Buying outerwear and ski gear in Japan

[nickyroony 0]

Hi everyone,

 

I am going to Japan (specifically, Niseko) in late February. I was thinking about buying new ski pants and jackets, and ski boots in Japan as I heard that it was cheaper than in Australia. I heard that the Kandan area in Tokyo have great snow sports stores.

 

Anyone has experience in buying ski gear in Japan and is able to give examples of the price range I could expect? Decent outerwear brands such as North Face or Columbia; mid range ski boots.

 

Thanks for your help!

[jared 0]

The area you are after is Kanda

 

Far too bigger price range to really say... I found that the original prices were not that great, expensive even, but they are great at discounting slightly older stock i.e 70% off but then its what you can find on the day...

[Schneebored 0]

Just buy it from the states, the AUD is all over the USD. Like a rash!

[nippontiger 8]

There are lots of ski shops in Ochanomizu, Tokyo. As pointed out above, the brand new stuff/this years stuff is probably a bit expensive if anything. Having said that, there are so many shops there, that there is quite a lot of choice and you can certainly find some good bargains - especially in the smaller shops and on slightly older stuff. Just have to shop around. The other thing to bear in mind is the very strong yen. Typically, a mid-range jacket might cost 20-35000 yen, pants maybe 5000 yen less. Having said that, you can probably pay double that for top end and branded stuff.

I wouldnt have thought Columbia was a decent outerwear brand mind - their hiking stuff is generally rubbish - maybe they have some good stuff at top end?

[Schneebored 0]

yeah...also think there are better brands out there.

 

North Face = Overpriced

Columbia = Cheap and cheerful, remember having some Columbia when i was a kid.

[SKI 15]

Cheaper with the current yen rate?

 

Maybe that info is out of date. Though I must admit that I really don't know!

[nippontiger 8]

Just to give you an idea of the prices you can typically expect to pay, go to www.google.co.jp and paste スキー ウェア into the search box. This should give you lots of sites with ski wear/various brands and the prices you can expect to pay. You can convert the prices to your currency and compare to whats available in Oz or in the US via mail order.

When buying stuff for skiing/boarding, I would advise not to skimp on the seemingly small things like gloves/goggles something to cover face etc (you dont want any flesh uncovered on a niseko nighter in feb!). You really dont want to get sweaty and subsequently freezing hands due to cheap gloves - get some reasonably expensive ones with a good breathable fabric (eg goretex). Also carry some under-gloves. Same with goggles - nothing worse than cheap ones which will steam up every five minutes. Get some decent ones designed for cloudy/white-out conditions (doubt you'll see much sun in Niseko in Feb!). Again, good idea to put a spare pair in your pocket! Your skiing holiday is expensive, so it really is worth it to spend a bit extra on these things and not have them be a pain.

[Thundercat 60]

Well, by late February it's generally a pretty safe bet that most of the previous season stuff has been picked through thoroughly so I won't count on being able to get any of that (which is a shame as it is usually massively discounted).

 

Another thing to consider is the difference in sizes. Quite a few companies make 'asian fit' or 'Japanese fit' sizes (which they may or may not advertise) and if you are slightly larger than average you are going to have a tough time finding something that you like and that fits you. For example, the average boot size around here is about 25cms for men... as you get closer to 30-32cms you'll find that the choices are very limited.

[Tex 3]

Size is an issue alright

[muikabochi 208]

Personally I'd bring my stuff and maximise the time in Japan.

[call me beefcake 0]

I had a nightmare with boots and wasted a lot of time when I 'bought when I got there'.

Not again.

[thursday 1]

beefcake

[HighlyTrainedNovaTeacher 2]

 

Japanese fit goggles don't do me much good either.