SKI 15 Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Anyone here ever make it to SSAWS? I almost fondly remember it. Better than IKEA anyway! SSAWS, pronounced "zaws" (ザウス) and officially known as LaLaport Skidome SSAWS (ららぽーとスキードームSSAWS?), was an indoor ski slope in Funabashi, Chiba, Japan. The name was an acronym of "Spring Summer Autumn Winter Snow".Constructed by Mitsui at a cost of US$400 million, the ski slope opened on July 15, 1993. With a structural height of 100 meters (translating to a skiable vertical drop of 80 m), a width of 100 m and a length of 500 m, it was the largest indoor ski slope in the world at the time. The complex had three ski courses—20.1° for skilled skiers, 15° for intermediate, and 10° for beginners — and two ski lifts. The ski slope was designed to break even by 2018 by attracting 1.3 million visitors yearly, who would pay ¥4,300 (~US$50) for 2 hours of lift time and spend a total of $70 on average. However, the opening of the ski slope came shortly after the end of the Japanese asset price bubble, and original estimates soon proved too optimistic, with the number of visitors dropping from one million in the first year to 700,000 in the second. With an annual operating cost of US$40 million, SSAWS sustained losses averaging US$16.7 million/year. SSAWS closed on September 30, 2002. In 2003, the structure was demolished to make way for Japan's first large-format IKEA store, which opened on the site on April 24, 2006. Link to post Share on other sites
iiyamadude 6 Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 I know a guy here in Iiyama who used to go there 3 times a year in July, August and September. He needed the fix, even if it was an artificial one. Must admit it must have been great to get out of the steaming heat of summer in there for a bit, no matter how much yen they took off you for the privelege. Link to post Share on other sites
Slippery Jim 65 Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Had a friend who went once and never went back, but he wasn't a hardcore snow addict. Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 I think thats $70 at old exchange rates, so they were banking on folks spending 10,000 yen a time. I never went, but I did drive past a few times on the way to Narita and it was massive. Much bigger than it looks in that photo. Link to post Share on other sites
onsen tamago 0 Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 I went. It was indeed very large. And expensive. But yes better than being outside on a weekenday in summer, outside of the main holiday periods! Link to post Share on other sites
Boolugu Mez 3 Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 I realise this is not entirely related to this, but my wife once did the artificial ski slope in Dubai - looked amazing, big slope with a proper ski lift in the building - what made it even more bizzarre is that earlier that day she sent me a photo of her ridng a camel in the desert. Whereas the Dubai slope is a real technological man vs nature obscenity.... Japan just seems a little weird as they have so many places with real snow that this thing would appear to be redundant for around half the year Link to post Share on other sites
Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 I went once. First place I ever skied in Japan. Actually have a soft spot in my heart for the place, as at the time it was the first time I had gone skiing in 20 years, and it really made me think, "I forgot how great this is -- I should take this up again some time!" Took me a few more years after that to really take up skiing again, but now it is a major source of enjoyment in my life. I owe a lot to old SSAWS. Link to post Share on other sites
NECK 14 Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 I'll take the meatballs and lopsided bookshelves over that monstrosity any day of the week. Link to post Share on other sites
echineko 1 Posted November 6, 2013 Share Posted November 6, 2013 I went just before it closed. It was too expensive but glad I went the once. An interesting experience. Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted November 6, 2013 Share Posted November 6, 2013 I realise this is not entirely related to this, but my wife once did the artificial ski slope in Dubai - looked amazing, big slope with a proper ski lift in the building - what made it even more bizzarre is that earlier that day she sent me a photo of her ridng a camel in the desert. Whereas the Dubai slope is a real technological man vs nature obscenity.... Japan just seems a little weird as they have so many places with real snow that this thing would appear to be redundant for around half the year With SSAWs I read something about the body heat from the people skiing inside being just as much a problem as the heat of Japanese summer outside. Without the people inside, its just like a massive refrigerated warehouse. Link to post Share on other sites
JellyBelly 1 Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Sounds great that! Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Great in a Japanese summer! If they wanted 1.3 million people a year, that's pretty much 3500 a day average. So probably at least double that on the weekend. If they go for three hours at a time, there must be times with 1500-2000 people there at the same time. Assume most of them must be in the bit with the snow, and 200-250W of body heat from someone doing exercise and you have hundreds of kW of heat melting your snow. The building must be well insulated, so that heat will have to be removed mechanically. Link to post Share on other sites
Wizz 11 Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Remember though that Japanese people don't sweat like gaijin and so that might affect calculations. Link to post Share on other sites
gozaimaas 61 Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Remember though that Japanese people don't sweat like gaijin and so that might affect calculations. Deadset. I have some evidence to support this. My gf and I sat in a sauna at 71c for a half hour. I was dripping in sweat and she barely had any. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Remember though that Japanese people don't sweat like gaijin and so that might affect calculations. Deadset. I have some evidence to support this. My gf and I sat in a sauna at 71c for a half hour. I was dripping in sweat and she barely had any. thats because of your high nose Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 ...and she is made of some kind of rubber. Link to post Share on other sites
gozaimaas 61 Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 She is cheap to take out for dinner! Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 Pretty too! Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 slag.....look at the way she's sitting! Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 I bet she's not wearing any panties either! Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 dirty tease that she is!! Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 Absolutely. Link to post Share on other sites
gozaimaas 61 Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 Should be fun teaching her to snowboard Link to post Share on other sites
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