Markie 0 Posted November 23, 2002 Author Share Posted November 23, 2002 That's fine, sunrise. I'll keep you updated on my plans till then. I'm looking at Kiroro but I want to make sure there is still snow there in mid-April. Link to post Share on other sites
kousuke 0 Posted November 24, 2002 Share Posted November 24, 2002 I went before. Good place. Link to post Share on other sites
Markie 0 Posted December 2, 2002 Author Share Posted December 2, 2002 Hurray, at last, Rusutsu is open. Not very deep snow though. I hope it starts to pile up soon....21 days to go! Link to post Share on other sites
nagpants 1 Posted December 2, 2002 Share Posted December 2, 2002 When are you coming over the Japan then Markie? Link to post Share on other sites
Markie 0 Posted December 2, 2002 Author Share Posted December 2, 2002 Markie is flying in on 22Dec and hopes to be able to hit the slopes with some Rusutsu night skiing on the same day. Link to post Share on other sites
Markie 0 Posted December 14, 2002 Author Share Posted December 14, 2002 Not many days before I will be hitting Rusutsu and I've been checking out the Resort Watch daily to check on snow depths. Today, however, to my great surprise and horror, I saw that Rusutsu is only "Partly Open" even though the snow level has gone up to 100cm. How can this be? In previous weeks even when its snow depth was only 50cm, it always said "Resort Open". And the snow level has been building up since then. So why did it turn suddenly to "Partly Open" today? Somebody please explain! Link to post Share on other sites
sunrise 0 Posted December 14, 2002 Share Posted December 14, 2002 Strange. Hopefully there will be lots of new snow before you arrive. By the way, definitely go and say hi to my friend Carl, who's singing/playing in the piano bar there at the moment. (He's not a skier, so there's no point asking him about the conditions....). I'll be taking his place when he's finished in mid Jan. Hey, also, I just noticed you said there's lots of indoor sports in Rusutsu. What kinds? Can you go swimming there? good luck with the snow. I'm sure by the time you get there the whole resort should be open after all it's coming into J-holiday time...! Link to post Share on other sites
Markie 0 Posted December 14, 2002 Author Share Posted December 14, 2002 Nice to hear from you again, sunrise. Too bad we can't meet in Rusutsu. I would also have liked to see you perform. I will certainly drop in on Carl. Will he know who I'm talking about if I say sunrise sent me? Link to post Share on other sites
sunrise 0 Posted December 15, 2002 Share Posted December 15, 2002 Hi Markie, Yeh, he will. I'll be talking to him in the next few days to find out what the gig's like, so I'll definitely tell him you might pop in to say gidday... He's a very nice pianist/singer. Older cat from LA who used to write jingles there, got sick of it and came here. Yes, a pity we can't meet up. It would have been fun to do a bit of skiing together....... Link to post Share on other sites
Markie 0 Posted December 15, 2002 Author Share Posted December 15, 2002 Let me know when you have something planned for Easter, sunrise. As I said earlier, I am planning to do Kiroro, but if you are going to be setting up at another resort, I could switch. A bit off the topic - I am also a fan of Yukie Nishimura. Have you played any of her compositions. Link to post Share on other sites
sunrise 0 Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 Hey, Markie, I'd say keep making your plans for now - of course if I find I can get back out there in April I'll let you know in advance, but for now I really have no idea ( I might even be in England then....) Yukie Nishimura - sorry not heard of her or any of her stuff. I must admit I tend to keep away from the J-music scene except when I'm involved in some project with them, because most of it does less than zilch for me.... Most of it is all based on talentless 'talent' who have the right look but little else. (the J-Pop scene ,that is). Indeed, once their popularity starts to wane, unless they've written their own music they wind up with nothing. It's a horrible parasitic scene where everyone but the star is raking it in, though the star of course gets to live like royalty, on a monthly wage - until their day is done and then they are dumped. Fortunately this is changing with some who actually get to take control of their own careers and of course there's good J music out there too, maybe Ms Nishimura is one of the latter? ('scuse the rant - I've seen too much of the shadow side of the industry to be totally objective about it.....) I guess this is getting quite off topic. If we continue this discussion maybe we should move it to the off topic forum..... Link to post Share on other sites
enderzero 0 Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 Boy this is an exciting thread I know what is going to be in here before I open it but I am inexplicably drawn to continue to read....unlike the soccer threads in the off topic that I have been able to finally give up. Ahh the life of a forum addict. I am just messing with you guys, keep it up. Link to post Share on other sites
Markie 0 Posted December 17, 2002 Author Share Posted December 17, 2002 Actually Yukie Nishimura has been around for many years. She already has more than 20 ablums and nearly all of them are her own compositions. She's not fantastic so it's not strange you haven't heard of her. Her music is of the modern-easy listening genre. BTW didn't you ask whether Rusutsu had a pool. I believe it does, it even has indoor tennis courts. I thought I'd just rant on so that our good friend ender will have more interesting material in case he is having a bout of insomnia. Link to post Share on other sites
