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Very true number 9. BUT, without getting back into that thread about that on the off topic page, I don't believe that was representative of all of Australia. And, I also said I'm not going to get into the "foreigners will always be foreigners in Japan" argument here. My point was not that at all. I was simply saying that those of us who have been here a reasonable amount of time certainly do not fit into the "tourist" category, and are doing neither of the options given by soobi. ie "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."

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A little civility goes a long way. We all should respect the local’s customs and traditions. Granted we may not be able to speak the language but a few phrases like please and thank you help. As far as parting goes have some drinks and a good time but keep the noise to a minimum. Would you want a roaring party going on outside your window to all hours of the morning when you have to work the next day, most likely not. I’m sure the people in Niseko don’t want to hear your carrying on either. Lets all have a good time and enjoy the snow, that’s what were all here for.

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Originally posted by Fattwins:
intro I told you to come to hakuba cause i wasnt that steep.
indeed you did!

but the main reason i went to niseko was because out of the blue i got a job w/free season pass.

unfortunately i had to come back to new zealand for family reasons and im a bit short on funds, so not sure if ill be doing hakuba this season. but certainly ill be back sometime to check it out.
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You know I was intrigued to read the same article describing the Aussie invasion of Niseko the other day - I must say I feel numerous different emotions about the description of Aussies in Japan - I personally have never been to Niseko but am visiting in mid Feb for a couple of weeks - I must say it reminds me of Whistler in the recent few years with the amount of Aussie kids there that always created a vibrant party atmosphere - I suppose it is different in Japan though - I am attempting to learn some basic Japanese to get around feeling that it is the proper way to address the locals etc... I look forward to visiting niseko and I hope to curb my behaviour in order not to propogate the current view of loud, drunk Aussies casuing hassles in a beautiful ski village with its own culture etc... Like the other posts on this forum my Aussie background has only ever got me a warm welcome in ski resorts around the world incl wonderful meals in small local resturants in Val D'Isere, France and Campitello, Italy where the owners felt it necessary to come and join us for a complimentary glass of grappa or local wine at the conclusion of our meal to ask us how we liked there little town......

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just read the article and found it quite interesting. The funny thing is that while the Japanese are worried about Aussies taking over, the exact opposite thing has happened in Australia. Just look at the Gold Coast and you'll see it mostly belongs to Japanese investors.

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Yeah and the Japanese investors lost their shirts after the bubble. The Hotel snagging another persons view is pretty bad though. Its really cheeky to do that, cause you better belive the hotel would fight to the death to protect the view that they bought.

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I don't care who is there as long as everyone shows respect to those around you and have a good time, and in my case soak up as much as the culture around you, all should be good time. It only take a few though to create a bad name..

 

I'm over there in a couple of weeks, and from what I've heard it should be sick....

 

see you all on the slopes, well at hopefully only from the waist up..... cool.gif

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You know, I have to say that I find it ironic there's so much talk about Aussies taking over Niseko when I found that Hakuba was crawling with them and other westerners and non-Japanese. This includes a few drunken loudmouths doing the drunken loudmouth Aussie thang at the bar on Sat nite (not the SJ crew, of course \:D ). Granted there's no Harmony resort in Hakuba, but gosh I was surprised with the amount of foreign-run businesses there as well as foreign skiers that I saw on the weekend.

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Not that having a lot of foreigners is a bad thing if they're helping revive the old ski towns. Like what a lot of people said, these towns need good planning for future developments (actually this applies to most Japanese towns, but I guess most of them aren't growing anyways), and they'll be fine.

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Originally posted by Kumapix:
Just look at the Gold Coast and you'll see it mostly belongs to Japanese investors.
Yes, it does. But try living there and hearing how the local thinking gold coaster speak about the 'bloody nips' who 'come here, buy everything and cant even speak Australian'. I reckon not many suburban gold coasters ever said many nice things about the Japanese. And then there is the issue of local business hiking prices the moment a Japanese person walks in the shop on the basis that they are too polite and generally quite gullible and naive, so why not rip them off? My dad lives on the goldy and positively hates the way Japanese language is compulsory in his kids school. Personally, I like Australia's growing closer relationship with Japan within the Asia Pacific region. We are both quite unique nations in the region that should be good friends (excusing the fact that the Japanese are the only bastards to get submarines into Sydney harbour and bomb it! Pricks ;\) )
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The majority of the foreigner visitors to Hakuba are Asian, I think. People have been saying that its going to get like Niseko with Aussies for years, but I can't see it happening myself.

 

If people are buying "boutique apartments" (*) in Niseko for decent coin thinking they will appreciate like in Sydney, it'll all end in tears, believe you me.

 

The article describes some people building something that blocks someone else's view, but total floor area and building footprint are already set for every piece of land on sale in Japan. If they're building a biggie, it must because the Japanese authorities set a generous allowance for that land. It's nothing to do with where the owner is from.

 

 

(*) I wonder if the person who named them that knows what a "boutique hotel" is.

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Originally posted by Siren:
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We are both quite unique nations
I am sure that's backed by comparable statistics.
What I mean is that within A/P, we are most often singled out from the region. In many instances across many business settings I have seen the analysis of "non-Japan & Australia Asia Pacific'. And then two additional analysis for Oz and Japan. I concede this is only business and there are more frames of reference than that! But in that frame, Japan and Oz are almost always separated or differentiated from the rest of Asia and treated individually.
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What I find interesting is how so many people think that loud drunken behaviour is somehow being culturally insensitive here in Japan. Basically that's crap.

 

These people obviously haven't been in Niseko in summer when late at night the streets are full of loud, obnoxious drunken groups of Japanese.

 

Groups of loud drunken people are annoying at any time but it's hardly culturally insensitive. You notice too how most of these comments come from those that don't live here.

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