merryJim 1 Posted September 1, 2003 Share Posted September 1, 2003 I get the idea that quite a few people on here sacrifice on the comfort to get their snow thrills in winter. By that I mean sleeping in cars, rough, or real cheap places and maybe travelling on a slow train overnight. Thats instead of staying in more comfort and travelling by car or shink whatever. Both fine of course, but how much do you sacrifice? Link to post Share on other sites
ProbablyaCrazyPerson 2 Posted September 1, 2003 Share Posted September 1, 2003 I'm ProbablyaCrazyPerson, but I like roughing it sometimes. And then sometimes I like splashing out on comfort. Just depends on the mood and the occasion. Link to post Share on other sites
mogski 0 Posted September 1, 2003 Share Posted September 1, 2003 Crashing in the van whether it be at the mountains, on the beach or just a norm holiday! Cheap is good! Link to post Share on other sites
Siem Reeves 0 Posted September 2, 2003 Share Posted September 2, 2003 If you rough it, you can do a heck of a lot more skiing... and that's what it's all about!!! For our honeymoon, we didn't have much money, but we managed to go skiing for two weeks instead of a few days staying somewhere flashy - I suppose it depends on what your priorities are The best deal of course is when you can get the nice stuff for cheap, then you can do both!! Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted September 2, 2003 Share Posted September 2, 2003 The more i sacrifice the more i can ski. I look for cheap places 3000 to 4000 yen pensions when with the wife. by myself ill sleep in my car. why i get to sleep at the resort and get first tracks in the morning. Even when I have money i still like to save. I perfer soul to flash. Friends and good company than roomservice and a hot tub. In japan a hot tub is 500 to 1000 yen a pop. Link to post Share on other sites
lin 0 Posted September 2, 2003 Share Posted September 2, 2003 Well, heres another pov. I come from Hong Kong and part of my experience is staying in nice hotels and also meeting Japanese people. I don't want to rough it, I want to feel comfortable when I am there. Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted September 2, 2003 Share Posted September 2, 2003 yeah but if you didnt have to come from hong kong and you could ski every weekend would you rough it for quanity. Heres a price check. If i stay at Arai i can pay say 15000 a night ticket 10000 yen for 2 days sking. meals about 4000 drive the car up there and back gas and road tolls 20000 yen food on the drive 2000 thats for a night. about 50000yen right for 2 days of sking. thats my budget for 6 days to 8 days of sking in either nagano or gifu. My yearly 5 day trip to hakuba during peak season costs about that much. and we stay in a japanese condo. The more i ski the better i get its all worth a little savings here and there. Link to post Share on other sites
viv&kev 0 Posted September 2, 2003 Share Posted September 2, 2003 If you could go every weekend nearby then I don't think people would go for comfort/luxury, but some people do want to enjoy that part of their holiday as well as the actual times on the slopes. It just depends on what you want from the whole experience, of course. For me, the skiing is only part of the whole experience. For you, the skiing part is apparently almost 100% of the experience. Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted September 2, 2003 Share Posted September 2, 2003 bingo! thats why i will never willingly stop. Link to post Share on other sites
Siem Reeves 0 Posted September 2, 2003 Share Posted September 2, 2003 I'm with you, Fattwins. We haven't had to sleep in our car to go skiing yet (but we have at Narita...) but we would have not problems doing so (Jared gets a bit squashed, but I'm a shortie, so it's ok!!). Your skiing budget sounds like ours... hooray for cheap tatami rooms at Sukayu Onsen!!!! Link to post Share on other sites
miteyak 0 Posted September 2, 2003 Share Posted September 2, 2003 90% in the van. I actually prefer the experience. Nothing like lying down in the back and staring up at the falling snow as you drop off to sleep... Want to get a full size camping van, but can't park it in the city. It would be great to have campsites open in winter near resorts. having a tent extention/awning/dining set up by the van would be great, but it would be too much hassle in a car park. Being able to pitch a tent without fear of the midnight snowplough would also be good. Link to post Share on other sites
mogski 0 Posted September 2, 2003 Share Posted September 2, 2003 Miteyak I like that idea! Can we add an open fire in there, beach chairs and Luke of Hokkaido fame's mulled red wine? Link to post Share on other sites
snowboard_freak 0 Posted September 2, 2003 Share Posted September 2, 2003 I go the cheap at all times. Means more boarding and more overseas trips to go boarding! Link to post Share on other sites
woywoy 0 Posted September 2, 2003 Share Posted September 2, 2003 There are times when splurging on things are very beneficial and others when you just dont need to splurge. Classy furniture or a tasty dinner with a nice girl is a good reason to splurge but there is nothing better than a surf trip up the coast camping illegally or sleeping on my uncle's couch down the mountains in oz. I think it is a bit of a balancing act but in the end the more you save the more you can do with it. And that means more first tracks! And that can only be a good thing. Link to post Share on other sites
miteyak 0 Posted September 3, 2003 Share Posted September 3, 2003 Goes without saying, Mogs, without saying.... Anyone wan to rent out their rice field for the winter? No Fakie, could you not talk to the peops at Aoki lake for us, could even be in for a spot of ice fishing... Link to post Share on other sites
Stefan 0 Posted September 3, 2003 Share Posted September 3, 2003 don't skimp on the gear! But always on the sleeping arrangements etc, I don't spend much time sleeping anyway... Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted September 3, 2003 Share Posted September 3, 2003 never skimp on gear but always look for deals. clothes are the easiest things to save money on. last year i busted out huge cash for skis but they made the year much more fun. Link to post Share on other sites
