Metabo Oyaji

Originally Posted By: snowhuntress Very interesting thread. I have been taking Japanese lessons for about 4 months now, 1 a week and am getting NO BETTER. The other day I had a japanese couple in and thought I would practice on them. THEY HAD NO IDEA WHAT THE HECK I WAS SAYING!!!!! Is it because we have a different sound when we are saying it even though we may be saying it right?? Perhaps they simply weren't expecting Japanese? They may have been thinking, "Argh, my English lessons have been useless -- I can't understand a word she said!"

Yum. Nothing brings on the winter mood like some daikon nabe or oden, with a dab of karashi. Well, besides, you know, snow.

French for "here and there." I guess they figured it sounded better than "Achi Kochi."

Ca et La Ski Resort Oze. Kurumayama. <- Just the name of the mountain, and not quantifiably strange, but still makes one think, "eh? did I catch that right?" upon first exposure. Besides ski areas, there are some other interesting place names that also leave one to pause and ponder: Oyashirazu (親ä¸çŸ¥) Inuboesaki (犬å 埼) Probably many more...

Yup.

Winter wonderlands at many live cameras: Marunuma Kougen, Hunter Mt., Gran Deco...

Over Gunma way, looks like Tanbara is planning to open 11/28 as well.

The Ura-Bandai region has a relatively long snow season. Nekoma seems to be planning to open 11/28, too.

Gran Deco is supposed to be opening on 11/28. You can check the blog archives on their home page to get an idea of what it was like last year at that time.

Originally Posted By: grungy-gonads Metabo, nothing better to do?! I might, if only I had some pride and self-control. Even been known to sneak a peak at the "Today's Yeti" page in the last couple of weeks for some glimpses of the white stuff...

I've been watching the progress of those snow mounds on the Marunuma Kogen live camera.

I consider lack of internet a feature. Prevents the urge to worry about work while on vacation.

On the bright side, if folks have nothing more pressing to worry about than who is dating whom, then peace must finally have broken out over there. So that's good news, anyway.

Originally Posted By: Jynxx Oyaji san, you will be fine on a board. Just keep on bending them knees ! Thanks, will keep that in mind!

Originally Posted By: thursday kids free is a good idea. Get them into the sport and it will grow. That is how I got into it. Ski areas in the town I grew up in let local kids ski for free. I quit once it started costing money, but here I am now, decades later, looking to pour significant chunks of my discretionary income into the sport.

Originally Posted By: yoroshiku onegai shimasu Talking about ice skating - does being good at skiing make it easy to pick up? Any crossover in skills so to speak? There seems to be some. Skiers will already have the basic skills like how to get moving and how to stop (hockey stops, at least). I have only skated a few times, but found some of the skills transferable. Being a skier won't automatically make you a good skater of course, but it will help you start enjoying it pretty quickly, in my experience.

Interesting version, Mr. Wiggles. Bit of funk. Never realized before that the following was written by Thomas Dolby:

If I can make it out 10 days I will be satisfied. 15, ecstatic. Will have to be mostly day trips, though, so it will become a stamina issue, as most of the nearest ski areas are around 3 hours' drive away. But, gambarimasu, isshokenmei. (With apologies to muika.) At least the cheap highway fares will reduce the wallet hit.

I didn't realize trail huts could be so elaborate. May have to plan to come check it out at some point.

There is a Komeito poster shown with the slogan from their 2005 Manifesto on it, so maybe the old look is artistic styling? The Believe scenes of jumping down the avalanche barriers to land at the side of the road are fun. Like a ski version of parkour.

Originally Posted By: big-will Never heard of them. One-hit wonder, big in the club scene for a while. Likewise: Or in a somewhat more naffadelic vein:

Originally Posted By: muikabochi How much are people going to get? 26,000 yen per month per kid up through middle school. The first year would be half that. Starting June 2010. Whole thing seems crazy to me, but thanks everybody for helping to pay for my kid's lift tickets next year!

Skier, getting back into the groove after mumblety years of hiatus. Might like to try snowboarding at some point, though the thought of having both feet tied together seems alarming. Perhaps noboarding would be easier?

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