skidaisuki

Let's hope you don't see the bike again until May

Hi Samboco, The transfer from Chitose (Sapporo) Airport to Niseko (Hirafu) is a piece of cake. Just get a bus from outside the arrivals area. Not sure about the cost because I've always done it as part of a package, but it shouldn't be more than a few thousand yen. The journey takes about 2 hours, including a 10-minute food / beer / bathroom break at a service area en route. As for the comment about accommodation prices - I'd say it's a combination of exchange rate and the fact that a lot of the new places in Hirafu are luxury level and the operators want a premium. If you are pr

Looks like it's puking down from the webcams....Mike?

Citibank, Post Office ATMs (they are everywhere) and 7-11s. In all honesty, you're never far from cash in Tokyo, even with an overseas cash card. The reason it seems like there aren't many is because to the untrained eye it's sometimes a challenge to find them. My suggestion is to bring loads of cash in the first place as you are FAR less likely to get robbed in Japan than anywhere else. In Tokyo, my favourite areas for going out are Shinjuku, Ginza, Aoyama-Harajuku, Ebisu (especially good for restaurants) and Kagurazaka. For shopping, obviously Jimbocho (ski & outdoor shops)

My personal advice would be - don't come unless you have a decent reserve of money to keep you going while you find that dream dish-washing job. Preferably get a job fixed before you leave Australia. If you can wing it, well and good, but always have a plan B (and plan C) and remember this is a foreign country where (I assume) you can't speak the language.

Wow - "let's Hakuba joyful dumpage"

snowboarder101 - it's a very friendly place and from my experience, there's always a mixed and welcoming crowd staying there. A lot of resident and visiting gaijin, and some Japanese as well. Escal Plaza, which is the main lift base for Goryu, is about 10 minutes walk up the road from Hakuba Alps Backpackers. It is walkable, but if you want to conserve your energy for the slopes, you can either catch a passing resort bus (they are free) or possibly get a lift up from the owners. Goryu connects to Hakuba 47 close to the top of the lifts - 47 has a park and is quite boarder-oriented.

Hmmm... webcams are a rather depressing sight at the moment, even the peak's bare of snow again. Let's hope this is the last day of the year that we see it uncovered. None of the forecasts are saying anything but snow for Hokkaido from tomorrow onwards - let's nope they're right.

You guys are quite right. When I oiginally posted the review, I sent them a picture of the Recons, which was up for a while. Not sure why they've replaced it with the Public Enemy pic... OkemoLoon - agreed on the powder performance, they are no substitute for proper fat powder skis. That said, more work on my diet is a good idea as well... Anyway, I am still happy with the skis' performance, but I have some doubts about their durability. Currently, they're being repaired because the tail of one ski started de-laminating at the end of last season. I can't in all honesty say that

The charts and forecasts are looking good for much lower temps and the start of some steady snowfalls this week. Let's hope this kicks everything off. SdS

I often make most of a day of it, start in Jimbocho and then walk on down the road to Akihabara - it's only about 10 minutes. Being student / otaku-type areas there are plenty of choices for cheap food around there as well. Bic may in due course trump it, but Yodabashi Camera, "Akiba", on the East side of the station is the new King of the electronic stores in Akihabara. I don't know, but I'd guess that it must be one of the biggest electronics shops in the world, if not THE biggest. They've got EVERYTHING there.

Take the shinkansen from Tokyo station to Echigo Yuzawa and if you can find accomodation, ski at either Naeba or Kagura. That's what I'd do for the sake of convenience. If you can't book a big hotel then try some of the smaller ryokans in Yuzawa or the Naeba area. Don't drive - you are on holiday, and it's not worth the hassle.

