rezinate 0 Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 Hello all, nice to meet u. Anyway, Im a bit of a Hokkaido veteran after doing 3 seasons there (1 in Niseko, 2 in Sapporo boarding at Teine and Kokusai), and abolsutely loved it. Ive been back in oz for a while now, and am dying for another season!!! So Ive gotten myself a 3 month job, which finishes in December.... The idea is that I buy a season pass, and spend weekdays doing nothing but boarding...(hopefully i can find a job on weekends, but that may be hard as the teaching job already promised to cancel my working visa once the jobs over and no more working holiday for me)....... After doing alot of research, it seems the best 3 places for me are probably Hakuba, Shiga Kogen, and Nozawa. So, here are a heap of questions Im hoping u can all help me out with!!! - I cant find any information about Season passes for Shiga Kogen, only a 'super 10'. do they exist? Does Shiga have many steepish sections? (relative to Hokkaido anyway). I know its a huge resort, but is it like Perisher Blue (where Id rather 1 or 2 decent lifts to 50 really small ones), or are most areas fairly good? I dont seem to see many ppl rating this as one of the best places in Japan...why is that? - If i go to Hakuba, I pretty much have to choose between resorts (season pass wise), right? Do they have any deals where u can get a day ticket for 1000yen at a rival resort or anything? Is Goryu/47 the biggest 'resort' u can get on 1 season ticket (unless i win the lottery super pass thingy) there? - What is the biggest season pass u can buy in Japan? (ie the most and best resorts on 1 ticket) And whats the biggest season pass that doesnt require a car to utilise fully? (not sure if ill get a car or not, probably not). I realise there are 100s of 'whats the best resort' type threads (which i HAVE read), but thought id ask anyway....my main criteria are: - reasonable amount and quality of snow (i realise it wont be Niseko, but def want better than oz!) - steeper than Niseko (for those who enjoy the same old argument, i thought it was perfect for my first proper season...but i do need something more challenging now) - a 1/2 decent snow park with some nice kickers - preferably a nighta (thats usable on the seasons pass if psosible!), as I fkn loved em at Hirafu and Kokusai. - ideally, some place where I could get a weekend job that covers accomodation and food. (sorry for the long post but i guess its better than starting 5 new threads!) Look fwd to boarding with some of u 6 months from now!! Link to post Share on other sites
sava 0 Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 Not much night skiing. Snow park is probably going to mean goryu/47. Steep probably means somewhere else. Have you considered some of the gifu resorts? If you don't have a car, then the shuttles buses in hakuba are good. Snow will be fine pretty much anywhere No idea about weekend job Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 Not answering your questions but: "..the teaching job already promised to cancel my working visa once the jobs over and no more working holiday for me)......." The visa is YOURS, not THEIRS. They can't do that. It lasts for a year and you are free to change jobs as you wish. Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 night sking isnt that big on honshu pass prices ill be pretty close but could be wrong shiga kogen and happone 70000 yen cant be split. nozawa 50000 yen 47/goryu 45000 yen? early season. Iwatake, tsugaike, norikura, cortina 50000 yen bought via the net only. Shiga kgen has steep bits ive seen them in some mags. Where those parts are i dont know. There will be enough snow some areas gett more snow than niseko, niseko isnt the top snowfall resort in Japan at all. A company cant terminate your working VISA once you get it you have it for a year. cb can tell you that if you want to renew it and youve not done what the visa says you should be doing it can give you probs. Thats an if. goodluck and welcome to the big mountains. Link to post Share on other sites
sava 0 Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 Translation service, powered by TSB: Quote: Originally posted by Fattwins: A company cant terminate your working VISA once you get it you have it for a year. cb can tell you that if you want to renew it and youve not done what the visa says you should be doing it can give you probs. Thats an if. goodluck and welcome to the big mountains. Once you have the working visa, you have it for a year and it can't be terminated by the company. CB had a bad experience and you should make sure that you adhere to the appropriate regulations should you want to renew the visa. Goodluck and welcome to the big mountains. Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 tsb love wtf? Link to post Share on other sites
