projectsplat
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Posts posted by projectsplat
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indeed. we have been waiting out the most recent storm, but i think we are just going to have to go and get into it.
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Originally Posted By: neversummerThe 7/11's in Kutchan also have ATM's that accept foreign cards.
Where were you the other night projectsplat?
We did end up at Bills, but I remembered that I had no idea what you looked like, and no idea what your name was. I also wasnt drunk enough to stand up on the bar and yell, "so is there a bloke here who goes on the snow japan forums under the name of neversummer?"
Sorry about that. I was spent the evening standing just to the left of the entrance to the main bar. I probably saw you, you probably saw me. Neither had any idea.
Actually, come to think of it, there was a bloke in a beanie standing in front of the fireplace in the main bar, who looked like he was looking for someone, but I only just came to that realisation now. We had been at the Apres opening party before coming to Bills, so I was 7 or so vodkas in by the time we arrived. Very trashy - and too shabby the next morning.
We are heading to the thing at Apres on friday night (at the Niseko Scot Hotel). Maybe catch you there if you are about. -
Originally Posted By: Mamabearahhh... so that is why my friend couldn't get any money out try as she might!!! I get it! (bit slow on the uptake some times!!)
I better get myself off to the Currency Exchange and be packing some serious cash then!
good idea. we ran out of yen early as we had to buy all of the stuff that was in the missing bag, so the ATM at the post office in Kutchan was a life saver.
we went to the post office that is closer to Kutchan station, and that had the option to switch to english menu's. we havent tried the other one yet. -
Cheers bloke. Fitting with this thread, Mt Yotei is somewhere in the back of that shot..... somewhere.....
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Hi NeverSummer,
Yeah, we will be heading down to Bill's a little later (around 7.30/8ish) might catch you down there. i will be the idiot with red & white sunnies on his head at night.....
Cheers
Alister
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Cheers NeverSummer.
We hit up Best Denki yesterday, with no luck. We found the adaptors, but all of the aussie ones were gone.
I did spot the power lead option, but decided against it in the hope of buying a proper adaptor - then proceeded to butcher my laptop cable last night just so I could get the book working.
Beers at bills could be good.I will give you a shout later in the day once we have gotten some snow.
Hey Mamabear,
I think i did spot one of those adaptors in Best Denki yesterday, but I pulled it all apart and could not find a way to get an aussie plug into it. I think we are heading down to Kutchan again today, so will give it another crack then.
Cheers
Alister
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hey when the circumstances call for it, you gotta do what you gotta do.
on topic: an ipod. because I get bored easily.
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cheers everyone. thanks for the tips. sorry about the bad placement of the post. (will chuck it into off-topic next time - too many suntory....)
i will try chatting with reception. we have been having fun practising our japanese with the staff at our hotel. this will be a worthy challenge.
i keep getting told I haven't posted enough on SJ to be able to PM people, so I may be stuck there. I will give the other options a crack before hassling Mike and co. (although I suspect I will be hassling the aforementioned to see if they are up for a beer later in the week
)cheers, and thanks again - arigato-o gozaimasu <bow>
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ok, first up, we are numb nuts. we should have bought one back in australia, and we didn't <slap>
the plan was to pick one up at the airport, but our connections were so tight that we did not get a chance - and so now we are without power.
so far, we have checked with the SeicoMart (no luck) then down to Kutchan to check the Co-op, Besto Denki, Home Mac?, Max Value and the cosmetics store next to that, all with no luck. my best bet so far has been to buy a screw-together-plug from Home Mac and butcher the cable for my laptop so that I can at least get some power to the lappy, but that still leaves my video camera and mobile without mains power.
no power means no video footage from niseko
sooooooo, does anyone have the inside scoop as to where to buy power adaptors in the niseko region?? pretty please?
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here is another shot from pretty much the same posi.
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here is a pic taken earlier today. according to the guage at the top of the lift, it was -10, and it was seriously dumping.
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technically yes, but it is nothing to write home about. this is probably the lightest snow I have seen since we have been here. it has been properly puking all afternoon though. we did a mission into kutchan earlier this afternoon, and when we got off the bus we had to pull our hoods over our faces to protect from the snow, it was dumping that hard.
sorry, i tried to stick my head out the window and take a photo, but there is flyscreen over the window.
hang on, will upload some pics from eariler today in a few minutes
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it has been snowing constantly since we got here. varies from light snow to absolutely puking down. the snow here is awesome. trying to get out for first tracks tomorrow.
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well, we went through the gauntlet a few hours ago. we scored by getting a free upgrade to business for the Bris->Tokyo leg, so it meant we were close to first out of the plane.
we also then power walked all the way to the shuttle between the terminals, so we were first in. walked in, fingers down, click, smile here please, click and we were on our way. as we headed down the escalators, I looked back to see a mass of about 200 people settling into the lines.... phew.
thing i learnt: get off the plane quickly, walk quickly, and you will avoid the queue.
other thing I learnt: it all counts for squat if they lose your bag on you.
