epsilonphase

yeah $1m is not much for the average HK investor, which is why I think they are pricing it there. I guess it's an alternative for those who 'missed' out on the Whistler investment. does anybody know the status of Richard Li's purchase of the forest near Hanazono? I am skeptical personally but think it's generally a good thing if these things work and are a success...

capella niseko starting prices at $1m for an appartment and $4m for a townhouse. targeting the s.e. asian summer visitor and japanese wedding market. IMO wrong price if you consider how much you could probably buy a resort land/lifts etc for these days. but i am not their target market, or have been successful enough to have that kind of money lying around for such low yielding investments!

got into a lot of whiteout conditions at the weekend, and found that my goggles were consistently fogging up. i was working hard climbing, so generating a tonne of heat internally, and the outside temp was -5ish, but with plenty of snow/moisture in the air. taking the goggle off for a few secs to cool them down only ended up with more moisture inside. the best way to clear them up was to face directly into the wind and let the air-currents inside the top vents. this really hampered my enjoyment when i actually started riding - feels like an upgrade is coming on. what should i be looking

just got back from two days at ishiuichi. saturday was insane, lifts all closed from about 10am (hatsuka side), so had no choice but to climb up the mountain. got to near the top of the hatsukari super before the wind was literally blowing me over. Amazing powder, but very hard to see anything, total whiteout conditions. today was much better, some classic powder conditions when it started to brighten up around noon. glad i bought the powder board! i found my goggles were simply not up to the conditions today, fogged up constantly yesterday, and today when in the really deep stuff. any s

it's the strap with the buckle and the ratchet that broke, right at the base before it slips into the binding itself. it's 2003 vintage, so think it's old style strap, rather than the newer toe-caps was in kanda waving it around at the weekend to baffled looking sales staff. all the answers seemd to be that TIJ and a new set of decent bindings was a steal at 18k

I've broken the toe-strap (the strap with the buckle) on one of my old burton freestyle bindings... frustratingly none of the stores in Kanda will sell just the replacement strap & buckle... they want to sell a completely new set of bindings obviously. Does anybody know a store in tokyo that can help? I've seen 1-off replacement toe straps in most of the resorts.. even some of the piste restaurants sell them!

Mitch - what size of Notch are you riding? there are a couple of shops selling the 162 on Rakuten

Went down to Kanda on satuday, every shop was sold out of the boards listed above!.. most of the guys said that they get a small stock in and they usually sell out over the summer. TIJ! There were some Burton Maolo 09's still in stock, for about 40-50k yen. I'd prefer not to get a pure powder board but interested to know if anybody rides these here.

Hi thanks for the ideas. I'm about 70-75kg. I seldom ride in the park these days, much prefer powder. I avoid moguls at all cost but sometimes unavoidable here (e.g Hakuba Goyru) I guess i ride switch about 20% of the time to give the back-leg a rest. will have a look into the names suggested.

Hi.. I am looking to upgrade/renew from a much loved Option Black Tusk 158 I started on back in 2003... I have been looking through some of the reviews here, some are a little out of date.. Can anybody suggest where to start? Totally lost at the moment. I mainly freeride here in Japan, prefer off-piste where I can, am about 6" and intermediate to advanced level i suppose!. Anything that can be purchased in Kanda etc would be better. Thanks in advance

Seems that the Yukoro Onsen in Hirafu do reasonably priced rooms... Has anybody ever stayed there? The idea of having the onsen that close is quite attractive. Cheers!

great thanks.

Hi all. First post to the boards, but have been lurking for a while.. my brother and I are heading to Hirafu over Chinese New Year for the first time. Is there any difference between the chitose->hirafu bus firms, and do you have to book ahead? we're landing about 2pm on a saturday, so there are a few options. We're staying at a japanese onsen in the village. can't wait. Cheers EP