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Me too Indosnm. But a mate who worked up there for a while said that there were just too many loud Aussies around and it didn't feel like Japan. IT was still one of the best boarding experiences I have had though.

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Sounds to me like Bali!

I used to think the same about the footy dicks that used to frequent the Sari Club etc.

Still there was always a way to avoid all the idiots and get what I was there for and I think Niseko would be the same now ( I think! I haven't been back since 2002 \:\( )

The little place I always stay in right at the bottom of the Hirafu gondola hopefully hasn't lost it's japanese feel.

 

Good point out of aussie invasion is that they might replace the crappy J pop on the slopes for some godd Aussie music! clap.gif

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I have had the opportunity to ski in many different places around the world and there are many places that has not lost its charm. One town that comes to mind is Kitzbuhel it still has an Austrian charm to yet is international. Almost all the building there are built to the Austrian style. There are plenty of places to eat, shop or party.

In my opinion most J resort towns are rather dumpy. They almost seem lost back in 60’s. In Hirafu I don’t think you can even find I a ski shop. Restaurants there are ok at best. Rooms are reasonable which are a good thing but then again nothing special. Personally I do not mind the cheaper rooms I’m there to ski any how and usually do not spend a whole lot of time in room anyway.

It seems to me that the Japanese people there are a bit upset because they have not been able to keep what they consider a Japanese feel to the town. They have a point. Then again I get the feeling that they have no vision as to what the town should look like in the future. I remember seeing an article last year saying Niseko will be the new Vail. Well they have a long way to go. What the residents there need to do is establish some sort of development board. They should be able to deny or allow any building that does not fit the style or zoning for that area. Some sort of plan should be worked up to what areas are for shopping, restaurants, bars, hotels and residential. A lot of finger pointing will not help. I really feel the Japanese people there should take the lead on this and work with there Aussie counterparts to figure out a Niseko for the future

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I am totally agreed with Quattro. I have been to niseko last yr and goin back this, love it. To me it still very japanese, hasnt lost its innocent. Japanese dont like changes, so they are just jumping up and down over nothing. They just need to have some rules over developement so it wont ruin the places. At the end of the day, no development can go ahead unless approved by their local government. You still increase the economy of the place without damaging the place or its the culture. It is all in the Planning.

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it would be perfect if it was steeper.

 

cant say i care whether im surrounded by gaijin or japanese, but there are ton of aussies brought in by sj etc. eventually the tour companies will bring in more other nationalities, not just aussies, and it will even out a bit.

 

not sure if ill be back, but thats certainly not because of the lack of japanese "feel" or whatever you want to call it

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 Quote:
Originally posted by Bushpig:
But a mate who worked up there for a while said that there were just too many loud Aussies around and it didn't feel like Japan.
Intresting.

I was scouting places for our incoming trip and this thing was the "final straw" that decided agains Niseko..

I tried to be objective and stuff,and asked about a friend that had been in niseko area last winter and he said that he liked the place itself,but it was "full" of aussies,many of them that behaved like britt´s in Mallorca.
He felt that his group of "gai-jin´s" that were there were looked upon and treated like shite in lot of places by locals,well,just because they were westerners.

Now,please,dont get me wrong.. I have met a lot of aussies abroad,and i like the bunch. A lot.

But.

Thought that if i want to travel half the world for skiing,it might be nice to be met with "minimal amount" of prejudice,or something.

So we choose something else.
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 Quote:
Originally posted by Meathelmet:
Thought that if i want to travel half the world for skiing,it might be nice to be met with "minimal amount" of prejudice,or something.

So we choose something else.
What a wank. Have you thought about pointing this back at yourself? It'd be nice if you visited the place, had a great time, met some really nice people, and then made your own judgements.

Last time I was there this season, I saw:
(a) a little old lady in Seicomart who did her best to help a big Aussie tourist who was bumbling through his shopping with gestures,
(B) an old guy in an onsen who gave me his spare modesty towel because he thought I might be more comfortable,
© three guys in an onsen who wanted to talk about why I was in Japan,
(d) a couple of Japanese skiers who were happy for me to join them for some off-piste skiing,
(e) a local butcher who asked if I liked the special yakiniku sauce she had sold me the day before, and then couldn't stop laughing when she learnt how much I had eaten, and
(e) a young ski tech guy in a ski shop who was lamenting that his English wasn't good enough to give technical details to his foreign customers.

That was all in the space of one weekend. Prejudice? Yeah, all in all, I feel like I got pretty special treatment.
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I think there must be a lot of aussies like my friends and I. Our first two japan trip included some time in Niseko, but this year we'll be heading to Hakuba instead.

 

I guess Hakuba is full of aussies as well, but it can't be anything like the huge numbers in Niseko.

