lastrocker

As everybody stated, Niseko is the place, BUT it gets tracked down soooo fast. Sure if you know where to go you can find some stash, but i needed like ten days to figure out where to go. The best you can do is obviusly getting local friends, then you're all set. I met some local guy that brought me hiking Yotei, Chise and some Kiroro backcountry steepness, probably the best runs of the trip, so i hardly suggest you to venture out there for one day or two, if you're keen to 3 to 6 hours of hiking in a day for just two runs. Niseko has plenty of tree runs, but if you're down for trees head to R

Been there yesterday, you really can't go wrong with monkey pics, i got nice ones even with my phone! They really don't care about people, it's unreal, not even flashes seem to disturb them. I'm still against people flashing in their faces, but if it's ok for them..

I found a good deal on Air Asia, Narita-New Chitose round trip for 10000yen. I shipped my board bag, so i'm pretty much set!! The one thing i don't know yet is for the flight back to Narita, i have just my board bag (with clothes and a small empty duffel in it), you have to pay for the checked bag and in their rules it's stated there can be just snowboard gear in it, does anybody know if it's true and i have to pay for an extra bag (the duffel) or i can just put everyhing in the snowboard bag?

Hi there, i have a big problem and hope some of you can help me... It's two days i have a bad tooth ache, getting worse every hour, and i really don't know what to do. I'll be in Japan till the beginning of March so i can't wait to go back to Italy. And i'm on a move, i'll be in Tokyo for the next three days then i'm gonna travel around, Kyoto, Hirosima and so on, so it's even harder. Does any of you know a good (or at least decent) dentist here in Tokyo that speaks a bit of english and won't dry out my wallet? And some japanese medicine i can take to calm down the pain and reduce the infl

Thanks for the fast replies, i hope it's possible to ship the bag directly from Tokyo, i don't wanna go to Narita just to ship it and come back! Yes arva is how we call the beacon, taken from some foreigner country, not sure wich one, anyway i was thinking about a Ortovox, but the brand is not mandatory, i'll check Kanda area!

Hi there, i'm in Tokyo right now, i'm gonna move a bit in the next two weeks and on january 30th i'll be in Niseko, so i'd like to ship my board bag to my accomodation, traveling with my gear is pretty uncomfortable as you can imagine... So do you know how it works? Where i can go to ship the bag and approximately the price for the shipment? Also, do you know where i can buy an arva here in Tokyo? And what's the cheapest airline for Hokkaido? I still have to book the plane ticket!!

wow that pic is one of the best of snow monkeys i've seen on the web!!

Uh, and about my back, yes it's weak, after so many years of riding (10 on the snow and more thant 20 on a skateboard) i have two lumbar discopathy that with a lot of exercises are now ok but the less weight i put on my back, the more years i will spend on the slopes, but that doesn't mean i cannot lift my board and clothes around. 5 extra kg for prolonged time can do the difference. And, this time the very last thing, i found myself in sketchy situations several times. This happen to everyone who spends lot of time out in the mountains. Sure i don't ride the crazy steep spines or couloirs yo

I forgot to say some more thing... First, i already read a couple of good books about avalanche safety. Second, i already planned to do an avi course up there in niseko. Third, i already know the basics, i used to film a lot of snowboard stuff as a living and during a series of contest there was a super basic avi course about arva and probing, and i played hide and seek several times. Last thing, i rode 100-150 days per years for 10 years straight, in every condition, so i'm not the most experienced, but neither a novice. All the things you all guys said are definitely good points about ava

Hi there, i'm gonna spend one month in Niseko, and i finally decided to buy the proper avi gear. I say finally cause i rode slackcountry and a bit of backcountry for the last 10 years, with no avi gear at all. I know it's wrong, i know i risked my life, but it was my local resort, wich is kinda small and nothing really happened over there, plus i know every single inch of it, and last but not least none of my friends has it, so it would be kinda useless being the only one with a transceiver. Not an excuse, it's just to say that i'm a bit experienced in backcountry even if i don't have any

well, i was fashinated by the bargain price, but at 35000yen i can deff live without it