rezinate 0 Posted June 26, 2006 Author Share Posted June 26, 2006 thanx 4 the info guyz.... Well, sounds like Shiga Kogen is out then! Im thinking the same about Nozawa - i found myself falling asleep after lunch nearly every day in Niseko, so Ill probably stick to a place with a nighta..... Does anyone know if any of those remaining places have any nightas with a board park? I dont need an expert park,just a simple jump or 2. Also, the Hakuba pass with Cortina and the other 3 places sounds pretty good.....but from what I can gather on the reviews, they seem to be very strict with out of bounds. Last thing i want is to lose a season pass!! Do they sell single use ticket cards there, or should i look elsewhere if i wanna go back country n outta bounds? What are they like at Happoone and Goryu/47 in regards to this? (ps, i hope ur all right about the working visa! itll certainly make my life much easier if true) Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 Mate, all of us residents came originally on working visas, even if some are now permanent residents. We know the rules. The visa goes in your passport, and it belongs to you. Even if the job finishes early, you are free to find teaching work elsewhere. Some companies try and trick their employees, so keep mum and don't be fooled. Link to post Share on other sites
rezinate 0 Posted June 27, 2006 Author Share Posted June 27, 2006 hehe, cool glad to hear it! unfortunately, their behaving in the typical 'our rules are not flexible' Japanese way, and my return flight MUST be booked by them and I cant get the money instead. Im hoping its a ticket that allows me to change the departure date....having said all this, they were meant to contact me recently, and they havent replied to my latest email so who knows whats going on....(although if it falls thru, ill probably travel thru central america then board either canada or france, which aint too bad an option, just costly!) its thru www.westgate.co.jp btw, i hope noone has heard any horror stories from them? luckily i know Japanese quite well now, so that makes my life alot easier once im there at least. Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 I`ve no idea about westgate. You could try here: http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/viewforum.php?f=11 Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 Quote: Originally posted by Team snow bee: Translation service, powered by TSB: Quote: Originally posted by Fattwins: A company cant terminate your working VISA once you get it you have it for a year. cb can tell you that if you want to renew it and youve not done what the visa says you should be doing it can give you probs. Thats an if. goodluck and welcome to the big mountains. Once you have the working visa, you have it for a year and it can't be terminated by the company. CB had a bad experience and you should make sure that you adhere to the appropriate regulations should you want to renew the visa. Goodluck and welcome to the big mountains. Yup, my experience sucked and I had to write a one page explanation of my actions as well. *******. I was on a working visa and left jobs without notifying the immigration dept of my change of jobs, which I did 2xs and also had a 1 year, ummm 'unemployed'/part-time job thang as well. Youre SUPPOSED to notify them of any changes to your status/jobs/work etc...and my visa status changed as well. Just find out all the small details so as to avoid probs is my recommendation for ya. I dunno bout working holidays (id assume itd be different as youre not "stuck" with an employer, right?) Ditto to what most peeps said as well. Like FT said Shiga has some steep bits but I dunno where they are either. Supposedly more over towards Yakebitai BC area..?? Best nighta in Japan though - Niseko Best area - Hakuba Place I wanna ski more of - Nozawa Places I wanna ski - Myoko Link to post Share on other sites
Kumapix 0 Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 just my .02cents. Even though my job just gives me 6month renewable contracts, I get a 1 year work visa no problem from immigration every year. So even though my contract officially terminates 6 months later I still technically have a 6month free zone. I have heard of businesses calling up immigration if you quit and telling them that you don't work there anymore. This would prob affect your status though. People were saying that it's your visa. I'm not so sure about that. The company is sponsoring you. I think if you get another job then you're fine but otherwise I'd say there's the potential to get your visa cancelled. Especially in these days of 'terror'. Best bet is for you to google it and get the visa info from official visa sites. Oh, and the myoko runs aren't so good. the bc is killer though Link to post Share on other sites