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Hakuba is too big to really have a clusterecd feeling. Hakuba and Yuzawa are large towns with many resorts.

 

the japanese niseko pension owners though are seeing a way out right now in Niseko. We must remeber that many got burned after the bubble and their property was worthless for sometime. The rates had to go down and they just got by. Now people are offering large amounts of cash and its a chance to get out in the black.

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well we're staying with you fattwins so I promise we'll be on our best behaviour. almost. \:\)

 

one good thing aussies bring to japan is our wine. did I read on some thread fattwins you like a drop of red? or was that someone else?

 

cheers

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 Quote:
Originally posted by sanjo:
What did you choose Meathelmet?
Well, we chose something in the south,Hakuba.

\:\)

And powda tele, you didnt get me,didnt you?

I tried to say that if we have a possibilty to go to a bit more uncrowded (touristwise) place,well, we´ll go there.

I dont see the point of going to a place that has a reputation(from different sources) to be crowded with other powhounds when you have a possibility to go to some other place that isnt´t (supposedly) that.

And still be able to ski pow.
And still meet people.
And still ...

Got it?
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aren't we all just 'tourists' anyway?

you're either an offensive i don't have to pretend this is another country cuturally ingorant/uninterested tourist or one who is trying to be sensitive to their environment and peoples but who is still inevidibly an outsider.

 

whatever - you go cause you want to :rolleyes:

 

i go for the first time in a week and village full of aussies or no - i can't wait!

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Does the same apply for people who choose to live in Oz for a long time, or do they eternally continue to be outsiders? I'm not going to get into the whole "foreigners will always be foreigners in Japan" argument. But those of us who have chosen to live here, and have been here for quite a while certainly don't fit into the tourist category.

 

Whatever, you'll love Niseko. I certainly did.

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Regarding Powda Tele's response to Meathelmut's post:

 

It is perfectly understandable that people base their travel decisions on info gathered via different sources, without ever having actually been there. Nearly all of us do it everytime we travel. I (even as an Australian) wouldn't spend my money flying across the world to visit Niseko and the reason is that it is full of Australians.... and they are more often than not vulgar in large numbers, just like Poms in Spain. You have to make a judgement and that is what people like Meathelmut are doing and I think they are likely to come out on top by following their gut feel and avoiding large concentrations of Australians and going to Honshu resorts instead.

 

I am white and speak English and therefore in Italy and France, I get treated like a Pom all of the time: I get treated like crap. My GF is Japanese and she is our saving grace, that is, once she steps in and manages the communications with the locals we are seldom given the unfair prejudicial treatment that many perfectly decent English folk are instantly given. Once it becomes apparent that I am Australian, I usually get treated a lot better, particularly in Italy. I bet if meathelmut went to Niseko, he would be assumed to be an Australian and therefore more likely than not to be associated with their well documented bad behaviour. It is unfair, but a fact of life. I saw a Pom get treated like shit on the weekend in Italy and he simply did not deserve it and I felt sorry for him. But judging by the behaviour of other English guys you see, I can see why the Italians react like they do.

 

Another minor example: A friend and I were in the gondola in Niseko, first ride up in the morning. There were two Japanese girls and two gaijin guys in the bubble. We got talking and the second I answered "Australia-jin", the girls screwed up there face and said they didn't like the behaviour of Australian men. They very quickly lost interest in talking to me and only spoke to my friend for the remainder of the ride up. As an Australian, that had never happened to me before. In most places I visit in the world, being Australian is a passport to a smile and a friendly welcome. I am prepared to speculate that this is most often not the case in Niseko, other than being tolerated as a meaningful injection of tourist cash.

 

As for chasing powder and getting a more Japanese environment: My punt would be that Niseko loses out to Hakuba as there are more powder hungry gaijins in Niseko on package tours at anyone time. Hakuba is the better choice.

 

On the positive side, Powda Tele's examples of non- prejudicial behaviour are great and totally believable. Japanese people are far more friendly and helpful than their well documented prejudicial behaviour might suggest. For this reason alone, Japan is one of the nicer developed countries you can visit.

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 Quote:
Originally posted by Bushpig:
Does the same apply for people who choose to live in Oz for a long time, or do they eternally continue to be outsiders? I'm not going to get into the whole "foreigners will always be foreigners in Japan" argument. But those of us who have chosen to live here, and have been here for quite a while certainly don't fit into the tourist category.
Seems kind of ironic considering recent race riots in Australia with chants of "We Grew Here, You Flew Here", "Wog Free Zone", "Aussie Pride", "**** Allah - save Nulla", and "Lebs go home". Some of the Lebanese-Aussies were even born in Australia, no?
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