Ausbc

haha fair enough. Sorry that little quip before was a bit harsh, the people on this message board are really cool and helpful and undoubtedly still in their prime! Yes it is a subjective thing Bushpig...I think generally, from what i've seen from my experience skating here in west oz, a majority of people can still skate pretty well after a few beers (I myself fall under this category....but i'm really not that good to be honest - drunk or sobre!).

No offence to the respondents here, but are you people here all over 40 retirees? Anyone who skates knows that a few beers enhances your skills. I'd be interested to find out about this bar in Kutchan too Southern, cos I leave for Niseko tonight and I will be hitting it for sure! It's easy to chuck your skateboard in with your snowboard (as it's comparatively small), in fact i'm going to go do that now! Thanks for reminding me dude. If you want to hit it up together bro i'll be staying at Lodge Bam Boo in Hirafu for the next month. Come see me, my names Jeremy (Jezza), just ask around.

Yeh I think that i'll be able to find a decent exchange rate at Tokyo Narita airport. I was looking at the website, apparently they have several banks and currency changers there so i'll just look around and find the best rate I suppose. Went to the Travelex company website and they have a decent online rate (85.22 Yen/ $1) if i'm not mistaken. Better than my commonwealth bank quote today of about 84 yen/ $1. Anyway i'm not worried, just excited.... Happy Australia Day! (Bushpig, I am in Cottesloe)

Cheers guys, I appreciate the help. Yes I think I was a bit naive before expecting the 86.2 Yen / $1 exchange rate...obviously this is a top rate ...however having travelled extensively, i've noticed that ATMs always give the best exchange rate available. I think the best option for me is to get it changed either at Tokyo airport (stopping there briefly) or before I leave on Friday. If you do the maths, the 2 yen difference in exchange rate only equates to 10,000 yen overall...about $110 AU. That's nothing worth crying about in my opinion if it's going to make life a whole lot easi

In Australia, white out is used to correct hand writing errors.

You guys on this forum seem to be the only one that can answer any questions I have about my upcoming trip to Japan (which is really awesome), so let's see how you go with this one: I have $5000 AU cash that I need to change to Japanese yen. The current yahoo buy rate is ~86 Yen per $1 AU. I was just at the bank where they told me their current rate is ~84 Yen / $1. Clearly, this is considerably lower and there must be some way for me to get the top exchange rate. I don't necessarily have to change the money before I leave (on Friday the 27th), however I am going directly from Chito

Thanks for all the advice poeple, appreciated. Still, I have no iron or no scraper. But I don't have much to do today so i'm going to focus my attention on: - Finding an old iron from a charity donation store. - Improvising a scraper from something around the house. - Getting this bloody board waxed! If all else fails, I'll ask around at the lodge i'm staying at when I get in on Saturday night (27th Jan)....otherwise, if anyone in Niseko Hirafu wants to lend me their iron, then you're a legend.

Pipes are very very popular in Canada....but so are joints and bongs.

My board is in desperate need of a wax and I hop on the plane in Just 3 days. I have a small little hob of wax (the size of a credit card and half an inch thick) but no iron or scraper. I could buy a cheap iron tomorrow, but if I use my mum's iron will it be ruined? Any ideas of how I could improvise for a scraper? Is it really necessary to brush to get it really fine? I've never really bothered with that... I only waxed 3 times last year in 3 months riding, and yes, I was the slowest boarder on the cat-tracks But riding powder, do you think having a fast/well waxed boa

Whistler's a sick resort anyway, the snow was average last season but I still had a great time hiking into untracked bowls, building jumps over creeks and hitting the several parks and halfpipes. We still got some good powder days and it didn't really matter too much that it was raining heaps in the village.

