Am I going to be warm enough skiing in Hakuba

[manfredk 2]

The Ofuna branch sells snow gear as does the Fujisawa/Tsujido branch......but they are about 40-45 mins on the main Tokaido line south of Tokyo. Cost of the train is 950￥　1 way

Thanks Tub..

[HelperElfMissy 42]

Sorry to come late to this thread. Regarding glasses ...

Papa and the littlest bear cub both need glasses. It has been quite the obsession at times to find the right goggles.

 

OTG goggles are usually much much better with glasses than non OTG goggles - SURPRISE!

Occasionally you can jag a pair that are not designed for the purpose that work well though.

But they do not enjoy riding with glasses under goggles for a number of reasons - sometimes they feel visibility is compromised with the glasses frame and the goggle frame getting in the way. Sometimes the fogging is ballistic.

 

You can get clip in lenses that fit inside your goggles, made up by an optometrist. Mostly seen these in Europe though. Again, they do not cover the entire visual field but they do away with having the arms pressing on your ears/face as well as the gogg straps.

 

PB has decided to ride without glasses this time around, his vision is fine for boarding, not so much for reading a menu.

 

Little cub has made the transition to contact lenses for Water Polo (took some getting used to) but he has found contacts to be far superior to glasses under his goggles this trip. He does however have a mild astigmatism in one eye and so the corrective effect is not perfect, so as soon as he is off the hill or out of the pool the glasses go back on.

 

Hope our experiences with vision issues and snow goggles has given you an idea of the possible things to expect or look out for in the future.

Have a great trip.

[Tachypsychia 13]

One little tip with the glasses for fogging:

 

I never wore glasses until I joined the military and wore BCGs. On the firing range they fogged up a lot and we would just spit on them then rub them to keep them from fogging. A DI saw me do that and yelled at me, then told me to rub a bar of soap on it and buff it out.

 

Turns out that works much better, and lasts much longer.

 

Since then I always keep a bar of soap in my gear.

 

I worked up quite a bit of a sweat the other day trying to dig myself out of snow and the glasses didnt fog up at all... If you get them wet, just wipe them off and reapply the soap!

[manfredk 2]

Sorry to come late to this thread. Regarding glasses ...

Papa and the littlest bear cub both need glasses. It has been quite the obsession at times to find the right goggles.

 

OTG goggles are usually much much better with glasses than non OTG goggles - SURPRISE!

Occasionally you can jag a pair that are not designed for the purpose that work well though.

But they do not enjoy riding with glasses under goggles for a number of reasons - sometimes they feel visibility is compromised with the glasses frame and the goggle frame getting in the way. Sometimes the fogging is ballistic.

 

You can get clip in lenses that fit inside your goggles, made up by an optometrist. Mostly seen these in Europe though. Again, they do not cover the entire visual field but they do away with having the arms pressing on your ears/face as well as the gogg straps.

 

PB has decided to ride without glasses this time around, his vision is fine for boarding, not so much for reading a menu.

 

Little cub has made the transition to contact lenses for Water Polo (took some getting used to) but he has found contacts to be far superior to glasses under his goggles this trip. He does however have a mild astigmatism in one eye and so the corrective effect is not perfect, so as soon as he is off the hill or out of the pool the glasses go back on.

 

Hope our experiences with vision issues and snow goggles has given you an idea of the possible things to expect or look out for in the future.

Have a great trip.

Thank you Mama bear for your thoughts after reading your input my wife is going to look at contacts tomorrow., thanks

[ygrene 1]

I can confirm that the Hardoff in Akihabara doesn't sell ski gear but rather audiophile stuff like high end speakers, amps and turntables which is great if you're interested in that kind of thing.

 

If you're staying in Nippori, the closest Hardoff that does carry ski/board gear is the one in Minami-Funabashi, about 30 minutes away from Tokyo station on the Keiyo line. Personally I've bought my current board there and can say that they have a large range of 2nd hand/deadstock boards, bindings, bags, goggles and outerwear. If you're prepared to dig through, you can find some deadstock from seasons past amidst all the 2nd hand stuff. I saw a nice pair of Volcom women's snowboard pants still with the original shop tags there for 7000 yen. To get there from the station, head towards Lalaport (which is a giant mall, with lots of womens' clothing stores so your wife might like it). Basically everybody who gets off the train will be heading in that direction. When you get to Lalaport, instead of heading into the mall, follow the walkway as it turns into a ramp that goes down to ground level. Keep going straight, past a set of lights and you should see a big orange sign with "hardoff" on it. Head into that second mall and its on the 3rd floor.

