tripitaka

Point taken CB. It was late March however and the conditions were settled.

Originally Posted By: Creek Boy >Would I find much of that kind of thing, lift-accessable, at Tsugaike? What are the ski-patrol like there? I think patrol are only really anal about people riding the S. faces and W. faces because most of them run to the gelende. Many of you might remember 4 years ago or so when the assistant professor at some uni took a group skiing, and even though the cat track was roped off because of avi danger, he still took them down it. In the end 1 girl died and another 1 or 2 had slight injuries. So, if they catch you there Id imagine they'd pull your pass. Othe

Originally Posted By: Go Native Quote: We've been working closely with some major Japanese travel agents to get our product in their brochures and have a big presence on some of the most popular travel websites Um....we are trying hard on the Japanese market as well as I said above. It goes beyond just the above as well, we've had talks about the region with JNTO officials and government ministers about focusing on Niseko and marketing this region more. When it comes to marketing and promotion, Japanese officialdom is completely lost. Just today, I ventured into downtown Osaka w

Originally Posted By: gurgle Originally Posted By: tripitaka Well, there you have it. "As long as prices keep going up," so it's effectively a Ponzi scheme More like a tontine than a ponzi scheme I reckon..... Yes, I guess ponzi has bad connotations, but where they're both similar is that you need a steady flow of punters to keep it going.

Originally Posted By: gurgle Originally Posted By: tripitaka Originally Posted By: Mamabear I really don't understand Trip.... how is the Aussie property market much different from the US Market, the Canadian Market, the UK Market, the NZ Market...and at east a few European markets? I don't actually think it is that different Mama, particularly when you think of its explosive growth due to a credit bubble. There are some differences for sure, mostly to do with taxes. The aussie "model" if you like, is to keep buying a bigger and more expensive house as you can afford it an

Originally Posted By: Go Native I certianly wouldn't compare it to real estate trends in other rural areas of Hokkaido. If you can show me any other town, city or resort in Japan with such a large international investment interest then lets compare it to them. I know large cities like Tokyo attract large amounts of foreign investors for big commercial properties but that isn't the case up here just yet. It's mostly been individual investors buying one apartment or house. It does appear to be changing a little now though with some of the big Asian companies coming in with big plans, like in Han

Originally Posted By: Mamabear I really don't understand Trip.... how is the Aussie property market much different from the US Market, the Canadian Market, the UK Market, the NZ Market...and at east a few European markets? I don't actually think it is that different Mama, particularly when you think of its explosive growth due to a credit bubble.

Originally Posted By: Go Native Nothing stupid about it. The property market here has been purely driven by international interest and invesment. The buyers have been almost entirely international investors. Most of the financing for all developments here has been through international lenders. Quite simply the pricing and growth experienced here has nothing to do with what is happening in the domestic real estate market. So am I allowed to make any comparison with foreign REITs that are also reliant on foreign funding and investors? Or is Niseko different to those as well? Your argumen

Originally Posted By: Go Native There is no point at all in comparing the property market in Niseko to the rest of Japan because what happened here was never part of the Japanese market and I doubt ever will be. That's just plain stupid. Niseko is in Japan. How can it not be part of the Japanese market? Foreigners are relatively recent on the scene so I think it's a bit early to be calling your own sovereign nation up there.

Originally Posted By: Go Native Why do you care though? I mean so what? Whether or not you agree with the Aussie attitude towards property investing certainly means little to those who've made small and large fortunes from it over the last 15-20 years. And certainly very little to those who made a bucket load of cash over the last 6-7 years in Niseko on property. Like any investment property investing will come with risks and there are good and bad times to buy and sell. There is no point at all in comparing the property market in Niseko to the rest of Japan because what happened here was ne

Most of the comments here support what I believe.... that Aussie attitudes about property are different to the rest of the world. Of course, there are some unique factors behind that, including some of the largest private debt levels in the world and a govt that has spent billions of taxpayer money to prop up the market. It's all about debt, plain and simple. The idea that property prices only go up is ludicrous at best, especially in the case of Japanese ski resorts (or Japanese property in general). Also, one of the key tenets of investing is that past performance is not indicative of f

Originally Posted By: Go Native Property value is purely and simply what people are prepared to pay. Aussies though certainly have a very different perception about property as an invesment to what seems normal in Japan. Ahh.... yeah. While I admire your free market philosophy, property valuation is much more than what "people are prepared to pay," particularly as a smart investment. However, I agree with you that the Australian obsession with property as an investment is completely different from what is normal in Japan. I think it's fair to say that if we remove the Aussies from the

I don't know about Niseko, but some of the property prices (commercial/private) being asked for in Hakuba seem way out of line to what they're worth. From what I can see, most of the demand is from Australians, who seem to live in another universe on the issue of assessing property value.

Originally Posted By: Ryoma There's a big sports store at the Nishi-Shinsaibashi area of dotonbori. They had a large selection of boards from what I remember but I don't really remember how they compared in price. (Also don't remember the name, sorry ._.) It's basically on the Dotonbori Mido-Suji bridge. Unfortunately, I bascially only know ski shops but best of luck! It's called Spotaka and it's probably the best store in that area. Further up the Midosuji, in Europa-mura, there is a very expensive Burton store. The best deals on snowboards are probably out in the burbs at places such a

Originally Posted By: Go Native The real question is why is the domestic market not skiing as much anymore? Obviously it has something to do with disposable income but frankly the Japanese are some of the best savers in the world and there's still plenty of money going around, I don't believe it's just because they can't afford it. Personally I think it's mainly because they haven't done their job in marketing skiing to the next generations. Skiing has changed a lot in the last 20 years or so including the massive increase in boarders and a movement worldwide for fatter skis and off-piste sk