Digger
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Posts posted by Digger
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There is no 'village' in the way that Hirafu has. There is nothing there apart from the resort and a couple of characterless pensions dotted along the highway.
If your number one priority is somewhere close to a decent ski area you might be ok, but if you are looking for a bit of character and something to do in the evenings I think you'll be disappointed.
I'm also not sure how easily you'd find a suitable plot of land there.
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uknova is good for horizon, motd etc.
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Japanese ambulances...
A mate got knocked off his bike in the middle of the city, had a few nasty gashes (including to the head). After the ambulance finally got there, first they went to the wrong hospital. The ambulance men were told that the trauma unit was closed on that day and they would have to take my happless friend to a different hospital. Cause this wasn't in the manual it seemed to confuse our intrepid rescuers and they had to stop at the side of the road and consult an road map then ask a passerby before finally finding the right hospital.
True story.
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Jared:
I once knew a business owner in Japan who used to play Auzie for the media and customers - right down to the hat with corks on it.
Couldn't imagine who that'd be. Wouldnt be the same fella who parades his Nepalese employees around tryin to be 'the man' would it?
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Article on Soccernet points the finger at young Mr. Owen. Sounds a bit naughty for him.
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I skied Annupuri on Monday and got sweet turns all day. Hirafu obviously offers more accessable terrain, but on a 3 day weekend you'll be enjoying that terrain and lift waits with all the weekend warriors.
Both Annupuri and Higashiyama have great runs if you know the mountain. Lots of locals are also abandoning Hirafu for the more moderately priced season passes of the lesser known Niseko resorts and the more laid back powder days where you don't have to fight for 1st lifts/ 1st tracks with every over powder hound.
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Yeah - sorry about the humble pie thing. In my jubilation i got caught between gloating and not wanting to offend. Footy never did bring out the best in me. As the Japanese woman sat near me in the bar who kept screaming like a cheap smut movie over-dubber every time Liverpool even entered Man.U's half can testify to. Got a wee bit snappy with the poor girl.
Anyway, guess it's a reflection of how the balance of power has drifted up the M6 in the last couple of seasons. Beating the scallies wouldn'tve been such a big deal a few years ago.
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I'll go along with bad mannered Chinese contingent. Don't know where u took the test YP but up here in Sapporo i was stunned at the blatant cheating. A few, not all mind, of the Chinese started the test as soon as it was put on their desk. Even though it was ten minutes before the start. After the listening test, they where turning round comparing and changing answers and even making the 'invigilators' wait while they changed answers.
I know for a lot of the Chinese students it is an extremely important test, and if the invigilators are uniformly useless, which seems to be the case, u can understand them trying it on. But still, not a very good advert for the country.
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Hows that humble pie tasting there?
Gary Neville, what a performance. Who'd a thunk it?
And that ref! No doubting the colour of his undies yesterday, eh?
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Sorry for the slow response on this. I had a little think about what Higuma said, and tried to cool off a little. I also mentioned my experience to a number of friends and they all had suffered similar treatment at ICI. It is a real shame because i do actually like the shop, and they shouldn't be so eager to turn foreign customers away as most 'cool' Japanese boarders wouldn't be seen dead there.
I agree completely with Higuma about the mooching foreigners looking for something for nothing, and not being too polite about it. However, if i go in there and politely ask a perfectly reasonable question i think it is completely unjustified to give me the brush off. I'll give some examples of the reactions i've had from ICI employees just this year.
1. At the Fushiko shop (surburban Sapporo, no loafing foreigners) i took the boot i wanted to the counter. This was after standing next to the boots in an empty shop for a good 10 minutes with no offers of assistance. I asked if they had the boot in a bigger size. The girl i asked looked blankly at me, i repeated the Q and she turned to the guy stood next to her. He just gave me the batsu sign. I asked if they could order the boot in a bigger sign, again the batsu. Not a word, not an explanation/ apology, nothing.
Just to clarify, my Japanese isn't perfect, but it's damn good enought to ask a simple question and to understand a civil reply.
2. At the tanuki (city center) shop i asked the snow board guy (v.short hair, round glasses) i forget his name the same Q. Now this guy knows me, and in the past he has been quite helpful. He answered me nicely enough and actually went through the motions of getting out the catalogue to check. This is because i bought the same model boots (salomon) from him a couple of years ago and i think he actually used to ride for them, although i don't think he does anymore. Anyway, he said they had stopped importing that size into Japan.
A couple of weeks later i took in the boots i had had shipped from home in hoping to get them fitted using the special machine. I asked him v.v.nicely if i could used thier machine after explaining how i had got my hands on some boots the right size. He said no. I asked why, even though he knew i hadn't bought them from a cheaper shop round the corner of anything, because of the guarantee i was told. I said i was happy to waive my guarantee, still no luck.
Now this wasn't rudeness, just a shitty way to treat a loyal customer- in my opinion. Salomon fixed me up with a shop only too happy to help me and said any alledged guarantee problems were totally bogus.
