Hotaka Scott

^^^ Agreed. But the being good at skiing adds a bit of ... something.

You paged? (not a Kiwi but do tele) Did something similar a few years back - rented a campervan and drove around the Southern Island for about a month. Mixture of skiing and sightseeing, as well as a week in the backcountry with a guide. Got to Mt Hutt, Cheeseman, Craigeburn and The Remarkables (maybe one more too?). All good stuff. Others from NZ may be able to give you more info. As long as there's snow you can't go wrong.

Just speculating here, but I'm thinking the system would involve a safety lecture/orientation after which you'd be given a "special pass" (ie armband or the like) which would give you access to the area. Guessing entry would be through a controlled gate. Anyone in the know up north?

Was hoping to see a newly posted pic of the Goddess and am instead greeted with this depressing news But I guess congratulations are in order. So who's the guy?

Originally Posted By: PWL I know what I'd do. Well?? Some comedian joked that no one in their right mind would pay 1 million $ to sleep with his wife but he reckons he could find 10,000 guys willing to pay $100 each

Season looks to be off to a good start. Thanks for the update/pics guys

Sun and/or alarm. Perhaps this would be best done as a poll (or not).

Glad to hear it ended well though. When it starts to get dark and cold, panic mode kicks in eh? Thanks for sharing

Great links Mr Wiggles - this thread is turning gold. And good luck with the house quest, ger.

^^^ Finished up skiing? Reckon there's still a few snow days left. Had a short run today actually - only about 50 m vertical but felt good. May be another TR next week from the annual Karasawa "Get-Drunk-and-Ski-the-Next-Day Ski Compettion" (it translates slightly different in Japanese). Skiing will be weather dependent of course, but the getting drunk should be a go regardless

Like the 700 - not so sure why though.

Indeed it is

^^^ Wouldn't be the least bit suprised if that was the case...

Just wanted to bump this back to page 1 for another run to see if it gets any more hits. Some good advice thus far though from those in the know.

Good news for the Niseko crew, eh? Any idea what/who brought about the change?

Originally Posted By: thursday Being a non skier in a ski resort is not fun. She would be feeling left out while you are having fun fun fun. She'll probably make up for it by going shopping or head into town to a male strip club. How did I miss this one. Classic.

^^^ It's a good 8 hour hike in the summer; little longer if there's snow ( 'til late June). Lots of folks do it as a 3 day weekend for the round trip.

By my estimates, today is Monday. Did anyone make it out for "opening weekend" in Aus or NZ? Or anywhere for that matter...

Interested in hearing stemik's story as well - if he doesn't mind shraring. Like that first picture the best muikabochi

^^^ Winter - nice! Were the huts still open or were you tenting it?

This could turn into an interesting thread....

Found it: http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20080928x3.html Also in addition to Mr Wiggles suggestion of Bess, there's a few others that do sort-of log style houses: http://www.talo.co.jp/index.html http://www.fin-bigbox.com/ and kiitos , but the link doesn't seem to be working. Had a look at a couple model homes from Bess in Kanazawa (Ishikawa) - very impressive.

^^^ skiing or hiking?

ger - won't be of much help to you here but Mrs Hotaka and I are in the same boat. Told her only 3 more years in the apartment (max). Hope this thread gets some replies. The Japan Times had a decent article about buying a house a few months ago. I'll see if I can't find it.

^^^ That looks much more promising. Thredbo however..... Hope you guys get your dump.