jared 0 Posted September 3, 2003 Share Posted September 3, 2003 I dont think of it as sacrificing comfort for cash rather sacrificing cash for comfort. In my mind an expensive hotel is like getting a big chunk of cash putting it on the alter and lighting it on fire. Link to post Share on other sites
OnTheTin 0 Posted September 3, 2003 Share Posted September 3, 2003 I like comfort as well as the time on the slopes and try to get a good balance if I am making the effort for a few days trip. Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted September 3, 2003 Share Posted September 3, 2003 a clean room a clean bed or futon. is enough for me. i always stay in a japanese condo in hakuba. really its a standard 8 mat apartment. Its only 3500 per person a night. Link to post Share on other sites
Davo 1 Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 Hmm sacrifices. Gruelling bus rides would have to be the biggest one. Once I'm there I tend to try and do it as cheap as possible ie no eating on the mountain apart from Mcdonalds & what I take. I usually cook my own food and don't drink much at bars. Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 emm lets see mcds onthe mountain you go to happo then. Link to post Share on other sites
Davo 1 Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 Yes-I'm also guilty of hitting the KFC at Tsugaike whenever I'm there. Link to post Share on other sites
nzlegend 1 Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 Quote: Originally posted by Davo: Yes-I'm also guilty of hitting the KFC at Tsugaike whenever I'm there. oi Davo you also forgot to mention you love hittin' MOS Burger when at Goryu Link to post Share on other sites
badmigraine 0 Posted September 5, 2003 Share Posted September 5, 2003 Let's face it, if you live in or near Tokyo and ski on weekends with the occasional day-off thrown in, then both the Shinkansen and your own car are expensive, inconvenient and frustrating. If you use the Shinkansen, first you have to make sure you book it far enough in advance (5-7 days in my experience), or you will be in the "unreserved" section (= lining up much earlier and dashing for a seat, likely not able to sit next to your pal or gal)--or worse, STUCK IN THE SMOKING SECTION, which is like living inside an enclosed ashtray. Then, on the day, you have to get up hours early, lug your heavy gear from your tiny apt. to the station (it might be raining), ride 1-3 trains, including up-and-down stairs action, just to get to Tokyo Station. Then you line up for the Shinks. Then you get off at your destination station and line up again for a bus, all the while lugging your heavy gear. The pluses are you don't have to drive so you can just sleep on the Shinks, and the package-deal prices are not as expensive as you might have thought when you consider the walk-on price for the Shinks fare alone. As for going in your own car, you first have to buy a car, pay the shakken and insurance, and pay for a parking place. I suppose you could rent, but then you have to scramble to ride trains and go pick up the rental car, then find cheap overnight parking near your apartment (good luck!). In either case, you have to stay up late or get up very very early to load up your gear in the car. Then, because you have friends, you have to drive through early morning traffic all the way across Tokyo to pick up your buddy, who is thinking "seems it would have been easier and cheaper just to take the Shinkansen..." Then you have to battle the e-way traffic out of Tokyo and pay something like $100 or more in road tolls. Plus gas. Then you have to find parking at the resort. This may be far away, across mud fields and ruts that clog your boots, or it may be expensive. Then after lunch you are constantly thinking "I wonder what is the best way to beat the traffic back to Tokyo--leave early, or leave late?" You can't get drunk because you are driving. Whatever time you leave, you get stuck in traffic for 1-2 hours longer than you could have believed. You are exhausted from the slopes but have to keep awake in the 12:30 a.m.-Sunday-night traffic jam that starts miles out of Tokyo. You have to pee. You have to get up early to return the car. You have work the next day. You recall that you could have had several beers apres-ski, relaxed, then boarded the 7 p.m. Shinkansen and would already be at home in bed. But you are stuck in a strange midnight traffic jam, have to drop off your buddy, have to unload the gear, have to find parking near your apt. on a Sunday night (good luck!)... Horrible. And the total cost of this car jaunt exceeds the Shinkansen package... There are some things you can do. You can leave the night before and sleep in the parking lot, but it is damned cold in a van in a ski resort parking lot in the dead of winter. This may be fun once in awhile, but not as a regular thing. The conclusion here is that weekend skiing from Tokyo is expensive, inconvenient, uncomfortable and ultimately easy to give up due to waning enthusiasm. Summer surfing trips are more bearable, if only because sleeping in tents and vans is not freezing cold...but you still spend 6-8 hours per weekend just sitting in the van, in traffic or moving slowly here and there. I'd recommend living near a mountain and having a camper van with a proper generator-powered heater. I'd recommend living in another country were there are few or no road tolls, where motel lodging is about $30/night including queen beds, private bath/shower/toilet and free parking... I'd recommend living near Tokyo Station or having your company pay for the car, parking and gas. The curmudgeonly thought at the heart of my post here is that when in Japan I observed the ratio of unfun things to fun things was getting worse and worse. aiting around, driving, stuck in traffic, lugging gear in parkas through crowded train stations and up stairs, waiting in line...it was becoming 1/3 to 1/2 of the experience, and that is near the "forget about it" point for me. I don't mind sacrificing comfort, but I do mind meaningless sacrifice for small payoffs... Link to post Share on other sites
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