mattlucas

so now I am really confused. Can you buy beer from vending machines or not. That is what I really need to know. No Beer and No TV make Homer go crazy

I'm a POWDER fan myself.

Yah I know. I have already met a couple Jets online that will be fresh off the boat like myself that are also going to be in Takayama. Only problem is they probably don't ski/board. I hope they drink because I plan on doing a fair bit. I will have to hook up with numerous snowjapan people to get through the winter. Skiing alone sucks pooh. Do the vending machine beers come cold?

So if I understand this process. Buying the cars are cheap. You then have to pay to make it road worthy and then pay again to insure it. Sounds good if that is the process exceptof course for the huge language barrier What is the difference of white and yellow plates

Is it Ian that you saw in Takayama. The British Bloke from Lonely Plantet. That guy is so funny. I wonder how he stumbled onto a job like that. To get paid to trvel all over the world. Getting a car sounds like the best thing to do. Kind of confusing but I am sure I can figure it out. I am going to get my international drivers license however. Thanks for all the info everybody

There are lots of ski hills around Takasu and looking at there maps they don't look all that bad. How long would it take by train/bus to get there. For the mountains arounf I can't wait to get to the top of all those big mountains. I will hopefully climb them all but I imagine they are very busy. There is so much to ask but I will be there soon so I will just wait and figure it out myself

I just had my last day of lift surviced skiing. Whistler was amazing yesturday. The sun was out and it was warm. Women in string bikinis were amazingly beautiful and snow was soft and forgiving. I straightlined some good chutes and hit some very soft bumps. Lots of fun Anyone else still skiing?

like 35 in Fraser Valley (Vancouver Area) all this week. Way to hot. Glad I was skiing today though cause it was the best spring skiing I have ever had.

That second map is a really good one. Thanks slow.

Thanks for the maps Fattwins. I have also been looking for maps and am unable to find any good ones. Do you know the elevation of Takayama. The idea of hiking sounds good as well and I will love getting up high to get exercise and increase my lungs

I did some quick research and found that Takayama is called Little Kyoto. Sounds like fun. Can't wait. What about ski hills though. Is Nagano far

I started a new thread in the off-snow section on Takayama where I am going

I finally recieved my placement. Takayama will be my home for the next year starting in August. From what I read on this site however the local hills are rather tiny. I guess I will have to go a bit further to get to the good ones. From my lonely planet guide the place looks to have lots of culture.

Pets are better. You can leave them home alone and you won't go to jail.

1) Baffin Island 2) Saint Elias Mountains (Yukon Territory) 3) Kamchatka 4) NZ 5) Eastern Europe

I just sold my Yamaha BWS/R 50cc scooter. That thing was so much fun to drive. I had it for 3 years and didn't crash once. It had a top speed of 70km/h even up to 90 on a good hill or as slow as 50 with a strong headwind. The reason I sold it other than because I'm moving to Japan is that -I got more and more annoyed having to spend the extra time getting prepaired -driving in the rain -smelling like exaust -looking like a dork. I felt cool at first but soon realized how dorky I looked -being cold all the time execpt for summer I like cars better and mine isn't that ba

Are there not enough people in the world already. Bringing another being into the materialistic environment we have all been raised with is selfish. Everybody in a western culture already consumes far to much and I'm not just talking about food. How big is your ecological footprint on the earth and can you justify bringing another one in to add to that. Ramblings of an semi environmentalist and anti kid producer but it does not matter as I am male and cannot have kids. I hope that made sense.

It gets just as cold in the Southern Hemisphere as it does in the northern hemisphere Mr. Matthews but We Matts should stick together so I guess I have to agree with Mr Matthews just because we share the best name in the world. Maybe not the Continental Cold like in Russia or Northwest Territories but equally cold.

I hope I can ski when I 'm 30 let alone 80 or 90. My knees ache already. Ibuprophen is my best friend. If not I can always amputate them and ski in one of those hydrolic buckets. I saw a guy at Whistler in one come flying off a Cornice and then doing like 2 or 3 GS turns down a huge face. If I can't ski hard in my old age hopefully I will at least be able to tour around on some glaciers if any are left. As for teaching your children to ski as most people have posted I would have to say no way to that. Keep the kids away from me. None of that.

Still not sure yet . Soon I will be this however . From my emails many of the new JETS have there locations already and have contacted there predesessors. I hope not much longer though as I am getting tired of the anticipation every time I go to the mail box. Kind of like Christmas if Santa Clause kept delaying coming down the chimney.

Just read the your article and it was very good. I must say hough that orange is not a bad colour. I have an Orange Arcteryx jacket and for backcountry and general outdoors usage it is rather practical. I would rather stand out from the environment than blend in but I always say function before fashion. It was also interesting to read how many of the higher ups are trying to rid the mountain of snowboarders. The resorts would lose more buisiness as families with snowboarding members will choose to book with more friendly locations. As for snowboaders outnumbering skiers I definetly

Having to keep your passport on you at all times is rediculous. Most countries ask you to if your foreign but if its lost or stolen the hassle to get it back would be horrible. I was in Northern Russia last year and was instructed to have my passport on me at all times. I refused because on every street corner the Russian Mob is there doing there bussiness. Japan is a safe country though. What is this Gaijin Card everyone speaks of? Is it like your work visa?

Not sure how cold it was but on a BIg White Ski trip in High School I came in for lunch with white nose and frozen snot line across my face

Have you ever dropped something and on impact ram your knees into your face. I have a few times but never to serious. One of the guys I ski with at Whistler did it this year in Ruby Bowl on the Blackcomb Glacier and gave himself a severe concusion, knocked out a couple teeth and had to be airlifted off the mountain. He wears a full face now.

Binding holes are kind of a good thing in that you can move the binding all over without compromising the ski however it seems the downside would be you most likely have to buy line bindings which I am sure are a great binding but the prices all add up. Do more binding holes compromose the ski strength if they are reinforced like in snowboards?