If you want steep, Hakuba, in the North Alps in Nagano Prefecture, is going to suit you a lot better than Hokkaido. Majestic peaks up to 3,000 metres would best describe it. I suggest you do some web searching, call some of the self-catering lodges or backpackers places and try and negotiate a discounted rate for a longer-term stay. They will often do this. Hakuba's a nice community and there are a lot of hardcore backcountry skiiers up there, so I think you would find it a good place to spend some time.

phin, I live in Tokyo and I have never skiied in November. That doesn't mean it isn't possible, just that it usually isn't worthwhile. If there's a big dump of snow between now and 22 November then Kagura is the place most likely to be worth it - and obviously SJ is the place to check as it has the daily reports and you can ask specific questions of the various Yuzawa / Naeba locals here - remember, the resorts sometimes tell fibs about the conditions in order to get business. Kagura and its connected resorts are a good place for day trips or for a short weekend stay and the shinkanse

Unless they've put the mid season price up, even after the discount period is over, the "standard" price for a one day return shinkansen trip to Echigo Yuzawa, with Kagura resorts lift pass included, is still less than JPY 12,000, making it a bargain for those of us who want to get a full day's skiing / boarding but cannot afford to be out of Tokyo both days of every weekend during the season. You just have to drag yourself up early and if you can't get a seat, you get to stand in the unreserved. As we found out last season, if you reserve seats when you buy the tickets, you are supposed

Argh! a video full of snowboarding

Whitegold, the fastest shinkansens from Tokyo Station to Echigo Yuzawa station (nearest to Kagura) take about 75 minutes, the slower ones are more like 90, either way not too long. From Echigo Yuzawa you either wait for a bus or catch a taxi to Mitsumata Ropeway station (the main starting point for most vistors to Mitsumata / Kagura / Tashiro resorts, which all link together), which takes about 20 minutes / 4,500 yen (so worth sharing a taxi). If you are going up for 2-3 nights you could stay at Yuzawa town, close to Mitsumata Ropeway, or in Naeba which is further on up the road. All of

So Scouser, who exactly do you support?? Only kidding...we are going great guns, aren't we? I was delighted to see Man U beaten at the Emirates - and deservedly so from what I can see. Time for Chelsea to trip up, though. I'll settle for the EPL and CL this year....

Is it disrespectful to ignore the haka? I don't think so - I actually find how the kiwis' opposition responds to it to be half the fun. If they basically prefer to spend the time in a huddle discussing tactics or demonstrating their own show of unity, then so be it. After all, in the original meaning, how much respect should you show to someone who's about to try to kill you in as violent a way as possible ?

Rick Astley and cheese mentioned in the same thread....surely not a first?

I know - and me complaining about 10 deg C is pretty soft, thinking about it. The lack of daylight in December is another reason why skiiable snow lasting well into the much longer days of April is a good thing. More value for money, as it were. I hope to get first turns in (probably at Kagura) early in December. Presumably you'll be there from day one?

Hate to state the obvious muika, but surely it'd be a bit worrying if that wasn't happening in mid-November?? Even in Tokyo we were pretty wrapped up this weekend. It has been properly chilly for the first time and I was missing my coat walking in to the office this morning - the thermo said about 10 deg C at 9:30 am. Ice cream headaches, I tell you

Yappy, Yep - I remember as being a friendly if rather old-style hotel when we stayed there 3 years ago. It is very well located for Ichinose ski area - you can ski back to the back of the hotel from one side of the valley, but to catch lifts going out it's about a 5 minute walk. Villa Ichinose has a rather sparsely-stocked convenience store and a nice cafe/bar (The Backbowl Cafe) on the ground floor - run by local telemarkers - which is pretty much the only night life around there, and I seem to remember that the food that the Hotel itself provided was quite edible. All in all,

muikabochi - I know you live up there and have a lot of knowledge of the area, so I'll accept your points. My view of Gala must have been biased by the specific times I went there, which were several years ago. Obviously I haven't been back because I was put off by poor snow and crowds of (largely) inexperienced boarders and skiiers. Anyway, I still think Kagura's the best call for your neck of the woods. SdS

Couldn't you guess Tubby's a Scotsman from his signature??? As he says, Hakuba and Shiga Kogen are entirely different kinds of places. SK is beautiful, like a highland wilderness with low temps and excellent snow (especially in mid-season) and though I've never spent more than 2 nights there consecutively, I suspect that the terrain would get boring after more than 3-4 days, and you'll have to take your own apres ski because there isn't a lot to do up there of an evening. Hakuba is actually much more vertical, a proper ski town in a valley surrounded by mountains (up to 3,000 metr