acpowman

different strokes for different fokes i guess

There are lots of companies and i'm sure some are better than others, i would go to the rental stores & shops in town and ask for their advice. Rhythm & Beats recommended me to a good one last year and they had lots of companies brochures.

unfortunately the airlines are ruthless these days and hammer you if your over the 23kg limit, they don't care if your going skiing or not. It all comes down to their ability and how often they go skiing, if they only go for 1 week a year overseas i don't the think it's worth buying. also i noticed a pretty massive "technology" advantage when i went from skinny skis to fat skis, and fat skis to reverse cambered skis.

ermmm......sorry thursday bollocks yourself....... it really depends how much he intends to use them. a new set of skis & bindings can cost over AUD $1000, if he goes skiing for 1 week a year it will take him 5 years to pay them off and he'll be skiing crappy skis compared to what will be available for rent. not to mention if he has overweight baggage and the airline slogs him a couple of hundred bucks those skis will suddenly seem like a stupid & expensive idea.

I would avoid buying skis unless you ski groomers only, especially if you plan to rent for the kids anyway. Ski technology changes so quickly that your new skis will be old school dinosaurs before you get a few scratches on them. Plus you can only take 23kg on the plane these days, that's pretty hard to do if you take your own skis & boots. Can't imagine any company outside of Sahoro couriering them across for you though, guess it depends what sort of skis your after - fat powder skis or just regular all mountain skis ?

Sapporo is expensive during ice festival period (4-7 Feb the most expensive cause it's a Japanese holiday), but accommodation at the ski resorts is not peak season rates. Word of caution - avoid Niseko during Chinese New Year (13-20) Feb, prices are at peak season rates, the place is packed and the majority of the accommodation is already booked out for this period anyway.

The Vale is owned almost exclusively by Chinese investors.

Tokyo is great for snow clothes, goggles, boards, ect but not so crash hot for fat skis. Prices are cheaper than Oz particularly if they have anything left over from last season - usually sold up to 60% off.

I've also heard from locals at Furano that the ski patrol has been told to "turn a blind eye" to people skiing off piste, they realised it's had a negative impact on visitor numbers over the past few years and want to try to turn that around.

Shiga Kogen is pretty expensive but GN is right, no other resort offers the standard of accommodation Niseko does

The old japanese hotels have increased their prices, it's the western accommodation that have slashed their rates this year.

It will definitely be open, spoke with Luke a few weeks back. Need to listen to a 5 to 10 min Patrol talk before entering, no classroom certificate stuff. They are limiting entry to max 200 skiers through the gates a day - god knows why the more skiers that compact it the safer it would be. Guess it's the restrictions the Gov has placed on it or something.

Will get Glenno on the case when i get into town Mike, if he isn't already that is. Oh yeah thanks for the b/day wishes too mate.

What others have said - start emailing companies now but if you don't get something lined up don't fret, just rock over there with a visa and some cash and you'll line something up (i've had roomies do it every year), worst case scenario there are always snow clearing and babysitting jobs on offer. A lot of seasonal accommodation can only be found once your there & asking around, just be prepared to stay in a backpackers for a little while until you sort yourself out.

thanks 4 the link mada

Anyone know how Japan has fared for snow over the years when there's been an El-Nino in effect ? I know how it affects Canada & Nth America but not Japan, or maybe it doesn't have a major impact on whether Japan has a good or bad season ?

Aussie Ski Bum your information is incorrect - JAL no longer provides free stopover accommodation in their hotels. It was costing them too much so they changed the time of the domestic flight out of narita so it connects with the JAL flights from Sydney and Brisbane. If the narita flight is full, too bad you have to pay for the stopover yourself. I go back to my 1st post - rules change every year, just because you have been before doesn't mean things will be the same next time. You may enjoy spending hours searching the net trying to arrange your holiday but most people don't have the time

Oh right.....when I click on forum options it doesn't give me the option to start a new topic though ?

open to view but not to post new topic ?

Anyone know if the Classifieds (Gear) forum will be opened up again ? Have a bunch of skis and other gear to sell.

ah hahahahaha classic Aussie punters at work there !

Alx, Not sure if you saw my reply in the syd - tokyo - sapporo thread ? The 13th - 20th Feb is Chinese New Year - prices go to peak season rates. The dates your wanting to travel are weekend to weekend - always the first to book out. There are 0 economy class seats left on Narita to Sapporo on 20th Feb, 19th or 22nd Feb has availability. Didn't you want to stop in Tokyo first anyway ? Why don't you fly with Qantas on the overnight flight, no problems with connecting flights that way. Also your aware Niseko has kids clubs and english instructors yeah ?

Exactly, short stay passes are a bargain especially when you get 12 hrs a day. Unfortunately for me season passes are one of the most expensive in the world !

Hi alx, Sorry for slow reply got hammered all day at work....Niseko is going to b busy this year ! We sell package airfares which would be $1230 per adult syd - sapporo for the dates you mentioned, but they have to be sold with a minimum of $400 land arrangements per person to allow us to sell them. Need to do the Tokyo stopover first, you wouldn't be able to get to Sahoro same day. Also there are no seats available from Narita to Sapporo on the 25th Jan anyway. If you wanted to fly to Obihiro or just about any other Japan port it would be a couple of hundred dollars extra. JAL d

never know what JAL is doing, they are hopeless to deal with. Worst organized airline by far. why bother holding out for last the minute fares that may not eventuate and you could be stuck with expensive full priced seats ? The airpasses are a great deal and you get a confirmed seat now, why take the chance of ruining your holiday with the added stress of not having a confirmed flight ?