wattiewatson
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Posts posted by wattiewatson
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You've got to make your own fun in Nagano city as in most bars you can't find two ojisan's to rub together. If you've got a good crew you'll have fun but it wouldn't pass muster compared to apres ski in a european city.
There is probably better nightlife in Hakuba than nagano city itself but as i lived north of the city i didnt really go out that way too much.
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Originally Posted By: boardbakaThat`s a good analogy there WW - just been reading about the cafeteria - The one being built is meant to be amazing - now just work on the snow making possibly
Ruapehu has a great vibe. I rode probably 20 days there last year. However I wouldnt go for the snow. They have plenty of snow making its just that the temperature is too variable (high - low) for making snow. -
Originally Posted By: Go NativeBy a long way the best job opportunities for foreigners at a ski reasort in Japan can be found in Niseko. Niseko has the largest number of foreign companies that hire foreign staff compared to any other resort here. Japanese companies generally won't hire foreign staff for seasonal jobs.
I agree with this. Seasonal work in Nagano looks rough. Niseko ups your chances of getting a decent gig, and hakuba looks like the pick of the bunch in Nagano. I did know a foreigner who got a job at a bar in Nagano which was a good gig (but she had great hooters, somethng Martin probably doesnt have).
Someone above said pay rates are around 800-1000 per hour (on average). That sounds right and works out to between 130,000 - 160,000 per month for a 40 hour week - similar to my 150,000 guess?
I wasnt aware you got a gaijin card with a working holiday visa? If you get a gaijin card, buying a car isnt a problem. If you dont have a card, cant see how you could buy a car. (fyi Nagano DMV wast the easiest office I ever dealt with)
Id go to Utah or Colarado before I worked a seasonal job in Japan -
work in a ski resort is pretty hard to come by compared to say the United States or New Zealand. When i was in Nozawa there were less than a handful of foreigners working there. Most were getting paid less than the cost of living and would have had to rely on savings. Your better of working in Europe and then coming over for a long holiday. I would think you would need to bring around Y250,000 per month for accomodation, food and lift passes/ season ticket.
Off the top of my head i dont know pay rates but would imagine that youd have to work a fair bit to make more than Y150,000 per month (plus free acoomodation). I think your better off just saving the money in Europe and riding all day.
Buying a car isnt really an option unless you meet a foreigner trying to off load one. The cheapest cars your likely to come across would cost you around Y200,000. As a tourist you wont be able to register it so you cant get insurance.
You can rent cars but its not as easy as in a western country
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rode there last year. I would come flying down the mountain and hit football field size patches of ice. Didny buy a pass this year. The mountain would suck without that lift. Basically like suginohara without the top lift!
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Any iron will do. A cast iron wiould probably work best! The Korjo would work just dont put any water in ther steamer part.
Also expensive waxes wont make any difference to snowboarders. If youre a cross contry skiier it make a differnece but any wax will do if your riding the pow!
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Any iron will do. It doesnt need to be non-stick or have a flat bottom. Ive found plenty of irons down at the local discount store
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Originally Posted By: iiyamadudeAt Nozawa you pay Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays.
Out of interest, when did they start this? One of the great things i liked about Nozawa was that you could have a whole day out for bugger all. -
Originally Posted By: Tubby BeaverI love the big bowl of mud-pack curry that you get on the hill, throw in a katsu too......oh yeah!!! The all-u-can eat curry shack at tashiro, next to the lake is one of my faves!!
I like a fair bit of Japnaese food, espeicially Ramen. Mud bucket curry with random deep fried minced meat on top must be an acquired taste. If you are on your way to Nozawa, I recommend checking out the Bashia supermarket (iiyama). Theres a pretty handy bakery in there (front left). Both the rice or pumpkin bread are worth trying. They are a nice change from the standard Japanese pun! One of the bakers speaks fluent English which helped me out. -
Originally Posted By: triplerOriginally Posted By: wattiewatsonWhen I had a Nozawa pass they would give me free day passes until I recieved my season pass. I got the same deal in Myoko.
Wow, that was very nice of them. Shiga Kogen said there was no way to get the money back if you bought day tickets while waiting the one week for them to laminate the season pass. Laminating takes 30 secs but I forgot you've got to let the machine warm up for 10 mins first. So I guess one week is fair enough.
I always wanted to ride shiga but enjoyed nozawa / suginohara so much that I never got up there. I lived in Iiyama and always thought I would burn a tank of gas just getting up there! -
I lend everything apart from my hydration pack and boots. I dont think you should be too precious about it
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Originally Posted By: triplerthanks, stemik. Shame they can't do it on the spot. Can it be ordered by phone or online? Sorry for all the questions but I am seriously thinking of getting one.
When I had a Nozawa pass they would give me free day passes until I recieved my season pass. I got the same deal in Myoko. Im sure if you hand over 8 sheets, theyll give you a day pass to somewhere -
- Packing my own lunch saved me a ton of money (and I didn't have to eat mud bucket curry).
