False advertising in Hakuba?

[nzlegend 1]

There I was reading the latest edition of Japanzine which has many advertisements for Hakuba aimed at the foreign market: Hakuba Alps, Hakuba Powder Lodge, Hakubapow and Snowbeds.

The latter 3 are actually beside eachother on the same page.

Now the market for is heating up I see one of the players has stretched the truth a tad.

The Snowbeds ad has the writing "STILL the only backpackers in Downtown Hakuba!"

is that so? has there been some gerrymandering going on in Hakuba? as I distinctly recall Snowbeds being at the uptown end of Echoland. Echoland is not downtown Hakuba, isnt downtown Hakuba where the train station is?

By downtown do they mean as the new entertainment heart of Hakuba?

If you arrived in Hakuba by train and expected to find the hostel there near the station you would be in for a shock.

What do you think? is Echoland downtown Hakuba?

[r45 4]

Oh dear.

This all reminds me so much of Niseko...

[dizzy 0]

haven't they had the same tag line in their ads for years? "downtown hakuba"

 

really, it's irrelevant, tho, IMO, b/c you need a city in order to have a downtown to it. hakuba is not a city

[Yuki's Passion 1]

 Quote:

Originally posted by r45:
Oh dear.
This all reminds me so much of Niseko...

ditto

I dont think, at least the locations I know of and have stayed at, are really that much better than any other. Most are only a quick shuttle ride to the major resorts, a short stroll (enough time for a good snowball fight on the way to freeze your hands) to get a bite to eat or soak in an onsen. The owners also often have onsen tours and will take you around to diff. places as well - and also to the supermarket so you can get food, beer, etc.

I dont think you can go wrong staying at any of the major backpackers - it just depends what atmosphere you're after and what mountain you'd like to be at the most.

The above listed backpackers are all really good I just happen to prefer one over the rest

[nzlegend 1]

Dont get me wrong I get on well with Mitch and have stayed at his place several times in the past. I have always had a good time there, I am just calling snowbeds out on the "downtown" claim and seeing if fellow SJ-ers agree.

I thought it worthy of discussion.

 

Dizzy I just checked some old Japanzines, originally the ads said 'central location' and then it became 'Downtown location' - I never really noticed it until yesterday with the capitalised 'STILL', it also added 'Hakuba' to the downtown.

[Yuki's Passion 1]

Yeah, I saw em in there too mate. Thought it pretty funny having 3 ads side-by-side.

 

downtown schmowntown

[Fattwins 0]

No choice on ad placement really.

 

So what is downtown Hakuba then really and where are you going to go at night? Lets look at downtown Hakuba for a second if you think of it as near the train station. What are you going to do there besides get on the train or go to GW, nothing.

 

Happone Sorry but its a dying central area because the maruyama family is charging 100 bucks for every square meter of property sold. That 100 bucks is put on like a tax really.

 

Then you have Wadano. Way the heck out there, it self contains itself near the sakka lifts but its a hassle to do anything at another resort. No real restuarants or entertainment yet as well.

 

Then Goyru same problem as Wadano really times 2 you are stuck there really if you dont have a car. Takes you forever to move around.

 

Last you have Echoland which this season has 6 new bars 3 new pensions, houses being bought and life being pumped in. Central easy to get to 2 ski resorts with in less than 10 minutes on the shuttle.

 

It might not be downtown true to form but if you are refering to where you can actually have a good time, then thats what and where it is (pretty close to what downtown means).

 

We have had talks about how and what we want to advertise and yes there are people saying stuff like 15 meters of snow, 2 hours from tokyo etc. People are trying to sort it out but it takes time to commuicate to people. People that dont want to loose their shirts, that you dont have to say fibs. I do know for a fact that the ad in question has been re-worded for the next magazine, so if thats what you wanted thats what youve got.

[eskimobasecamp 0]

i agree - hakuba is spread out all over the place, there is no central... downtown... whatever, but if you wanna have a good time, echoland is PARTYtown cos those kids know how to party down/up/round/over there!!!

[Fubuki 0]

I think I would have to agree with everyone. Echoland is definitely the epicenter of entertainment, and with all the new backpackers there I have a feeling this year will definitely show the potential it has to offer. If it isn`t considered downtown yet.....it will be soon!

Just think if you want to meet half the people posting on here just go to Echoland bars, and or backpackers and there they are slinging the same shizzle they sling here....hahahaha, but with a beer in hand!

[Yuki's Passion 1]

>but with a beer in hand!

 

I usually have 2

[Ocean11 0]

That's a really bad choice of marketing term.

First of all, it's so (off-puttingly) American. And I still don't really know what it means having looked it up, and I can't readily apply it to Japan either.

 

Being in a 'downtown' doesn't sound like a major recommendation for outdoor sports either.

 

And that "STILL" really begs the question "OK. Why?"

 

Y'all can PM me for an estimate for proofing and assessment of your 'Hakuba Eldorado' copywriting efforts.

