soubriquet

6pm. Cool. I finish work at 4. That gives me enough time to have a shower, change my undies and get stuck into the beers. This is going to be fun. The earthquakes (2) were both 5- here. I knew from the 1st motion they were coming from Miyagi. The worst part was knowing there and then that things were going to be very very bad for a lot of people. The house is built to M8 standard, so no worries there. Everything was leaping around and some stuff fell off shelves, but for us it was trivial. The power went off for 2 days, and water for three. I filled the bath immediately after the qua

Hello everyone. Perhaps a time to mend fences. We had no signficant damage, but being thrown off the ground caught my attention. Business suffered, down to 30% of normal. Things are normal-ish here. Gummint intervention has helped with cash flow problems. Mighty Norwich now in the Premiere League. Watch out ManU, Chelski and the Arse. The Fearsome Canaries are going to get you.

Golly gosh! Five emails from SnowJapan wishing me happy 59th birthday. I see some catastrophists have predicted May 21st as the End of the World. Cool. Mr T (he shares my birthdate) and I have ordered beers and popcorn. We are going to sit back and watch the action. I'll report back on Sunday morning. Moving on. Hello everyone. We are doing OK here, recovering from significant disruption.

Originally Posted By: muikabochi OK so I really need to change my snow tyres this year. But I know very little about them. Actually not really anything, tyres don't particularly interest me. Anyone really into this and perhaps explain or recommend any? Or is it just a case of they are pretty much all the same just different brands and a bit of a difference in price? I went to my local trusted garage yesterday and they gave me a quote on the set. Don't know whether to get into it or just go "yep that sounds good get it done". There's plenty of tosh about tyres. Any reputable b

Smartarse GG You haven't been to yurrop recently. Hoodies, litter, graffiti, dog shit everywhere. I don't live in the city. Here in hicksville country, dog owners walk their dogs and clear up the shit. You're avoiding the issue. Heavy smoking Japanese population outlive non-smoking western wowsers. Clearly, you are right, and adopting your standards will reduce Japanese life expentency.

Thanks muikabochi The second best ski-jo in Tohoku is Onokobe. Bar none.

Well played Go Native. If you don't like smoking, don't come. If you are here and don't like smoking, go home. Enjoy your smoked food on your smoking barbecue and heat your house with a smoking wood fire. The carcinogens (tar) are the same, but lack the buzz of nicotine. If you come here and choose to complain about smoking, don't forget to leave behind from your advanced western countries: youth crime, vandalism, car theft, mugging, graffiti, dog shit, junkies.

Appi is big (for Tohoku) and a well organised resort. It is also one of the dullest mountains I've ever skied. If the snow is right it would be epic, but I've only been there late season. Zao is smaller, disorganised, problematic and a real challenge. Appi is an excellent resort for beginners/intermediates wanting to clock lots of miles. Zao is a mountain.

Quote: Can someone tell me what the water is like in Japan? It's important you see, for my hair. I know exactly what you mean. Japan knows nothing about water. I only use super-expensive imported French water on my very sensitive skin and hair. I would give you the name, but that would be advertising. Suffice to say, it goes "burbly burbly poop" on my skin, and the burbles are exactly the right size and shape.

Been away. Back now. Nice here.

Something I've never seen mentioned. If you pick the right hotel, then Zao is ski-in ski-out.

Thanks.

No problemo.

Originally Posted By: stemik How many white faces do you get up there? Is it still spot the whitey up there? How about oriental overseas tourists? Caucasians are about, but not in numbers. Less than 5% by a margin, I'd guess. It's a popular destination with Koreans because they can get from Seoul to Sendai in 2 hours, and it's only about 60km on the expressway to Zao. There are also some direct flights to China. Southern Asia is very poorly served. Anyone like to see some of my Zao photos?

Originally Posted By: Black Mountain Sorry, kind of a vague question. Was just wondering what the terrain is like. I've heard that the scenery is beautiful but the mountain is not very challenging. Is it true? It is an interesting mountain. The main challenge is navigation rather than terrain. Zao is my favourite ski jo in Tohoku, but I haven't skied in Fukushima or Aomori, so it is not a true comparison. The terrain is no more or no less challenging than anywhere else up here. Without practice you can't relate the piste map to the gelende, so you'll be doing some walking. No hard

I should have qualified that with an IHMO. Excellent decision. We've had no significant snow for a week. Onikobe is smaller than Appi, but if the top lifts are open (not windy) the terrain is much more interesting. Snow condition is good here, but nothing fresh. Today was fine and still.

It's called having a 12 year old crying over the phone because his mother won't allow him to come to Japan. SJ1 politely asked me to desist, so I did. No1 son is now back in Perth after 3 weeks chillin in Oishida. We had a fantastic day in Zao, an eye opener for him. By far the best ski jo in Tohoku (of those I've experienced). By-passing Onikobe for Appi is a mistake. Torihada summed Appi up. Great when its going off, but the mountain is dullsville.

I want my boys to come. My boys want to come.

Cheers BoC. FT is on my ignore-list, so no problems there. Tim wants to come despite all. I can't ignore Dan. Bringing Dan in has brought in the full-might of (The Worlds Greatest Intellectuals) medical system. It seems that No2 son is incapable of getting on or off an airoplane. I'm going to have to strike Dan off the winter list. I can do this with a heavy heart and a clear head because this is a Wimmin thing. :finger:

Sorry SJF. Not trying to be difficult. I just want my boys to be able to travel. The simple things (they want to come here, I want them to come here) can be made hard.

My attitude to my boys is they are both great and they can fly My ex-wife's attiutude is No1 has ADF (She fills him with speed), and No2 is autistic. I want them to come here this winter. They want to come here this winter. Getting on and off a plane is simple. Except when there is a Wimmin with an Agenda. Tim will be 16 in April. That would have given him a rifle and a pair of boots for Gallipoli. The wimmin are being precious here.

Don't forget SJF to add there are two following posts deleted. For some reason it is fine for wimmin to take boys from men. For some reason it is exceptional for a father and sons to want to spend time together.

I missed my boys last season because I refused to fly twice return to Oz to pick them up and deliver them. Now at 15 and 12, She Who Insists on Being Obeyed and The Highly Qualified Quack Dr Helan Freerson of the Child clinic Department of Health in WA insist that children can't travel. My boys won't be coming here this year because wimmen use the law to prevent My Boys and Me to do what we wish.

Aston Vanilla! When was the last time anything memorable came from Brummigen. I thought not.