BakCntrySkier
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Posts posted by BakCntrySkier
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Last day here at Happo. First wind and now rain. The mountains are awesome. Can't say the same for the village. The place looks beat!
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That looks much better than before but actually still less than we have in Kiyosato area. They got another metre this week.
I have to say Yamanashi won this year for the most snow depth.
Where I live though is much less now down to about 1 metre in the deepest parts and down to 30cm in the sun baked parts.
Send some of that snow to Osaka! This is not a very snowy city apparently.................ahhhhh! I was drooling over the news when they showed the snow in Yamanashi.
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I just hope some of that snow is falling on Happo too. Going at the end of this month for a couple of days!
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Thanks for all the replies. A pension or perhaps a camping area with optional tours might be a nice option. I will look into it.
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I have to admit I'm a bit jealous! lol
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Being a native english speaker can be a big help if you are looking at an english speaking customer base, ie tourists.
This would be my target market, at least until my Japanese improves.
The mountains are the perfect office, if you can live that lifestyle and make enough money to eat and enjoy the snow then you are one of the richest people on earth IMO
Exactly! Well said!
Why do you hate the gaijin run ski tours?
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That is one of my concerns. My Japanese isn't all that great. I need my wife to handle our adventures to city hall. I would be lost without her I'm afraid. I wonder if a partnership with a native speaker might be worthwhile. Thanks for your reply by the way.
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Let me rephrase that. Could you point out anything to be aware of that is uniquely Japanese? I'm looking for any firsthand experiences/advice that foreigners who have started a business here might have.
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Alright, I can't do the English teaching thing anymore! It's driving me bonkers and it's only been six months! Is there anyone who started their own business here in Nihon? If so, could you point out anything to be aware of? I want/need to make the mountains my office and ditch this cubicle. AHHHHHHH! I'm looking at starting a hiking tour / photo tour business.
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I've been visiting some Kansai areas ( which are seriously lacking reviews and photos ) and posting some keitai pics and reviews. Just went to Oku Kannabe and Manba today. Review coming in a few days.
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Yeah…..why do they do that? I going back to the states to record a day of skiing as it should sound (in my humble opinion) and just play it on my iPod when I'm skiing here.
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If you want to try online shops from the U.S. I would go with Backcountry dot com. I found that many brands can't be shipped to Japan from the states. I know that Dalbello and Tecnica can be shipped here. I just bought a new pair of Dalbello Scorpion SF 130's and they arrived very fast. Just be prepared to pay import taxes at the time of delivery.
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Very cool. Glad you have a skijo nearby to go to on a consistent basis.
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Is it Fujimidai?
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I had a now show-student so I came to check out some photos. My heart is pounding at the sight of all that snow! Nice shots!
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Mate, reading your post inspired me to stop lurking and post on SJ for the first time in a while. I used to catch the night bus (and prior to that the now defunct JR train) from Osaka to Hakuba heaps up to about 10 years ago. Many good memories of those times despite the whole bus thing getting pretty old after doing it up to 10 times a season...
Anyways I asked my wife to do a bit if a search for bus companies and a Japanese site called Bus Channel showed a company called Orion offering one way trips from Osaka to Hakuba Goryu for 5,500 yen. That was about the cheapest range of price that I can remember. Leaves Osaka at 9:30PM and gets to Goryu at 5:30AM. Would post the link but not sure if that's OK with forum policy so maybe you could PM me. This kind of company would be your best cheapy option. I used to get a kaisuken bus pass which was four return trips and super cheap, so if you have the Japanese ability to do so or someone to help there will be great bargins to be had. JTB office in JR Umeda station would be another option but they will charge more I think. One advantage is that you could probably get it sorted there with minimal Japanese.
One thing about Hakuba is that it is quite spread out and finding good camping spots close to where you want to ski could be a bit of a mission without a car. Hakuba Goryu used to have a very cheap tatami room sleeping arrangement, so that could be worth checking. If you did that or stayed in a backpackers somewhere for the first trip you could then suss out a camping spot for the next time. Good luck with all that.
For my money Hachi Kita is a the best relatively close spot within day trip distance of Osaka- Gifu resorts are just a little too far IMO anyou may as well go to Hakuba for the weekend inste. I used to go there quite a bit by car but friends have said the day trip by bus is not so great.
Thank you and your wife for that information. I will look into that as well. I will check out Hakuba on the map and start searching for a suitable place to camp. Your'e idea of staying at a backpacking hostel is a good idea for the first trip. I'm glad you are no longer a lurker in these forums!
I have to say I'm impressed by the sense of community on this site. I always thought that skiers and riders were the best kind of people but I am just blown away by everybody's willingness to help. I don't know how to thank you all properly but I will promise to post photos (I specialize in adventure sports and landscape photography) and stories from my skiing adventures in here in Japan. Hope to meet some of you on the mountain sometime.
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Hey all, I was wondering if anyone has info on Mt. Ibuki in Shiga? I'm looking to make this my first BC excursion here in Japan. I understand there is a defunct ski area on it and it seems to be a somewhat popular place for some turns. The rest of the upper mountain looks pretty steep and avalanche prone. Is there someone here with first hand experience on the mountain in winter? I have seen quite a few photos and it looks like the winter weather gets pretty intense up there. Also any info about any other mountain in the Kansai area would be appreciated. Thanks for any advice.
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Wow! Thank you all so much for the advice. Until I can convince my wife to move to Nagano I will be taking a bus since it is cheapest. Someday I hope to get a car here but that might be a few years down the road. I think my weekend trips will have to be in Shiga at places like Okuibuki and Hyounosen area in Hyogo. Thanks for answering my camping question too. I'm pretty much a ghost when it comes to camping so I can avoid those funny looks. Nothing like a ski in/out campsite!
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Thank you. I will look into that. I have been hearing from others as well that the bus might be the best way to go. Oh and I forgot to ask another question. Is it frowned upon (or illegal) to just camp out near the ski resorts here? It's my usual habit to ski and camp wherever I go.
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Hey everyone, I recently arrived in Japan and I'm looking forward to this winter season. I was wondering if anyone has information about transportation options from Osaka to Nagano or Gifu or even other places? Is there anything cheap? I'm really interested in getting to Shiga Kogen or Hakuba this season. It seems traveling here is a bit expensive though. Thank you in advance for any help you can provide.
Wilderness first aid certification
in General off-topic discussions
Posted
Hey all,
Does anyone know of any wilderness first aid certification course in English here on the Island of Japan? Thank you in advance.