[First snow]

Thought it was around October, but maybe should shut up and wait for the people in the know to post.

[Anyone buy a season pass to a resort?]

Naaah, good idea though if you can make good use of them. I wonder how many the resorts sell each season?

[Dirtsurfer or T-Board?]

No-one taken the plunge with one of these things yet?

[Is there anything you REALLY don't like about skiing/boarding]

Oh yes : moguls, kobu, whatever you call them.

[How much do you spend on your sport a season?]

 

Blimey. You have more readies than I do for spending on winter sliding.

[IN-GER-LAND]

So what do you In-ger-land fans think the result will be tomorrow in the famous Argentina clash?

[All you "gaijin" (!) - do you support Japan?]

I support Japan yes, although I'm also not too keen on the Japanese media going overboard either.

[Is there anything you REALLY don't like about skiing/boarding]

For me:

 

- the cost

- the getting up

- the sudden blizzards

[Anyone been to Roppongi recently?]

Went there last night.

Got a hangover.

Irish bars rather full and genki with their game last night - should have won.

[Off Topic - Anyone got an XBox]

Actually bobby, isn't the PS2 only now getting into it's stride, so the graphics etc are looking similar to Xbox etc? Xbox will overtake soon, but for the moment, PS2 has a huge amount of software and is looking good. Just the impression I got.

[What were the queues like 5-10 years ago?]

I can remember it well. Things were wild back then with huge queues for even the smallest lift at any of the popular places. I was in Gunma at the time, so I did most of my skiing there and in the Yuzawa area. Places like Naeba were just ridiculously busy, and not worth even contemplating on a weekend or holiday. Things seem to be a bit different now though from all accounts. I have just come back to Japan after a 7 year absence and went to Kagura the other day and it was almost empty.

[In Japan?]

I was in Japan way back 9 years ago on the JET prog, went back to the UK to start work, and am now just back here in Japan on a one year business placement. Great to be back.

 

First thing was to go up to Kagura - one of my favorite haunts from back then. It was good to see the old place again, although the snow wasn't as good as I remember (at this time of the year) - it seems that the end of the winter weather this year came rather quick, yes?

 

The other thing I noticed was the lack of people. Hardly anyone around - had the place to myself. No complaints there, although it felt kinda wierd.

[Kagura worth the trip?]

It's about the only place worth going now in Niigata (apart from ARAI over in the Joetsu/Myoko region). Snow is not terrible, but definitely worse than an average year at this time of the year.