bettyx

am reading about two books a week - my library has a kickass collection of english books which is feeding my habit. should probably be spending my time studying japanese or something, but how can i, when i've got the entire works of raymond chandler to get through?

also - when are you coming? happo didn't get much snow until christmas last year - until then we had to take a lift to the top & back. everyone was so happy as the weather was so mild, but i was praying for snow ! not sure what it will be like this year?

hi nads, spicy rentals was really popular last year, but there's plenty of places you can rent a board - including at a lot of the hotels (like mominoki hotel's visitor centre, etc) BUT- thanks to tsondaboy i now have a spare board sitting in my living room which yr welcome to borrow, if you'd like. however, it has step-in bindings & is probably too small - see his original post below_ "Any small build lady out there that needs a board? My girlfriedn doesnt use it any more and it just takes space in my room. It is a “Ride” 138 cm 2003 model with ride step-in bindings and boots

misorano - i thought happo didn't have a season pass? can anyone advise please? i'm having major difficulties deciding myself. was thinking of going to norikura this year but after a drive up there yesterday from matsumoto, there is NO way i'm doing that drive every day over winter. it's long, windy & my little car would not appreciate the workout.

hey, does anyone know if the census can be taken in english? i asked the census representative twice if i can get an english version but he just said he didn't have one, but does that mean there isn't one at all? i checked the website www.stat.go.jp & it has english information, but i couldn't find a mention of an english version. the ad on tv has english, they've got a FAQ in english, but can i take the actual census in english? i had a look through the japanese forms and can understand a fair portion, but i have a heap of questions & am not looking forward to it d

i think escuole is the name of the actual hotel, and omoshiro was the name of the whole resort, with the nightclub, etc. they've got new people in charge down there & i know they're trying - as i said before, if you're not expecting the Ritz, go for it. How much were you wanting to spend, anyway? Do they offer a shuttle to Happo? If not, it may be a bit of a hike up the hill to the lifts. Maybe liquidx etc can help with that part?

whoa man, sorry to hear about your family but i think there's been a misunderstanding. i said i thought it's not cool what happened with his family, and that i wasn't sure about the rape allegation. i'm sorry that you feel women make better and more convincing liars. i hope in future some ladies can help show you this may not be the case.

omoshiro Hashinchi was the happenin' place about ten years ago, when there was a mos burger, baskin robbins, etc. now it's very cheap & quite rundown - i heard a guest remark, 'this isn't a one-star hotel, this is a no-star hotel!' but the price is right, so if yr not intending to spend too long in yr room, go for it. & don't go by the photos, i heard they haven't been updated in some time. & no, i wasn't at tracks. i've actually never been there, but maybe this season?

i had a half-canadian nine-year-old boy in my elementary class today, he was so crazy & spoke the best english i've heard from a 'half' kid. everything was really slow & drawn out, & he totally spoke like a canadian dude, complete with the sterotypical 'eh' at the end of his sentences, & he had a really laidback stance & was just very unlike his japanese classmates. his name was astra, which i thought was kinda weird. it wasn't until half-way through the class that i realized he was a she. obviously all her english was learnt from her canadian dad, and this r

yes, not sure about that harrassment/rape. but his family life has been widely reported in western media, too, right? i can't remember where i read about it. i did some research into him for a uni assignment once, waaay back.

you know i was driving in my car today, about 8am, surprisingly lots of traffic for these parts, & suddenly the penny dropped. man, i haven't spoken english for so long, i swear i've lost my sense of humour. my apologies. (scouser, yr signature has never been more true, i swear) i was at a hotel, and in a bar, up in the wadano forest.

i worked new year's at a pub in hakuba, it wasn't nearly as big as some of the other nights during the season - it seemed like everyone came together because there was nowhere else to go.. i recall mtv japan being on in the background on a big screen & someone how the whole countdown being overlooked - i guess they celebrate differently here.. but it was a late night, just most people were holding out for the powder the next day. if you want a huge party/fireworks/whatever, maybe go to tokyo. but if you want a nice night of drinks, late-nite onsen & fresh powder, well, go to

sorry, i misread the post.

http://www.pbsfm.org.au/Documents.asp?ID=71&Title=Webcast+%26+Webcams or rrr.org.au both melbourne stations, nice to hear an aussie voice after a long day at work. they both play some really interesting shows, & generally if one is no good the other will have something worth listening to.nowadays, jjj isn't worth wasting yr internet bandwith on.

yes, as he said.

nobody in my primary school knew about his family life. when i mentioned i thought he was cute in an irish setter/richard gere kinda way, but i didn't like the way he treated his family, everyone was shocked. (not about the cute bit but that i knew about his private life). any man who divorces his pregnant wife, takes their two kids & leaves her with the baby in utero is not cool. especially when he refuses to see that child, nor let the other two kids see their mum. & don't even get me started on the rape allegations... but he is suave in his cool biz shirts, i'll give

i was at happo one, in hakuba. i never thought i'd fall in love with a tiny town, but it was great! i've heard niseko & hokkaido have way more foreigners, particularly aussies, is this true? there was about 6 of us working in hakuba hotels, with another 4 or more doing office work/more permanent positions.

there was a demonstration at panorama on happo over spring, everyone could try one for free which was nice. however, being an uncoordinated first-timer (even with exp on skis, blades & snowboarding), i was laughing away with my friends as we flew down the slope, suddenly i hit a bump & somehow smacked my open mouth on the handlebar. seriously. chipped my front tooth, all the japanese dentists said they couldn't do anything, but cost me $300 to fix it when i got back to oz. yes, snow skooters are lots of fun until you chip a tooth.

dave is canadian, not aussie. i worked in a ski resort from december last season and somehow stayed on til golden week. my japanese improved a heap & i made lots of friends, both staff & guests. it was a great experience which i'd recommend to anyone. plus i learnt how to snowboard, which was definitely the highlight of the trip!

catch a bus from nagano to hakuba. it costs about 1400 yen.