tripitaka

Originally Posted By: Mamabear Not just the Aussie market Tripitaka...lots of people out there looking for the "International Resort standard, base of the lifts, ski in ski out luxury accommodation" ....and prepared to pay BIG DOLLARS for it. I don't know Mama, I've never been to Niseko and I don't really know what kind of people go there. In the case of Hakuba, I think that high-end luxury accommodation experience is limited. If it's not the Aussies in Niseko lapping up this luxury, who is it? The nouveau riche Russians and Chinese?

Who would have thought this project would have been possible after the global financial crisis and the property crash? Personally I wouldn't pay those prices in Japan but I guess this is targeted towards the Australian market where property investment is still seen as a no-brainer.

Osaka is pretty bad in my opinion for snow sports retailing, but the sale they have at Osaka Dome is apparently the largest of its kind in the world. It seems to me that most people buy a "package deal" for their kit and perhaps head to the mountain once or twice a season. Anyway, I think Spotaka in Shinsabashi (Osaka) is not bad, and many of the suburban strip malls have sports stores where you can pick up gear.

I think someone mentioned it on here, but I don't know in detail, so that's why I am asking. I think it is suitable for many people (if it exists).

Originally Posted By: orinoco Correct, I think it's the shotoku or whatever it's called. Other than that and special toll roads all the main expressways take part. triptaka I see is in Osaka. Yeah, that's what I wanted to check out. I imagine the kanjou-sen (a city loop) in Osaka is out and it's only for the main trunk lines.

Thanks Veronica

Thanks Rach, So it doesn't have to be a return trip? If I got on the expressway at Sat 1:00 a.m. and exited at Sat 6:00 a.m., I get charged 1000 yen. If I return in 7 days time, I pay 1000 yen for the return trip.

Does anyone know about these or have any information? 1. Can I used them at all resorts? 2. Are they transferable? 3. How are they timed? If I only ski for an hour, am I only clocked for an hour or is there a minimum time charge?

Does anyone have a link to information on the 1000 yen ETC tolls (Japanese OK).

Originally Posted By: Go Native Tell you what though if they haven't already booked they better get onto soon as we are starting to get pretty damned full from xmas through to end of Chinese New Year. Xmas/New Year pretty much at full capacity and CNY hardly even a studio left. Good for you GN. I just got my accommodation booked for the whole season up in Hakuba.

Originally Posted By: Go Native Haven't noticed any sudden big increase in enquiries from Aus but quite a few who've already booked are requesting we take the final balance now whilst the exchange is good. Overall though enquiries and bookings have been very strong recently. There's certainly a hell of a lot more people coming to Niseko this season than last. GN, it's all in their favor and the chances are that the yen can weaken against all currencies (which will boost the AUD even further). They might be getting the property bug again as well. It's good to have them throwing their mo

Anyone notice the Aussie dollar has sky-rocketed of late. This is good for the ski industry. And seeing that the global recession has barely touched OZ/NZ, it could be a bumper season for foreign visitors.

Anyone know about how to get the 50-hour passes? I've never heard of them and I've spent plenty of time up at G/47. How about Happo? They have the same deal?

Yeah, the met service maps look promising.

Originally Posted By: nuejam 'Foreigners' overrun with misconceptions of the orient invade Niseko looking for a past that was never there -- meanwhile Nozawa tourists ignore the hypermaterialistic present of Japanese cultural arbiters, young people modeling the latest snowboard gear and snow wear, and see instead the fictitious reality half of their own making half a marketing campaign directed towards urbanized youth fed off of soda-pop dreams of nostalgia. Next time I visit Australia I'll be sure to post some nasty comment asking why it is that a country with aboriginal culture whored its

Originally Posted By: skidaisuki snowboarder101 - it's a very friendly place and from my experience, there's always a mixed and welcoming crowd staying there. A lot of resident and visiting gaijin, and some Japanese as well. Escal Plaza, which is the main lift base for Goryu, is about 10 minutes walk up the road from Hakuba Alps Backpackers. It is walkable, but if you want to conserve your energy for the slopes, you can either catch a passing resort bus (they are free) or possibly get a lift up from the owners. Goryu connects to Hakuba 47 close to the top of the lifts - 47 has a park and

J@pan Inc Newsletter The 'JIN' J@pan Inc Newsletter A weekly opinion piece on social, economic and political trends in Japan. Issue No. 491 Wednesday November 19, 2008, Tokyo As the winter sets in and thoughts turn to either staying inside(onsen) or going outside (skiing), tourism operators in Japan must be looking at the strength of the yen with dismay. Some of them anyway, a recent survey was widely reported, stating that 70 percent of Japanese inn operators weren't interested in having foreign tourists. This was probably due to the fact that most did well enough from domestic

It's very cool and the owners are very cool too. You're also nearby one of the best onsens in town.

Originally Posted By: Endless Winter For the money you spend on getting a shop to wax your board, you could use about the same amount and buy a kit and start learning to wax your board yourself. It's a bit of trial and error at first, but once you get the hang of it I would even infer you can do a better job than they do at the shop since you would spend more time with it and attention to detail. Last year I started a thread on this very top and 'samurai' gave me some invaluable advice. Here's a link to the thread: http://www.snowjapanforums.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/244481/Re_Wax_on_wax

While we're on the topic, I've seen wax solutions for snowboards that don't require an iron. What's the deal with these? Are they effective?　 Also, all of the shops I've been too in Osaka don't do a wax only. They want to do a whole service (obviously for more money).

Originally Posted By: Yappy Originally Posted By: Birdman Originally Posted By: Yappy Hey there Hope you're all good!!!!! Looks like Lodge Tibi-Tibi is our accommodation choice for Feb. It's got its own park?!! Anyone stayed here before?? Cheers, Yappy It sounds cheap, but you pay extra for most things, like using the hot tub, towels and others. Heaters are turned off at night from all reports from others who have stayed. You only get what you pay for. Hey Birdman Are you serious? They turn the heating off at night?? I'm prone to being more than a bit

Originally Posted By: Rag-Doll Out of interest, roughly what does a week's trip to the snow in Japan cost from Aust? AUD5,000 pp? It can't be far off. That to me is for the rich.

Pagos, I went on Saturday (but got in with help of a friend who was organizing) and bought a Flow board too! I went back on Monday around 4 p.m. and you could walk straight in. Still heaps of gear left, including bindings. I was hoping they were going to discount the 08-09 bindings but they didn't. If you're hard up for cash, you could always check out B-SPORTS in Amagasaki, but it's not that cheap for used gear. If you can negotiate Yahoo Auctions etc, in Japanese, that's another good angle.

Pagos, You missed the sale at Osaka Dome last weekend. Heaps of Flow bindings. I bought some! I also think Spotaka's your best bet. The small specialist stores are good but pricey.

Originally Posted By: Mamabear Maybe not 69... First up the majority of the fall out from this wont be this year as the majority of people have booked and paid in advance - they will just take the hit on the spending money. The cost increases will effect next season much more. At that time some of the Niseko visitors might say ... hmmm we love Japan, we feel comfortable there now, yes prices have gone up too much with the excahnge rate situations for us to go again - but whoah hang on....some of the more tradtional resorts are cheaper for lift tix and food costs ... and a more tradition