Go Native
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Posts posted by Go Native
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Man you guys are doing alright!! I don't know anyone working in Hirafu who earns that kind of cash except some of the company owners (and they probably earn a whole lot more). Even management positions here you are lucky to be offered 3 mill. One friend was recently offered a property manager position (quite a lot of work) with a starting wage of only 190k per month (he declined). Sure we have nice lifestyles at a ski resort (and living costs are probably lower than in a major city) but man you guys are reaping it in compared to us...
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Tell me about it 2pints! As the heading of this forum states though there are some people who don't actually like skiing all that much...
I really don't understand it but then the less who ski the more freshies for the rest of us!
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Originally Posted By: BettyBoo!It would be interesting to know how many nights lots of the people from overseas stay for?
Here in Niseko most foreigners come for a minimum of 7 nights. Most western accommodation here will only accept a min 7 night stay during peak periods (xmas/New Year and Cninese New Year). Through Jan/Feb they are reluctant to take shorter than 7 night bookings unless it fills a gap.
Foreign skiers are generally much more profitable than local ones. Longer stays mean less changeovers (less cleaning and work) so more profit for the owners. Plus on the whole I think foreigners spend more at local restaurants and certainly at local bars. -
Originally Posted By: soubriquetSoubriquette can ski but won't. She was a champion athlete in her yoof, and all the cross country training put her off. It's a real shame we can't share it.
My wife didn't ski once this last season! I just don't understand it especially since she got a season pass through her job. Must say though that I'm not that keen on skiing with her as she's nowhere near my standard and teaching the wife skiing is not my idea of fun. We do go snowshoeing together though which is pretty cool. -
Furano is a beautiful place and the town is great. The skiing terrain is well suited to intermediates and there is often good powder to be found near the edges of the runs (without heading into the trees) and there are a few runs they don't groom. That said the two ski areas of Furano are only about as big as Grand Hirafu. At Niseko you've also then got Higashiyama and Annupuri ski areas. Then right next door you've got Niseko Moiwa and Weiss and Rusutsu is only 45min away.
It all comes down to how long you intend to stay and what kind of experience you want. If hanging out with 1000's of Aussies doesn't sound too cool then Niseko is not the place to be in peak season. If you are here long enough you could do both Niseko and Furano.
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As far as Hokkaido goes it's hard to beat Niseko for size, varied terrain, accommodation and apres ski options. Plus from Niseko it's easy to head out and ski at other resorts close by like Niseko Moiwa, cat skiing at Niseko Weiss or head over to Rusutsu for almost guaranteed freshies.
Furano and Kiroro are much smaller and have limited off piste options. They are not really resorts you'd want to spend much more than a few days at.
Just a note though, if you want to come to Niseko around New Years then you better get it booked real soon. The xmas/new year period is one of the busiest here and accommodation gets booked out real early.
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The top lifts get to within 100m of the peak. I'm pretty happy to do the 20min walk to the top where you can always find some fresh lines back down. Main reason they'll probably never build a lift to the peak is that it would be closed so often due to the wind.
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Be aware that at higher altitudes, say above 2000m a polariser can cause the sky to turn quite dark especially if the air is very dry. So if you're heading up high it's best just to use the UV filter. Also if you double up filters on a very wide angle lens like a fisheye the rim of the filter may appear in the photograph.
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Originally Posted By: BagOfCrispsHey Go Native, I find that last comment curious - you saying it is better than up there in Niseko?
I wouldn't say backcountry in Aus is better than here it's just very different. Things that are great about backcountry in Aus are temps are not too cold (rarely below -15 on the Main range and rarely below -10 in Vic), whereas here in Niseko those kind of temps are pretty normal. Aus backcountry rarely has major avalanche concerns whereas here you have to be a lot more aware. And the snowgums in Aus (those that haven't been destroyed by fires in recent years) are really beautiful and unique. Also if you camp out backcountry in Niseko you may find your tent getting completely buried overnight, this is not so much a problem in Aus. Aus backcountry is awesome but it's pretty amazing here too. -
charlotte I live in Kutchan and it's a great little town. During winter there is a free night bus into Kutchan from Hirafu. Kutchan has a great range of restaurants, bars and karaoke venues. It also has a good ski store and snowboard shop and few souvenir stores. If you'd like to get away from the Aussie hordes on the hill and see a little of real rural Japan then Kutchan is only a 15 min bus ride away. Come on down!
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ASB I really hope you guys get a good one this year. Although I probably won't ski at an Aussie ski resort again I still love the Aussie backcountry. Feathertop, Bogong and the Main Range still hold some of my greatest skiing memories even when compared to my skiing here in Hokkaido.
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Never been too worried about getting in shape. I just hope all the skiing will do that for me. Although I played a game of rugby for Iwanai on the weekend and think I might have to get in a bit better shape if I want to do that again...my god I'm sore.
Anyway I missed much of the early season as I was renovating my house enough for my wife and I to move in. I did get to take off much of March though and had some awesome skiing throughout that month.
