tripitaka

Originally Posted By: Rag-Doll Originally Posted By: tripitaka In the company I work for, foreign engineers (and that means qualified tertiary-trained electrical and software engineers) with fluent Japanese are starting under 200K per month. Less than 2.5mil a year? Where are they qualified from, Khartoum Uni? What knuckle-headed western trained bilingual electrical engineer is going to work for less than US25k pa? They're not Westerners--Indian, Chinese and North African. Also, they graduated from Japanese universities on Mombusho scholarships. Japan's high-tech industry c

Originally Posted By: fukdane With difficulty, for sure. And more so now as everything seems to be shooting up in price. I remember when I first came though I was on about that and I still saved a fair bit. I did get lots of extras though and my aparto cost peanuts. My hat goes off to you. Most of the people I know who graduated as engineers when straight into high-paying jobs. Our company doesn't have the free apartment thing, but I know some of the bigger companies do.

Yes, well the days of high salaries in Japan are long gone. Being fluent in Japanese is rather meaningless in how it translates into salaries. In the company I work for, foreign engineers (and that means qualified tertiary-trained electrical and software engineers) with fluent Japanese are starting under 200K per month. The avergae salary in Japan is settling around 3 million per year these days, and that is no exagerration. How people support families on that, I don't know.

Originally Posted By: Rag-Doll The only direct flights between Aust and Japan are going to be Qantas and JAL so there isn't a lot of competition or choice. The prices are already very high, much higher than they ought to be due to the lack of competition. Maybe it has changed recently, but a few years ago doing the schlep back to Oz from TY always used to cost a bucket load and be serviced by the crappiest planes around. I've had some great experiences with Qantas flight crew when traveling with a three little kids, but the company is a money sucking leech that takes every opportunity to screw

There's some interesting views on how the airline industry works, but it's probably worth noting that if your major cost doubles in less than a year, you're going to have to take action. It's not simply a matter of "bums on seats" when you're struggling to fill up your gas tank and make a profit at the same time. It's also worth noting that there are pedictions of U.S. airlines cutting flights by up to 20%, so Quantas' actions are fairly understandable. For the near term at least, you can expect to pay a premium to fly to Japan, particularly in ski season.

Originally Posted By: Mamabear Originally Posted By: tripitaka Because of high energy prices, Quantas is cutting routes to Japan and dropping the Cairns and Melbourne routes. To what extent they will cut the Sydney route is unclear. Typical Qantas thought process... ...hmm it is getting expensive to fly to places because oil prices are going up. I know - let's fly there less! Yeah - that works. Mama, they're on very tight margins as it is. Every empty seat is chewing into their bottom light. Fewer flights will mean fuller planes as passengers take what's available.

Because of high energy prices, Quantas is cutting routes to Japan and dropping the Cairns and Melbourne routes. To what extent they will cut the Sydney route is unclear.

This is how ridiculous the price of a Wanaka season pass has become. Quote: Canny southerners are going back to school to get cut-price season passes to the Treble Cone skifield. The skifield's decision last year to raise prices for season passes has prompted Wanaka locals to exploit a loophole that gives students at the zero-fees Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) access to cut-price skiing. As SIT students, they pay $399 for a ski pass, saving themselves a whopping $1300 for the season, The Press newspaper reported. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_i

Originally Posted By: Oyuki kigan Burton's quality is not what it used to be. It seems to be focusing on 'image', now that 'quality' is not a big concern. OK, that's probably an industry-wide problem. In your opinion, which company is still producing good boards? Is Nitro still any good? Way back, their stock 165 board was the bomb.

Originally Posted By: MikePow 'Canned' as in packaged? What's the alternative? Resorts that don't run on full lift capacity, or don't run at all. Resorts that very few visit because everything is such a mission. If Niseko United was the only resort on Hokkaido then it would be 'kind of lame'. Thankfully there are many ski areas big and very small just on Hokkaido, where the consumer can get what they're looking for. "Canned" as in like soup. The alternative is to make your own. Depending on how much effort you put, it can taste a lot better and is ususally better for you.

Isn't that an oxymoron, 'Brain from Newcastle'? The consumer decides. Some want a full Japanese experience, some want a hybrid, some want a westernised experience in Japan. This goes for MANY resorts in the European Alps too (with their own language and culture obviously). And in my experience, the consumer/visitor ratio I work with in the Niseko area is now 45/45 - Australia / Hong Kong, Singapore, China. The remaining 10% is Kiwi, American and European. It's kind of lame that it's become so "canned" though. Like you say, "the consumer decides." That says it all to me.

