2pints-mate 0 Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 Well we finally have our plan. 5 days in Nozawa 4 days in Shiga Kogen 5 days in Hakuba 2 days in Tokyo Staying in friendly Japanese-style places all the way. Link to post Share on other sites
tsondaboy 0 Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 awesome! Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 sick! Thats a good plan Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 that is a very good plan. One place missing to make it an EXCELLENT plan. Link to post Share on other sites
2pints-mate 0 Posted December 19, 2007 Author Share Posted December 19, 2007 We decided not to go there. Like I said, we really want it to be about being in Japan as much as snowboarding all the time. Link to post Share on other sites
tsondaboy 0 Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 Next year you have to plan a Niigata tour. Link to post Share on other sites
2pints-mate 0 Posted December 19, 2007 Author Share Posted December 19, 2007 Nah, sorry Niigata just doesn't really have the same appeal, or at least not as much as the places we chose.... Link to post Share on other sites
tsondaboy 0 Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 then how about a tohoku tour next year? 5 days Zao 4 day Appi 5 days hakouda Link to post Share on other sites
2pints-mate 0 Posted December 19, 2007 Author Share Posted December 19, 2007 We ummed and ahhed (?) about Tohoku, but it just ended up being a lot of travelling big distances between places (compared with what we are doing) - as well as in the end the resorts not being as appealing. Maybe next year as we think it through more. Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 What places are you staying that are "Japanese-style" if you don't mind me asking? Link to post Share on other sites
2pints-mate 0 Posted December 19, 2007 Author Share Posted December 19, 2007 I don't mind at all. We are staying in a very nice modern but traditional looking ryokan in Nozawa, a hotel in the Ichinose area of Shiga Kogen and a really nice place in Hakuba run by a Japanese family. All complete with limited English speaking abilities! Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 If you happen to meet us on our tour, we'll sign autographs and stuff. Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 Are you selling T-shirts? When does he CD come out? Link to post Share on other sites
kokodoko 67 Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 I will have a pint of bitter and a packet of crisps, thanks gov. F##k the cds and the autographs. Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 I really wanted the names, but never mind. I think its allowed so long as you don't post hyperlinks. I'm all for people having a Japanese experience in Japan, btw. I'm just interested to see what visitors from overseas think it is. A lot of us have been here so long that many (definitely not all!) Japanese things seem kind of normal. Link to post Share on other sites
2pints-mate 0 Posted December 20, 2007 Author Share Posted December 20, 2007 I know, it was me who didn't want to post specific names. First of all, we didn't want to stay at a place that was owned by, run by and mostly visited by gaijin. Nothing against those places or gaijin, of course, just not for us. Not interested in being surrounded by mostly other English speakers. When we have been in Japan before one of the things we really enjoyed most (perhaps as much as the time on the mountain even) was the not-much-English environment, meeting some really great Japanese people and experiencing Japan whatever that means. It was a lot of fun. And to be blunt, last year a fair few of the "foreigners" that we met were exactly the type of people we like to normally avoid - and we can enjoy the kind of tomfoolery that seemed to be the choice behaviour that was on show back in London if we want any day of the year. When we're in Hakuba we'll pick up some info on where the "gaijin bars" are, and make a point of avoiding them. It seems such a waste of an experience to go all that way to somewhere like Japan to just be surrounded by people who are like your mates back home. It's one of the reasons we didn't choose Niseko. It's one of the reasons why were are still interested in places in Tohoku, but not this time (for other reasons). Something like that. Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 I suppose you're booked up, but if you want full on tradtional Japanese rural architecture, I know a couple of great places to stay in Nozawa and Hakuba. We normally try to stay in places like that ourselves, although some of them aren't so keen on toddlers. That said, we live about 20 yards from one of Hakuba's biggest gaijin bars and are a snowball's throw from two backpackers popular with gaijin, but it doesn't bother us in the slightest. Living anywhere near a party pub in the UK would completely do my head in. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 2pimts and Bags, good idea. I like where you're coming from, but not literally, I hate London. There are loads of places on Hokkaido that's un-felched by the gaijin crowd, but that's for your later trips. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 But just as a by the way question, is this your first trip to Nippon? Link to post Share on other sites
SirJibAlot 0 Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 will you be undertaking any Urban foraging freeganing while you are here? Link to post Share on other sites
sunrise 0 Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 dates, boys, we need dates! Link to post Share on other sites
sunrise 0 Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 ummmm, to clarify - when? Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 Originally Posted By: 2pints,mate And to be blunt, last year a fair few of the "foreigners" that we met were exactly the type of people we like to normally avoid - and we can enjoy the kind of tomfoolery that seemed to be the choice behaviour that was on show back in London if we want any day of the year. When we're in Hakuba we'll pick up some info on where the "gaijin bars" are, and make a point of avoiding them. It seems such a waste of an experience to go all that way to somewhere like Japan to just be surrounded by people who are like your mates back home. It's one of the reasons we didn't choose Niseko. It's one of the reasons why were are still interested in places in Tohoku, but not this time (for other reasons). Something like that. Nice sentiment 2 Pints. I agree in theory. The problem is that you can often miss out on things due to the langauge barrier. Gaijins that live in Japan most likely take for granted their ability to speak Japanese well, and are likely to get all the minute details they need about a place. I like a bit of gaijin influence mixed in with my trip. Not too much though. Sounds great trip. Link to post Share on other sites
2pints-mate 0 Posted December 20, 2007 Author Share Posted December 20, 2007 3rd time. We didn't have problems before... and the ones we did have were dealt with well and ended up being part of the fun. Anyway, we are both members of these forums for a number of years - it's not as if we don't know anything! Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 Originally Posted By: 2pints,mate Anyway, we are both members of these forums for a number of years - it's not as if we don't know anything! , oh yeah? Link to post Share on other sites
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