fifa

Fantastic pics thanks. We'll be there next week and looking forward to our first visit.

I love watching the ski cross and boarder cross events. Excitement plus! Go Scott Kneller!

Ha Ha - the usual... My +1 is tuning the skis atm and I may be called out, to work away from home so want to be prepared.

How many years had that guy been skiing without a helmet? And within a week of wearing one he has a major head collision? More support for my theory that it's mostly people wearing helmets hitting their heads on the slopes. He is an advanced skier and has been skiing in Victoria for years!

You should be packing as you fly out in 5 days but the excitement is too much and you have to keep checking SJ to see if there are any updates at the resorts you are visiting.

Thanks for the TR. I'll be at Naeba in a week so your pics will get me through the next few days

Last year we were in Niseko with a group of 12 and only one guy didn't have a helmet. We badgered him until he gave in and bought one. The following week at Furano he was being filmed and whacked into a friend as they were crossing over. Fell backwards and cracked the back of his new helmet! I'd hate to think what would have happened if he wasn't wearing one.

I have a Giro Grove helmet purchased from STP a couple of years ago. It was a third of the price of those in Australian shops. I love it - soft chin strap and ear thingies and oh, so light. My kids all had to wear a helmet until they were 18 (while I was buying their season passes). Now two of them are vollie ski patrollers and they only wear their helmets when on a skidoo - go figure

That was a riveting read - thanks.

Great pics thanks. We will be there next month and your post has me green with envy.

I can now strike off Bhutan and Iceland - both fantastic and unforgettable. Now to add the following to my list: Antarctica Norway Palau

I believe Chuo Bus offers frequent buses from Sapporo JR Station to Asahikawa for ¥2000. It takes about 2 hours. We are going to buy our tickets when we get to Sapporo.

Originally Posted By: snow nellie Can we use Travelex cash cards or Commonwealth Yen cash travel cards at the ATMs and Post office in Hakuba???Or is it advisable to bring Yen Cash. Cash cards are a rip-off. + for cash or fee free cards.

We have used Citibank (at Narita) and Post Office Bank atms all over Japan without any problems including Hakuba. I believe that Seven Eleven charge 210yen to withdraw from MasterCard / Cirrus / Maestro, no fee when using Citibank and Post Bank though.

Originally Posted By: thursday once you're in the resort, you can enter anywhere you like. Maybe this may help http://www.snowjapan.com/e/voice/readrereview4.php Thanks thursday - for some reason I missed the reviews section! I did however, read your trip report and the photos are fab - it wont be long and you'll be skiing with your little one. Our youngest started skiing at 2 3/4 but has been on a board since she was 10 and wont go back!!! Good to know VIZ spa is included. Now to keep an eye out for specials. I think I'll leave the booking until closer to the time (Feb)

We are thinking of going to Tomamu in Feb for 4 or 5 days. Does anyone know if accommodation and ski packages at Alpha Resort Tomamu include entry into VIZ spa? Also, I heard meals there are expensive. Experiences anyone?

Has anyone flown JAL Y+ recently? I would be interested to hear how the experience was.

Bhutan Alaska Africa Iceland

We are looking at staying at Richmond Hotel Sapporo Ekimae. It gets good reviews on Trip Advisor, good prices including breakfast, internet and is between JR Sappporo and Odori Park so seems like a great location.

We have just booked our JAL flights for February - into CTS and out of NRT. 2 nights Sapporo for the snow festival 5 nights Tomamu 7 nights Furano 3 nights Asahikawa - skiing, zoo and winter festival Then we will travel around Hokkaido to visit all the other snow and ice festivals before flying to Matsumoto to see the snow monkeys (again), Takayama and Tokyo. My fourth trip to Japan and I cant wait!!!

Hi everyone... Have been lurking for a few months and looking forward to reading lots of past posts. I am going to have to work out an exercise regime for our third trip to Japan next February. On Tuesday I took half a day off work and went for my first ski of the season at Perisher and now every skiing muscle in my body knows about it! And to think, Zalis run at Blue Cow is a fraction of the length of most in Japan, but at least there were no queues. In fact I skied quite a few runs on perfect corduroy.