3. The Oakley goggles id seen at the Fushiko shop for 10,500 had sold out. I was positive that the price was correct as i'd checked it on 2 occasions while i dithered over getting them. When i asked the guy on the 2nd floor of the tanuki shop how come the exact same goggles (last years) were 12,000 there he told me i was wrong, those goggles weren't that price at the other store. Then he called Fushiko and said "we have a gaijin here who says you had these goggles for 10,500, he's wrong isn't he" while i was stood there. Why it was relevant that i was foreign was not made clear. Then he turned to me and said that i was wrong once more. When i ventured that perhaps the other store had mis-labeled the goggles (which they often do) he just said no and turned his back to me.
Now, Japan and Japanese people have been very good to me, so i try not to dwell on situations when i feel it is blatant that a Japanese customer wouldn't be treated that way, it is a door that swings both ways after all. However, i feel there is no excuse whatsoever for plain and simple rudeness. I was courteous at all times yet i received nothing approaching the same respect in return.
So, Higuma, or anyone else on friendly terms with an ICI staff member, i would appreciate if you quietly mentioned the fact that i and a number of other decent, polite foreigners had stopped using their shop due to the bad attitude of many of their employees.
Finally, anyone who made it this far. Sorry for the epic, ranting post. I obviously had a few things to get off my chest. Feel much better now. Hope everyone else is getting better service while getting ready for the season.
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Sorry fellas, guess i should've put in a bit more background to my negative review.
We used to hike Asahidake before the eagerly awaited ropeway way was finished. Then when i rushed up there after the gondola opened i was a tad disappointed to find it only goes half way up the mountain. There are a few decent turns to be had, but a good two thirds of the run down is just flat track.
A lot of people whose opinion i respect have good things to say about the back country there, but that is assuming you want to/ are willing to search out the good turns. However, no-one disagrees about the waste of a good opportunity the ropeway is.
Up that way (Asahikawa area)Kamui is a good ski field with some nice powder runs, and of course further south you have much better options with Niseko, Teine etc. if you are looking for easily accessable powder.
Hope that is a bit more informative.
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Beautiful cable car, Swiss made i do believe. Shame it only takes you as high as a decent 4WD would take you.
If you've got snowshoes and are into back-country exploring it is a good base to start from, but if your looking for a gondola to take you straight to the steeps, don't waste your time going all the way up there.
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Just a quick cautionary tale about buying boots abroad. After discovering that Salomon no longer import bigger than 28.5 size boots & they don't allow internet companies to send them out of their respective countries, i resorted to getting some sent to my parents house and getting them sent on from there.
However, when i took the liners into the ski shop i bought my old boots from, and tried to buy my new ones from, they wouldn't let me use their heat molding machine. Even though it was the same guy i'd dealt with before and he knew i would have bought the boots there if it were possible.
I had to call Salomon in Tokyo, tell 3 people there my sorry tale before they finally sorted me out with a shop willing to help me.
On a side note: ICI sports (in Sapporo, but i think they are nationwide) were nothing but rude and generally useless. I have been a regular customer there for over 5 years, but it is always a struggle to buy anything from them. I know someone (i think Higuma) spoke highly of their shop in Tanuki-koji in central Sapporo, but they practically called me a liar when i said i had seen the same product at one of their other stores for a cheaper price. There have been numerous other cases of their terrible service but i'll try to stop my ranting.
On a lighter note, anyone in the Sapporo area into Nordic/cross country skiing should check out Sapporo Skid in Sumikawa. They were very helpful and actually treated me as a valued customer rather than a nuisance to get rid of as quickly as possible- even though i didn't buy anything there.
Hope this helps someone - sorry for the negativity.
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The Fatman man puking? Reliving the weekends shadowy exertions, perhaps?
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Ooooh! Where's the phone? I think someone needs to call his mum.
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Seems to me that Oceans' gripe against skiers is based largely on his conception of the lack of cool displayed in the majority of ski wear. Although I would personally rather be seen on the slopes with a rubber chicken stuck up my tradesmans' than sporting two planks on my feet. I am much more in the camp of a day-glo ojii-chan carving through those annoying moguls, than some 'cool boarder' who spent twice as much on his wear than his board and spends his day posing around the ski-lodge, or sat on his ass in the middle of the run.
The whole patrol thing overlooks the simple fact that the kind of people drawn to that profession, as of those drawn to fields such as sporting referees/umpires or traffic policing, are usually officious and tiring sorts. I've seen plenty of patrol on boards up here, doesn't seem to make them any less bothersome though. And, after spending many seasons following two-plankers through the powder, I defy anyone to claim that a competent powder skier can't track boarders everywhere they go and reach some places (involving negative gradients) much more easily than boarders can.
If you want to stay on the punter slopes with the inconsiderate skiers/boarders and the flocking ski schools you shouldn't be surprised when than get in your way or crash into you. But, if you give thanks that those folks are paying the money to keep the resorts open, and smile to yourself as they pile onto the crowded slopes while you head-off into your out-of-bounds powder stashes, in my humble opinion, the skier/boarder divide will stop seeming so relevant.
Niseko on Ski Sunday
in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry
Posted
nah, Colin Jackson did the Holiday program, it was filmed last February (think pretty much all the skiing that appeared was at rusutsu).
The ski sunday bit was filmed in December in hirafu.