johndknm
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Posts posted by johndknm
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keba and i are in Furano. 800Y for a small glass of sake tonight at dinner; 550Y for a glass of beer (dear - 390 was our cheapest in a fortnight at any restaurant); 800yen for small main sized plate at dinner (we order 2 or 3); beers in the machines are 250Y for a 350ml can; beers in the coop/supermarket are 650Y for a 6x350ml sixpack or 1000Y for a 6x500ml sixpack; bento box of sushi in the coop is about 600Y. A kitkat is 125Y.
These prices run across most resorts (ex niseko where a large flat white was 600Y and a few ski items i was looking at were 3 times other resorts eg neoprene facemask 4800 but 1500 at rusutsu on the mountain).
bottom line is drink at home, then go eat.
at the resorts we have found the pork/chicken/whatever buns in the stores more economical than the katsudon/katsu curry which generally aint that great after the first 50 times anyways.
oh and must have the takoyaki(octopus balls) - often takeaway at the bigger supermarkets.
remember your worst days skiing is better than your best day at work.
the yen has strengthened to the point where basically everything is nearly double that of xmas time. before it was cheapish; now its really dear. the japanese at present are not prepared to devalue their entire country to accomodate a small number of somewhat irritating aussie tourists ie they dont give a rats...canada looks nice next season...
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bit tragic really. sitting in kutchan last 2 nights ~35cm and each day at rusutsu only light cover. quite tracked out at R presently. slim cover of fresh on crust. thinking about skiing the kutchan carpark!
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WAAAAAAAA
work sux and we cannot be there ( I cannot express how much work sux in a thread). so here is where the old school is!
Naomichan says ohaio gozaimasu from Golda Coasta
No doubt we have been forgotten. But we would so love to be there.....
Naomichan spent her first year of life ski season there, got on Tokyo TV with TJ -- "hakuba ichiban" and has fond memories of the place.
Hmmmm block of pork .....
Hmmmm virgin cafe hot chocolates! (not very nihongo but geez I need that franchise! those things rock unless diabetic)
Hmmmm breaking my friends leg at Cortina....yes it was broken...no we didnt really find that back out till 6 weeks later at home....yes hes still sore even today....
Naomi will chime in "Icu Creamu kudasai, kudasai, kudasai" when appropriate.
How the hell is everyone then! Hunter Stash and Naomi Charlotte and their parents still get together and have (less) wine than previous and talk of the Good Ole Ski trips to Japan days....
JD and Kath
NEXT YEAR is Japan for US! again...
but i assure you it wont be Niseko
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My wife tagged along the instructor on an extended non beginner ski course several years ago and they had GPS
Max downhill speed on the run to the base was 103klm/hr mostly on green runs. bit of black at top then blue. Start was an old racing downhill course.
80 is a bit fast
100 is scary
>100 is heart racing
whoooosh
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well im dissappointed that no one has mentioned the cute babies in this thread yet
in fact based on the kawaii factor we experienced i wouldnt be surprised if the real reason the crew came was for Hunter and Naomi!
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was a bit bulletproof ... looks and feels like roughly trowled and set concrete
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I swing both ways. I wear gloves with a rubbery sticky geographic pattern on the fingers and palms that grips well and handles tasks with fine work well inside a mit. I can adjust how hot my hands are with a second layer if i need. Besides. mitts are just cooler. all those snowboarders couldnt possibly be wrong
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guys ive travelled a bit over the years. this wasnt about overweight. it was about brisbane baggage handlers being a PITA about fineprint for large bags and what defines sporting equipment.
between us pooling our allowance as youre allowed to do as a couple we were within the limits (qantas club 32kg each) and the actual bag was < the individual piece limit - iirc our backpacks were about 15 each
it was qantas to japan in 2005
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We got bit last trip with our double ski bag. We stuffed all our ski gear and 2 sets of skis into the double bag. It was <32kg meaning they should be able to "handle" it . They pulled the fineprint "its only allowed to have skis in it" card apparently applying to long bits of baggage. Bear in mind that overall for the 2 of us our total allowance was within the allocated amounts, its just that it was distributed mostly in our shared double ski bag.
I was so p**Ssed at the counter..."im sorry sir you will have to remove everything else from the bag"...."well where are we going to put it exactly...we are within the weight allowances, our backpacks are pretty full etc and we are at the checkin counter so its a bit late to give us grief about this now, piece count is within limits and no item is >32kg"
There was no compromise. We decided to repack the backpacks to the max and empty the ski bag and clog the counter as much as possible. Despite clarifying all the fineprint as much as possible before travelling it still didnt help us on the day.
Now -> no more double ski bag packed to the max with soft stuff.
Actually having lugged a double set around a bit, its too much for the subway anyway
No matter what I do, my ski gear often seems to take up about 15kg alone!
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Thursday you're a bit of a funny guy then arent ya..
