SirJibAlot

You staying in Tokyo or Hokkaido? -SJA

I hit both Korea and Hawaii...Problem with Korea - no good way to get to the mountains unless you have a car or a buddy with a car. Problem with Hawaii, the snow only lasts a couple of days and there are no lifts...you gotta get a group of buddies and take turns driving up and down the volcano. Jibbing off of volcanic rock is not recommended - unless you like a deeply groved base.... -SJA

Thanks for all the posts....The night train sounds interesting. Is it like the "Jinga" night train from Osaka with full flat bunks or more like a normal shinkansen seats? Looks like the morning shinkansen to Nagano+Bus is a 3 hour journey. Does anyone do this on a regular basis? thanks... -SJA

Thanks, my lame Vodaphone Nokia can't read Qcode so i'll just enter the URL manually... -SJA

I rented gear here a couple of times and my experience was aweful. They wax the boards, I don't know once every three seasons. Depending on your preference - you might find it good or bad that they also don't tune the edges. If you are jibbing than you'll be a happy guy. If you like to bust a little 'Euro Carve' your going to be slipping out and on your face. My advice - if you MUST rent here...bring an file and some speed paste. -SJA

Ok, fair enough Japanese people like it and since this is thier country and thier ski area - fair enough. But I have two complaints.... 1) They need a better sound system. I suggest lining the runs with Bose Bass Canons. http://pro.bose.com/ProController?event=...cannon.jsp&ck=0 Then at least when they are bumping some Dragon Ash you can feel the beat. 2) Worse then the J-Pop, Britney, or Canton Pop is the end of day announcements of parents trying to get thier kids off the mountains.... ...Yamamoto-sama.....Kenichi Yamamoto-sama....Your parents kindly ask that you g

I thought so - The bus ride sounds pretty brutal. But Hakuba isn't exactly a day trip by shinkansen is it? I went to Happone years back for a weekend - I seem to remember the train ride was quite long even thought it was the 'Super Azusa'

Dude, I've dragged my board back and forth between Japan and Cali many times, it's no big deal. You need a proper board bag and do as Kumapix says - throw your jacket, pants, boots and other Paraphernalia in there (espically your snowboard tools - if you try to carry that stuff on - the TSA bums are likely to snag it from you and add it to thier collection of stuff to sell on e-bay later that night). I have a Burton roller bag. With all the stuff in the bag, it's heavy. I've never had any problem with the weight restriction, but the airlines keep putting thier hands into our pockets

I moved to Tokyo in Feb. and I hit Yuzawa pretty much every weekend via Shinkansen (Gala, Ichiuchi, iwappara, etc). I heard there are some busses that take you to other areas. I know the info is out there and i'm not too lazy to search for it, but rather - I wanted to hear from other's experiences....The good, the bad, and the ugly. What are the options out there, which ones are good. Where can I get more info, advice, insults, whatever.... -SJA

If you are in Tahoe, why come to Japan for park riding. Go hit North Star!

I usually take it easy on the first day - ride the mountain hit some easy kickers. Early in the season your legs are weak and the snow may not yet be ideal. You don't want to get jacked up early in the season and loose valuable snow time.

Where is the mobile site - how can I get there from my SoftBank phone?

Snowboarding is as dangerous as the hood. In the hood, they have drive-by's....on the mountain they have out of control phsychos that smash into people causing great injury - possibly even death. In the hood, someone might stick a gun to your head and take all your money. On the mountain, the lift ticket, food, lockers, etc. take all your money. In the hood, someone might punch you in the stomach for wearing the wrong color - next thing you know your on the pavement spitting blood. On the mountain, you catch an edge on the rail - broken ribs, spitting up blood....

Dude, Tri-band won't get you far here - but with 3G you should be golden. Vodaphone set up here but have since sold the network to Softbank. You should be able roam on thier network, but make sure your Aussie provider has a roaming agreement or you'll be hosed. I don't know about coverage at Nisseko, but mountain coverage anywhere in the world is spotty. Good luck mate.