Will Lee

Been there every year for the last three. It`s a nice place(big enough, enough course variety)and has good pow. It`s only about a 90 min commute by bus from Sapporo(way closer than Niseko). The only thing I don`t like about the place is the fact that this ski area is sort of a "resort" with its own hotels so expect LOTS of people(many inexperienced w/o manner), especially on weekends. Oh, and it`s a bit on the expensive side too(rental&stuff). But a good place overall.

No habla espanol?

Ocean, you DA MAN!

Not that it`s important but I believe it`s read "tai-setsu." Maybe back in da dayz them peasants would usually experience the first big snow fall of the winter on this day? Oh just ignore them...they`ve got so many little footnotes in their calendar!

Cuz he`s a whitey and he`s NUTS!

If you happen to go to Goryu just do what a cheap bastard like myself do...head straight for the "changing room" in back of the locker room and sleep on the floor there. No one will bother you(from my experience).

Kawaba isn`t such a good place, IMHO. The place tends to attract big crowds. Their snow is usually mediocre and the runs aren`t well laid out(most of them too narrow anyway). Their lift tix are a bit costly too. But I can see how your Saitama friends would like that place for its short commuting distance. The only nice things about that place are the "ski center"(looks like a shopping mall) and locker rooms on every floor of its parking structure.

Hey Ocean, is Echo Valley a decent place or what? Never been there...(only seen it from Shirakabako Royal Hill) mtia

My fellow boarding buddy on his way back from Nekoma(he went w/o me, that bastard!)right this moment just told me it`s snowing hekka lot throughout Tohoku Highway. Hopefully that`ll translate into some decent pow for all the ski areas around here..CUZ I`m going tomorrow!

Shirako(fish sperm)seasoned with ponzu sauce. ...and all this time I thought it was fish eggs

Ha! Did they include that plate of 1800yen PLAIN curry and rice?

Dunno, but am going for sure. Will have another roundtable "meeting" with my mates to determine our destination for this weekend. Get well soon, Rach.

Hi all. Whatever happened to that proposed get together in Tokyo this week? Got canceled? Postponed? More info please. Cheers

I heard the place will accept boarders starting this season? But it`s in Kusatsu so you know it`ll always be packed(it`s a pain in the ass to get up there in the first place)!

I heard it`s supposed to snow in most places this weekend...

Sounds good. Don`t we all wish it`d stay that way? Hope it won`t get too crowded when I finally get up there in Jan.

YES, YES! I`d have to agree w/ Yuki`s passion on this one. Them Chinese(most of them probably from the countryside of China)haven`t got a clue at all! They`re just RUDE, in general. This one chick sitting in front of me had the nerve to peek at the testbook before we were supposed to begin in all of the sections. She did this pretty much right in front of the examiners, as if she was trying to see how far she could push her luck! I was so disgusted with her action I almost said something...but didn`t. It`s not like she didn`t understand the rules(it`s common sense anyway). Heck, it w

J-Pop is staying whether you like it or not. Just ignore and concentrate on whatever you came out to do in the first place if you don`t fancy the music. Personally I`ve gotten used to it..hey, think of it as part of your Japanese skiing/boarding experience. When I was up in Goryu/47 a few weeks ago it was "retro" day(tunes from the late 80s and early 90s)! No Mo-musu..wow!

Just finished taking the test..it was murderous! I`d feel fortunate if I got at least a 50%. Oh well, at least I went through it. Now I can CONCENTRATE on boarding!

You don`t need to worry about all that crap..just take one of the many "ski buses" leaving from Tokyo daily once the season kicks into full gear. The cost is usually around 10,000yen for EVERYTHING(i.e. door to door, may even include a nice after ski/board hot dip and/or free lunch. You just have to pick which ski area you want to go). Most of them leave from Shinjuku, Harajuku or Ikebukuro. You can pick up various pamphlets at any major travel agencies. Hope this will help.

How about trying Tsugaike? It`s more boarder friendly(but the board park will cost you extra). I think the place is just as good as Happo-one, if not better.

It`s not that Japanese aren`t friendly, it`s just that they`ve got this "group oriented" thing going(and the fact that in general they`re a bit shy). When I went to Goryu/47 a couple weekends ago lo and behold for the first time a Japanese boarder tried to chat with me while sharing a lift! Obviously I was too taken aback to blur out more than a few words(what a shame). I`ll try to speak more nihongo next time..if there`s a next time?

Dwight, Naeba wasn`t crowded for you because it`s not even Dec yet. If you were to go there during "regular season" the place would be quite different. I was there on a weekday last season and it was pretty packed(well, my standard anyway). The pow was all gone by 1 or 2pm!

If you can take the Friday off, for under 50,000yen you can have a helluva time up there(incl hotel, lift tix and airfair plus maybe a little something extra on the side). I`ll be up there in Jan for just 40,000yen.*grin*

Dump `em, baby! I saw the bad omen on NHK news last week too. They said their winter prediction/forecast for East and West Japan is, "dan-to-kei-ko," which translates roughly into warmer than usual winter. JUST LIKE LAST YEAR! But they also said Hokkaido wouldn`t be affected..so I`m planning to go up there at least 3 times.