danharman 0 Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 Hi everyone, I am planning on moving to Japan early Feb 2007 and would appreciate any info. anyone could provide in relation to living in Saporro ? Specifically, is public transport from the city to the mountains accessible ? Are day trips possible ? In addtion, does anyone recommend a particular area of the city to find accommodation ? Thanks in advance, Daniel. Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 typing in "Sapporo" under the search gives you loads of info Link to post Share on other sites
danharman 0 Posted July 6, 2006 Author Share Posted July 6, 2006 Cheers mate, just worked out to search all forums, not just SNow Talk. Plenty of info. now. Thanks.... Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 also try "Hokkaido" under the search as well. Brings up loads of stuff. Bit of scrolling but good info out there Link to post Share on other sites
danharman 0 Posted July 6, 2006 Author Share Posted July 6, 2006 Cheers, will do. Cannot wait! Link to post Share on other sites
TJ OZ 0 Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 What are you going to be doing over there Dan? Link to post Share on other sites
danharman 0 Posted July 7, 2006 Author Share Posted July 7, 2006 Heh TJ, At the moment it is looking like teaching; hence the exact location of where I exactly end up is also undecided. Cheers......Dan. Link to post Share on other sites
danharman 0 Posted July 7, 2006 Author Share Posted July 7, 2006 Yeah I was thinking that buying a car might be a good option. A few questions though, is parking, rego., insurance etc. affordable (or at least similar to Aus) ? Cheers.... Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 i think cheaper maybe. used cars are cheap and 10 times better than what you get. parking i depends where you are really figure 10000 yen if you have to pay. (not including Tokyo) insurance is cheap compared to canada at least. tax is cheap if you buy a k-type small car. Link to post Share on other sites
danharman 0 Posted July 7, 2006 Author Share Posted July 7, 2006 Thanks Fattwins, that is good news. With all of the car-imports from Japan in Aus, I was thinking that the car prices must be pretty good. Will first sort out the location and go from there. I notice that you are in Kyoto ? Would you recommend living there ? Link to post Share on other sites
bushpig 0 Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 if you love crowds then yeah it is a great place! Link to post Share on other sites
bushpig 0 Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 I don't mean everyday hussle bussle crowds like Tokyo, I mean tourist crowds throughout the year! Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 I like Kobe better than Kyoto Dan... Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 If you want to ski id stay away from kyoto and head to nagoya or more north say nagano city. from nagano city you can be in hakuba, skiga kogen, myoko, nozawa in about 1 hour. not inbcluding the other medium sized places. for work nagoya isnt bad just stay out of the city and live north. its nice out there the city isnt all that nice. if you want sights history kyoto cant be beat but its hot. kobe is nice but further away from good sking. kobe is very international lots of good spots to chill. Osaka great for work but wouldnt want to live there. Link to post Share on other sites
danharman 0 Posted July 7, 2006 Author Share Posted July 7, 2006 Yep I was one of the many visiting Kyoto last time I was in Japan. Crazy times during cherry blossom season that is for sure ! Bushpig - any other thoughts on recommended locations ? Ideally I want to live in a town/city that is near some good mountains that are accessible by public transport (until i get a car) and has a good local vibe. Any comments / thoughts would be appreciated mate. Link to post Share on other sites
bushpig 0 Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Hehe, don't ask me mate, I live all the way down in bum-**** Hiroshima. Nice place but nowhere near big mountains. Link to post Share on other sites
danharman 0 Posted July 7, 2006 Author Share Posted July 7, 2006 He he, fair enough ! Anyone else ? Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 take a look at where the big ski resorts are then try to find the cities that are close to them. thats a good start. think this nagano nigata gunma north=iwate yamagata amori hokkaido Link to post Share on other sites
danharman 0 Posted July 7, 2006 Author Share Posted July 7, 2006 Excellent, cheers everyone. Will grab the map and go from there. I like the idea of northern japan (honshu). Re: ideal mountains, to be honest some of the threads on this forum has kind of put me off the whole saporro / niseko idea. Sounds like there are possibly far too many other Aussies doing the same, particularly holidaying in the resorts etc.. Fair comment ? Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 fair comment niseko lost its luster with some of the local population. ill stress the some because its only some. i dont like it cause its too easy but im sure id like the snow if i got a good week. snow just doesnt due it for me though Link to post Share on other sites
rezinate 0 Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 dude, i did exactly what ur talkin about a few years back. Sapporo is a great city to live, all the nightlife is close together, and the mountains not far off either. There r plenty of nearbe crappy resorts, eg Moiwa is the closest (but no boarders). Makomanai is absolutely shithouse, but has a great halfpipe. The only 2 good resorts are Kokusai and Teine - both r very small however, and Teine doesnt get the same snow as other places (and kokusai is flatter than Niseko!) To get to Niseko, u gotta spend 2 1/2 to 3 hours in the bus, or a pesky train ride can also be done. Costs about $25 each way from memory (dont quote me on that). Sendai is also fairly close to Zao-san....and is regularly voted as the most livable city in Japan by the Japanese....and unlike Sapporo, isnt covered in ice for 4 months a year (more annoying than it sounds, espec if it thaws and freezes on NYE! ouch x 10). Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Sendai is a nice city with a good climate. It's a bit of a hike to get to the slopes though. Jangle Jungle is probably the closest decent skiing. There are express busses to Yamagata (Zao Onsen). Yamagata is a much smaller city, but Zao's on the doorstep. Yamagata is on the right side of the mountains for snow. Link to post Share on other sites
danharman 0 Posted July 7, 2006 Author Share Posted July 7, 2006 Cheers for the insight guys. It is hard not to get off-track thinking that niseko is the only mountain near saporro (which obviously not, and by the sounds of it not even that close). I guess what I am looking for is something quite Japanese - what i want to try and avoid is the Earls Court / London type scenario. Fun definitely, but not where I would want to live. Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Tohoku's the right place then. A much smaller ex-pat population than the south, and mostly locals skiing. Also a lower population density than the south. I like living here a lot. Northern Miyagi has a very nice coast too, if you like the ocean. Iwate is lovely too. We are totally spoiled for mountains and snow here, but we don't have the really big steep mountains of the Alps. Link to post Share on other sites
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