Need travel tip!! what do you recommend?

[schnefloeckchen.xx 0]

Hi there...

 

I plan to back to Japan for snowboarding this winter and start to think about gear...

 

Rental gear service in Japan is pretty awful (well opinion based on my experience) and I do not mind to buy new board in japan and bring back to Europe. (anyway, it's not easy for me to find my size in here, am asian size!!)

 

But Airline might cause of extra cost and might be a bit hassle at check in desk of Narita.

 

Which U would recommend me....

 

(a) Be patient about bad rental condition for a 4 days on the snow (but at least can have nice onsen experience again in Japan) ; or

 

( Anyway, plan to buy new board this season, so why not in Japan even might face "slight problem at Narita"...

 

p.s plan to visit Yuzawa area by the way.

 

Cheers,

[stemik 14]

I see you are from Germany. I would give Lufthansa a call and pre book your snowboard as sporting gear for your return flight. I guess under 50euros.

Lufthansa are very good on the sporting gear...i shipped a bike with them recently and they took very good care of it.

[EustabiaChiq 0]

No good board shops here in Yuzawa so probably best to make a stop in Tokyo on your way up.

[Tubby Beaver 209]

 Originally Posted By: stemik

I see you are from Germany. I would give Lufthansa a call and pre book your snowboard as sporting gear for your return flight. I guess under 50euros.
Lufthansa are very good on the sporting gear...i shipped a bike with them recently and they took very good care of it.

Thats exactly right Stemik, I flew with Lufthansa to here in April and as I've said on the other thread, it was pretty cheap for me to add my snowboard gear.

Contact the airline before you go to the airport and they should give you a flat rate to pay for excess baggage

[Markie 0]

50 euros on Lufthansa seems to be on the spot. When I travelled HK to Geneva earlier this year they charged me 50 Euros for checking in my skis. What really pissed me off on this transaction was that they refused to accept my 50 Euros cash and insisted that it had to be done by credit card meaning they could screw me in HK$ for whatever exchange rate they wanted. And then on the return flight from Geneva to HK, also on Lufthansa, they didn't charge me anything for the skis. So you never know what they will charge.

 

If you are only boarding for 4 days, is it really worth it to pay 50 or 100 Euros to ship your board around. I suggest you try to have some fun with whatever board you can rent and have a good onsen.

[skidaisuki 0]

Markie, that's good a good point about Lufthansa's consistency and a worthwhile warning.

 

I would ask though, how many places in HK accept Euro cash? It's pretty normal to do the transaction by credit card and on a 50 Euro transaction you might have lost a couple of hundred yen on the exchange rate, but I suspect you can afford it somehow... Plus you were going to Germany, so it was surely more useful to have the 50 Euros on you in cash anyway...?

 

I'm just a little mystified by what seems to be rather trivial reasoning for suggesting that renting is better. 50 Euros extra sounds pretty cheap in the first place.

[Markie 0]

How mamy places in HK accept Euro cash? I would have thought that if you are charging in Euros, then you should accept in Euros. I remember in my schooldays learning something called "legal tender", that is to say that cash cannot be refused as a means of payment. Refusing it and demanding credit cards or other stuff is illegal. I don't know if that applies to Euros in HK but I just wanted to whine about it especially since my other friend from HK who was also going on the same trip with me was flying with Air France on a cheaper ticket and he was not charged anything for checking in his skis.

 

Anyway, here is a useful link:

http://www.lufthansa.com/online/portal/lh/jp/info_and_services/baggage?l=en&nodeid=1769640#ancN65823

 

Hey, 50 Euros is a lot. That can easily cover your board rental for a few days + a few beers!