Originally Posted By: MikePow 5-star luxury apartments going in below J-First. Niseko Village, the re-branded Higashiyama, won't offer 5-star amenities but by bringing Hilton on board they should offer 5-star service. And hopefully this will have an effect on all businesses in the area. For the Niseko area to remain successful it has to employ a low volume (people) high spend model. The mountain and lift system is not good/big enough to cope with more guests without queues developing and the powder snow experience being compromised. Thankfully there are MANY resorts in Japan that c

Originally Posted By: tripitaka Originally Posted By: Mantas Originally Posted By: Fattwins farking hell that is too much!! Yes it is FT. Family snow holidays here are for the elite or the very dedicated, I'm in the latter. Either way, the slopes are almost always full. It's ironic that you have a struggling ski industry in japan, practically giving it away, and a monopoly situation in Oz where they are milking it for all it's worth. You make a good comparision above. The Aussie impact on the NZ ski industry has also been huge. There's a lot of bitterness among the locals abou

Originally Posted By: Mantas Originally Posted By: Fattwins farking hell that is too much!! Yes it is FT. Family snow holidays here are for the elite or the very dedicated, I'm in the latter. Either way, the slopes are almost always full. It's ironic that you have a struggling ski industry in japan, practically giving it away, and a monopoly situation in Oz where they are milking it for all it's worth. You make a good comparision above. The Aussie impact on the NZ ski industry has also been huge. There's a lot of bitterness among the locals about the state of things (except those

Originally Posted By: Mantas Originally Posted By: tripitaka Ruapehu in NZ is looking at a June 14th opening. I will be there in August but at $83 for a lift pass, it's going to be tough to get me on the mountain!! Is that $83 NZ Trip? If so, it's still way cheaper than Oz at $97 Aus. (about $110 NZ) 83 Kiwi. BB, it's noth that bad a mountain, but not at that price. You notice that these NZ skifields hype the "activities" and "services", not the actual snow and/or terrrain. What do you get though? A latte with lunch?

Ruapehu in NZ is looking at a June 14th opening. I will be there in August but at $83 for a lift pass, it's going to be tough to get me on the mountain!!

Originally Posted By: Creek Boy yup Dont know how legal they are though Didn't think there were any laws about mtbs on trails in Japan (that used to be the case anyway). Has that changed?

Originally Posted By: Fattwins You are dealing with rural politics now. The LDP throws money at rural infrasture to prop up their standing. Rural people tend not to really care that the countries fiances are a mess. There are areas in rural communities that have roads but they wont be cleared buy public money. These roads are considered privately own or privately shared. When you buy a house outside the city you have to look into this situation and consider it. Rural politics. The thought scares me. You're dead right that the country people don't care, but somebody's got to foot the b

It's interesting GN, in other parts of Japan, particularly rural areas, funding the maintenance of public infrastructure is a major issue. Why? Look at the demographics, falling incomes, and years of irresponsible public spending. You don't have the critical mass in the sticks (even though that hasn't stopped Osaka city from bankrupting itself).

Originally Posted By: MikePow Government, and home owners through annual taxes. Same as most places in the world. Exactly, and an environment as variable Hokkaido, I bet it's not cheap. What's stopping the local govt reaming the holiday makers? I wouldn't think the farmers will be wanting to subsidize it.

Originally Posted By: thursday. it's ridiculous. The number of apartments going up and the infrastructure hardly changing. Where the hell are you supposed to eat? Self catering is not an option. You can do that at home. When you're in Niseko, you're on holiday and that doesn't include grocery shopping, cooking, and washing up. When I think of infrastructure, I also think of water systems, roads, power, etc. If you're going to have a half-million dollar holiday home, isn't this an issue? Who the heck pays for all of this?

Originally Posted By: thursday. Originally Posted By: tripitaka I defintely wouldn't want to spend the evening looking for an ATM or battling drunks in an izakaya!! Just as well my reality's a little more modest. your imagination aint. True. OTOH, anyone paying that much money has got rocks in their head.

Well Mama if I was paying $1000 a night, I'd probably feel a bit short-changed if I didn't get a bit of glamour served on the side. I defintely wouldn't want to spend the evening looking for an ATM or battling drunks in an izakaya!! Just as well my reality's a little more modest.

Western Australian mining or property bubble money, perhaps?

It still surprises me that people will pay that much in Hirafu, particularly over the whole season. I always thought people with that kind of money would want to be in Aspen or Vail. There can't be that many places in Hirafu to be seen in your mink coat!!