Number9, as for the Aussie working holidayers in Niseko...I suppose i'll soon find out if the epidemic is as bad as Whistler was! All i can say is that last year in Whistler, there were so many Aussies and other foreigners working over there that it was almost impossible to find a decent job or even affordable accommodation. And if you've seen the size of Whistler Village and it's surrounding suburbs and businesses, you'll understand. Niseko can't possibly be as bad.

hahahaha oh well no harm in asking! I agree NPM, why travel to Japan for a wave pool when I can drive south for 3 hours and get to margaret river and near perfect barells? I hear the Miyazaki wave pool is the best in the world...remembering that wave pool technology and innovation is still quite primitive and un-developed (Waves magazine, Sept 05). Great, now i'm referencing a reply on an internet forum. That's what years of university study can do to your subconscious. I'm only intending to visit japan for the snow (and maybe just a little sample of the japanese girls...but only if i'm

Yeh cool...i thought so, you may note a slight hint of sarcasm in my last reply....i'm not the least bit offended, just a bit confused as to the nationalities of the members of this forum.... After spending last year in Whistler, i think Niseko will be a nice change of pace. If you think there are a lot of Aussies in Niseko, then you should check Whistler out - and most of the aussies there stay for the entire season (as a working holiday), not just a few weeks. This allows them a tactical approach to mischief.... Can anyone answer a few questions for me? - Is there any surf on H

It's good to see we're not generalising here... because ALL Australians incite violence, are agressive and disrespectful. If there's a few Aussies causing trouble in Niseko it's only reasonable to assume that the majority of Australians are unruly [censored]. Gee I don't want to disappoint you guys when i come over next year. I'll be sure to live up to your expectations and make lots of noise and mess. Awesome.

Yeh, but you won't catch any diseases from riding Niseko. Anyway, why pay for a ride in Amsterdam when you can hike the backcountry for free?

Q. Why would you take out money on your credit card? A. Because you've run out of money in your regular statement account and need more for beer, meals, lift passes etc. That's the beauty of a credit card. You obviously don't have one. My friends and family continue to be blown away when i tell them i'm going on holiday to a place that doesn't have an ATM. Then when I tell them about Nisekos abundance of lights for night-riding, high speed lifts, luxury hotels and top-notch restaurants they think i'm making the whole thing up. There's no such place as Niseko. You're lying. You're g

You can get a great value 4 week hirafu pass for 40,000 yen i believe. Otherwise a 2 week pass is 30,000 from memory. Check out www.grand-hirafu.jp Jindy boarder, There is no ATM in Niseko, however there is one in nearby Kutchan. You'll need cash, bank notes and lots of them because cards and travellers cheques are apparently not widely accepted in Niseko. Padders, i'll be there all of February so i'll see you on the mountain.

Cheers for the advice powwwers. I know sometimes I wake up early in the morning and look outside at the wind gusting and instead of going surfing, i'll go back to bed. Then i'll wake up at 10am and regret not getting up for the earlier cleaner, less-crowded waves. I can see how riding for 6 hours a day may exhaust you to the point where if it looks a bit windy or low vis you talk yourself out of going out riding. Then of course you get home where there's no snow and you regret not doing that night session...

Niseko rules man. As long as there's the 2m deep powder, i'm happy to go there.

I plan on doing a morning, afternoon and nighter....then sleeping and doing it again. Rest is for the weak

Yep...too bad I don't arrive til late January. Spewing...quite literally...not me, the snow.

Excellent point there fattwins. Make sure you know how to get out from wherever you end up. Don't do what I did, and ride too far down into the valley, where there is very little snow and a great big 11km hike back to the village! (Whistler last year...)

I think you've just found an argument FOR global warming there, mate! If there was so much snow in japan back in the day, it's almost a blessing people don't have to walk off the 2nd story balcony nowadays to get out the front of their house! I would've hated to have been a lifty back then, they would've been working underground. And as for the people riding the lifts, they would've been making fresh tracks as they rode up on the lift! haha

I'm staying there for a month soon and was just wondering if anyone has stayed there in the past and can tell me what about it? Or maybe you've heard some stories or reports from some of their past guests? Their website is nice and it seems like a cool place so i'm looking forward to it. Any info would be great, cheers. Also, anyone know where I can find a reasonably detailed map of hirafu village (in English)?

Clearly it's snowing in Hokkadio. If you actually read any of the 'Now!' reports, you'd understand that they were being written by a person who lived on/around the mountain and could physically see the surrounding weather and conditions. Furthermore, there are live webcams of Niseko Hirafu at the official website: http://www.grand-hirafu.jp/en/index.html That should get you believing the 'rumours'. Alternatively you can read any of about 8 different forum posts which actually discuss the new snow, its weight, its depth and how its about to be compacted by another 5 metres over the nex