rezinate 0 Posted June 27, 2006 Author Share Posted June 27, 2006 hmmm, ill have to wait n see what happens re the visa. Anyway, after more hunting n digging around on the site, ive noticed Naeba/Kagura also seems like a v good resort for the 1 season ticket. Are there any good reasons not to go here for a season? And yes, Niseko does indeed have an incredible nighta.....although when i waz there, it lacked any sort of park riding at night (which would b the first thing i opened at night if i owned a resort) Link to post Share on other sites
kkk 7 Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 Quote: Are there any good reasons not to go here for a season? How about... not good enough for a season....! Link to post Share on other sites
Kumapix 0 Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 Naeba is good. There's asagai which has an excellent albeit crowded park & pipe. be prepared to snake! Link to post Share on other sites
kkk 7 Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 Good maybe, but not for a season. And it gets real busy on weekends. Link to post Share on other sites
rezinate 0 Posted June 27, 2006 Author Share Posted June 27, 2006 Quote: Originally posted by Kumapix: just my .02cents. I have heard of businesses calling up immigration if you quit and telling them that you don't work there anymore. This would prob affect your status though. People were saying that it's your visa. I'm not so sure about that. The company is sponsoring you. I think if you get another job then you're fine but otherwise I'd say there's the potential to get your visa cancelled. Especially in these days of 'terror'. yeah, best bet is probably to just tell em Im leaving, that way they wont call up imigration... westgate said i can keep my visa on the condition i find someone else to sponsor me - perhaps its much easier to get sponsorship once i have a visa? coz there is no way in hell im gunna be doing a full-time job to keep my visa, i wanna do some serious boarding this northern winter!!! Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 I you want a nighta start thinking about somewhere else. Japan is not known for good night sking. Niseko aside from that....actually maybe something close to nagano city but i dont know. BC and OB are 2 different stories BC rules in Japan are relaxed anyone can go BC. OB is a different story. 47/Goryu tough rules do to terrain traps and other problems, a few open areas. happo mostly open other than areas that could slide. dont like it when people drop BC from inbounds. Iwatake relaxed Tsugaike one tree sking place but you should/must sign up for it. Norikura dont know Cortina nice steeps strict on OB cant access much BC sking from here without going far and really needing a car. Link to post Share on other sites
Kumapix 0 Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 well, rezinate is hoping to work on weekends. It's a decent sized mountain with kagura for bc and asagai with an excellent park. Obviously the hakuba valley would be better but you have to go to 47 or tsugaike for a park, happo for runs etc. I just find hakuba more spaced out...(well if you calculate the distance between the mountains it is!) I think Naeba has a nice package. Link to post Share on other sites
rezinate 0 Posted June 27, 2006 Author Share Posted June 27, 2006 yeah, but like i said i dont really need a good nighta. Im happy to do the same 200m 5 degree slope again n again n again if it has a nice kicker or something. from what ive read though, the nighta is still better in Nagano than anywhere else in the world.....as they rarely have it at all in most countries. Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 you could drive down the road to yanaba terrain park i guess. 47 park closes at 3 goryu i dont know but i think 3 and no night park. Link to post Share on other sites
Kumapix 0 Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 yeah if you have a job lined up then it's no problem to switch. Places are also willing to hire you if you have a work visa already as they don't have to do much more than maybe showing proof that you work there(maybe a letter). It's to protect japan from people coming in with a job offer and then quitting straight away and doing something else. Link to post Share on other sites
Kumapix 0 Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 i think a night park it prob more dangerous and resorts don't bother. plus if you fall it really kills! Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 kuma thats what I want to ski...have heard/read great things bout it Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 The visa is yours. It is issued by the government, not a company. Your (ex)employer cannot cancel your visa, nor can the government if you abide by the conditions. Japan is a democracy ruled by law. This is not North Korea. Link to post Share on other sites
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