joshnii 2 Posted November 26, 2012 Share Posted November 26, 2012 So, fun then? http://www.snowjapan...post__p__461771 Looks fun. Link to post Share on other sites
hellyer 216 Posted November 26, 2012 Share Posted November 26, 2012 Looks good for a busted ankle if you have your din setting too high Link to post Share on other sites
ippy 66 Posted November 26, 2012 Share Posted November 26, 2012 great fun. We had one in tiger world in korea. The run up was way shorter, so air time was enough to get out a spin (or in my case a half spin) if you have no technique. More than that and you need to know what youre doing. Had one epic slam on one of them when i approached the lip and completely bailed on what i was about to try. Ended up side ways and face first. Definitely a great place to get comfortable with air time though. Ryuoo has one if you ever fancy checking it out, though last time i went the lip was ominously far from the jump itself and conditions were pretty slushy. Poor maintenance that day, otherwise i would have spent the 1000yen (i think thats how much it was for a full day on it) and bounced about until i felt comfy. (plus the fee puts off the park rats so its all yours and some dude who shows you up every time he triple corks ) Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted November 26, 2012 Share Posted November 26, 2012 Without having tried it, it does look like injury possible! Fun though, wouldn't mind having a go. When no-one was watching! Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted November 26, 2012 Share Posted November 26, 2012 An awesome idea, and agreed, looks like fun to try and learn how to do jumps. Link to post Share on other sites
Sciclone 2 Posted November 26, 2012 Share Posted November 26, 2012 Wish they had this either at Shiga Kogen or any of the various Yuzawa/Kagura/Naeba places.. Then I could have a go,. Link to post Share on other sites
iiyamadude 6 Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 From what I am hearing, Shiga Kogen resorts generally are balking at anything that costs anything this season. Some strange stories going round. The official Shiga Kogen english website has been abandoned as well - they don't think it's worth it apparently and with their cost cutting, that's what got the cut. Wouldn't expect much new in SK. Link to post Share on other sites
SKI 15 Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 I have actually heard similar. One dip last season and they give up. Rubbish. Link to post Share on other sites
hellyer 216 Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 From what I am hearing, Shiga Kogen resorts generally are balking at anything that costs anything this season. Some strange stories going round. The official Shiga Kogen english website has been abandoned as well - they don't think it's worth it apparently and with their cost cutting, that's what got the cut. Wouldn't expect much new in SK. Wow that is so dissapointing - is it just the english language version website that is down or the local one as well? Also dissapointing as it was an easy to navigate comprehensive site Hard to imagine they are doing it tough as friends of mine (hi Roscoe) had trouble recently getting accommodation in Ichinose next Feb. Link to post Share on other sites
Sciclone 2 Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 I don't think the numbers of english speakers that were actually coming to SK could justify running an english website as well. Not that I mind, because I enjoy being in a foreign country with locals. I think the customer service could be better though. There are some hotels that never reply to your emails, whether you write in japanese or english, while the lack of nightlife is a killer for most people (not me). Link to post Share on other sites
iiyamadude 6 Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 Ichinose is the most popular part of Sihiga Kogen, and but a fraction of the total. Mid February is peak season, you would expect them to be somewhat busy then. The ridiculous thing is, they could have left their English site up and just updated any info that changed... surely not much. But, no, take the whole thing down. Some owners I know are right pissed with the kanko kyokai. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 I have actually heard similar. One dip last season and they give up. Rubbish. Not really surprising. It would be typical of some oyaji in power who was pressured by open minded juniors to expand to an I yer national audience then baulk with an I told u so attitude when it didn't increase profits instantly!! Dunno if that was the case, but these things take time to get the word out there Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 And lets face it last season was a not normal one, what with green globs of good etc to contend with. Link to post Share on other sites
