Davo

I have to admit that when I was single I used to enjoy it when girls would be ahherm...well...be willing to cut to the chase. I liked the girls who were easy for me, you know "I don't usually do this but..." "I never sleep with guys straight away but...", that kind of thing. Of course girls who were't easy were fine too. A fair few made me wait for a bit-usually only a few dates though. Nothing wrong with a girl being easy as long as she's happy about it and comfortable with the situation. There it is Rach, shallow but true

For those not in Tokyo it's here Nice write-up. Whoa that Norweagan girl just rocked the pipe...back to telly.

My interpretation is any aspect that is wooded and they're not runs in the sense of a ski run or trail. They are good for any number of reasons like the pitch, length, quality of snow, where they end up, spacing between the trees. Next time you're on the mountain and see a wooded slope that looks consistently steep and has lines that pop out somewhere that gets you back to a lift-that merryJim may well be a good tree run.

Lots of lurkers in here and I'm usually one of them but at least you know it's me lurking. I thought I'd been watching a lot of TP Boys.

So I wasn't the only Kiwi rooting for her then

Yeah I think Hakuba is a pretty much BYO place. Doesn't mean anything to me as I'm not looking but it's hardly the place to go hunting for girls. All those cuties you see during the day are generally not going to be out and about at night.

Yeah Goryu had a Kiwi patroller worrking there 2 seasons ago. He said that he'd worked at other resorts as well in Japan. He liked the job but had to deal with all the gaijin troublemakers like me -he was a nice guy. Not sure about the money and benefits of patrol work in Japan. Arai may be another place to check out-there's a guy Blair who posts regular stories on here about working on the mountain.

Good idea, even though the last thing I want to think about when I log on here is work.

That sounds pretty bad-I thought there was a JR train/bus link up there which isn't an overnighter. The overnighter bus option to Gifu-Daynaland/Takasu is a better pick by far then. That one leaves pretty late at night and gets you back to Osaka at 9:00 the next night.

Good to meet you too TJ OZ-guess we'll be seeing more of you round Hakuba in the future. It's not just you. Happo is a huge resort with plenty of lines left to find. Although I do like to grumble about old fave's that have become reasonably well known these days.

I'm happy to start at 10, but earlier is cool too. No point gunning for freshies on the runs. Anyway if it has dumped overnight half the lifts don't open till mid-morning a lot of the time. Better to sleep in a bit and enjoy breakfast.

Yeah...and I'll be rooting for New Zealand too...if I can get away with it .

Cotton t-shirt underneath a thermal top with a neckwarmer usually does the trick. Add to this a merino wool zip-neck top and inner gloves for really cold conditions. If things get really extreme the beanie can go on under the helmet. Jacket and pants have vents for warm conditions or hiking. The jacket also has a snow skirt but I usually don't use it. The neckwarmer was the last addition to my kit and I don't know how I managed without one until now. Probably the only thing I need now is a mask for freezing blizzard conditions.

Try Hachi Kita in Hyogo. I'm pretty sure you can get train deals up there with JR and it's a good resort. Weekends are no worries either and it's well worth a go even if the trip up takes longer. I went to Biwako once many years ago...close sure but I wouldn't bother nowadays.

I've had some classics resulting from advertising for teachers on the Internet. Dear Sir...you only need to pay $1000 and we can split the proceeds of the estate which is worth.... The funniest part is the terrible spelling, grammar, and interesting vocabulary usage from spammers claiming to work for an international bank or some such organisation.

That sounds really hard soubriquet, but at least your kids are on your side. Deadbeat dads are pretty common for sure and I think they should be made to pay up even if they can't be bothered trying to be a father. The real shame is all the negativity it creates for the kids involved. BTW sorry for hijacking the thread nicole

Not personally lin. In particular I'm thinking of one guy I know who basically had an impossible time trying to see his kids once a week. It all depended on the whim of his ex and in the end it just stopped happening. It seems there is nothing a non-custodial parent can do about this kind of situation. My neice's Father sees her occasionally and still gets on well with my sister-in-law. If he didn't he would probably never see her nor have any legal right to whatsoever. I don't think he's seen her for a few years now either. Nothing particularly unusual in this I guess-happens in any cou

Ditto. Those pictures are awesome.

I think you'll find it's the other way round. Niseko is getting hugely popular with foreign visitors-particularly those who aren't residents in Japan. There is some backlash as a result of this, with some foreign residents and some return tourists deciding to go elsewhere. Not sure what the effect is on Japanese patronage, though this has been on the decline across the board in Japan anyway. One thing that hasn't changed is the quality and quantity of powder. I have mostly heard good things about the place, but some people have said it's not as good as it used to be as more tourists hit i

What's with the obnoxious part of "drunk and obnoxious"anyway? There's no need for it really. At best it suggests a need to take it easy on the booze; at worst, a mainfestation of the inner wanker. I think spud has a good point about cultural differences. The Japanese can get as drunk and loud as the best of them, but they're generally far less obnoxious than western pissheads. One of the reasons I love living in Japan is the lower degree of random drunken violence, and the general absence of the the "WTF are you looking at?" attitude. I don't think good natured, loud, drunken behav

SM, didn't mean to sound unecessarilly negative there, and Hakkoda sounds awesome. Would've been a truer representation of whats what if you wrote it though, I imagine. BTW I found your hipflask on the floor at Fattwins's & he's got it there for when you return. Jgirl cheerleaders

Yeah mate-you pay and you never get to see your kids. Although from what I hear child support obligations aren't anywhere near as strong as they are in Western countries. Basically zero parental rights for the non-custodial parent, and if you are a gaijin male, you will most likely be that non-custodial parent. Not much of a culture of post divorce shared parenting in this country. Of course, in the end it depends on the relationship between the divorced parents & their respective families, but legally speaking it seems pretty standard fare for one parent to become a persona non-grata

Cheerleaders I hope, or maybe some of those baton twirling girls. I'm with you as well Toque...exotic schmotic...spare us the excruciating cliches and homilies please! Nice article but it reads,in part,like a story in an airline magazine.

I had a great time-was cool to meet most of you in person and have a few, sorry, a lot of drinks. Cheers to Fattwins for organizing things, as well as Troy, Sakiko, and all the hardworking crew at Tracks for all the food beers friendly service on a busy night. Apologies to the poor woman who walked in on me taking a dump at Tracks, and thanks to the guys with you for not clocking me for my drunken negligence. Lock the door-doh! Some good riding was had too. Snowglider went down bad but true to form he scored the line of the season soon after-that was sweet ay! Sunrise, thanks fo

MaxundKarl the backpackers I was refering to is called Traveller's Nest and is connected to Hakuba Alps Backpackers and Tracks Bar. Email or call either of those and you should get hold of the same peeps. Snowbeds is also a good backpackers spot-just located a bit far from the party at Tracks (maybe a 2000yen cab ride).