barok

Good question. I don't know the stats, but Shiga is huge. I don't think it is twice the size of Vail, nor do I think it is 400 hectares. I saw yer other post, and it seems that TR's book might have some misleading data in it. Best to gague how big these resorts are based on the number of runs and lifts rather than hectares, or whatever. By the way, if you go to Japan for a long time, Go everywhere, if you are there for a short time, don't waste it at Happo, unless you ski.

I actually miss J-rice. The thai rice here is pretty good, but I really got used to those big fat kernels over there " title="" src="graemlins/cry.gif" />

wow bmigraine, yer response is timely, as I have toyed with the idea of getting married to my japanese girlfriend, but like you, I loathe the INS like a plague. There was some big news thing a while back, that the INS (who allowed all of these terrorists VISA's) needed an overhaul, according to Pres Bush, but I think Bushie's idear was just to give them more paperwork, and impose more restrictions, so that it would take longer for foreigners to get in here. It's a funny thing, seeing as the administration has seemingly decided to cut slack to the millions of Mexicans who come over here

hey slow, there are some colorado resorts that are already open. You will be able to go sliding, just about anywhere in Late November or early December, whenever you go. They are having their earliest season out there in years. I plan on going November 22nd - 27th.

I'm laughing WITH you ! ! The vid is great, but those pics are just hillarious.

I pared down from two sets to one set of all-around everything. It was nice to have a freeride kit and a freeride kit, but even from nagano city, I could never guess the conditions in Hakuba anyway, so after trying to decide which kit over breakfast, I would drag out the freestyle board, head to the mountain for a sunny park session, and struggle with my narrow flexy park setup through the drifting blizzard. not cool. I got me a tough ol' canadian board made of carbon fiber, with a shape and flex suitable for both freestyle and freeride, and I am going to run it into the ground th

So I am in a Japanese class at my local University, which has one of the best programs in America, complete with textbook writin' professors, and heaps of graduate-school studyin' Japanese ladies as TA's. But the class is populated by jerk-off humanities majors, and anime freaks. And it is amazing how lacking in conversational ability the average student is. "uhhh nihongo de heya wo ireru toki kutsu uhhh wo take-offsuru koto ni natte imasu. " Is the typical banter. Kanji Quizzes every other day, lots of work with grammar and particles, lots of reading from a textbook full of

wow, how long have you been yak'in ? that looks like serious bidness. Are you bringing the wife along on these trips ? Sometimes I feel sorry for her, but I know you don't really have to DRAG her on yer crazy helmeted adventures.

gawd, i almost feel baited, it's like someone put up a topic 47 Patrol - Professional and Friendly ? but I know that's not really the case,(and I would anyway, even if it was) so I will elaborate on my opinion . . . What you get when you go to snowbeds is a room and a scene, and whether you have a good time is based on your expectations versus what you get. The rooms vary in size and number of beds, and there is no real sense of which room you are assigned to, so if you want your pick you should get there early. In general the rooms are cold, but they have to be that way,

I wish I could go to Niseko or Nozawa for a few months, but I doubt I'll be back in Japan at all, at least for a while. So instead I have to settle for vacation trips to Summit County Colorado Resorts e.g. Vail Copper Breckenridge Beaver Creek and my favorite - Loveland Also plan on an extended trip to British Columbia I hope to hit up Big White/Whistler while I am there, and do a day of b/c sledding. Other than that I will try to get a good clean slopestyle run, a good clean halfpipe run, make the midwest USA rounds and trying to hit as many comps as I can.

since all of that earlier debate I have folded a rather small piece of 1 ply toilet paper in half 8 times. . . going to have to give it a go with square tissue paper and prove them all wrong.

seems like every year you get a story of some moron who gets some appendage or limb bitten off while trying to feed the tigers. too bad that the morons had guns this time.

