badmigraine 0 Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 My Top Five Recommendations for revitalizing the Japanese snow industry and returning profitability to Japanese ski resorts. 1. DRIVE-IN MOVIE/CAMPGROUND-TYPE HOOKUPS Let's face it. In today's economy and with the hodge-podge land use patchwork created by Japan's zoning laws, no big operator like Mori, Prince or Intrawest is going to come in to invest mucho dinero and transform an underdeveloped or rural resort base area into a purpose-built ski town along the lines of Whistler Village, Breckenridge or Park City. It would be a total waste of money and time...the point is, people want to spend LESS, not MORE, on a ski vacation. So the great opportunity here is to build larger, auto-camp style parking lots with electric hookups in each parking place. You can rent a small electric heater to warm the inside of your car as you sleep inside. Clean warm public toilets and coin-operated hot showers would dot the facility. A satellite konbini would be erected in a tin prefab shed, selling everything from eyebrow tweezers to oden. This way, the Japanese skier can spend all his/her money on clothes, mobile phones, pachinko, video games and go-kon. Skiing would become a cheap and easy weekend road trip with everyone secure in the knowledge that they can sleep cheap and warm in their car in a big auto-camp parking lot and still eat healthy at the local 7-11. 2. BUS IN SOME JUICY TALENT I strongly recommend adopting a new resort policy whereby ripe, audacious Shibuya 109-building type gals are bused in for free, get reduced-price lift passes and can also stay free in some kind of dormitory. These gals would be required to spend the evening drinking and partying with patrons and resort-goers at a small, purpose-built Gas Panic-type bar/club at the base lodge area. The walkway from their dormitory to the bar would be kept free of snow/ice or even heated, because they will need to be wearing boots and miniskirts. This modest scheme would not only attract hordes of stay-at-home-smoking young guys, but would also generate moist heaps of cash through sales of alcohol and bar food. 3. ON-SLOPE LOVE HOTEL. This idea follows logically from idea #2, above. 'Nuff said. 4. CHANGE DATES OF FUJI ROCK FEST TO FEBRUARY Let's face it: we've all been to a few of those summer music festivals held at ski resorts: Rainbow 2000, Fuji Rock, The Gathering, etc. I didn't see any empty parking spaces then, did you? Let's move all those music festivals to the winter, and re-legalize magic mushrooms for the duration of the ski season. I feel this idea would attract a greater number of people to the resorts each winter. It would have the indirect benefit of drowning out, if not fully obviating, the piped-in J-Pop that ruins the day for so many resort customers. 5. ADD JAPANESE SKI RESORTS TO THE "AXIS OF EVIL" I feel this step would focus a great deal of media attention on Japanese ski resorts. This means busloads of journalists and media support teams, glaring lights and million$s of $$$ of free publicity for Japanese resorts. After a short period of time, hundreds of thousands of US troops would build up at Japanese ski resorts, and all of these people would be paying customers on their vacation days and thus revitalize the local economy. If the rest of the world agrees, then NATO troops might also join and add to the boom effect. Link to post Share on other sites
jared 0 Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 Re no 5 they could also blast the mountain every morning for ave control. This would inevedibaly result in lots of friendly fire deaths. Link to post Share on other sites
meatest 0 Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 Quote: ON-SLOPE LOVE HOTEL Link to post Share on other sites
big-will 7 Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 They can get away with the 'concept' of 'rest rooms' on main roads and such, but on a ski hill that's only open in the daytime? Link to post Share on other sites
mikazooki 0 Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 i think theres too much focus on profit. snowboarding and skiing are fun, so people should be more willing to volunteer their services for the good of mankind. and more hills so its less crowded, not more people so its more crowded. lets face it, trees have had their day in the sun (so as to speak) this is the period of man. i say, a government sponsored mountain in everyones backyard, with international aid agencies offering to supply lifts and lifties. and finally free stickers. everyone likes free stickers. if they r good, u can whack em on your board, and if there not so good, theres always a notebook on whick they can be stuck. thats at least half the problem with the ski industry in this country, not enough free stickers. im finished now. Link to post Share on other sites
enderzero 0 Posted February 21, 2003 Share Posted February 21, 2003 I have actually been to a rave at a ski resort. It was pretty cool. They had big dealer/manufacturer booths, a big air contest, lots of music, and many wide eyed/clench jawed youths dancing in snow gear. It may have been the one time I can say I snowboarded at 3:30am. Link to post Share on other sites
AsterG 0 Posted February 21, 2003 Share Posted February 21, 2003 Lower prices, get people to be able to go - and things will turn round. Link to post Share on other sites
cheeseman 1 Posted February 21, 2003 Share Posted February 21, 2003 I have discussed this before at length, but the way to do this is cater more for cheesefans like all of us on this forum - create cheesestands and shops on the slopes and at the bottom of the slopes. A few other cheese related strategies would undoubtedly have an enormous impact on the profit margins of many resorts. Link to post Share on other sites
montoya 0 Posted February 21, 2003 Share Posted February 21, 2003 Nice article about how Heavenly is spending it's bucks (40 million of them!) to revitalize itself: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2003/02/20/SP165546.DTL Mainly looks like capital improvements in: *better hi-speed lifts *better surface quality from snowmaking machines *better base area attractions Link to post Share on other sites
bigbush 0 Posted February 22, 2003 Share Posted February 22, 2003 I just think number 1 would work for any number of reasons. Link to post Share on other sites
g'day 0 Posted February 28, 2003 Share Posted February 28, 2003 Quote: I strongly recommend adopting a new resort policy whereby ripe, audacious Shibuya 109-building type gals are bused in for free, get reduced-price lift passes and can also stay free in some kind of dormitory. These gals would be required to spend the evening drinking and partying with patrons and resort-goers at a small, purpose-built Gas Panic-type bar/club at the base lodge area. The walkway from their dormitory to the bar would be kept free of snow/ice or even heated, because they will need to be wearing boots and miniskirts. Now there's an idea! Link to post Share on other sites
veronica 2 Posted March 1, 2003 Share Posted March 1, 2003 Make it cheaper and more well known for people coming from overseas like a few people I know. Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted March 2, 2003 Share Posted March 2, 2003 They probably don't think that the benefits are worth the cost of promoting overseas, whether that actually be true or not. Concentrating on the gaijin already in Japan is a much easier market to get at - heck, just being on this site will do that effectively. Link to post Share on other sites
veronica 2 Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 Those HK families that come over certainly spend a lot of cash when they come. Link to post Share on other sites
slimeypete 0 Posted March 7, 2003 Share Posted March 7, 2003 I get free tickets to everywhere, and I write lots of nice things about them. That sounds fair. And great for the industry too! Link to post Share on other sites
LARD 0 Posted March 7, 2003 Share Posted March 7, 2003 I think cheesemans ideas are tops. Definitely a winne Link to post Share on other sites
solo 0 Posted March 12, 2003 Share Posted March 12, 2003 Cheeseman seems like a character. Does he talk about anything other than cheese? How to revitalize the ski industry? Who knows? But looking at some of the resorts around the place now, they must be in trouble - hardly anyone there! Link to post Share on other sites
bobby 0 Posted March 13, 2003 Share Posted March 13, 2003 I'm so jealous of you guys being over there Anyone got a place to sleep if I make the trip? Link to post Share on other sites
big-will 7 Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 Yes thanks. Ha, aha aha. haha. You're welcome to stay chezbig-will, cheaper than most city hotels. Link to post Share on other sites
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