[Yuki's Passion 1]

>And that "STILL" really begs the question "OK. Why?"

 

some peeps may not know whats out there, what the night life is like, etc. But, that wording makes it sound like much more is going on, no? Peeps wanna party I guess and dont feel like theyre partying unless they are at a bar or are hitting on somebody.

 

whats your rate, 15 yen/character? 20?

[eskimobasecamp 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by Creek Boy:
>but with a beer in hand!

I usually have 2

.... or you could sample AK's custom rose wine, mixed by hand with the dregs of random red and white wine lying around the bar.

[NoFakie 45]

"Downtown" is one of them American wurds I don't really understand.

 

That said, I think you're reading a bit too much into that ad, SG. Its Japanzine mate, not Dostoevsky. Most of the mag will be goons posing in gaijin bars as if they're having the time of their phreakin' lives!

[Yuki's Passion 1]

whether a place has bars to go to or not I couldnt really give a ****. I've already spent more money on alcohol than planned and now have to find the time to consume it all and you'll find me with my arse parked next to the sweet fireplace

 

freeloaders can fack off

[eskimobasecamp 0]

i hope you are bringing a case of champagne up to hakuba to share CB

[Rag-Doll 0]

Completely off topic, but what the hell... I was just sitting in a meeting with a HK Chinese person on either side of me. Before the meeting started we were chatting about what we are planning to do over the Christmas/New Year break. Both people said they were heading to Niseko, one tomorrow and the other in a week's time. We had a laugh about how popular Niseko seems to be amongst people in HK. I suggested that an alternative place to go is Hakuba and the rest of the conversation went something like this:

 

Them - Where?

Me - Hakuba. It's on the main Japan island (Honshu).

Them - Sorry, Haku..what? Where is it?

Me - Hakuba, Ha-Ku-Ba. It's near Nagano where they had the Winter Olympics. The snow is comparable to Niseko and there are more resorts and the mountains are bigger and there is more to do.

Them - what was the name again? Haku what?

 

I gave up after that, stunned by the enormous gulf between the Niseko phenomenon and the rest of the Japanese snow industry.

[thursday 1]

They were probably Australian Hong Kong Chinese.

 

We know there's skiing even in Harbin, so how can Nagano escape them.

[grungy-gonads 54]

Most advertising is false. Whats new?

[Rag-Doll 0]

I'm not sure about one but the other I know very well and he's HK born and bred.

[SnowJapan#Andrew 6]

Rag-Doll, yes there is a big gulf. Last season most of the media contacts asking us for info and help were asking about Niseko. This time round (up until now) they are often asking about Niseko + Hakuba + what else? I think you will find it changing, it will probably take a few seasons.

[rach 1]

What do the Japanese folk of Echoland feel about all this?

[eskimobasecamp 0]

i dont think one lady was too impressed by last weekend's party efforts at all...... i wasnt there when the police turned up?!!! i was in the bar downstairs hahahahahaha

[gamera 0]

Sometimes descriptions are editted by editors. When I had an interview over the phone from a newspaper company about running an accom which accepts foreign customers, I told them that....

 

"Sometimes people don't understand rates system which is per person as is often the case in accom in Japan."

 

But when I got the paper sent, I was surprised to find the description which said

 

"Gamera COMPLAINS that foreign people don't understand........... " with my real name and accom name which might have given me damages.

 

That was very embarrased ( not sure if this were a correct word or not )

 

I didn't complain, just told the truth but editted like that!

 

[dizzy 0]

i still say the ad is fine

 

downtown is defined as "to or in the main business district of a city" (American Heritage) and "in or to the central part of a city" (Cambridge). whether you consider Hakuba even a city is entirely something else.

 

in either Brit or Am. English, dowtown is where the action is at. depending on how you want to bastardize the meaning of the definition, you could consider Echoland with its 2 clubs, (what did FT say, 6? bars,?) 3 new pensions, perhaps more pensions--j-pensions, i mean--, a gym, and the heart of the shuttle route, the main business district in terms of night life.

 

if you define the business district of Hakuba as anything to do with outdoor activities, which is a huge part of the economics of hakuba, practically all of Hakuba has something to do with that business.

 

therefore, the ad is not lying nor is is advertising falsly. perhaps misleading using an uniquely american term in terms of a Japanese mura, but not lying.

 

yes, downtown is an Americanism, originally stemming from lower/southern Manhattan where the business district was originally located. as the city expanded and more people moved in, the whole of Manhattan Is. became the commerical and business center, thus pushing business north or "uptown."

 

"city" was originally in England a town with a cathedral in it, so is anyone going to argue Hakuba isn't a true city b/c it doesn't have a cathedral in in? i'm a etmyology freak and besides work, it comes in handy in situations like this.

 

bah, the ads fine. misinterpretation comes more from not knowing the layout of the village and the valley. what average weekender is going to take the time to look up a huge amount of stuff on a ski town?

 

in any case it's gonna be going off in echoland in three weeks!