mrosema88

i've been on the-house.com plenty and i think i'd need to try them on first. I'm not 100% sure my head size lol! but yes, they do ship to the continental US for free...unfort. they do not include guam and its $30+ for shipping stuff out (we have a po box so thats also an added cost). on top of that, i'm not sure if it would come priority, which means it would come on a boat....which means not making it here on time. is it possible to get one though for around $50-$60 USD?

it seems that you guys are correct! (secretly hoping for some inaccuracy ) I think i'll bring my bindings just in case i run across a deal i can't pass up. but with my board at home that cost me 160$ i'd be hard pressed to spend more than that. ITS OK though! I'm not so secretly in love with my board back home and i'd feel like i'm cheating on it if i bought a new one After talking with the husband, he's going to have to wait on ski's till we get back to the states. or where ever the AF takes us next! what about helmets? any good deals on those or should we just stick to online sh

i about fainted! are you serious?! USD right? lol.

I figured =/ the-house.com has pretty good deals on boards. but the shipping is outragious to reach guam and i highly doubt it would make it on time. so nothing around niseko? or on the way their from the airport?

it's not? well after looking up the prices for ski's in general...i think we are going to stick with him for renting. what about snowboards? i'd just need to purchase the board. i've got the boots and bindings.

yes, well....my husband will be for the ski's but i have a brand new board back at home on the east coast that i didnt take with me to guam when we moved. I'll be reunited with it in 16 months =) I don't think i'd mind having two boards... especially since if we dont make it home in 16 months and end up living in germany or something, i'll be able to take my japan board with me and not worry about my board on the east coast

You guys have seriously been fantastic in answering all my questions! i've got one more =) we WERE planning on renting our gear for about 6 days of hitting the resorts...which if i did the math right, would amount to the cost of a snowboard. (not sure about skis?). we are doing Niseko for 2 days, then heading to sapporo for the remaining 5 days. is their places to buy boards and skis at a decent price in Niseko? I'd prefer to not spend over $150-$170 for a board. also, when flying out from japan, has anyone ever flown with their equipment? how does that work? (never done it before!)

I'm calling places now! =)

what places are you talking about? i havent found a list or anything? im not against calling the places directly! just need names of some nice/decent places

agoda and hostelworld

thanks tubby! you have been a great wealth of knowledge! i've changed our flight to land a day earlier and i was looking at staying in Niseko for 2 days before heading back to sapporo....seems as though all the hostles online are already booked from feb 1-3....is this normal? am i to late for this idea?

where are you staying in Niseko? I'm looking for a spot for 2 nights =)

Hi everyone! We are staying in Sapporo but plan to hit up some if not all of these resorts: Sapporo Teine-40-45 minutes from center city sapporo Kokusai-an hour away from center city sapporo Rusutsu- 90 mintues from the airport...so maybe 2 hour drive from center city sapporo? Kiroro-80 minutes from center city sapporo Niseko-2.5 hours from center ciyt sapporo We have a car rented through Toyota Rental and I recieved an email about applying for a Hokkaido Express Pass. The rates were 7,500yen for 7 days. Will be in japan for 7 days (Feb 2-9). my question is how much are the toll

So i've booked a car from teh toyota rental! we got an email on it saying we should look into the Hokkaido Express Pass? it seems rather expensive BUT do the tolls i'd incur make it worth getting? I certainly don't want to spend money i don't have to!

alright so now that i think i'm leaning more towards renting a car is navigation easy? We will be getting a GPS but since we don't know Japanese will we be alright with navigation and all that? I know all about the international drivers license and a car is looking to be about $450 for a week. how long would it be to the resorts by car?

three hours to get to the resort by bus? blahhhhh this is becoming difficult lol! maybe i should consider renting a car at this rate.

Winter Vacation: are you referring to niseko? We drove at least 2 hours to get to a resort back home so i think the distance is oki'm not sure i should be too concerned about the distance....especially if the bus runs at 7am...should be their around 9?

i'm sorry....yes the whole ski resort.....not just the terrain park....looks like niseko is the better option all around. and if i read correctly an 8 hour pass plus bus ticket was 4,900 yen...i thought this was a pretty good deal? http://www.niseko.ne.jp/en/otoku.html

I am not sure what you mean by staying in a park? I'm not sure of the other options?

whats the opinions on Niseko? the map looks fantastic and much better than Teine. easy to get to and how long? and about how much? you guys are getting me pumped for our trip!!!! i've been looking forward to this one for 2 years!

how far away is that from center city sapporo and how would we go about getting there? we have never been so...as much information as you can give would be great! i certainly don't want to go and board a shitty park the whole week. I'm not against checking out Teine for our first day, but don't want to stay their the whole trip.

i looked up Teine and the park looks small =/ opinions on it? whats choice two and three? we are coming from Delaware...but I boarded in PA and my husband in Michigan...but currently stationed in Guam....so obviously we need our snowboard fix! also...has rental prices come out year for the season?

I just realized that people had replied to my post! i'm so sorry for the lack of response.... our hotel is already booked .... not that i can't change it BUT we did want to be around the area for the snow festival. I haven't done much research YET...but park wise, what is the closest to the Ramada and the easiest way to get their? Please remember we are coming from boarding in the East Coast...so your easy slopes were probably our challenging =p Also: did any package deals come out yet? as far as lift tickets and rentals are concerned? (if so could you post the prices) and I guess at t

your correct, only in japanese =/ darn. i guess i'll have to wait and save

is their a website for the japan rail?