Markie

Actually I didn't think this (the policeman groping the woman)was funny at all. I hope some serious action was taken against this person. I'm all for hanky-panky and fun but it should be consensual. I hate it when guys take advantage of women just because they are physically weaker. It's even worse if the guy is abusing his power because of his rank or status. This guy is a shame to his uniform, to his country and to all men.

Yeah, I noticed that too. Since I am headed that way, I'm checking those pages regularly. Tomamu will be getting it too but neither have webcams. I'm keeping my bet on Kiroro's webcams to give the first snow sighting of this season.

How mamy places in HK accept Euro cash? I would have thought that if you are charging in Euros, then you should accept in Euros. I remember in my schooldays learning something called "legal tender", that is to say that cash cannot be refused as a means of payment. Refusing it and demanding credit cards or other stuff is illegal. I don't know if that applies to Euros in HK but I just wanted to whine about it especially since my other friend from HK who was also going on the same trip with me was flying with Air France on a cheaper ticket and he was not charged anything for checking in his skis.

50 euros on Lufthansa seems to be on the spot. When I travelled HK to Geneva earlier this year they charged me 50 Euros for checking in my skis. What really pissed me off on this transaction was that they refused to accept my 50 Euros cash and insisted that it had to be done by credit card meaning they could screw me in HK$ for whatever exchange rate they wanted. And then on the return flight from Geneva to HK, also on Lufthansa, they didn't charge me anything for the skis. So you never know what they will charge. If you are only boarding for 4 days, is it really worth it to pay 50 or 100

Karuizawa is a small resort which is less than 1 hour from Tokyo by bullet train and the resort is right outside the train station. They will DEFINITELY have snow because even if it doesn't fall from the sky, they will make artificial snow. You can take the train there in the morning let them play for a few hours, have lunch and return to Tokyo later in the day.

I don't know about the Narita-Haneda transfer thing, that must be a real hassle. When I can't get a direct flight to Hokkaido, I usually do a transfer at Osaka/Kansai. As for Honshu, Hakuba is a great place, but it is not the easiest place to get to from Narita. If you fly in at Nagoya, it is easier and if you get land at Matsumoto, that is really fantastic. I think Gala Yuzawa is the best place to go skiing in terms of convenience of transportation from Narita.

I don't know the exact details behind the data being thrown around here, but from my experience, the fastest I can get from Hong Kong to Hakuba if I take a morning flight, say 9 am, I can get to Hakuba by before 7 pm if I take the Shink to Nagano and then taxi to Hakuba. If I take a taxi from Narita directly to Hakuba direct I get there after 8 pm. On the other hand, if I take a 9 am flight from HK direct to Chitose, I can arrive and clear customs before 5 pm, I have been able to get to Rusutsu in 90 mins from there and do some night skiing, hitting the slopes before 7 pm on the same day.

Lest we forget, only a few years ago, Barok was literally beaten up (black and blue) by the ski-patrol at 47 and they nearly took his season pass. Enderzero was there and witnessed it but they didn't touch him.

Point tickets are tickets that allocate you a number of points and you can use them until the points run out (but usually valid for 1 day only). Usually each time you take a lift, one point is deducted but for some longer lifts or gondolas, maybe 2 or 3 points are deducted.

Too bad I missed it. Expect a PM from me TB to find out.

OK, this is great. Stain or no stain, I'm digging up that ol' Sailor Moon outfit and heading over there right away.

Yeah, Fattwins, they are just lining up waiting for when you will be available. Actually, for this trip I was very lucky to get a J-family to join me. They are people whom I met on previous ski trips. They have volunteered to be the ski coaches this time: the father will take the advanced skiers, the mom will take the intermediates and the son will look after the kids, one of whom is Derek, your favourite student. CB, I hope it will be great and am looking forward to it, but remember that up to now and till end of August I'm still working like you. However, despite being still burdened wi

Fattwins, I'll probably be taking CB's Salomons up to Furano this Christmas so I won't need those Volkls but thanks. CB, remember next year I will be free as bird so it will be easy to hook up wherever you like.

Fattwins, I may not be posting much, but I'm still watching your spelling! Noddles?

I noticed the weather report is forecasting a bit of snow up north in Hokkaido this weekend mainly in Tomamu and Furano.

Unfortunately, that other smart-ass, Thursday, is right! It probably was my fault. The other years at Hakuba were fine over Christmas. It was only the 2 years I went that turned out badly.

HappyG, that will be a big risk. I was there last year and several years ago over Christmas but got screwed by insufficient snow on both occasions. Hokkaido (Kiroro, Niseko) are much safer bets for mid-December.

Hey, BCS, welcome back. Haven't seen you in these forums for a long time.

Kraut, first of all, Hakuba is not a city. (I have to say that to prove I am still the same ole smart-ass as before). I have stayed at Tokyu which is also very close to Happo and it is very nice, especially the ski-locker rooms and the onsens. I hear that La Neige is supposed to be the best hotel there but haven't tried that. I tried the Mominoki which is just opposite to the Tokyu and found that the Tokyu was just a bit more pricey but much better in quality than them so I prefer the Tokyu much more than the Mominoki. If you want to mix more and be with the night-crowd for after-ski activitie

Originally Posted By: slow I enjoyed skiing backwards with Markie last winter. That's so great to hear. I missed you in Hakuba during Easter this year. Haven't seen you posting on the forums recently. O genki desu ka.

Kiroro in Hokkaido is usually the first resort of natural snow to open in Japan every year and they usually open in mid-November.

Actually, I like Niseko a lot, Thursday. And I know that saying that will risk my friendship with Fattwins. However, I always wanted to try out Furano.

My guess is that the first snow will hit Kiroro and it will be before the start of November and that they will open in early December. Unfortunately, that is apparently what many think too. So even though I placed an order long ago for some rooms at Kiroro's Mountain Hotel and Piano Hotel, they did not open up their bookings until last week. Apparently they want to cater to all the big customers and block booking first. Then when they confirmed everything, it was:"Sorry, we're full". After being screwed by two years of poor snow at Hakuba over Christmas, I thought I'd play it safe and so Kir

Notwithstanding what CB says, which is quite true, 47 still has the best Snow Park in the area if you're into that kind of thing.

Hi, BP. I can understand Rach trying to keep her distance with "that's all!" but from you, BP? I'm disappointed.