I think it's a legit question - people are competitive by nature, and there are certainly all kinds of competitions associated with skiing and snowboarding. Some people care who is the best - I know for a fact that alot of 17 year old American boys care who is the best. And some people don't care, a la Fattwins. I think Ocean11 answered yer question perty well KlingKlang. As for Fattwins' question - Does it matter who is the best ? Not really. I think that this forum is great though, because, if you read it enough, you can find people to slide with who will make you push yo

Okay - I've got it, the snowboarding tattoo that you NEED to get. . . Start from the neckline, make sure the tattoo guy has the right color to match your hair. Have him extend your neckline down, down, down and when he gets to your trapezius muscles (upper back), have him fan that tattooed hair out. and there yah go. . . Permanent Mullet I think that pretty much embodies the soul of snowboarding.

heya sbf, I know this might sound painfully obvious, but check yer stance - what are yer angles ? It you want to take some pressure off your ankle, ride with an exaggerated duck stance, I don't know why but it works for me. You will lose some torque, but that's really the whole point. When you exert/accept (RXN - equal opposite RXN) so much force with your back leg, the ankle (pivot point) does extra work, especially on those heel edge turns. If you duck it, the extra torque is exerted/absorbed by yer knees, which is the joint that should be doing the work. This stance might strain

Whaaaaaah ? ? What the hell happened yo yer ankle ?

i agree with you, and would even admit that the steep steeps are more technical and demanding than the park stuff. but, for the 99% of skiers and riders who ride at resorts, who never get to experience the steep steeps of places like Alaska, the resorts offer much more challenging terrain in the way of park riding than they do in terms of steeps. The average resort's steeps are simply nowhere near as challenging or as dangerous as it's park. Add powder to that equation, and park is waay more challenging and dangerous. Finally, sure if you took a rider or skier who only

I agree with db on everything except for that last little bit of comedy . Staying in a place like iiyama with yer very own renta-car would be bliss. If I go back and live in Japan, I want to be in Iiyama. The people are very friendly, and the nearby resorts are great, most notably - Nozawa Onsen - In terms of freeriding it kicks the crap out of almost everything else. December is the best time to hit it, because the terrain is covered, but just enought that the actual terrain remains, and you get plenty of natural hits throught the pow. I couldn't believe it when I hit it for

sbf, yeah, sorry if I came across harsh on Aussie snowboarders, I know there are pros, and I actually admire the drive that Aussies seem to have to go to foreign countries and eek out a living whilst snowboarding. Most American riders don't even consider it, so good for the Aussies. It is just that alot of the Aussies that I have met lack the attitude to match. I don't get what's up with that. And yeah, there are plenty of clowns in this sport from all over the world, It really bugs me, because I think of snowboarding as something worth living for, and I know these people are hav

Yeah, talking to them about your feelings really might not be a bad idea, but I would think such a task to be too difficult (at least for me) in Japanese, where it seems you have to get the language just right, else it be interpreted as 10 other things. but yeah, after reconsidering, I agree with db - great idea would be to develop a culture of fairness amongst yer employees - so that you can have them get the job done, whilst cutting them some slack, and all the while they fully understand their limits. But again, I think this kind of idea seems un-Japanese, and therefore hard t

A little late, but I always like to chime in on snowbeds, and It has got to be said. The place sucks - sure it's 3000 Yen, but what do you get? A crappy bed, and 2 lungs full of Carbon Monoxide from those ancient keroscene heaters. To be fair, Yoshi is great, really friendly and helpful, but . . Mitch has his head up his ass - always piss drunk, totally useless as a manager, or owner, or whatever the hell he is. If he knew what he was doing, he could run a really successful biz, but instead he's is just an asshole - rude to his customers, underpays his staff, and won't hook

x buh-buuuh. x

anyone recognize this guy ? It's worth 10 points.

best way to learn new words is to practice reading - not just memorizing vocab words, if that is what you are doing. It is important to gain an understanding of the context that words are used in.

yeah, let 'em slack, nothing worse than a nazi boss. 7-11 ? What do they do - get food and drinks ? Ya Gotta have food and drinks. If their work slips, you can get all tough, but if everything gets done, what is the problem ? Looking busy is pointless. I always feel so bad for people like cashiers, etc. made to stand around in one place forever, as if hitting register keys while sitting down would somehow be inferior. In Japan it was Office Ladies shuffling papers, or cleaning the already spotless office just to a) look busy so as to avoid the truly unpleasant tasks - clea