BagOfCrisps 24 Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Good Lord, no, do you think I'm crazy? I would take the Kita Kanto Expressway to Takasaki. Avoid at least part of the pain. still that Takasaki stage can be a real snarl up......I hate the Kan-etsu!! Likewise. Last time I dared take it was when I won a free ticket to Marunuma Kogen (see a theme?). Shudder. (At the Kan-Etsu, not Marunuma!) Well, I quite like the Kanetsu. Well, yes, but you encounter it from the opposite end of the alimentary canal from us, don't you? Is it really that bad?! Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Bags......it's horrible Link to post Share on other sites
Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted October 17, 2012 Author Share Posted October 17, 2012 Truly horrifying. If you hit it at the wrong time, you can easily lose hours. Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 If Naeba becomes free for kids, won't that force all the nearby resorts to stop charging for kids as well? Doesn't Naeba have more to compete on than price? I would have thought Karuizawa would have a pretty wealthy clientele as well. Link to post Share on other sites
Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted October 18, 2012 Author Share Posted October 18, 2012 If Naeba becomes free for kids, won't that force all the nearby resorts to stop charging for kids as well? I suppose that depends on how well Naeba does with this, and how it affects receipts at other places. (Who knows, maybe some might even get a boost from people wanting to avoid kids. Perhaps Naeba and their neighbors will find that they all benefit from differentiating more from each other in what they offer.) Doesn't Naeba have more to compete on than price? I don't know... do they? I don't think the name cachet is there any more; the bubble-jidai associations may even be harmtful, I imagine. Nothing else obvious comes to mind. I would have thought Karuizawa would have a pretty wealthy clientele as well. Not enough price-insensitive ones, apparently, or at least so they seem to think. Link to post Share on other sites
Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted October 18, 2012 Author Share Posted October 18, 2012 By the way: Last year 19 year olds could ski for free at loads of places. You just had to register in advance. Looks like that is happening again this year. Link to post Share on other sites
@tokyo 14 Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Why 19? Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 If Naeba becomes free for kids, won't that force all the nearby resorts to stop charging for kids as well? I suppose that depends on how well Naeba does with this, and how it affects receipts at other places. (Who knows, maybe some might even get a boost from people wanting to avoid kids. Perhaps Naeba and their neighbors will find that they all benefit from differentiating more from each other in what they offer.) The two resorts in that Yuzawa region I would have thought people looking to ride decent-angle powder should go to, Naeba and Kagura, are the ones offering free skiing to kids. Naeba is still big enough to wield much more influence than just a.n.other resort in that region. If kids are free at the big famous resort, does a resort with half as many lifts, a third as many runs, and a third of the advertising budget to compete against "kids free!" really have much choice in the long run? Link to post Share on other sites
Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted October 18, 2012 Author Share Posted October 18, 2012 Why 19? Did some web searching, seems the idea may have came from someone at Ikenotaira. Do a web search on: 池の平 管理人ブログ SWEET19プロジェクト In summary, idea is that university age is a good time to get people into snow sports, after the pressures of high-school and attendant university entrance-exams, and before the responsibilities of working life begin. Link to post Share on other sites
Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted October 18, 2012 Author Share Posted October 18, 2012 If Naeba becomes free for kids, won't that force all the nearby resorts to stop charging for kids as well? I suppose that depends on how well Naeba does with this, and how it affects receipts at other places. (Who knows, maybe some might even get a boost from people wanting to avoid kids. Perhaps Naeba and their neighbors will find that they all benefit from differentiating more from each other in what they offer.) The two resorts in that Yuzawa region I would have thought people looking to ride decent-angle powder should go to, Naeba and Kagura, are the ones offering free skiing to kids. Naeba is still big enough to wield much more influence than just a.n.other resort in that region. If kids are free at the big famous resort, does a resort with half as many lifts, a third as many runs, and a third of the advertising budget to compete against "kids free!" really have much choice in the long run? Well, maybe not. Though I think (not having been, but gathering impressions from here) that there are steep powder opportunities to be had at Gala, Maiko and some other places in that region, no? But look, even if they are all forced to follow suit, that would not be the worst thing, I think. I have mentioned before, but probably the only reason I ski now is that when I was an elementary school student, one of the local ski areas offered free skiing to us kids, which would never have been affordable to do regularly otherwise. In fact, once it did start costing money, it was decades before I decided to give it a try again -- and here I am. Had it not been for the taste for skiing I acquired in my bones at an early age, I seriously doubt I would have taken it up later when I could finally afford it on my own. For the industry as a whole, I think it is a worthwhile investment. Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Naeba and Kagura are on a different scale to Gala and Maiko though. Kagura isn't really a 'family place' though is it. Link to post Share on other sites
tokabochi 9 Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 I doubt it would make much difference for families with little kids at somewhere like Kagura, it's not a family kind of place. I suppose they wanted an "all Prince" line though which makes sense of course. Link to post Share on other sites
quattro 1 Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 Sounds good will have to get the kids up to Furano Link to post Share on other sites
2pints-mate 0 Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 How was Madarao at weekends, noticeably overrun with kids? Link to post Share on other sites
TheOriginalMyoko 0 Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 Probably more than before but nothing too mad I don't think. Stick to the more diffciult courses and you's ok. Better still, go weekday! Link to post Share on other sites
klingon 10 Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 Though I think (not having been, but gathering impressions from here) that there are steep powder opportunities to be had at Gala, Maiko and some other places in that region, no? You can get buried in the snow over at the South Area of Gala. Beginners would be foolish to go over there, that's for sure. And it's really quiet as well. Link to post Share on other sites
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