 

Good luck with the gear hunt!

[HelperElfMissy 42]

Sorry to come late to this thread. Regarding glasses ...

Papa and the littlest bear cub both need glasses. It has been quite the obsession at times to find the right goggles.

 

OTG goggles are usually much much better with glasses than non OTG goggles - SURPRISE!

Occasionally you can jag a pair that are not designed for the purpose that work well though.

But they do not enjoy riding with glasses under goggles for a number of reasons - sometimes they feel visibility is compromised with the glasses frame and the goggle frame getting in the way. Sometimes the fogging is ballistic.

 

You can get clip in lenses that fit inside your goggles, made up by an optometrist. Mostly seen these in Europe though. Again, they do not cover the entire visual field but they do away with having the arms pressing on your ears/face as well as the gogg straps.

 

PB has decided to ride without glasses this time around, his vision is fine for boarding, not so much for reading a menu.

 

Little cub has made the transition to contact lenses for Water Polo (took some getting used to) but he has found contacts to be far superior to glasses under his goggles this trip. He does however have a mild astigmatism in one eye and so the corrective effect is not perfect, so as soon as he is off the hill or out of the pool the glasses go back on.

 

Hope our experiences with vision issues and snow goggles has given you an idea of the possible things to expect or look out for in the future.

Have a great trip.

Thank you Mama bear for your thoughts after reading your input my wife is going to look at contacts tomorrow., thanks

not a problem. Hope it is helpful.

[manfredk 2]

I can confirm that the Hardoff in Akihabara doesn't sell ski gear but rather audiophile stuff like high end speakers, amps and turntables which is great if you're interested in that kind of thing.

 

If you're staying in Nippori, the closest Hardoff that does carry ski/board gear is the one in Minami-Funabashi, about 30 minutes away from Tokyo station on the Keiyo line. Personally I've bought my current board there and can say that they have a large range of 2nd hand/deadstock boards, bindings, bags, goggles and outerwear. If you're prepared to dig through, you can find some deadstock from seasons past amidst all the 2nd hand stuff. I saw a nice pair of Volcom women's snowboard pants still with the original shop tags there for 7000 yen. To get there from the station, head towards Lalaport (which is a giant mall, with lots of womens' clothing stores so your wife might like it). Basically everybody who gets off the train will be heading in that direction. When you get to Lalaport, instead of heading into the mall, follow the walkway as it turns into a ramp that goes down to ground level. Keep going straight, past a set of lights and you should see a big orange sign with "hardoff" on it. Head into that second mall and its on the 3rd floor.

 

Good luck with the gear hunt!

thanks mate

[manfredk 2]

Sorry to come late to this thread. Regarding glasses ...

Papa and the littlest bear cub both need glasses. It has been quite the obsession at times to find the right goggles.

 

OTG goggles are usually much much better with glasses than non OTG goggles - SURPRISE!

Occasionally you can jag a pair that are not designed for the purpose that work well though.

But they do not enjoy riding with glasses under goggles for a number of reasons - sometimes they feel visibility is compromised with the glasses frame and the goggle frame getting in the way. Sometimes the fogging is ballistic.

 

You can get clip in lenses that fit inside your goggles, made up by an optometrist. Mostly seen these in Europe though. Again, they do not cover the entire visual field but they do away with having the arms pressing on your ears/face as well as the gogg straps.

 

PB has decided to ride without glasses this time around, his vision is fine for boarding, not so much for reading a menu.

 

Little cub has made the transition to contact lenses for Water Polo (took some getting used to) but he has found contacts to be far superior to glasses under his goggles this trip. He does however have a mild astigmatism in one eye and so the corrective effect is not perfect, so as soon as he is off the hill or out of the pool the glasses go back on.

 

Hope our experiences with vision issues and snow goggles has given you an idea of the possible things to expect or look out for in the future.

Have a great trip.

Thank you Mama bear for your thoughts after reading your input my wife is going to look at contacts tomorrow., thanks

not a problem. Hope it is helpful.

Update my wife got contacts today, she is very excited, first time for contacts, for a lady who finds it tricky to put eye drops in she has done really well, Thats solved the glasses goggles issue, I hope, thanks again.