I don't get how if your a student you can't ride on weekdays. Do you have to turn up everyday? I wouldn't plan on moving to Vermont for the snow. I used to live in Manchester Vermont and it was damm cold and icey but with bugger all snow.
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Originally Posted By: stemikNot 100% sure on this, but on 4wd going up a hill you get the most traction on the front wheels...coming down a hill you get the most traction on the rear wheels (as you brake), so it would make sense to get both front and rear.
This sounds like rubbish to me. I'm not an 4WD expert but the weight will be over the front wheels in most cars so you should get the most breaking out of the front wheels going up or down hill.
Second hand tyre shops are great. I don't know of any in Osaka but there is a good one on Route 18 as you go towards Shiga Koen from Nagano City. Its right after akanuma traffic light (spelling might be wrong in English it should translate to Red Swamp)
I had a Pajero Mini 4WD. Autobaks wanted 12,000 a tyre and I think I got 4 from this shop for around 150,000 fitted. -
Originally Posted By: Metabo OyajiRight. The US has no such thing as a working holiday visa for anybody else, and the love is consequently reciprocated.
The US has J1 and H2B visas. They are pretty much working holiday visas. The terms have changed since I got one. I think you can work up to 6 months and stay another 6 months on either of them.
You can renew the J1 once. As far as i know the you can continue getting H2B visas so long as you leave the US every 6 months or so. The other difference I know of is that the J1 visa is not linked to any job whereas if you have an H2B you are limited to working for the sponsoring employer.
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A month or two before the season opens, hopefully 25 odd
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Originally Posted By: Myoko GuyDefinitely be cost I'd say oo.
Nonetheless Suginohara has the longest run in Japan (8.5k) and Akakura has the steepest run in central Japan. That's a pretty good start.
I've heard those stories too Long-Timer. Many of those people came in from outside Myoko (Osaka, Hiroshima, etc.) and made a killing for awhile. But as soon as that bubble burst it was ugly.
I got told the steepest run was the top run on Kijimadaira? -
Originally Posted By: snowboneHi everyone,
I was wondering which resort is best in Japan for a total beginner like me who wants to learn snowboarding. I know all resorts have so-called "beginner courses" but when I went to one (my first time snowboarding by the way), the courses weren't beginner at all. I can only slide on the literally bottom of the resort, which is near the gondola/lift boarding areas, as most of the beginner courses are too steep.
Also even if I can practice in that small part of the beginner course, there is no lift to get me to the top part of that segment, so I have to ride the lift up to the topmost part of the course which unfortunately is not for the beginners of beginners.
PLS help!!
This is one of the weirdest complaints I have heard. The second part of your complaint i understand (re lifts) but the first is a complete mystery.
By the way, its like riding a bike, riding slowly is harder than riding at a good clip.
Matt -
There is also the one at Togari-Onsen (across the valley from Nozawa Onsen). If anyone has seen the DVD 'Our Roots' or 'The Roots' made by the skiier posse from Nozawa its in that.
Matt
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Originally Posted By: DJEloyeah,def get in touch with quantas and don't back down..the allowance on their webpage is valid everywhere they fly to,this is true for all airlines..it's not up to the airport to set individual rules.
I dont think Qantas is wrong. I think its just that they don't often enforce their policy. I cant see anything to complain about. The guy got a good deal the first way, and got the standard (and the japanese follow guidelines) treatment coming home.
Last time I flew out of Narita I got on like a snowman. I was wearing all my clothes, hiking boots, MTB armour etc. All that was in my checked luggage were MTB parts. I just had a rubbish bag in my pocket and when I got on just took everything off and threw it in that. I probably had 10-15kg of stuff in the bag. -
Dude,
I think your board can be carried as part of your 20kg allowance. I think from memory you are allowed 2 bags + sports equipment + laptop so long as the sum of all of them don't exceed 20kg. On top of that is your carry on (which might have a max of 5kg or so). If you fly business you get more + more leeway.
Did you have 20kg of baggage + your snowboard? If you did the charge seems about right.
Matt
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never understood why people are so protective with their sports gear. doesnt help people kicking it but i usually move on pretty fast.
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The article might have some good flow on effects. While few would call Myoko world class, equally few leave feeling short changed.
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Originally Posted By: Mattaus(This will be my first trip to Japan) Hakuba is a 4 hour Bullet train ride plus a short bus trip. Or something like that.
Maybe its 4 hours from Osaka, but from Narita i would have said its less than an hour to Tokyo, then an hour bullet train to Nagano and then 1 hour bus to Hakuba. So it should be around 4 hours from Narita Airport to Hakuba, door to door (if the connections work in your favour).
Im sure there are other ways to get from Tokyo to Hakuba that might be quicker than the above but if you are on the bullet train for 4 hours you might find yourself in Korea.
Myoko or Yuzawa Snowseason 2012
in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry
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re the car issue - I'm with the majority above - I can't see how a non-resident can register a car.
There are a few long term car rental places around. They usually cater to residents and offer 1 year rentals. The going rate was Y30,000-Y40,000 per month. It would be an uphill battle to get one of these guys to rent a car to you as a tourist.