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Good tip, Mr Wiggles, regarding the Nozawa fire festival. Thanks for that. We would prefer to go to Hakuba, but will consider making the trip to Nozawa for the festival. The question will be whether it might be a bit of a hassle with kids, who will be aged between 3 and 10. Has anyone done the trip - to Noz and back in the one day/night - with kids before? Would you recommend it?

A group of us is thinking of coming to Hakuba for 7 to 10 days next January (in 2009). We could start this visit any time from the 10th to the 15th, so the range of potential dates would be the 10th to the 25th. I've done a general google search and found that there is a national holiday for Japanese residents on the second Monday of January (for seijin no hi). This would therefore be on 12 jan 2009, which is within our potential travel dates. My google search also revealed that the Chinese new year is 26-28 Jan 2009, which is after our potential travel dates. Are there a

1. Whistler/Blackcomb 2. Val d'isere/Tignes 3. Niseko (only placed I've skied in Japan so far)

Grande Motte Glacier in Tignes, France - elevation 3500m

The cat takes you to the top of what was the highest lift, when Weiss used to operate as a resort. From there you can hike up higher and access terrain off both sides back towards the base of the mountain. Just be careful you don't go too far either side, unless you are prepared to hike back into the resort. Start close to the lifts and go a bit further each time as you work out 'the point of no return'. Not sure about off the back of Weiss. It's flatter than Moiwa, but probably about the same size. Weiss is definitely a good place to escape the crowds and is certain

Went there for a day from Hirafu this February for something different during the warm spell (temp was + 7C that day). Our lodge ran us over there. Not sure whether they do 'pick-ups'. Was like spring skiing. Hard at first, then nice then really slushing. Slope aspect was therefore critical. Slopes are even flatter than Niseko and area is pretty small. Probably wouldn't go back. But had fun and I imagine it would be good after a dump as you'd have the whole place pretty much to yourself. Would probably only suggest if you are going to Hirafu for 10 days or more, but on

What are you going to do - for a job - when you get back to Canada and where do you plan to live?

Bump. Toque, I assume you're back now. What are your thoughts?

Will do. Thanks

Thanks Fattwins. Toque, what are your thoughts?

I'm also interested in the views from anyone else who has been to both Hakuba and Canada

Having gone to Niseko the last two seasons, I'm looking for something more challenging. Having read lot's of Niseko versus Hakuba threads, Hakuba sounds like it has the goods. However, ignoring culture, food etc how does Hakuba rate when compared to the resorts in your home country? In other words, if I'm after steep terrain, accessable backcountry options and reliable snow with good quality powder, would I be better off going to resorts like Kicking Horse or Red Mountain. P.S I live in Australia, so have to travel a long distance anyway (albeit I appreciate that Japan is c

Thanks for all your suggestions.

Can anyone recommend any good books that cover a wide range of resorts (and areas) for skiing in Japan?

Thanks everyone for all your suggestions.

Sunrise: We fly into Narita. We've booked the Sydney/Tokyo legs already using frequent flyer points. I didn't have enough points to book the Tokyo/Sapporo legs and will be buying a separate internal JAL ticket departing at around 10.00am on Sunday morning. At this stage, we don't know which airport that flight will leave from. Like I said, we've thought about the 'all-nighter' but aren't too keen because we'll probably be pretty tired already - after the overnight flight into Tokyo from Sydney the night before. Plus we'd like to ski on the Monday (maybe even night ski on the Sunday night

Thanks for your suggestions 'me jane'. We have thought about doing the 'all-nighter' and not bothering with a hotel. Nightclubs aren't essential, just somewhere with a good atmosphere later in the evening. It's also important that we find somewhere that's showing the winter olymics on TV. By my rough calculations, it looks like the Mens Super G race is going to be on that evening (Japan time).

We haven't booked our accomadation yet. But we arrive at Narita (I think) at 6.00am and don't fly out until 10.00am the next day. So we are not limited to staying near the airport. While names of actual bars and restaraunts are appreciated (thanks boardbaka), we are mainly looking for suggested areas where we could have a meal in one place and then maybe go to a couple of nearby bars (including nightclubs).

I should have also mentioned that we are not a bunch of yobo's, so don't hold back. While we like to have fun, we are not a bunch of Ozzies that like to get 'ugly' and make fools of ourselves.

Myself and a couple of mates will be spending a night in Tokyo in February next year en route to Niseko. Where should we go? As none of us have been to Tokyo before, does anyone have any suggestions on where we should go for a couple of beers and some dinner?

Thanks Sava. Hope you all enjoy it.

Sava: I think it's downloading through Azureus as we speak. Are you able to confirm?

Sava: How did compressing the file to 140mgs turn out. Is the quality OK?

No worries. Thanks for the update.

Sava: Is the movie available for viewing now?