[NoFakie 45]

So the ol' Hardoff with the skis is not far from Ikea, or for that matter, Costco. We'll have to go next time!

[grungy-gonads 54]

Update. Mad light black jacket is brilliant. It really is ridiculously light. And I was worried 4XL would be too big but it doesn't strike me as being massively bigger than XL.

Just right.

 

[ygrene 1]

So the ol' Hardoff with the skis is not far from Ikea, or for that matter, Costco. We'll have to go next time!

 

Definitely worth a trip. I picked up a new 10k/10k rated Special Blend jacket to replace my 13 yr old jacket today for 4000 yen. I noticed a 2004 Burton Custom X 160 for 7000 yen (with serial number so not a parallel import or factory second) while I was there. Judging from the factory wax still on the bottom of the board (it goes white over time) and the complete lack of scratches, I doubt its ever been ridden. I'm a skinny guy so 160cm is far too much board for me so I didn't pick it up but I reckon it might be a nice addition for one of the snow japan forum crew.

[Tachypsychia 13]

Update. Mad light black jacket is brilliant. It really is ridiculously light. And I was worried 4XL would be too big but it doesn't strike me as being massively bigger than XL.

Just right.

 

 

Got mine monday and been wearing it as an intermediate layer. Gets super toasty. Big fan.

 

 

 

 

 

Definitely worth a trip. I picked up a new 10k/10k rated Special Blend jacket to replace my 13 yr old jacket today for 4000 yen. I noticed a 2004 Burton Custom X 160 for 7000 yen (with serial number so not a parallel import or factory second) while I was there. Judging from the factory wax still on the bottom of the board (it goes white over time) and the complete lack of scratches, I doubt its ever been ridden. I'm a skinny guy so 160cm is far too much board for me so I didn't pick it up but I reckon it might be a nice addition for one of the snow japan forum crew.

 

 

I just broke my board so finding something like that near me would be really nice.

[NoFakie 45]

So the ol' Hardoff with the skis is not far from Ikea, or for that matter, Costco. We'll have to go next time!

 

Definitely worth a trip. I picked up a new 10k/10k rated Special Blend jacket to replace my 13 yr old jacket today for 4000 yen. I noticed a 2004 Burton Custom X 160 for 7000 yen (with serial number so not a parallel import or factory second) while I was there. Judging from the factory wax still on the bottom of the board (it goes white over time) and the complete lack of scratches, I doubt its ever been ridden. I'm a skinny guy so 160cm is far too much board for me so I didn't pick it up but I reckon it might be a nice addition for one of the snow japan forum crew.

 

Thanks! Does that Hard Off carry the snow gear year round or is it a seasonal thing?

 

fwiw, a 160 Burton from 2004 won't be rockered, so as a powder board it's not too long for a skinny guy at 160. Pre-rocker and fat noses, 160 would be minimum. 7000 for a deadstock high-end board from the ever-popular Burton might be more than you'd pay for second hand on Yahoo Auctions. In fact you could buy it, stick some s/h binders on for say 5000, and get most if not all of that back on Yahoo Auctions after 20 days riding.

[ygrene 1]

So the ol' Hardoff with the skis is not far from Ikea, or for that matter, Costco. We'll have to go next time!

 

Definitely worth a trip. I picked up a new 10k/10k rated Special Blend jacket to replace my 13 yr old jacket today for 4000 yen. I noticed a 2004 Burton Custom X 160 for 7000 yen (with serial number so not a parallel import or factory second) while I was there. Judging from the factory wax still on the bottom of the board (it goes white over time) and the complete lack of scratches, I doubt its ever been ridden. I'm a skinny guy so 160cm is far too much board for me so I didn't pick it up but I reckon it might be a nice addition for one of the snow japan forum crew.

 

Thanks! Does that Hard Off carry the snow gear year round or is it a seasonal thing?

 

fwiw, a 160 Burton from 2004 won't be rockered, so as a powder board it's not too long for a skinny guy at 160. Pre-rocker and fat noses, 160 would be minimum. 7000 for a deadstock high-end board from the ever-popular Burton might be more than you'd pay for second hand on Yahoo Auctions. In fact you could buy it, stick some s/h binders on for say 5000, and get most if not all of that back on Yahoo Auctions after 20 days riding.

 

They do carry stuff all year round but I have popped in before in the off season and the amount of gear is a lot less. They begin moving all the ski/snowboard stuff out around the middle of December.