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Originally Posted By: MikePowSATURDAY 15 DECEMBER 2007
27cm in the past 24 hrs
Dumping as I write. Got a little cooler so pow should be lighter today.
Yours truly enjoying the wet pow yesterday
Woohoo! We arrived about 15 minutes ago. Just settling into the hotel. They managed to lose one of the bags, but it wasn't the snowboard bag, so we are all good. It was dumping all the way on the drive up. Freakin brilliant.
Time to get some sleep - been awake for 22 hours.
More news tomorrow!
Cheers
Al -
Massive respect to the SJ crew. Let's have a love in....
Seriously, tops work guys and gals. love the site. there is a great vibe going on here.
Cheers
Al
- 14 hours till I get on a plane to Japan.
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Originally Posted By: Go NativeMajor dump of snow happening in Niseko tonight. It's pretty heavy and wet down low but there's going to be a lot of it.
thankyou, thankyou, thankyou, thankyou, thankyou, thankyou, thankyou, thankyou, thankyou, thankyou, thankyou, thankyou, thankyou, thankyou, thankyou, thankyou, thankyou, thankyou, thankyou, thankyou, ok, i think you get the point.
woohoo!
Al
- less than 24 hours till we leave. -
Cheers for that Mamabear. i am just hoping that the temperature plummets over the next 24 hours, so that this awful rain they are talking about on the reports turns into beautiful, beautiful snow. *fingers crossed*
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Originally Posted By: Oyuki kiganmore importantly, what underwear do you use?
Originally Posted By: quattroif you need some good insulation layering for underneath look at the Patagonia R1 tights. or go commando
mmm good question and something I was thinking about. if you are wool wearing thermals, is it going to stuff up the "wicking" process if you wear cotton underwear or is it better to take quattro's suggestion of going commando.... -
Originally Posted By: MamabearNup! Boarder...ohh cr@p! Mike is a skier!
Doh! Must have been half asleep when I posted THAT! 
its ok mamabear - I am sure that Mike is still a nice guy (even though he is a skier....)
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Originally Posted By: MamabearWooooohhh!!!
That is tight - if the plane is late taking off from Aus, hits bad weather and is late getting in to Tokyo, if your bags are the last off the carousel, and if the queues are long because of printing - could all add up to drama.
But there is not much you can about it is there?
Do you have a back up plan so that in case the worst happens you don't melt down?
I love the back up plan. Hubby and I travel with 4 kids - and we always take 'hiccups' in our stride - we are never rushed, screaming, or reduced to tears - no point really. But I have SEEN it happen to other people time and time again.
Personally we did not want to be pushed for time, and we wanted to see a bit of Tokyo, so we have NO connecting flights. We are staying in Tokyo on the way there and the way back - just makes for a more relaxed journey for us.
Yeah - tell me about it. Unfortunately, we are doing this as part of a package (first and last time), so there is little that can be done about it. Truth be told, I am not really that stressed about it - it is an annoyance more than anything (and yes, I am not stoked about being fingerprinted like a criminal.....) I tend to be fatalistic about this sort of stuff. If it all goes south at Narita and we miss our connection - oh well..... we will just trek into Tokyo for a day or so and then head up to Sapporo on the Monday. No big stress. I am sure the girlfriend will be happy to see a bit more of Tokyo!
well, not long now. bags are packed, weighed and ready to go. i will be sure to post back here once we go through and let you know how we went. -
Originally Posted By: tripitakaI don't think it will be a big deal at Narita. Even if you have to wait 30 mins, so what?
talking to a friend in Japan the other week, she was telling me - "oh the lines at Kansai airport took nearly no time at all. it was only the queues at Narita that were taking up to an hour and a half....."
I have just shy of 2 hours to get baggage, clear customs, and then check in for the connecting to Sapporo that night to then catch the connecting bus to Niseko. If it is a 30 second process - hey - no worries. If I get lobbed with 1hr 30 mins standing in line to get my photo taken, then I have a sneaking suspicion that I will be heading towards pretty stuffed.
then again, if there are a heap of people on my plane in the same situation, then there is a chance that they will hold the connecting flight for us - but I don't like to rely on things like that. -
Originally Posted By: tripitaka
-- There was a letter in the local Japan Times newspaper this morning. The writer said that pre-registered entrants (resident foreigners who have given their prints and photos beforehand) were moving through faster than anyone (the shortest queue of tourists, Japanese). The letter said the foreigners queue was similar to the Japanese.
oh well. I guess I will figure it out soon enough. we fly in on the weekend.
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Does anyone have any updates on delays caused by this yet?
Cheers
Al
Niseko Internet access
in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry
Posted
yeah, i brought my laptop with, and it has been unreal. news, facebook, SJ & somewhere to dump all of my photos!