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I will be coming to Japan next September, and I have a choice to live in Karuizawa or a place in Tokyo. I am a snowboarding nut, but the Tokyo job seems like more fun (and more cash, tho not much more).

 

I have never been to Japan before, so am just thinking about this - will it be worth it being so close to the slopes in winter do you reckon. (Not really interested in anything else apart from the boarding aspect of stuff).

 

Thanks for any help. Cheers

 

SS

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If you like the countryside and being near resorts is important - and a more relaxing lifestyle, no doubt - go for Karuizawa.

 

If nightlife, hectic lifestyle is your thing - Tokyo.

 

I'd go for the non-Tokyo option

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I'd say go for Karuizawa but there are a number of other factors besides boarding to consider.

 

Karuizawa is a cold place, with not much else to do besides outdoor stuff. Will you have a car? Fast Internet? Warm house? What sort of place are you used to living?

 

Another thing to consider (and you have plenty of time) is whether you couldn't find the same sort of job in a more ideal spot (nearer better resorts, warmer, more interesting to live).

 

What sort of jobs are you looking at?

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StickShift

 

Living in Tokyo is a bind yes fun at times, but expensive, noisy, tiring, dirty and pretty much less of a life than if you are out in Gunma there. Unless you are just a party animal and wanna spend your time just in rowdy clubs etc etc.

 

Easy one....

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Karuizawa is just inside Nagano, I believe. Not that it makes much difference.

 

For you other people, it struck me as a countryside town for city people who don't like the ordinary countryside, if you catch my drift. It has a very large shopping centre with lots of outlets for foreign brands, other pretty shops selling bagels, expensive cheeses and sausages, a kebab shop (yeah! (never been tho)), a big bowling alley, an Imax cinema, a 72-hole golf course etc. all with clean air, an upbeat European kind of feel, a pretty backdrop of some mountains, and great access for city types. I think there are some great mountain biking courses in the area, but I would imagine most people who go there just go around the sights (a viewpoint on the border with Gunma, a pretty pond in a wooded area where many folk have weekend homes, an old bridge just out of town etc) and take a few pictures.

 

I live near the slopes and think it's really worthwhile, but the main reason for that is that I'm NOT a real "snowboarding nut". I wouldn't put up with the travelling and time and expense to board anything like as much if I still lived in Kansai, for example. From my limited knowledge of South Nagano, Karuizawa is not going to put you "so close" to the places snowboarding nuts usually go. Well, Tenjindaira and its BC runs maybe, but that's not so far from Tokyo anyway.

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Unless you find somewhere closer to the slopes in Nagano, I'd go for Karuizawa. It'd be a lot more chilled than living in Tokyo, cheaper (offsetting the extra pay in Tokyo) and you can still be in Tokyo in less than an hour for about 4000yen on the Nagano Shinkansen if you want to party. Otherwise if you're rreally into snowboarding, find a place nearer to Hakuba or Nozawa

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Hey, thanks for the responses people!

 

I have 2 options available to me, one in Karuizawa and the other in Tokyo - so there are no real alternatives to that unfortunately. Will think it through.

 

If anyone else has any thoughts, please let me know!

 

Cheers

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Looks like not many people sticking up for Tokyo here. Well, here goes. Tokyo is:

 

- fun

- sexy

- expensive

- noisy

- did I say FUN!

- dirty sometimes

- tiring

- fun

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like someone else remarked, it kinda depends

on your job/industry. with stuff like securities, marketing, advertising, for example, it's actually better being in the Tokyo rat-race, since most of the big clients/contacts are here.

 

Anyway, kinda depends whether you prefer

fast-paced, info-overload blur or not.

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Looks like the votes are coming in for Karuizawa more than Tokyo. I would say the same, on the basis of lifestyle. But hey, we don't know the details, so it's hard to say. Good luck!

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