daver 0 Posted May 11, 2006 Share Posted May 11, 2006 i'm just curious, how important is having a car to you and your skiing habit? i have found that not having one has been a real hinderance on me. anyone else? Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted May 11, 2006 Share Posted May 11, 2006 It was no hinderance when I used to take packages to Europe and stay in the resort. Now, not having a car would a real hinderance, especially as I'm usually travelling with two children. Link to post Share on other sites
bushpig 0 Posted May 11, 2006 Share Posted May 11, 2006 yep! Went without one for a couple of years, and because I don't live right in the snow it completely put a damper on going. Have one again and got up there a lot more this season Link to post Share on other sites
marnix 0 Posted May 11, 2006 Share Posted May 11, 2006 Are there other possibilities to get to the snow? I always want to take at least 2 pairs of ski's and a helmet and gloves and everything. Just to be prepared for a bad day when a lot goes wrong. Then having a car is easy to carry all the extra stuff with you. It also brings you to places where you normally won't go taking the train or bus and you are more flexible if you change your mind halfway the ride up (usually around Maebashi). Link to post Share on other sites
rach 1 Posted May 11, 2006 Share Posted May 11, 2006 Very important. It lets me go when I want to go. Link to post Share on other sites
me jane 0 Posted May 11, 2006 Share Posted May 11, 2006 Essential. The train is good for day trips from Tokyo but anything else and you really need a car. Alos much more comfortable being able to take all the gear, food & beer you want. Even living in Yokohama with a good train service it's good to have a car. I don't use it to go to work everyday but it's good for late at night when there are no trains, and for getting to places where there are no trains (surprisingly quite a few places around here). I usually drive to the mountains to go hiking and stuff too but the only problem with that is you have to make sure you end up where you started! Link to post Share on other sites
daver 0 Posted May 12, 2006 Author Share Posted May 12, 2006 i felt as such when i was living in canada. a car was essential. kinda sad when you consider that into the real price of this sport though. aside from the access that a car provides, i find it really annoying to have to plan your day according to the train/bus schedule. Link to post Share on other sites
Ewok 2 1 Posted May 12, 2006 Share Posted May 12, 2006 I agree with Rach. Link to post Share on other sites
mattlucas 0 Posted May 12, 2006 Share Posted May 12, 2006 I've driven and owned cars since I was 16 in Canada. You have to own a car in Canada. It's just too big to get anywhere unless you live in the bigger cities which I didn't. I lived without a car for my first year here but was lucky enough that my best friend could drive me to the ski hills. In the off season it limited where I could go though because I had to bus into all my hikes. As is obvious a car opened many doors for me and now I can get into remote places to go skiing and hiking. With a car comes other problems though. Just yesterday my car stalled and would not start again. I had to get a guy from the Autobacs to come help me. Turns out a little bit of air was getting into the sparkplugs and causing it to misfire. Now I though how to fix that problem. And don't get me started on all the hidden costs a car brings Link to post Share on other sites
daver 0 Posted May 12, 2006 Author Share Posted May 12, 2006 yeah those hidden costs are a nightmare. it is much more expensive then what the price tag indicates. i once found i was working just for my car. it sucked, once i had the car i could no longer afford to really do the things i wanted with it because i had no time or money!!!!! Link to post Share on other sites
IIIII 2 Posted May 13, 2006 Share Posted May 13, 2006 Car is essential. I hate using the trains or buses. Link to post Share on other sites
slimeypete 0 Posted May 13, 2006 Share Posted May 13, 2006 I'd be interested to see a listup of your hidden costs there. Link to post Share on other sites
mattlucas 0 Posted May 13, 2006 Share Posted May 13, 2006 I just got a 35,000 yen bill for drivers or car insurance yesterday. Not sure which one it is. I'm pretty sure I paid this when I got my shaken renewed though so we'll see if I have to pay it. Link to post Share on other sites
fukdane 2 Posted May 13, 2006 Share Posted May 13, 2006 Got mine today as well, prefecture car tax. Bad news, this is not the one you pay with your shaken. Link to post Share on other sites
mattlucas 0 Posted May 13, 2006 Share Posted May 13, 2006 Then how come I paid 35,000 for insurance when I did my shaken? Link to post Share on other sites
bushpig 0 Posted May 13, 2006 Share Posted May 13, 2006 Yep, it is separate. I got mine today. The shaken tax is simply a tax the government applies on getting your car re-registered. The ones we are just getting are your actual yearly car tax. It was a rude shock for me when I got my first one too. Link to post Share on other sites
mattlucas 0 Posted May 13, 2006 Share Posted May 13, 2006 No no Are you sure? I'm going to have to check When I went to a shop to get an estimate there was no 35,000 yen re-registration charge But when I went to the prefectural auto place to do my shaken they added a car insurance on Link to post Share on other sites
bushpig 0 Posted May 13, 2006 Share Posted May 13, 2006 Well I'm pretty sure that the tax charged in the shaken is a separate thing from the yearly car tax. Check and let us know anyway. It's not a re-registration charge so much as just part of the tax involved in registering a car (doing shaken). What do you mean by car insurance? You talking the compulsory 3rd party insurance?? Link to post Share on other sites
base40 0 Posted May 14, 2006 Share Posted May 14, 2006 It's sent out this time of year and if you own a car it's something you gotta pay. Link to post Share on other sites
snowboarding-sam 0 Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 The costs are worth it for me definitely, it's just opened things up so much more than before. Love having the car. Link to post Share on other sites
Davo 1 Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 I couldn't justify the cost of having one. Apart from snowboarding and other out of the city trips there is no need to really have one. If I really need to use one I can hire one for a weekend. Link to post Share on other sites
WantToSki 0 Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 well, ive read a report somewhere that if you use a car less than 4 times a month (this would be a small make) - it would be cheaper to actually rent... anything more than that - it would be advisable to buy. basically, car tax here in japan is based on the length of time youve owned your car, and not on the mileage that youve used - from what i know (can anyone confirm this), you pay the same amount of shaken regardless if you drive everyday as a profession, or you only use it on the weekend trips. Link to post Share on other sites
mattlucas 0 Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 Quote: Originally posted by base40: It's sent out this time of year and if you own a car it's something you gotta pay. Just because I HAVE to pay it doesn't mean I WANT to pay it Link to post Share on other sites
bushpig 0 Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 you pay car tax on a yearly basis, based on the size of the engine. So a 2 L car is around 4 man. The shaken is the same. It is based on the engine size, and nothing else. Link to post Share on other sites
manuel_arg 0 Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 I cannot image my live without my car. I hate taking the bus with my boots and snowboard. Link to post Share on other sites
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