jared

There are plenty of good 100 yen shops in kutchan a town about 10 kms down the road (there are busses). There are also plenty of supermarkets there. The food at Seiko mart is the same as any covenience store in japan - although i hear its the busiest one in all of hokkaido

it gets farrgen cold here, I wouldent want to be standing around all day. you have to move - ski - to keep warm.

why dont you find out which resorts let you ride in the trees? they are out there, but like good surf spots you only tell your (close) friends. Also, its a liability thing. although and im not sure how the tables etc.. fit into that.

can anyone tell me where the good parks are in tohoku - also half pipes - who maintains them - also are there any superpipes???

im pretty sure if i crash into a tree i want to do it with my helmet on. i may injure myself but im pretty sure im less likely to die of a head injury. Helmets dont stop you injuring yourself, they help stop you killing yourself.

hey, I worked as a ski instructor there a few seasons ago. There were three rafting companies all owned by aussies that all do ski/snowboarding instructing in winter. there was (and probly still is) plenty of friction between them so if one company brings you there they wont like you working for the others. the best idea is to turn up and approach them all letting them know you are available. if you can, get a cell phone before you get there. if you want more details mail me jared.siem@japan.emil.ne.jp

if you ever get any real info it would be great if you could pass it on - thanks are you in japan yet or planning to come.

they are also great on cold days, and i find them heaps more compfy than a regular hat

you dont think that the stats are influenced by the fact that the people that are likely to crash are gonna get helmets therefore a larger proportion of the crashing population were helmet wearers. anyway K2 helmets are def the best for oval heads like me Giro are pretty good too. Red helmets arnt too bad and if your head is especially round it may be the only one that fits. Ski shops usually only have ugly racer boy helmets so snowboard shops may be a better bet. have a look at getboards.com or d-structure.com as well.

you cant see how big it is from a photo as alot of it is hidden around the corner at hanazono. I was there for 3 months and it takes quite a while to explore the whole mountain - I dont think that I did -

New Zealand and anericans will always be yanks to me!!

get skis roughly eye to head level and dont get giant fat skis i(ie pocket rockets)unless you plan to be going into the powder.

Got a pass for Geto and im gonna get one for Himekayu (possibly spelt wrong). may also get a month pass for Hakoda for feb. Im living in Isawa which is near Mizesawa. Where are you at. Are there any good terrain parks up here its my first winter in this prefecture?