sunrise

Well Markie, I hope you don't hold it against me... diana krall... heh heh heh... if only my jazz piano was as good as hers!!!! Hey, I wouldn't mind being as famous as her either! deebee, I think it all sucks too - it creates a lot of pressure on both men and women the way we've been brought up. I feel very uncomfortable at the thought of having a man being the breadwinner. I don't think I could ever live that way, as a 'kept' woman. Doesn't feel comfortable for me. At the same time, as you say, society seems to be set up that way, since men in general tend to get h

Markie, I think I mentioned it in regards to womens boots and mens boots in an old thread awhile back. I guess it didn't occur to me to state gender, after all, in most cases on this board what difference does it make ... I haven't noticed any men saying they're male either, though of course with some of the names, comments and photos that's fairly obvious. Anyway, what's to apologise about... I'm just another skier on the block....

How wonderful that you can live in such a lovely area and earn your living there, Ocean! I long for the day that I can live in the country again (or country area at least). I bet you could start your own website with your articles and become a cult hero - maybe that will provide renumeration further down the track.....

Damn good idea, Ocean... PIty I'm a gaijin, and not only that but, just as bad, female! I can see the resort managers now jumping to the call of this hennagaijinwoman! But you've brought up the important question of how to educate Japanese resort managers with their strange ideas of what they believe appeals to the local masses...... Maybe the best way is the media - c'mon SnowJapan! Continue your wonderful re-educating of these resort owners....! It's great that they're starting to listen to you in other areas....... I know you can do it, though It might take a few years

3 sets a night. 8.30 to 9.00, 9.30 to 10.00, 10.30 to 11.00. I'll try and get up in time for the first lift as much as possible and then siesta before work. Thanks for the time information. That's good to know. I'll check that out. And do let me know about the music on the snowfields. If it's full-on I might take my MD with me. I prefer to ski in silence, but my MD is preferable to the music that might be blaring out of the speakers... (my iPod probably won't work well in the cold weather.....) How long are you going for markie?

Cheeseman, don't wait for the cheese, take your own!

I've just talked to Carl in Rusutsu - the latest report looks good. He says it was snowing heavily all night and it's still snowing - might have eased off earlier but as we spoke it was getting heavy again. So I'm sure you'll have some good snow by the time you get there, Markie. He says there's a lot of snow there, though he's not skiing so he's only seeing it from a 'tourist' point of view... Tennis courts - wow, what kind of place is this? - Carl says it's a bit like a cross between Disney World and Universal Studios... what a trip! I hope I can get some laps in at the pool....

Hey, Markie, I'd say keep making your plans for now - of course if I find I can get back out there in April I'll let you know in advance, but for now I really have no idea ( I might even be in England then....) Yukie Nishimura - sorry not heard of her or any of her stuff. I must admit I tend to keep away from the J-music scene except when I'm involved in some project with them, because most of it does less than zilch for me.... Most of it is all based on talentless 'talent' who have the right look but little else. (the J-Pop scene ,that is). Indeed, once their popularity starts to

I've skied powder in Niseko, once (my only time ever - so far). Lots of face plants but the idea seemed to be to turn with your weight more or less on both feet as opposed to weighting one foot and not to try and make sudden movements (twists, etc) cos everything seems to go in slow motion including your movements and your speed. Of course there's more to it, but that's about as far as I got. If you're renting skis maybe you can swap what you have for fat powder skis on days you want to ski powder. I'm sure all the forum experts here will agree that it's easier to ski powder on the fat

The guy who designed, many (all???) of the Prince Hotel resorts is Tsueno Noto, who was a world cup skier many years ago (60s, 70s????) He's in charge of all the Prince Hotel ski schools too. So basically he was a pro skier before he got that gig.

Hi Markie, Yeh, he will. I'll be talking to him in the next few days to find out what the gig's like, so I'll definitely tell him you might pop in to say gidday... He's a very nice pianist/singer. Older cat from LA who used to write jingles there, got sick of it and came here. Yes, a pity we can't meet up. It would have been fun to do a bit of skiing together.......

Strange. Hopefully there will be lots of new snow before you arrive. By the way, definitely go and say hi to my friend Carl, who's singing/playing in the piano bar there at the moment. (He's not a skier, so there's no point asking him about the conditions....). I'll be taking his place when he's finished in mid Jan. Hey, also, I just noticed you said there's lots of indoor sports in Rusutsu. What kinds? Can you go swimming there? good luck with the snow. I'm sure by the time you get there the whole resort should be open after all it's coming into J-holiday time...!

Yes, I know, a strange topic - but has anyone done it here? The only rink I know of in central Tokyo is in Sendagaya. I've been to Yomiuri-land once a few years back too. Before I roll up there I was wondering if anyone knew of costs, rentals, how crowded, etc.

Hey Higuma, How are the new boots? Do they live up to expectations? Snow sounds great!

Quote: Originally posted by mogski: Working in Minato-ku close to Inter FM studios. The ground(?)/concrete is wet so and the snow heavy too so not settling, but the stuff at home in Nerima was building up nicely when I left this morning at 8am. I'm not so far from Nerima, Hikawadai's my closest on that line, though a bit of a hike to get to. Uh oh, seems to have stopped snowing here and has moved into very light rain/sleet. Hurry home or you'll miss it....

Originally posted by snowboard_freak: Quote: Ah ok, thanks for the comparison sunrise. Although i don't know that the Blue Mtns would ever have a fall the size of the one that Tokyo seems to be having at the moment, heck our snow fields don't even see snow fall all that often! Well the upper Blue mtns sure used to when I lived there (from around 1986-91). Don't know how the Oz ski slopes are doing these days, though. The last time I saw a ski season in Oz was in 1991 - I had a 6 week piano bar gig at the Valley Inn Hotel at Perisher. (the occasional advantages of being a muso)

PS Nice photo Mogski, where do you work? There's more snow on the ground where I am (at home in Itabashi-ku), looking out my window to a backstreet and lots of trees and some parked cars. No digital camera, sorry....)

Usually Tokyo gets about 2-3 dumps a season, though the last 4-5 years has been less. It's kinda similar to the Blue Mountains without the wind chill factor (if you're from around that area in Oz).

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Deer? In Oz? Where was this?

Yay, here it comes in big flakes.... tokyo, that is....

Hi Higuma, Thanks for posting all that good info. How much were your boots? Also I might even be able to check out your guy in Sapporo early next year (maybe...)

do they have that in Hokkaido too? (most notably rusustu, where'll I'll be holed up for a month....)

In response to the original question - it depends on your needs and budget of course. I only use my PDA when I'm travelling. I bought a used Palm Vx with modem, got a folding keyboard and that's all I need to do email when travelling. (also use the address book and calendar). Works just fine. I don't need anything faster or better than that, so it didn't cost too much either. Of course if I was needing it for other things then that would be a different story......

This reminds me - whatever happened to grass skiing? Does it still exist?