Can I please be enlightened about the 2W ones. Ive used cheapy dick smith ones and they are not so good.
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Woohoo, we arrive in Hakuba that day! Can we be in (5 of us).
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They are available easy there eg the food place at the bottom of the hirafu gondola
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amen to the neopreneQuote:Originally posted by Fattwins:
ok things to pack in your pockets for riding my advice.
always have 100 yen stretchy gloves in your pocket. they can increase your glove heat and soak up moisture. HAve another pair of thicker liners as well. face mask neopreane never leave home without it. that will save you on a cold day. -
Wow I havent checked this thread for a while and just want to thank everyone for their efforts, particularly Me Jane!
As I look more into Hakuba the more I realise wireless/wired for guests internet is taking off there. We are looking at this where we stay as a prerequisite (I do the IT for my business and it can be "down", and while there may be some support, the buck stops with me -Im running a 2k3 server, backup linux server, asterisk phone/VOIP server, 2 websites, and I program a little. Just now Ive set up a 54G wireless link between 2 sites using wireless bridge).
Air-H may be a great emergency backup. Bmobile still sounds like it might do the job, VNC is able to work over dialup.
I still havent written Bmobile off either, and the speeds theorectically seemed enough to do skype and remote desktop/vnc as suggested
I've set up an instant messaging server on my network in anticipation of the trip (so I can "MSN" myself on my own private "MSN" service and more importantly my secretary - that word is so outdated thesedays - she is really my right hand person/man)
Ive also learned a bit about wireless networking. Many of the wireless networks are unsecured and open (mostly not on purpose I guess, but some are genuinely open).
In either case, for a couple of hundred dollars you can get an antenna for a wireless network card and a range booster which will well and truly pick up a wireless signal 12klms+ away (in line of site). www.freenet-antennas.com "roadwarrior" http://host219.ipowerweb.com/~freenet-/o...fb07ccba5bfeef1
FT, I think I spread my skibudget different to others, Id rather stay cheap and spend it all on lessons and skiing and skidays and go ghetto in accomodation than have 2 weeks 5*.
Thanks everyone for your help. Im happy to help if I can with any IT issues you need (though I am not "qualified" - I know my stuff from need/hobby/experience).
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laundry tick, microwave tick, common living space tick, broadband tick, easier access than the Bne CBD with a falling down motorway tick, flights (nearly tick), nanny (essentially tick), ffs what *more do you want*, proximity to hill (close enough), english speaking hosts (yes)....proximity to shuttle yes, proximity to stores yes...lots of powder hell yes!...
So what if its a little difficult...if its too scary we will scale back rooms, and Canada can solve your needs.
no one knows the Popeye hut at Nozawa motto...surely this is easy ..... (except keba unless noone knows)
Oh and BP you are not too far off the motto! and I consider myself outside the thronging masses for the usual resort destinations..to be honest I really didnt think too much of Niseko: tracked out by 11 and top half too crappy with vis...but any ski days a good day...
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presumably christchurch hospital is government owned and therefore free and therefore costing the NZ taxpayer a packet.
I remember blackhawks on the innsbruck autobahn for Davos..
freeness or not depends on resort and country and insurance cover....
Is the park too dangerous for the punters to have access to? Should they be restricted ? (im a nay but the q has to be asked...)
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keba... so... "responsible" thesedays....its a ski holiday ffs ... = "irresponsible" = carted off mountain in blood bucket (except for me) = stupid jumping of small cornices to one up each other = trying to beat GPS speed record = *actually going somewhere where maybe we dont know if they have Heinz baby food* in advance....
= ski patrol going "avalanche risk" ..."be careful"... (yes they did this)
= under orange ropes
= food that could be horse
= striptease outside Seikomart (perhaps not..again ...let me say clearly it wasnt me up front)
oh and NO IM NOT GOING TO NISEKO! (unless they excise the Aussies and make the mountain better)
remember Warren:
"quit your job and move to a ski resort"
you think Im kidding but I swear to God I will do this before i die. Tj has re-inspired me..
The nanny can have her own room
and the beautiful thing is she can stock it with 2 8 month old kids leaving the parents (ie us) to fully reap the love hotel rewards!Of course if I get to choose the right nanny perhaps we could share
As for love hotels... they look really cool! (baby will never know and what a 21st photo!)
So....thread change --> recommend me a love hotel..something themed and moderately out there...(i like sci fi and or latex) ... I need to surprise my wife...something "interesting"...come on...if you all must go the "I have a friend who went to..." then thats fine, bring on the love hotel thread!
remember Popeye Hut at Nozawa?
Prize for someone who knows the motto! (except Keba)
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thanks for the heads up on chiba. no seat for 4 hrs and 2 babies is not a good thing... unfortunately we cannot get there weekdays so I guess the Azusa 3 is out.
do you think one of those luv hotels would let us in with an 8 month old??
