skelonas 0 Posted November 2, 2007 Share Posted November 2, 2007 My girlfriend and I are coming to Sapporo mid December and plan to stay through January. We're looking for some advice on the cheapest place to stay, and the cheapest way to get our powder days in. We're basically there to ski, but would rather live in the city and commute- I estimate 3-5 days on the slopes per week. Lodging: We would like our own place, but may be willing to share a kitchen if there are 'gaijin houses' that are much cheaper this way. Leo's Palace has been suggested to us before. Skiing: I saw somewhere that Rusustu and Sapporo Teine have a combo season pass. Does anyone know about this? Are there good deals for the Niseko areas too? Do you have to buy early to get the deals, or can we wait until we arrive? Any and all suggestions welcome! Transportation: Would buying and then selling a car be much more of a financial and logistical burden than it's worth? Are there decent/affordable bus/train options to get us to the mountains? Is there a community of folks that carpool and are willing to take people along if they chip in for gas? When are the worst times on the slopes in terms of holiday crowds, and which resorts disperse such crowds the best? Lots of questions, I know! Thanks so much for any wisdom that you can pass on! Link to post Share on other sites
Ezorisu 0 Posted November 2, 2007 Share Posted November 2, 2007 The combination season pass is the "Kamori Winter Pass" or "K-Pass" that is usable at 5 co-owned resorts including Teine, Rusutsu, and Sahoro. Here is the website (sorry, only in Japanese). Link to post Share on other sites
me jane 0 Posted November 2, 2007 Share Posted November 2, 2007 It would be cheaper to rent a car for 2 months than buy one. The set up costs, finding parking and paperwork just wouldn't be worth it. Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted November 2, 2007 Share Posted November 2, 2007 me jane the glory of living outside of Urban areas is that you dont have to worry about all parking etc charges. Anyways you cant buy a car if you dont have residence status so that isnt an option. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted November 2, 2007 Share Posted November 2, 2007 mid December, staying through Jan and you'r thinking of buying a car? By the way, good choice. I love Sapporo and all the Hokkaido seafood. Link to post Share on other sites
skelonas 0 Posted November 2, 2007 Author Share Posted November 2, 2007 Ok, that makes sense. The plan would have been to sell it when we leave, but that makes sense that we can't register it, etc if we aren't residents. So what is the best way to get to the snow? How much would a car rental be for 6-7 weeks? Seems like that would be a bit pricey! Link to post Share on other sites
HappyG 0 Posted November 2, 2007 Share Posted November 2, 2007 Hi FT, re buying a car... when you say "resident", will getting a gaijin card do, or is it a lot more difficult than that? Link to post Share on other sites
Ezorisu 0 Posted November 2, 2007 Share Posted November 2, 2007 Originally Posted By: skelonas So what is the best way to get to the snow? I usually use the bus. Take Teine for example - you can either catch the train to JR Teine station and jump the bus to Teine Highland (buses generally run about hourly), or if you're closer to a subway station than the limited number of train stations in Sapporo, catch the subway over to Miyanosawa and get on the bus to Teine from there. Another example - if I'm headed to Kiroro for the day, I'll head to the bus terminal and get a "pack" which is round-trip bus fare and a 1-day lift ticket for around y5,000 to 6,000. Places other than Teine, Sapporo Kokusai, Makomanai, Onze, Asari, and Kiroro are more than 2-hours away from metropolitan Sapporo. The buses that service these outlying areas are scheduled assuming you are taking an overnight trip there. Link to post Share on other sites
Ezorisu 0 Posted November 2, 2007 Share Posted November 2, 2007 Sweet! What time does that leave Sapporo? Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted November 2, 2007 Share Posted November 2, 2007 Sapporo -> Niseko 07:20 - 10:08 (Donan) 07:30 - 10:30 (Chuo) 08:45 - 11:45 (Chuo) 14:50 - 17:28 (Donan) 17:20 - 19:58 (Donan) Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted November 2, 2007 Share Posted November 2, 2007 I have heard of people getting a gaijin card and cars when they werent residents but.... they had hotels here and it wasnt easy for them. PM TJ as he knows more about the process of getting a gaijin card without being a resident. Link to post Share on other sites
skelonas 0 Posted November 3, 2007 Author Share Posted November 3, 2007 Is there a yearly/season pass that you can buy for either bus or train to Niseko or Rusutsu? And are there options where you can get there earlier than 10AM in the morning? That doesn't really cut it on a powder day- especially since the roads would probably make it later. We're going to be there long enough that we figured it would be economical to get a season pass- probably the one mentioned for Teine and Rusutsu, so the combo deals wouldn't really help when traveling to those resorts. Any more opinions on getting to the snow and also cheap temporary living options would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Link to post Share on other sites
me jane 0 Posted November 3, 2007 Share Posted November 3, 2007 To buy a car you need proof where you are living (foreigners use gaijin cards to get a certificate issued from the local government office. I can't remember what it's called but the Japanese need a slighly different certificate called a juuminhyo. When I asked for a juuminhyo they gave me the special foreigner one). You also need proof that you have a place to park your car. You have to take the proof to the police station and leave it with them for a week while they check it out. Then they send you a certificate saying it's okay. (FT, as far as I know this is the law - even in the countryside. I had to do it in Saga too. Correct me if I'm wrong - perhaps it is different for landowners?) You also need have a personal seal (stamp) made (called a hanko) with your name in Katakana. The seal has to be registered at the local government office and you have to buy a certificate to prove it is registered. When you have all three bits of paper above, you can go and buy your car. If you are in Sapporo city and rent you will have to think about parking. There is no parking on the side of the street - partly because it's illegal and partly cos it will be piled high with snow between the pavement and traffic lane. You might be able to park at the rental shop nut I've never heard of anyone doing that. Sapporo city parking is between 200 and 400 yen/hour. There are probably long stay car parks too - or check with your hotel/hostel. For info on buying/leasing cars this guy might be able to help you. He knows what can and can't be done and speaks English. He would be more expensive that doing it locally and wouldn't be able to help with parking though. If you did go through him it's not such an issue getting the car to Sapporo - 3 hr drive Tokyo to port, 12 hour ferry, 1 hour drive port to Sapporo (I did it two years ago). http://www.micklay.com/auto-leasing.html The following are car rental companies with branches in Sapporo. car.orix.co.jp http://www.mazda-rentacar.co.jp/www/genre/0000000000000/1157608717919/index.html http://www.nipponrentacar.co.jp/english/index.html http://www.rent-a-lease.com/english/ http://www.toyotarentacar.net/english/index.asp http://www.hondarent.com/english/index.htm The toyota rent a lease Japanese site above is offering a winter deal here: http://www.rent-a-lease.com/event/winter...WID=35814436541 Re living, my friend stayed at this place for a few weeks when he moved up to Sapporo. http://www.inos-place.com/ Link to post Share on other sites
Go Native 70 Posted November 3, 2007 Share Posted November 3, 2007 me jane we had to show proof of a parking place in Kutchan so I can only assume that rule applies no matter where you live. Frankly why you'd want to live in the city and commute to the ski fields rather than the other way around just doesn't make sense to me. But then I really don't like cities... Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 You don't need parking if you live in a "mura" or a "mura" thats now a "machi" or a "shi". Link to post Share on other sites
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