ippy 66 Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 i always wonder why nagano has absolutely no international presence. The only rational conclusion i can come to is that once you get past tokyo/kyoto and maybe nara, everything else has its own stunning areas so the japanese government cant really bring themselves to promote one part of japan over another internationally. I cant fully articulate the first day i arrived in my nice new city with 4 times the people than the city i lived in previous (hamamatsu), only to find there was almost zero atmosphere to it outside of the tsukebe district. The place is dilapidated. And its a massive crime. Theres so much you can do in this place. All it needs is a nice international friendly hub. Instead you have a city center thats faceless, lacking any trace of modernity, and is filled to bursting point with snack bars and hairdressers. Bloody weird town to be honest... ive still never quite gotten over it. Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 That (t)sukebe district sounds omoshiroi! Link to post Share on other sites
tokabochi 9 Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 Yeah good luck with that ippy! Link to post Share on other sites
tokabochi 9 Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 Out of interest, ippy, and a serious question. Even with some modest development, why would someone choose that place over the other many hundreds of other beautifully located places in Japan? That's the problem I think. There's just so many places and choices that you really need something extremely special to stand out. Link to post Share on other sites
ippy 66 Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 That was my first paragraph. But devils advocate... Altitude. not only is it strikingly beautiful, but it has mountains that get great snow in winter, and mountains that stay relatively humid free in summer. The whole place is an action sport/golf extravaganza waiting to happen. It also doesnt hurt that its beautiful on top of all that. Its got great hiking, fishing, cycling, golfing, mountaineering, adventure sporting, and of course skiing/snowboarding on top of all this. Its an all season place for anyone interested in a bit of adventure. It also has some decent history and the rather gorgeous zenkoji temple to give it a bit of class Oh and its also not that far from a couple of international hubs (tokyo/nagoya). Theres a crap load going for it. Link to post Share on other sites
tokabochi 9 Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 I'm sure it's lovely ippy but what you just described could be a fair few places. Any idea how much money is involved in creating an action sport/golf extravaganza tourist destination that can compete with the hundreds already in existence? Link to post Share on other sites
ippy 66 Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 then maybe the challenge is for you to name the competitors. Link to post Share on other sites
tokabochi 9 Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 If I lose, does the investment get made?!?!? And the "mix" of potential is always going to be different everywhere isn't it? Link to post Share on other sites
IIIII 2 Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 Big question is. If it indeed has so much potential, why was it not developed when more money than sense was being thrown about. Link to post Share on other sites
ippy 66 Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 is that a hint of evasion i sense? If we're having a discussion isnt it fairer to also promote instead of attack? Isnt it nicer to instead show why such and such a specific place has an equal claim to those funds and promotion rather than to suggest that its not that unique with an implicit assumption that it doesnt have a strong uniqueness to it In answer to the second point i would agree. Everything has its own criteria of what makes it worth the trip, but a couple of questions might be a) whats the market for that? and is it sufficiently grand to warrant national rather than prefectural backing? Doe sit have a clear identity that can be tapped into on a scale that an international tourist would want to go out of their way to come here? I think Nagano has that in spades. But i might be entirely alone in that, so lets test the hypothesis Link to post Share on other sites
tokabochi 9 Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 OK OK, it's not as if I have a job to do. How about this why not tell me why it is better than Yuzawa and Myoko, to take two local examples that come to mind here in Niigata. These are places that have already been 'developed' so are not starting from scratch. Both tick pretty much all boxes you mention: Beautiful. Hiking Fishing Cycling Golfing Mountaineering Adventure sporting (whatever that is) Skiing/snowboarding on top of all this. All season place for anyone interested in a bit of adventure. Decent history. Gorgeous temples to give it a bit of class. And I guess both get much more snow too. Both have real trouble working out how to get people to go outside of winter. And the 'foreign market' out of winter for both is.... tiny, perhaps smaller than that. And, they compete with tons of other places in winter, even though they (in particulaer Yuzawa) are extremely accessible. Link to post Share on other sites
ippy 66 Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 Big question is. If it indeed has so much potential, why was it not developed when more money than sense was being thrown about. Youd probably need a time machine to answer that one. But its not like it doesnt have its ugly remnants thanks to the olympics. The m-wave is hideous, and that stadium just outside nagano on route 18 is a futurist carbunkle (as prince charles might say). It likelygot a tonne of cash. And then a hefty bill at the end of it. Link to post Share on other sites
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