ausi ski bum

I bought two 3000 yen soft bank recharge cardsin Japan recently but then found it was over 360 days since I used my phones so I could not recharge them. So if you have a Softbank phone and can use the credits the numbers are 5329 4933 7457 879 and 6491 0837 2746 326 First in best dressed, someone may as well use them Hope they work for someone. ASB

The biggest problem with Furano is the shuttle bus is rubbish, if you intend skiing there rent your own vehicle and you will love it, with the car you can also take day trips to Tomamu, Sahoro and that other one starting with an A. Niseko certainly is a great resort but personally I prefer Rusutsu, again however if you have wheels you are close enough to drive over to Rusutsu from Niseko as well as trips to a few smaller places like Moiawa etc. For Boarders I really like the terrain park built at Tomamu and I have to say Tomamu tends to attract more Boarders than any other place I sk

Aussie lift prices have always been high compared to elsewhere but offering skiing in Australia is also far more expensive, we have to rely on snowmaking to a much higher degree than else where and wages paid on mountain are higher than most other countries. Australians often forget to compare the average wage to the cost of a lift ticket, yes we pay more than the US and Japan but we also on average earn more so it becomes relevant. I ski more in Japan than I do Australia and I own two apartments in Falls Creek, this is more a choice based on the quality of skiing in Japan vs Aus

I am in Tomamu at the moment and I love the resort, having done many of the smaller resorts this trip I have had an amazing holiday. I do have to wonder however why are so many of the advertised attractions not available even though there is plenty of snow on the ground, for example I have been to three resorts that advertised hot air balooning, non are running this, I have been to two that advertised dog sledding, both finished for the season, I am also disapointed that the full day snow mobile trip I planned at Tomamu has also closed for the season. I arrived on 22 Feb so its not

I would love to learn Japanese but in my home town 360km from Sydney there just is no teachers, I advertised widely happy to travel up to 150km to a lesson but to no avail, I know the polite words please, thank you and Sorry etc, I never have a problem when talking to Japanese no matter how little English they know as they are so polite we eventually get their. I wanted to do a couple of snow groomer activities one was driving one and was told they only take Japanese (fair enought I can see the danger here) and the other was a ride up the top of the resort on the back of a groomer and I

To me the long term viability of many Japanese resorts will require increasing the Over Seas tourists from Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia mainly. Some have done this very well but others are missing the mark with some simple errors that make visiting a little difficult. For example the food on mountain in many places is excellent but the vending machines for the meal tickets are only in Japanese. If there was a single english and mandrin menu to assist this would be so much easier. Advertising on the internet attractions in English then telling you on arrival that only Japa

Light showers of snow in a mostly fine day, the hill is very firm with many ice cobes on the surface making for tough riding for the lesser skilled. A little crowded this morning heading back out soon.

Fairly warm in Sahoro today 0C - 4C but no rain to damage the hill after some nice early snow yesterday. Would be nice to see some more snow.

I am doing that right now, I am visiting the major resorts of Furano, Tomamu and Sahoro, done Rusutsu and Niseko already. I am also visiting Sounyko and Abashiri and finding lots of smaller stops along the way. Hire a car and go exploring for three weeks.

10C here in Furano today, the mountain was like skiing on Elephant Snot

Very warm in Furano today 10C, we went out skiing for a while but gave up at lunch time when the surface was like glue, might do some night skiing tonight if it firms up. The streets are like rivers.

To JAPAN Wooo Hoo, been 2 years since the last trip, did USA last winter and I am looking forward to my 3 1/2 week trip. Looking at my first stops cam (Furano) snowing nicely tonight. I will spend half this trip doing non skiing activitie as well around Hokkaido. I have a nice Rav 4 so driving will be easy and I can get to the little places most miss out on. So Off to Sydney tomorrow and then Japan on Sunday heading to Hokkaido via Osaka.

Originally Posted By: Go Native It's not a ski resort but I tell you what I really want to go see is the pack ice up in the Sea of Okhotsk from Abashiri or around near Shiritoko. I've never seen the ocean covered in ice and would really like to. Think I might have to take a couple of days off next week and head up... I am heading there from 1 to 4 March to check out the sea ice, I am heading up the coast a bit to see the lasar light show as well and a few more things in that area. I am going from Furano and stopping at Sounkyo for the three nights before that as well.

Furano Kurodake Sahoro Tomamu And I get to try them all starting next week for three weeks Yahooo.

My son was 17 when we first went to Japan and he almost died when mid stream a little old lady mopped around his feet, I suggested she didn't actually work there.

I arrive on 21 Feb in Japan and 22 Feb in Furano, I am over Niseko, been there done that twice now and I want to spend time at the other great resorts this year. Actually I am getting to the stage in life where the snow holiday is not all about skiing

Whiteliner/Goodsport stop on the way to Niseko, but not on the way back, they run an excellent service and to answer the question above, yes book the seat on line then pay on the day. Why would you travel all the way from Australia and not have the bus ticket covered. They do get very busy at times and how would you feel sitting there wondering what to do next. Whiteline drop off at the Welcome Centre in Hirafu, when you get close to Hirafu, phone your lodge and they will come get you. When I travel I have every single step booked and covered, by leaving anything to chance or s

Definatly looks like rain on the Furano streaming cams, looking at the edge of the road, quite a bit as well. http://furano.miemasu.net:85/ImageViewer?Direction=Direct& BTW I love this cam, I intend standing on the corner and phoning home giving a wave to family members when I visit in Feb

I would invest a few thousand AU into it at that price, I suspect it could easily be back to 30yen plus fairly fast.

The easiest way to have millions in the bank would be to invest billions into JAL.

My Knowledge of Niseko and the Ground Services companies would suggest that there is a real chance the company is not Japanese owned, next time just hire a vehicle yourself and keep it for the week, you can even arrange for the hire vehicles from the Black Diamond lodge to meet the white liner bus so you can move around during your holiday. Chitose is always a risk in winter but it is extremely well managed considering the conditions.

With JAL losing 25% off the value of its shares in a few days and considering Becoming Bankrupt, How safe are my Feb March JAL Tickets ? If I was a JAL Customer with One World points, I would be using them now, I lost 250,000 Star Alliance points in the collapse of Ansett some years ago.

Asking for tinned ham at a shop called Mahumid Mustifa's in Singapore, I was very politely told sorry sir we don't sell tinned pig products but we do have corned beef.

Wendy's here is an ice cream shop

Looks like Furano has had some nice snow over the past 24 hours, looking forward to seeing skiers on their streaming cam