Hi there, i'll land in Niseko on february, and i'm doing all my homeworks already... checking near places for daily trips and stuff. I was planning to go to Weiss for one or two days of cat skiing, being a dirty cheap bargain, i read on the web it's like 6500yen, but today on Niseko Tourism's facebook i found out a new society acquired the resort and the daily price raised insanely at 35000yen!! I'm sure they have a hella lot better services and stuff, but it's still 5/6 times the old price. Can some of you confirm that? Do you know if there's any other cheap cat skiing operation o

Hey Pulce, i'm from Italy too, and hitting Niseko and surrounding area from 31th January till 1st March, if your dates are in February we can meet up there! Btw i chose Niseko cause it's the easiest to arrange, one of the most snowy, and one of the cheapest for accommodation. Still unsure if it's the best choice tho, it looks so overcrowded, and a real japan experience would've been a lot more appealing to me

I'm planning to go up there in beginning of january, i'll be visiting Honsu for 3 weeks (then moving to Hokkaido for 1 month of snowboard, can't wait! ), do you think it's doable without a car? my plan was moving by train mostly, and buses if needed. When i'm in the area i could hit Habuka for 2 days, must convince my girlfriend first hehe

that's exactly what i was thinking. thanks for the suggestion!

Thanks for the mail David! Anything, i did find their website, but i wanted a first hand impression... As you said, the sharing is a cool thing for me, especially cause i'm traveling alone, and riding off-piste alone is not a good idea, so making some friend is a must! Do you know approximately how long is the bus ride from there to the closest lift base stop? I knew it wasn't a ski-in ski-out accomodation, and the price is so good for one month... 58000yen for 30 nights!! So waiting for a bus and walking a bit is ok, as long as the ride is not too long, and i am still able to catch t

I definitely hope so! I'm not into blind booking, but the friend who suggested me this place is a trusted person, he's a WSF event organizer, and they have a bargain for 30 days stay... but still, as you can imagine i'd like to have more info!

Hi there, i'm booking my stay in Niseko, and a friend of mine (a japanese snowboarder) suggested a cheap accomodation around Hirafu. It's called Inunecohouse, i'll stay there for one month. I tried to find some more information and/or review about it but i didn't find pretty much anything on the web, so i thought there could be someone on this community who knows this place. So if anyone knows or has spent some time in this guest house it would be super nice to have a feedback, i booked already but i'd like to be sure this place is nice! Thanks Fede

I bought right yesterday a Charlie Slasher 158... can't wait to test it in Hokkaido pow!! Hope it rides well, never really tried it, i was leaning toward the hovercraft but i found a super bargain, it's a test board never ridden (who would test a pow board in european summer glaciers?!?), i know the test guys and they offered it for 150€. Still thinking about the hovercrafet btw, we'll see how the charlie works, maybe next year

Hey, has anybody heard about Inunecohouse in Hirafu? The price is a bargain but i'm not able to find any review on the web...

Same for Rusutsu? Do you think going by to Rusutsu from Hirafu for like 5 days in a row is doable? I heard good things about it and i don't wanna spend more than 3 weeks in Niseko (just because there's the 21 days pass deal)... Beside accomodation and price, wich place has the better terrain? I decided to go with the plan of staying in Hirafu for one month but i'm not getting a reply from the hotel i contacted, so i'm considering some alternative...

Thanks Pete! At first i tought i didn't have the rights to post a new thread being a new member eheh i love steep but it's my first powder trip overseas and i'd like to find the deepest and driest pow possible, and i heard Hokkaido is the place for snow quality and quantity, while in Nagano snow is more humid... hard choice for me! That's what i decided in the last days, getting the full pass! I read it's possible to arrange daily trips to Rusutsu, does some of you knows how much is it for the bus trip and if it's doable/makes sense to do so for a whole week? Right now i'm l

Hello everybody, i'm new to this forum, and i'm planning a trip to hokkaido from 20th of january to 20th of february. Dates are flexibles, from what i've read it's the best time for pow, but if you have a differente advice just tell me! I already read so many info on the web and on this forum, and i sorted the possibilities a bit, but i'm still not sure where to go. First, i'm a boarder, rode at least 100 days per year for 10 years straight, then had a 2 years hiatus due to a bad injury, but now i'm luckily back. Second, i'm on a budget. That means no guides, no rented car, just public tra