smiler
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Posts posted by smiler
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Probably no better than the snow in Niigata
Or maybe... better than the snow in Niigata.The snow in Niigata gets a bad wrap I feel - if you go up to Kagura after a snowfall, the snow up there is often excellent.
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Get better! Just wanted to say I like your videos there!
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Bad boy??
I have a permenant visa and have had for a long time (been here a long time!) - I had no problems getting it when I applied....at that time I'd been here about 12 years and my wife was (and still is!) Japanese.
Good luck.
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I thought it was a really good movie, really enjoyed it. One for the DVD collection when they release it - I think I read that it was due out around May/June this year.
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I got chocolate from 15 people last year
I tell them not to buy every time, but....
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One thing I won't give up is my popcorn at the flicks, part of the experience!
How often do people go? I'm usually at the movie theater once or twice a month, depending on what's on of course.
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I used to be based near Nagoya, but now am in Tokyo.
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I very much dislike them all, whatever they are called.
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Thats cheap - sounds like a good idea that. Thanks
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Crowds aren't that much of a problem these days....
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I read all of this with interest.
Although I enjoy the slopes being empty myself, from another point of view I do find it all quite sad. I've lived in Japan for over 30 years and seen both the boom and the current decline.
I do have some friends from my schooldays who are closely involved in the ski industry here - some of them in management at a couple of resorts in Niigata and Gifu. I am also indirectly involved in the industry and so do attend quite a few conferences and seminars covering the business and speak to resort types from time to time.
As you might know, the 2 regions - Niigata and Gifu - are seeing quite different results and trends recently for a number of reasons.
Whenever we all meet up, this topic is always on the agenda, and it always makes for an interesting conversation. It's interesting to see what different resorts are thinking and planning for the future - if anything. There are obviously lots of places that are basically just trying to survive from year to year, just scraping by. They literally don't have any resources available to them to do anything that costs. But it's interesting that the management at this kind of place seem to either fall into the "hey we need to do something, lets try to do something positive within the limits we have" category, or the lame "there's nothing we can do, lets just hope the economy picks up" category. (Hopefully the latter won't last long...)
There are lots of resorts apparently doing nothing, or at least not doing things that the hardcore type of skier/boarder might approve of, but the hardcore is actually most likely not the main consideration for many resorts. (Whether it should be or not is a different matter, of course.)
But there are places that are actively trying to change and look at new ideas.... it just takes time.
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Oh, by the way..... trying to ignore all the handbags and scratching between the two 'sides' on this thread is quite difficult - and as a newcomer here, you're both as bad as each other.
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Theres some nice places in Fukushima. I've been in the area a few times and always enjoyed it.
Where abouts do you live in Fukushima, fukdane?
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I've got 17 years skiing and 6 years boarding behind me, mostly in France, Austria and Italy as well as Japan.
Ski industry situation on tv this morning
in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry
Posted
I own a catering company and we actually supply and provide services to some resorts as part of our business.
What have resorts done? That of course depends on each resort, but in general as you probably know the places in Gifu are doing relatively much better than places in Niigata these last few years. I personally feel that many places in Niigata got real complacent during the boom and thought it would last forever - and of course it didn't. Now the ones that aren't just sitting around waiting for "the economy to get better" are basically playing catch up.
Any big changes to the main operations of a ski field will probably take quite a while to actually happen, simply because of the complexities involved - however quickly the acutal management wants to see those changes happen. But it doesn't mean that nothing is happening. Many of the changes in operation and policy that you will see in the short term are probably ones that the hardcore riders won't get too excited about - those involving catering, childrens facilities, etc. Believe it or not, many Japanese find those aspects of a "ski holiday" to be important.
As far as I can see, no-one even implied that you "can't possibly understand the realities", just the fact that you do not know the reality of the situation and the environment in which resorts are operating (and I agree with that point)