donniemurdo

Originally Posted By: Tubby Beaver I dunno about any forums Donnie, maybe you could try the Uk Ski club website. The thing about snowboarding back home is that its very erratic, the weather varies sooo much. Also, after starting and experiencing the conditions here, you're just gonna be so pissed off with Scottish conditions!! Aye you're probably right! I used to ski maybe twice a year in my teens (over 10 years ago) and the conditions were crap compared to what I saw at Nozawa. I remember school trips to Cairngorm having to go to the Lecht cos there was sod all snow and on one trip t

Al, bit off-topic but do you recommend any forums for scottish (/UK) snowboarding? i'm getting into it over here and want to keep going when i get back to scotland some time this year. have a good time in japan. the snow (and food etc etc) is amazing here!

Giving this a bump in case there's others in the same boat! Apart from weekend 8th-9th March I'm free to go any weekend and maybe during week if I can get holiday. I'm also planning on taking a long break from work in late March or early April so might head to Hokkaido or somewhere up North still with plenty snow. cheers

I'm a beginner boarder and looking for folk to board with I plan on getting at least 3 or 4 weekends and maybe a few midweek trips to the snow this season so if you are a beginner/intermediate (or advanced but I won't be able to keep up!) snowboarder in the Tokyo area and want to head out together then please send me a message - or reply here if you like. I went to Nozawaonsen and I really liked it there and would be looking to go somewhere similar (not too busy, reasonable distance, lots of options for beginners). Cheers Donnie

Thanks for the advice. I'll see what's available bib wise and if the selection is duff then I'll go for snowboard trousers. How's the stuff from Mont Bell? Does anyone wear that? Their trousers are probably too tight. I like the idea of the face mask to direct my breath downwards. I'll look for one of those. I'd like to read some gear reviews etc online before I hit the shops. Can anyone point me in the direction of good online clothing/eqt reviews? Just tell me the name of the site and I'll google it. Which brands are sold at a reasonable price in Japan? e.g. I found a .jp

I'm a beginner (a whole 2 days boarding) and I'd like to try and get some basic gear. I live in Tokyo so I can get to Jimbocho/Ogawamachi pretty easily if this is where the best prices are. I want to try stuff on before I buy - maybe I could try in the shop and order online if its cheaper. I borrowed a pair of Burton Ronin cargo pants when I went boarding and they seemed pretty good. The problem is that I already have a jacket and it's a short North Face one so snow was getting into the gap and leaving me a bit damp. To keep costs down I'm thinking of getting bib/salopette style pant

Originally Posted By: SJ#1 The normal lessons that they offer are 4000 yen for the day (3000 yen for half a day), but you might drop on lucky and get an instructor who can talk some English and be willing to do so. This is what I did. I got very lucky and my instructor (Itaru?) spoke excellent English and got me a flying start. My lesson was on Fri so it was pretty quiet and there were only 3 of us in the group. The other 2 were a Hawaiian/Japanese mother and her 10 year old daughter so the lesson was pretty much entirely in English. Also, they only did a half-day so the afternoon t

Originally Posted By: wattiewatson I dont think Nozawa has insurance included in the ticket price or as an option. However i dont buy day passes so im not sure. matt My girlfriend asked at the lift pass booth and was told that insurance wasn't included at nozawa and wasn't available as an extra. Originally Posted By: Indo I just paid 1,500 for the bells and whistles insurance for 6 days Hokkers trip with AIU for winter sports. That's a good tip, thanks! Luckily it turns out my secondment insurance does include winter sports

Fair point about updating the site. I wanted to see if others agreed with my point of view before raising it as a problem but I've emailed the SJ site editor. Donnie

Based on the page http://www.snowjapan.com/e/resorts/nozawa-ski-school.html I booked a 2-day trip to Nozawa Onsen. A workmate went at new year and got ski lessons in English (from a Japanese instructor) as part of the public group lesson for 4,000 Yen per day. I emailed nozawa ski school and this was part of the reply: "While we have general Snowboarding lessons, they're most likely taught by non-English speaking instructors. For English lessons, the lessons will be done in private lessons and they cost \20,000 for a full day" Are they trying to get me to stump up a lot of money for

Thanks for the responses. I've asked my employer to check if winter sports are included in my insurance - probably not. I bought insurance from the Japanese tour company. It was pretty cheap at 2,500 Yen. I'll also get insurance with my lift pass if it's possible. I'll confirm here when I get back. Donnie

Hi folks, First post so be gentle please! I searched the forum for an answer to this but couldn't find any. I'm going to Nozawa Onsen on 24th Jan for 3 days for my first time snowboarding and I'm a bit concerned about insurance. What do foreigners who are living in Japan and go snowboarding/skiing do for medical/emergency insurance? I'm here in Japan as an intra-company transferee on a 1 year working visa. I have general medical insurance provided by my employer in UK but it doesn't cover any winter sports. I don't have any Japanese health insurance. My friend recently