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102... thats ridiculous:
go go multicultural -how about overall resorts not just Japan! go go the lazy reminisce over lunch...
Val d'isere, meribel/courcheval/valthorens, cinque torre (i think), corvara, colfosco, selva, armetarola, pedraces (italian alps get the numbers up), arraba, treble cone, perisher, thredbo, blue cow, guthega, niseko inc la ponte, rusutsu, nozawa onsen, park city, snowmass, jackson hole, red mnt, whistler, fernie, big white, zell am see, kaprun
doesnt seem so many in a paragraph..
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Thanks! Especially the links to the takkyubin opening hrs in english!
The alpico page I have found and thats how I figured out the time from Nagano to Hakuba. I think we used them last time to get to Noz.
The super azusa run has a single change option at matsumoto. I guess we will just have to cope with one train change. Bbay Bjorn will help. We have been donkeys before..
http://www.jorudan.co.jp/english/norikae/
tells me that there is an azusa #3 train with no change at 730am all the way to Hakuba (no matsumoto change).
But I dont find this on http://grace.hyperdia.com/cgi-english/hyperWeb.cgi
Its a saturday? Perhaps the morning direct run doesnt go on a saturday?
And JTB has an office down the road from us to give us an exchange voucher for the JReast passes
Japanese tourists are quite a prominant local feature on the Gold Coast In fact the best currency exchange rates are the local mob (way better than the banks! and they always have plenty of Yen) Kings on Elkhorn ave iircOne of the other threads has timetable links but the JR east site doesnt seem too.
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Thanks. Sounds too risky- i would think unlikely. Ive tried phoning Japan at various times and if the person doesnt speak engris its a very short conversation
"learn to speak Japanese in the car" only goes so far. its a short trip. last time we were there no one at the counter had any english- we had japanese address. we managed. they were very helpful as has everyone we have met there. -
Thanks. Walking 10-15 with gear and baby is a no go - 2 sets skis, full gear, plus baby/bits hoofing it will give me a heart attack . So the bus is out.
Dizzy I see we joined SJ about the same time. You will be interested to know I have in fact found the search button and spent many hours on these forums care of said button. There are a great many hits on Hakuba and I missed the bus/train one. Sorry, my bad. Im lucky everyone here is friendly and we all love skiing.
Everyone has a first trip to somewhere sometime and Im a detail man. Often I do the organising for my friends. Not all you see is current regarding Japan links for skiing, and the english info I can get can sometimes be misleading/badly translated. I trust you guys here way more than google or other english sites about hakuba.
Thanks FT I didnt know the super azusa is an option practically speaking - weve only Asama'd before. We talked and baby on bus for 5 hrs might be ugly. Baby on train is ok. Baby on train with fewer train changes is even better. I think the super azusa seems about an hour longer than the shinkansen to Nagano and a bus. No bus/change and an extra hour on a non ski day is okay by us.
Jr east flexible pass also means that god forbid should I have to bail for business reasons its an easy thing. Kids on laps <1 are free i believe.
We at least 2 of us would be keen for Evergreen assistance/lessons/guiding when we are there. We have not done avie stuff but do like trees and advanced terrain. The more fogged/snowy the better is our motto ; ) Those sunglasses days are for the locals.
Jr east past appears to cover the narita express to Shinjuku which is a welcome bonus. We will overnight somewhere near shinjuku i guess or overnight at Narita and do the big leg the next day.
We will get in at around 8pm Friday Narita i think and we want to be at Hakuba on the saturday. I think we ski Sunday. Do you think Takkyubin ?sp from Narita will get our gear there for the Sunday am? or should we carry it? Love that black cat, wish he would come to aus somehow I dont think the staff would be as committed )!
Oh and will they be open at Narita at 9pm at night??
tia
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Hi all. Can I please check a few things for our Japan expedition to Hakuba.
Is this current?
http://www.inhakuba.com/access/info-train-tokyo-nagano.php
There seem to be lots of options to get to Hakuba.
Thirdly should we just take the bus from Shinjuku station and be done with it ? ~11000Y with a lift ticket.
Finally, ski-in ski-out at Happone is possible/convenient? and what is Echoland?
Soooo looking forward to this trip....I missed this year skiing!
And its time for new boots too...Xwave9's here i come...Tia
jd
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A friend had these little motorised fans that clipped on to the top to exhaust the heat to reduce fog. it sounds geeky but they were inconspicous and they were pleased with them
Niseko Hilton/Higayashima
in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry
Posted
Hi All
Long time away from the forums here for me (7 years or so), but revisting Japan this year. Wondering as I now have a 6&4 year old (the six year old can ski off piste and trees and the 4 year old can ski greens and a bit of blue comfortably) whether anyone has experience with the Hilton ski school and whether they speak English.
Also a heads up on likely snow conditions at Higayashima in late March would be appreciated. I recall Higay get slushing as it faces the sun and thats getting late I think (but skiing late is better than not at all)