Mintyjulep

Have a very white christmas And returns to Paris for less than our returns to Japan - air Asia win

Originally Posted By: Mamabear Our legs will be taking their shakey blow out the cobwebs turns on the 10th Minty. You will be smashing it down the hill by then! More like my body will be smashed by then the doctor has stocked me up with anti inflams so fingers crossed all will be well. One of your sons is flying out this week isn't he?

Ow super exciting cpt! 8 days till we're flying on a jet plane! And thanks to air Asia I think japan will be much more feasible in the future I better find out just how big this storm will be! Sounds quite crazy

Hah, this is probably the right thread for me. I have 14 days to get ski fit. Doom doom doomie doom. I hate exercise, but I've been so tired lately and my blood pressure/heart rate have felt off since the wedding so it is definitely time to hop on that bike. Maybe some walks up the port hills too?

Oh I just checked a few hours ago on the lodge Nagano website and was so excited to see noz opened on my wedding day! Bring on January! Anyone else going to be there for the fire festival?

Originally Posted By: CptSlow Hmmm so are you saying its best to change our money when we get to Japan and not here in NZ? Atm we our rates about $1 NZD to 62.96 YEN not really that great at all Nope, pretty bad here. I have only got Y7000 so far because the rates are horrid. I did get a loaded for travel card from NZPost - put $2,500 on it in NZ$ and still trying to decide wether to change the rest here in NZ or in Japan. The card is good because it's like a debit visa but you don't pay transaction fees, only currency exchange fees

So, what shoe size do ABC mart go up to in mens and womens sizes? They have decent snow boots for cheap.

We don't arrive in hakuba until the 5th I think! I'll be still finding my feet but I think mr Minty would appreciate a skiing buddy who would actually challenge him - any takers?

Only one more day Mitch!

Originally Posted By: blu Mt Hutt had always opened early, but I've got a distant memory of Mt Ruapehu running lifts into Novemeber (& December?). yeah, a uni friend of mine had boarded on xmas day at a Ruapehu field when she was in high school.

Wow! Never realised this. It's quite a shame - but still, do fields like Hutt close on the same weekend as everyone else? I mean it's not far from chch/ashburton/timaru

Who is he and what has he done? He looks very happy with himself.

Originally Posted By: Captain Stag Last weekend resort skiing next weekend here in NZ. Got more snow now that we have had all season. Looks like it will be snowing for closing weekend too. How are things holding up in OZ - From the top left of the weather maps I look at you guys have had some snow too lately?? I don't understand why the mountains here close so early - Mr Minty assures me that they sometimes stay open later in the year, but they haven't for the five years I've lived in Chch - Ruapehu has done xmas day skiing in the not too distant past, so why do they shut so ear

Thus why civilians should not be allowed to obtain & possess pepper spray. Thank god we don't have that shit in NZ I'm glad you're OK Mitch - I guess at least that was the worst of it!

Originally Posted By: panhead_pete Minty what exactly are you trying to do travel wise re the airports? Me from Osaka Kansai into Osaka? Not sure yet. Still have 3 months to go.

Is the shindo number an idea of what magnitude it feels like, rather than the magnitude it was? All of ours recently have been really shallow - the first one was about 20km, and you could hear the roar of the quake traveling through the shingle on it's way towards you. Yuck.

Originally Posted By: Tubby Beaver Does the train take 2 hours between Narita and Haneda? what about the airport Limosuine transfer bus? That is what I was told - dunno, never been to tokyo, and now we won't be going this trip either.

couple of high fours, and even a 5.5 and two 5.8's - that would be heading up towards uncomfortable

Elephant fish - best from the Akaroa fish n chip shop. So, if you catch a 2 hour train between airports in tokyo, then fly for 2 hours to sapporo, and then a 2.5 hour coach to niseko - then it is easier to get to Hakuba than Niseko Problem solved Andrew. Hurry up on the flight front - gotta get those good deals while you can - they might all be gone already anyway.

I feel your pain - what size are the shakes?

Originally Posted By: thursday Mountain bikes? Does the ash from the ciggie blow into your eyes while you ride? Or would you not be going that fast anyway. So if I smoke 24/7, you must insult people 24/7 right? You must be tired of paying for nose reconstruction surgery.

Mitch has been like the first person to post something intelligent and on the fence, thank you so much Mitch! I find it amusing that all of the pro smokers or fence sitters, were talking with regards to Japan, and that this supposed evolution from smoking in Japan to smoking in general has been spouted by the militantly anti-smoking crew. This thread hasn't actually evolved. It is about smoking in Japan - I posted my opinion on smoking in Japan before, here is my opinion on smoking in NZ to clarify. If someone lit up inside a building I was in in NEW ZEALAND, I would be really put out, if

If you don't like smoking, then don't go and sit next to some smokers and complain about the smoke when you try to eat your lunch. Also, there is no rule that they need to ask YOU before they light up - if they're allowed to light up in that building, why do they need your further permission?

I hope the snow is good, cos we'll be in Hakuba/Nozawa at the same time. Hope you have an awesome trip Don't worry about having a translator in Myoko - Japanese folk are mostly really really lovely and just want to help you and try their english out I only learnt about one A4 page of words/phrases (things like Hello, Thank you, Sorry, Please, Toilet, How are you, My name is ....) before I went for two weeks in school - lived with a family who didn't speak a word of english for one week, and we managed perfectly fine. Immersion is the best way to learn.

Originally Posted By: Mamabear No....she did not. She said her gym membership is ON HOLD. YIKES. I am doing the exact opposite at the moment Minty - hitting the gym, riding the bike, and when my ear drum heals - swimming laps. Bahahaha I have only made it once a week for the past month - getting a part time job on top of the full time, then the earthquake (subsequently our house falling apart a little bit, and Mr Mintys parents whole suburb is facing possible demolition), back injury, flu, etc, it's all just too much for me, so it's on hold until Jan 28th. Day light sav