nippontiger

I wonder if this is the mountain I could see from Hakuba - it looked like it had smoke coming from the top. I asked some Japanese guys I was with a few years ago if it was a volcano, but they didnt think so...

Ive been holding out for a snowy weekend to do a daytrip, but Ive given up waiting - got the ticket for Kagura tomorrow even though theres not a snowcloud in sight. I could be waiting for the powder all season the way things are going.... Im hoping that with such a bad start to the season, it will finish on a high.

It only lasted an hour - didnt stick unfortunately - I should have got a photo - preferably with a phone box somewhere! ..oh, and some cheese!

Thats right folks! Its really coming down here right now - big flakes! I was thinking of heading up to Kagura tomorrow, but it looks like its doing nothing there - just a shame we dont have any mountains to ski down here!

Clubs are open till about 5 or 6. There are a few all night bars around, but they're a bit hard to find - its not like the UK where you can just turn up to an area, walk around and find lots of lively bars and stuff. The only place like that is Roppongi, but I wouldnt reccommend there. Womb is probably going to be your best bet for Techno - check the listings - its pretty much always good in there whatever the music - even the DnB has a "techy" feel. Ruby room isnt far from Womb, but depending on the night, there might be a cover charge. There are also lots of "izakaya" style japanese bars, k

I think she meant as ID for getting in clubs - a driving license should be OK as long as it has photo and date of birth - I havent tried this though, so if anybody has opinions otherwise. As MikePow said though, for driving, you need to get the international driving permit from the post office. Club wise - the big ones are Womb and Ageha; a bit smaller Air, Unit. Ageha is cheesy rnb/hip hop on fridays - not my cup of tea. Womb is pretty much always good - more techno/tech house/breaks sometimes DnB. Often packed, quite a lot of foreigners, fancy lights. Air tends to house/techno, not so ma

120...

121...

I meant Summer 2007!

Yappy - I hope you've already changed your money - the pound is currently buying a mere 126 yen!!! Everything in Japan is now exactly DOUBLE the price it was last summer for people from coming from the UK!!

Yes, you can be 95 and look it, you will still need photo ID with date of birth to enter!

No photo ID = no entry to any of the main tokyo clubs. In Japan, if there is a rule like this, there is no bending it, talking them around, nothing. It is absolutely impossible to enter (unless you forced your way in!) - even if you know the people working there. A photocopy will not do (some Japanese friends of mine were refesed with a photocopy of their passport). If you dont have a driving license it would seem to me that you will have to either take your passport, or dont go clubbing!

I dont think Tokyo clubs have dress codes - the doorstaff seem more concerned about people making a noise outside of the clubs. The only time Ive ever seen anybody refused entry to a Tokyo club was because either they didnt have photo id or they were too drunk and being cheeky to the doorstaff.

Nice! Can you also get a cheap ticket to Nagano, or is it just the Niigata area? Also, for people doing just a one day trip, dont forget you can buy an even cheaper ticket which includes your lift ticket. You need to get them from the View travel agent in main JR stations, at least the day before you go. Its in the Higaeri (日帰り） brochure. Costs about 11000 for the shinkansen to Yuzawa plus lift ticket.

I went to Kagura on the same holiday weekend last year - Kagura is a pretty popular resort, but there was hardly anybody there - despite having a good dump of fresh powder - I just thought that this particular holiday weekend wasnt very busy in Japan cos it was straight after the New year holidays.....

I use the -2 to -8C stuff - thats about the usual temperature range on the mountains during the day in Japan. I used Swix LF last year and Gallium LF this. The Gallium stuff feels harder/more glassy than the Swix, although they're the same temp range. Other than that I cant tell any difference.

I thought the nighta at Niseko was great! They've got most of the main course open to near the top, including the "Rinkan" course, which for me was a lot of fun. You can actually see what you're riding on better with the floodlights than you can during the day. I havent done it anywhere else - mainly cos there only seems to be small runs at the bottom open, and also its usually an extra 2000 yen - not worth it imo.

Tsukuba - no. But there was a few centimetres at the top of Tsukuba-San when I went up there on Tuesday.

Just checking the Hakuba webcam and radar pictures- looks like its been dumping there all day and night. Looking forward to the reports on this latest snowfall, cos Im heading out there in a few days...!

According to my desktop weather widget thingy, its gonna be 20 degrees here in Tsukuba on Monday. In England, thats shorts and t-shirts weather!!!!

Snow-Forecast got things turning colder from Monday 22nd. AccuWeather say the same, and that it will continue to be cold up until at least new year, with some snow. Wouldnt take too much notice of predictions of details over that time-scale, but you might be able to get a general idea.

I sent my money - got 140 in the end. Gone back up a bit but dropped again today - back at 135 (you'll get about 139-140 for cash transfer).

If you go to the Kagura/Mitsumata/Tashiro area, I'd reccommend getting off the bus at the Tashiro end - from what Ive seen of it, its a lot flatter, and there are more beginner courses there.

I remember two years ago I went to Hakuba, I think 3 days before New Year - I got there and there was nothing in the valley and it was raining - you could ski up the top, but it was raining there too, so I spent the afternoon in an onsen. That night, the rain all turned to snow and there was a foot of fresh in the village when I woke up. By the time I left Hakuba, a couple of days later, there was over a meter in the village!

Yes, there's a dedicated smoking car on the shinkansen. Its quite a contrast to Europe though, where smoking on public transport was stopped years ago.