RaID

Regular powder days, almost guaranteed when coming here in the peak season on a holiday

Generally you the advice we have been given by Takkyubin when sending gear for our client is if you want it delivered to an airport you need to send it 2 days before the flight, anywhere else is overnight. In your case you would need to send it on the 17th to get to Haneda on the 19th. Hope this helps.

I'm another Salomon converter. When I was looking for my last pair of boots tried multiple brands then i put some Salomon Dialogues on my feet and never looked back. Theyve served me very well for almost 40 riding days now as an all mountain boot. Positives Theyre the perfect fit for my foot, I can easily wear them for a whole day with no issues, or loosening the boots at any stage. Theyre just like comfortable shoes. I get no heel lift, theyre reasonably light, the mid/soft flex makes hiking quite comfortable. They dont pack out much so you can pretty much get the right size meaning yo

Snowing heavily in Hakuba village atm, about 10cm in the village in the last 3hrs, its meant to get heavier overnight. Looking like Xmas Day Powder Day. Merry Xmas All.

Got to Hakuba on Wed, town looked snow free except some white stuff on the peaks. Overnight we got 20cm in town and 30-40cm at the top of Happo One, conditions were very good for the 2 lifts that were open. Looks like this is the beginning of the season now. Expecting more snow tonight, with peaks of sunshine tomorrow. Not expecting the whole mountain to be opened until the next storm cycle next week.

Wow this has turned into a bit of a sh!t fight kinda funny. Totally agree with Ippy, board size is predominately determined by your weight. Here is a couple of good write ups on choosing the right board and different camber profiles http://www.snowboardingforum.com/boards/889-faq-s-equipment-guides-please-read.html Camber types http://www.snowboardingforum.com/boards/37496-rocker-camber-everything-between.html My advice would be: Board size - 155 -158 size wise especially if your going to put some weight on in the future. This should provide you with a versatile boa

Ill be spending the whole season in Hakuba from 15 December

So im going to be working this upcoming in Hakuba, looking at getting the Happo One early bird season pass as that will the resort ill ride the most Does that mean with I could also use it at Nozawa Onsen and Shiga Kogen? I take it there is no other season pass linking at least Iwatake and Happo? JTB Season Pass sales started on October 7, 2011. Pass includes 26 resorts, including some big names such as: Gala Yuzawa Akakura Onsen (Kumado area) Tangram Ski Circus Tsugaike Hakuba Iwatake Snow Field (previously known as Hakuba Iwatake Ski-jo) Hakuba Cortina Hakuba Sanos

Originally Posted By: iiyamadude Originally Posted By: ippy Also remember as well though that come the time people are gearing up in japan it will be off season for you guys. I dont know your market, but you get 2012 earlier than us, so that should mean discounted 2012 gear in aus versus full price (or marginally discounted) here. Interesting that. Generally what time of year do manufacturers release first batches of "new" gear, considering that it's on season somewhere in the world. Southern Hemisphere now gets the new season gear first, in time for it's snow season. That is

Thanks for the replies, sounds like its more practical to get gear for my girlfriend beforehand.

Looking at spending the season in Hakuba, should be nice break from real life

Hi Ive been to Japan on three previous occasions for the snow, love the place hence me and my girlfriend are coming up to spend the upcoming season there. From my previous visits Ive always found the snowboard gear to be quite expensive if anything on par with the local prices in Australia especially in Hakuba itself with limited range. Ive spent a short time looking at snow gear in Tokyo in the snow shop area near Akihabara (forget the exact name of the district) and from memory it was cheaper than at mountains but nothing super cheap (when compared to say electronic goods), at least