time overseas?

I've never really understood the attraction to Nozawa. The negatives definately seem to surpass the positives for me...

I agree with MG. Compared to last year its not as good... but many years don't add up to what happened last year. Of the 20ish days I've been on the hill this season I'd say 12 or 13 were beauty powder days. Just need to look around, watch the reports and be flexible with when you can go... BTW, the only snow I see in Shizuoka-ken is at the top of Mt. Fuji! We've been averaging 15 degrees here this week!!

Sorry, yeah, I ment to say that it sucks. It's too expensive to get to and too far away. Best bet is to stay in Shiga, Nozawa et al. It often reminds me of two ice cubes on a rock.

I think the prices in the touristy areas have actually gone up a bit. I noticed about a 10 - 20 % increase in food prices in Niseko this year... Don't think anywhere is decreasing. But you can drink fake beer for about 100Y a can... if you don't mind the painful headaches the next day!!

just have to look harder!!

Sorry! We got at least 20cms of freshies at Akakura yesterday... and everyone has been complaining that there wasn't going to be good snow last weekend... mountain was empty of people and full of snow!

For those who weren't out on Sunday in Myoko all I have to say is

Forgot to mention that it's door to door delivery so you just call them up and have them meet you at your hotel... very very convenient! If anyone wants to know more about this I can post some links when I havfe more time.

Originally Posted By: JA Only difficulty with that is the stowing (or storing) of gear. Will have to work that out. What do you mean by stowing? One of the things I love about traveling in Japan is a delivery system they have called 'takyubin'. It's great when you don't want to hump all your gear around. For example, you can send board bag jam packed with all your stuff for 2000 Y to almost anywhere in Japan. Last time I sent my stuff from Hokkaido (Niseko) to Hakuba for 2000Y and it arrived within 1 day. You can also specify the delivery date so you can send it from Hokkaido take

The way things are going this year you might be out of luck. Best bet is to check back closer to your arrival date. Some places to check are Niseko (although last year it would have been bust), Zao... (never been myself but heard it has a later season!) and Myoko (especially Seki Onsen). Good luck!

Originally Posted By: SKI Actually I will write my own review soon actually, that and a few other resorts. Perhaps we should all sit down and write a few for places we know - after all a lot of people read them and get their thoughts from there. That's a good idea. If there was a kind of 'review form' that we could fill out with rather specific questions I think it would benefit everyone. Hope you find some snow this weekend! (or next time you go out!!)

Thanks SKI, I've had a look through most of the reviews on this site but it's hard to get a really good feel for a place without being able to ask questions. I'm not really a snow snob and if it's fresh I'm fine with almost any terrain... Is it the kind of place that you would spend a weekend, long weekend or week? Is it rather varied or does it offer pretty similar runs? I don't want to base a decision on going there with only the reviews I've read... otherwise, I probably won't do (seeing as most of the reviews are rather negative!)