sunrise 0 Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 I've just talked to Carl in Rusutsu - the latest report looks good. He says it was snowing heavily all night and it's still snowing - might have eased off earlier but as we spoke it was getting heavy again. So I'm sure you'll have some good snow by the time you get there, Markie. He says there's a lot of snow there, though he's not skiing so he's only seeing it from a 'tourist' point of view... Tennis courts - wow, what kind of place is this? - Carl says it's a bit like a cross between Disney World and Universal Studios... what a trip! I hope I can get some laps in at the pool.... So much for trying to get some peace and quiet - hopefully I can do that on the slopes. Does Rusutsu have lots of music being heavily blasted from the speakers or are we spared of this? (please, please, please, please...) Carl's expecting you to pop in so don't be shy! He's curious to meet The Man From Hong Kong. The good news for me is that the first set starts at 8.30pm (only 3 sets a night - very easy gig) - which gives me lots of skiing time during the day before I have to start work..... Good to hear Yukie's writing her own stuff... I'll keep the name in mind.... Glad you're enjoying this conversation Enderzero - you're welcome to join in anytime and even help direct the thread. Hey - by the way, are you planning to come to Japan or do you just like hanging out with us from the States........ (good luck with the ankle). Link to post Share on other sites
Markie 0 Posted December 17, 2002 Author Share Posted December 17, 2002 Lots of snow? Wow, thanks for the good news. I certainly will look up Carl during the nights...after night skiing up to 9 pm. I don't know about the music on the slopes but will let you know when I get back. 3 gigs a night starting at 8:30? So you'll probably finish after midnight. If you sleep off the morning you can still get in lots of skiing in the afternoon but remember to get to the East Mt and Mt Isola first cause that section closes at about 4pm. West Mt goes on till 9pm. Link to post Share on other sites
sunrise 0 Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 3 sets a night. 8.30 to 9.00, 9.30 to 10.00, 10.30 to 11.00. I'll try and get up in time for the first lift as much as possible and then siesta before work. Thanks for the time information. That's good to know. I'll check that out. And do let me know about the music on the snowfields. If it's full-on I might take my MD with me. I prefer to ski in silence, but my MD is preferable to the music that might be blaring out of the speakers... (my iPod probably won't work well in the cold weather.....) How long are you going for markie? Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 sunrise, if they play music at the resort you play at, why not remonstrate with them? Tell them they're getting their feet all over your turf. Tell them all about 'the time and the place for music' and 'gilding the lily'. Educate them. Someone needs to. Link to post Share on other sites
Markie 0 Posted December 17, 2002 Author Share Posted December 17, 2002 Is that how it's done in Japan? I know that in HK if you tell your employer what to do or how things should be done, that's a good way to get sent packing....especially if you are right because it means you're showing up the boss. There's a famous Chinese legend called "the death of Yeung Sau". Yeung Sau was a very gifted general with good strategy and foresight and always gave the best advice. Unfortunately, he lacked tact. The King, Cao Cao, who was also considered quite wise, sometimes chose not to follow Yeung Sau's advice, leading to disastrous consequences. Then Yeung Sau proclaimed his own death sentence with those 3 words to the king which you should never say to your wife or any other superior:"I told you so". The moral of that story: Master the art of shoe-shining and live a long and prosperous life. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 I knew there had to be a reason why I'm a freelance... Link to post Share on other sites
sunrise 0 Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 Damn good idea, Ocean... PIty I'm a gaijin, and not only that but, just as bad, female! I can see the resort managers now jumping to the call of this hennagaijinwoman! But you've brought up the important question of how to educate Japanese resort managers with their strange ideas of what they believe appeals to the local masses...... Maybe the best way is the media - c'mon SnowJapan! Continue your wonderful re-educating of these resort owners....! It's great that they're starting to listen to you in other areas....... I know you can do it, though It might take a few years, but hey, Rome wasn't built in a day. Does anyone know what the Japanese think of this wonderful music on the slopes? I mean - do Japanese people really like it? Or maybe it's more for Tokyo people - to make them feel like they're in the city or something..... Hey, by the way Ocean, I'm enjoying those oceanview articles......... are you a writer by profession? I like that 'gilding the lily' phrase.... Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 I've often wondered who it's supposed to appeal to. It's surely not as if anybody chooses to go to one resort rather than another because of the kind of music they play or the fact that they play music at all. But the kind of music being played at 47 keeps driving me over to Goryu to get away from it... I suppose being a translator I am a writer by profession. Ah, if only I could make a living by writing opinionated pieces about snow things. Thanks for your comment on my article. Link to post Share on other sites
Markie 0 Posted December 18, 2002 Author Share Posted December 18, 2002 Oh, my goodness! What a revelation! I always thought of you as a guy. My humble apologies. It just never occurred to me that you were of the fairer sex. Mind you, I don't believe there was anything in your previous posts that would have given you away, was there? Oh, and I forgot to answer your question...I will be there only 4 nights. Not even enough to try out all the restaurants. They have lots of restaurants and shops too, you know! I wanted to stay the week, but my agent said she couldn't book it, and this was September when I asked for it! I wonder what one must do to get these reservations? I will be with an entourage of more than 20 HK friends including kiddies and grannies. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 Came as news to me too... Link to post Share on other sites
sunrise 0 Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 How wonderful that you can live in such a lovely area and earn your living there, Ocean! I long for the day that I can live in the country again (or country area at least). I bet you could start your own website with your articles and become a cult hero - maybe that will provide renumeration further down the track..... Link to post Share on other sites
Markie 0 Posted December 18, 2002 Author Share Posted December 18, 2002 I still can't get over finding out you're not a guy! Now I keep picturing you as Diana Krall. Link to post Share on other sites
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