barok
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Posts posted by barok
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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" />
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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 illegally every year, to work for slave wages.
I am a Canadian living in the US, which probably does one of two things - 1) makes it next to impossible to "import" a wife, or 2) gives me some kindov loophole which makes it a snap.
But I think if I were to jump into this, I would be jumping into a huge hassle, as you seem to be having problems with it, and yer a lawyer who (presumably) understands the system.
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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.
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I'm laughing WITH you ! !
The vid is great, but those pics are just hillarious.
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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 this season.
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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 dialogs, but very little to encourage actual conversational use.
It's good, but if there was a seperate discussion section it could be great.
I miss the days sitting in Iwasaki-sensee's living room in Nagano where we just talked about my snowboarding adventures, while she blasted the keroscene heater to the point where I thought she might have a temperature-regulation defect in her genetic code.
I do miss Japan.
I almost forgot, tell me about YOUR class, or how you learned Japanese . . . please.
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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.
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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, or else you will die of carbon monoxide poisoning from the ancient, filthy kero heaters they have going. Everytime I slept there I would wake up freezing, with bad air in my lungs and a headache as a result.
The scene obviously depends on who is there, but it usually just vacationing gaijin and a few japanese from all over. Most of the time they are just looking for something fun to do at night. Everytime I have been there Mitch always promises drinks and music, which are delivered, but in a terrible way. You could even say in a crap-tastic way. You are better off brining your own entertainment. And then there is of course the bums that stay there, and work for nothing but to claim local status. If you try to start a conversation about riding, or just about anything for that matter with one of these guys or with Mitch, you will get an earful of crap about why they are so great, and why everyone else sucks. Just sooo much unsubstantiated "I'm great - I've done it all" attitude going on. If you talk to Mitch about patrol, It becomes clear that Mitch is not interested in working towards better off-course riding options, but only in starting fights with patrol, and getting attention by intentionally causing trouble - which is too bad, because if someone who lived in Hakuba were to work towards better off-course options, form a group, gather and present opinions, it would have a better chance of becoming a reality.
I think it is reasonable for someone who is travelling to want to talk about the scene, talk about other places you've ridden, talk about dope lines, but if you talk to these guys, all you get is a lecture on what they know. I asked about a line in Mitch's whack-ass video and he actually said to his flunky who was explaining the spot to me "Oh don't tell him that, if you can't see that line from the lift, you don't deserve to know about it."
So there you go, I don't deserve to know about the Hakuba lines, and thanks for the helpful attitude.I think Mitch himself hates his customers, and so by midseason he strives to make that disdain clear to each and every one of them. He was really friendly, and helpful when I met him early season, but by February, his attitude had deteriorated considerably, which is strange because he does little to no work around Snowbeds itself, leaving it all to Yoshi (who is a great girl, btw.)
Alot of people say, well what do you expect for 3000 Yen. To which I would say, "Not much, but I do expect not to freeze, and not to be treated like a fraternity - pledging freshman, when all I am doing is trying to rent a bed and talk to people about snowboarding.
You read on message boards about gaijin in Japan and it's always stuff like "oh they are losers who couldn't do anything in their home countries." Or you read "People like that gaijin give us others a bad name." Or "They are here because their girlfriends do more for them and let them get away with stuff that girls in their home countries would never put up with." Based on what I saw, Mitch transcended those descriptions of a crummy gaijin and brought being a crummy gaijin to a whole new level.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 your own abilities.
peaz.
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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.
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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 your knees a little at first, so take it easy, but I can drop cliffs with it no problem - well, a little less spring power, but there yah go
So yeah, you lose a little power, and a little control, but the comfort more than makes up for it for me - I ride 20/-15 which is way ducked the f#%k out, but it hasn't blown out my knees yet so I am sticking with it.
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Whaaaaaah ? ? What the hell happened yo yer ankle ?
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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 rode park, and did so well, to the powdery steeps of yer average resort, sure they wouldn't be able to do it that well, but give them a week, and they would have it down. You couldn't say the same for bringing the average rider or skier who only rode steeps into the park.
I too have the most respect for all-around riders/skiers.
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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 the first time.
Arai is good if you get there on a good day. Kijimadaira has the steepest slopes in Honshu, (and maybe Japan).
But if you can split your time, you would do well to hit up Cortina - It's about 3 hours drive from Iiyama - small resort, with limitless possibilities.
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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 having plenty of fun too, so I don't get where the attitude comes in.
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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 to teach.
But, as a rookie, what the hell do I know.
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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 you up with info or anything unless you are an Australian ?!? Always pimpin' his lousy video, full of shots of himself and other crappy Aussie snowboarders falling down all over the place.
Won't give you the time of day if you are a seppo, god forbid - as if Australians have some kindov lock on the sport of snowboarding, or can even compete with the Americans whom they love to criticize.
Mind you this is not some kind sour criticism of Autralians in general (I'm not American), just a criticism of Australians that have this whack ass inferiority complex that they wanna prove that they are somehow better than Americans at snowboarding - What the hell is with that attitude ? Any Aussies with some intelligence and perspective care to chime in ? If you are seriously judging someone based on their nationality - you've got problems man. I was nauseated by it (the attitude at snowbeds) time and time again, give it up already, you are not better, not even close and who even cares? It would just be so cool to go to an "international" type place, meet people, and have fun without all of the nationalistic attitude, but no.
But yeah I said it, the guy can't snowboard - I don't care if you can drop steeps or ride ridges in powder - that sh*t is fun, but it is NOT difficult at all, and there is nothing in the Hakuba region that comes close to scary (extended 50 degrees plus run) - I rode with sooo many fools like that last season who loved to brag that they could CHARGE THE POWDER ! ! ! As if that were somehow difficult, but get them in the pipe/terrain, and it turns into a junior-high school field trip.
Mitch is always trying to start shit with the 47 patrol - I don't know why - either trying to maintain some cavalier bad-boy attitude that he lacks the personality to project, or trying to promote the off-course glory that is not to be found at H47 - unless you want to get in a fistfight with patrol, or banned for life from the resort, as Mitch has.
New Years was crap-o-la city. I mean, come on, this is New Years, the one night of the year that people are supposed to party , and that was the best him and crew could do ? Completely and totally, pathetic, but what else should I have expected?
Some people have fun when they go to Snowbeds, becuase they are one week a year types, who are happy to meet some new people, drink a lot, snowboard a lot and do it all cheaply. Great! Seriously. Have fun y'all - tear it up, but I hear more than my fair share of complaints about the place and so I think Hakuba would be better off without it.
Give the lease to someone who isn't a rich-ass momma's boy skating through life on his girlfriend's sweat.
Had to be said.
Don't go to Blowheads. There are plenty of cheaper, better places to stay and ride/ski.
By the way, great pics, all.
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x buh-buuuh. x
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anyone recognize this guy ? It's worth 10 points.
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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.
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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 - cleaning the bathrooms, etc.
Japan Ski Resort Size Confusion
in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry
Posted
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.