nawsh

"you guys"?....."always"?.........really?

Nice stereotype ye who does not disclose nationality. Pretty funny really considering Australia has lower crime rates than most other western countries, but hey don't let facts get in the way of a good bit of Aussie bashing.

+1 for cash. The wad doesn't stay big for long. Too many fees with credit cards and its hard to find ATMs that accept our cards. Citibank are the only ATMs that seem to work consistently, and they seem to be getting harder to find. Picked up the cash wad from post office this arv, got it for ¥85/au$, no fees or commission.

Awesome pics. I really like Hakkaisan, went there on my first trip to Japan and have been back a couple of times. I've had a couple of sightings of mono ski/board thing man too.

I've got the Japanese missus and kid, just need a decent paying job and I'm there. Anyone hiring?

I've found some good bargains at some of the big sports stores, Alpen, Victoria etc. They don't always have a huge range but going between a few shops I've usually found what I was looking for.

I booked it through an Australian tour company called Japan Package. Normally I get the missus to organise trips through Japanese companies as we just assumed it would be cheaper, but this worked out cheaper than she could find there. The choices of resorts that the Australian companies do packages for is pretty limited though.

Thanks again s5804. Sounds good and I'm looking forward to getting there. I like to try out at least one place I haven't been to before on each visit. We paid ¥8950 per person per night for twin room in the grand hotel main building, including breakfast and daily lift tickets.

Locked in! Nozawa 1/18-25 Appi Kogen 1/29 - 2/5

Thanks for the info. There'd be 2 of us going, snowboarders of intermediate level. We're not really interested in steeps, back country, park etc., just nice uncrowded runs where we can work on improving our skills. Lack of nightlife isn't an issue for us either, as we're usually too knackered after a full day of boarding. I've done a bit more research and watched a few videos of Appi and it seems it would be suitable as long as the conditions are decent. The only thing that I'm concerned about is getting bored of the place, being there for a week, but I'm sure we can live with that. I think

So I've found what seems to be a decent deal on a week stay at Appi Kogen. I've never been there and have looked through the trip reports here and haven't found any for Appi. Anyone who's been have opinions or info that might help me decide whether to check it out or stay away? Cheers

Sorry, meant to post in general snow talk. Mods please delete.

So I've found what seems to be a decent deal on a week stay at Appi Kogen. I've never been there and have looked through the trip reports here and haven't found any for Appi. Anyone who's been have opinions or info that might help me decide whether to check it out or stay away? Cheers

Thanks David. Map image saved to phone. Will be sure to get a snap if my travels take me there. Though truthfully I'd rather it be covered and unable to be found.

Where exactly is the phone box? Any chance of getting its location on the member map to help finding it?

I only have to do the research then my wife can do the bookings etc. (she's a native speaker). The 4 day flexi pass looks the goods, being able to use it for non consecutive days over a month, I should be able to get 2 trips out of it. Thanks! snowdude - Catching a midnight bus, trying to get a few minutes sleep between hourly stops with your face pressed against an icey window while a bunch of teenagers are screaming between constant snack munching and seat kicking, to get to a closed ski resort at 5am isn't as bad as it sounds. Honest, you should try it.

DiGriz - Looking at multi day excursions, 3 or 4 days each trip, hopefully 3 trips. Would prefer on snow accomodation if available. Thanks snowjunky, ippy and Tubby, great info and I'll no doubt have a heap more questions. At the moment it's all still a bit up in the air as I'm not sure how many or when friends will be coming over. I'd say as friends arrive, I'll meet them in Tokyo and head out from there.

Thanks for the info chaps, really helpful and exactly what I was after. Will probably be trying to get 3 trips in, so will definitely look into Yuzawa and no doubt will be hitting up these forums for some more resort specific info closer to the date. Cheers!

Hi! I've been lurking for a while and thought I should introduce myself. I live in Brisbane, Australia and since 2007 have been going to Japan for 3 or 4 weeks most winters and spending 6-10 days on snow each visit. I board at what I'd consider somewhere between beginner and intermediate (being old and fat never helps). My Inlaws live in Saitama, so I'm usually based between there and Tokyo and the majority of the snow trips I've done have been to Nagano by bus out of Tokyo. So far I've been to Ryuoo, Nozawa, Togari, Happo One, and couple of car trips with brother in law to Niigata including

Togari?