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Originally Posted By: thursdayOriginally Posted By: ausi ski bumWhat exactly is a gaijin, last season about 40,000 Australians visited Japan to ski. I believe we are still vastly outnumbered by visitors from Hong Kong
Vastly outnumbered by HK visitors yes, but not for ski. There aren't even 10,000 skiers in HK.
I think it's something like 80% of foreigners skiing at Niseko are Aussies. All companies here though are actively marketing in HK and other SE Asian countries. We are starting to get a lot more skiers from Singapore and Thailand. Mainland China and Korea are also growth areas. -
The worst thing about skiing in Aus is the car entry fees to the mountains. I think it's now close to $30 a day or something in Vic? I mean hell they have to do a lot more snow clearing on the roads here in Japan and no entry fees at all.
And the food expenses on mountain are just ridiculous, about 3x what you'd pay elsewhere? Here in Japan there is hardly any mark-up at all on mountain.
Whatever way you look at it, Japan is just so much better value for money skiing and the difference in snow quality?...you just can't compare.
I really don't think I could ever ski again at an Australian ski resort.
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RD believe me I'm not trying to put the place in a bad light, hey I live and work here and absolutely love the place. I agree with much of what you have said about the development side of things.
If you haven't seen any fights then maybe you haven't hung out around Fatty's or Red Bar into the wee hours of the morning. Red Bar especially has seen a number of fights because they stay open so late that many people already completely sloshed will rock up and cause problems. These sort of things happen rarely, which is maybe why you have never seen it but believe me fights and brawls have occurred here. And here's some good goss for you. Recently some foreigners had the crap beaten out of them down in Kutchan by a group of Japanese!
Anyway the Aussie hordes are only here in force for about 6 weeks. The other 46 weeks in the year this place is an idyllic place to live.
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Rag-Doll I'm bemused by the idea that you believe the brawl story to be just a rumour blown out of proportion. No I was not there personally as I don't live in Hirafu (I live in Kutchan, much quieter and convenient), but I know the manager of the bar in question and the description of the brawl was from him. Plus a few of the guys I work with were there and gave a similar account. This is not a story blown out of proportion, it is just an account of an event that did occur. It is why I believe some police presence during the winter months would be a positive thing.
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It's not that it's that bad here. Problems happen rarely and for the most part everyone has the time of their life. It's just on those rare occasions things can get pretty bad. For instance last Australia Day there were at least 3 large brawls outside different bars around the town. At one bar there was a group of 20 or so Aussies in an all out brawl with a whole lot more looking on. It's that sort of thing that a quick police response would be most welcome. Also theft is becoming more common place during the winter and a more obvious police presence may help to reduce this. Let's face it, if you get a few thousand Aussies together in one place anywhere in the world having a little police presence is not a bad thing.
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Anyway if we've finished with all the backslapping about how great a forum this is I'll get back to the topic (I agree it's a great forum).
It was rumored last season that Kutchan police were going to set up a branch in Hirafu during winter. I thought this would be a great step forward but unfortunately it didn't happen. Supposedly the reason was lack of funding.
I know all locals in the region would love to see a permanent police presence in winter. We really need a few of the idiots who come here to be arrested and sent home (with no chance of coming back) and then maybe people would stop acting up so much.
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Certainly there are some who aren't keen on heading into the trees but for the vast bulk who come here it's all about trying to find some fresh lines in the powder. That means heading off piste into the trees. Of course in peak season it's now becoming pretty hard to find fresh lines in Niseko. I'm just thankful that the majority of Japanese skiers stay on piste.
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As Fattwins keeps pointing out Niseko is flat enough that even mid level skiers can enjoy a bit tree skiing here
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Seicomart is a convenience store chain only found in Hokkaido I believe.
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Trees provide shelter from stong winds and so the snow will often be less packed down (think deeper) than above the treeline. Also trees provide more challenge as you'll have to concentrate a little more so as not to hit them. The trees are often incredibly beautiful covered in snow and rime and it's just plain nice skiing down through them. And most importantly off piste skiing is all about exploring and finding lines that few others know about to get fresh turns in the powder. Niseko wouldn't enjoy it's current success if it wasn't for it's open off piste policy because frankly the on piste options are not exactly that exciting.
Aka most foreigners come to ski in Japan purely because of it's famed deep powder. You can't enjoy that powder by only skiing on groomed courses, you need to get out there in the trees!
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I believe that the Furano resort and tourist office has had some pretty poor advice. They are so adamant ( that they don't want to create another Niseko and they believe the best way to do this is to restrict off-piste skiing. On the other hand though they really want investment from foreigners. They just don't seem to get it that whilst tree skiing is restricted they're just not going to get that investment. Sometimes I think the advice from a certain individual in Furano to restrict tree skiing was purely so he didn't lose all the freshies for himself. Could be wrong about that of course
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ger that urban disctionary description of punter does happen sound a hell of a lot like half the people who come to Niseko each winter
I only wish I could get some time off in winter to come down and try the fields in Hakuba......
Where to go in Hokkaido??
in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry
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What accommodation is that for? It's a very good price by the way.