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tm12881

SnowJapan Member
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Posts posted by tm12881

  1. Nope. They didn't help much. There was a guy from England at my middle school when I was still going there back in 93-95, but he was just there. I don't know how much interaction students get from them these days, but if they really want their speaking skills to improve, they need to be relocated to a place where people don't speak their own language. Plus... most of the Japanese English teachers I had couldn't even speak fluent English! so how do you expect the students to learn from them!!!

  2. I used to get the triangle milk cartons made with plastic in the beginning of elementary school. But they were discontinued as it used to break and leak all the time. During the summer time or any warmer time, I still remember the smell of dry-rotten milk on the kyushoku cart. Then, it was changed to the standard paper box carton.

  3. Yea... the ease of transportation after train was a clear point for me, but taking a bus for >1hr from the Nagano train station to the resort/hotel isn't too bad to me. I mean it takes me at least 3.5 hrs to get to resorts around Lake Tahoe from where I live. angry

     

    How are those resorts (Kagura, Naeba, Hakuba Goryou/HappoOne) after a storm or decent snow fall? I'm planning to hit them up on the weekday (Mon/Tues or Tues/Wed), but I'd like to avoid the crowd as much as possible. I don't wanna deal with crowded slopes as I already do so at the Tahoe resorts.

  4. What kinda place would serve half cooked chicken or pork?

     

    My parents got me ordering rare at Japanese steak houses as that's what they used to order, because they used to say fully cooked steak would kill the real flavor of beef or something like that, but they were very strict about cooking chicken and pork fully.

     

    I've ordered "rare" prime rib at Outback (Franchise Steak house in US) and I got real rare slice before. Even though I liked "rare" steak in Japan, I actually asked them to make it medium rare. After that, I made sure to order mine medium rare.

  5. So which area/resort do you all think is a good place for me? I'm not looking to do any BC, but I know I want some steeps hill when the condition is right. If it's ice skating link, then I usually just stay on the intermediate runs.

     

    Basically, I'm looking for variation of steepness, long runs, and prefer wider runs. I am not really looking for any parks or jibbing action in Japan.

     

    The reason why I said Kagura/Naeba or Hakuba area is those area seem to be convenient destinations via train/shinkansen, and hotels nearby the resorts.

     

    Please let me know if you have any other suggestions.

  6. It seems like they only know engrish. But honestly, why would they care about those words in Japan anyway? First they are in English, and Japanese kids usually grow up surrounded by bad influences, like bad words in manga (weekly Jump and Magazines were/still are my favorite), nudity on TV shows (used to), dad smoking and drinking every day/night, etc.

     

    But... seriously, I hope they're only wearing them for the cute design on those clothes, and not trying to make a statement by what their clothes say.

  7. For your clothing, just make sure your jacket/pants have good rating for waterproof and breathability. I think most jackets come with 10,000MM waterproof and 5,000GM breathability. My Special Blend jacket has that rating and it kept me dry even during storms. As for the pants, I think most pants come with 5000/5000 rating and that should be sufficient. But if you do a lot of powder riding, then make sure to choose jacket/pants have powder skirt and can be attached together for the extra protection from the snow. Or, of course, you can shed more money for Gore-Tex material for better waterproof and breathability.

     

    For gloves, personally, I like under gloves, in which jacket sleeves cover the gloves, better than over gloves, which part of gloves cover the jacket, because I don't get to ride many powder days. But if you do a lot of powder riding, then I'd buy over gloves, so your arms can be protected from the snow. I actually have both, and choose depending on the day.

     

    Boots... I can't really recommend any since all boots fit differently. I have 07/08 Shaun White boots since I have high instep and I needed boots which give more space in that area. I'd go with traditional lace or Speed zone type, so replacement can be purchased easily. Also, I'd recommend to choose boots, in which you can tighten your boots in more than one zone. Such as Burton's Speed Zone gives you a choice of tightness in two different zones. By this, you can avoid a lot of foot pain caused by the lack of blood circulation.

     

    If you wanna save some money, a lot of shops in US already have around 50% off for the 07/08 gear, so it might be a good idea to look around some online shops.

  8. Ok, I guess I don't need to take a driving test, but I still need $15-20 and 2 passport pics.

     

    But the question is: Is it really worth renting a car in Japan for a solo 2 day trip?

     

    Or I can use the cars my parents own (and they live in Gumma) but I don't wanna get in an accident or be liable if anything happens.

     

    btw, I got my info from http://tokyo.usembassy.gov/e/acs/tacs-drive.html

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