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How does El Nino affect Japan again?

September 22, 2014, 5:57 pm
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credit card fees buying niseko all mountain pass

September 22, 2014, 9:35 pm
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Hi

I am new to this forum and over the past few days I really have enjoyed reading all your posts.

This January I will be travelling to Niseko for the first time with a group of nine. (i.e. 2 families). We have never skied in Japan before but have skied in Australia and the US.

We have booked the accomodation, ski hire and airline tickets. One area I am looking into is purchasing is our lift tickets in Niseko using our credit card.

The travel group we have been using has offered to buy them but charges a merchant fee of 2.5%. Highway robbery in my view. I am buying 9 all mountain passes for 17 days (734,400 yen). The credit card I am using offers a spot rate with no fees.

I want to avoid the merchant fee of approx. 190 AUD. Does anyone know if I buy the tickets in Niseko say at grand hirafu Mountain Centre will they also charge a merchant fee?

Any advice would be of great assistance

Thanks
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The 2014 Southern Hemisphere Winter Thread

September 23, 2014, 12:06 am
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How do you stay sharp off season?

September 23, 2014, 1:32 am
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Rather than 'what are your hobbies off season', what do you do to stop yourself from going rusty in the summer months? Do you go to summer slopes? Indoor slopes? Does skateboarding help for boarders? Do you go off to get your powder hit elsewhere?

Myself, being fairly new, kept myself in tip-top shape by clicking on YouTube videos while looking wistfully at my packed up gear in the corner, and occasionally checking it for rust.
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Mt To Grand View Ski Area

September 23, 2014, 10:59 pm
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I have been researching a trip to Mt Granview (of course) and saw on googlemaps how that have it posted as Mt To Grand View Ski Area.

Silly!
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Yen

September 24, 2014, 4:30 pm
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Hi I have been watching the Yen go down lately (allthough a bit late for me as I already changed my money)

What is the history has it ever been $1AU to 100Yen

And does anyone know why the Yen is devalueing I heard they are thinking of printing more money?
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Smaller Resorts

September 26, 2014, 2:53 am
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Can anyone recommend some smaller resorts on Honshu which may have a more unique experience? We have a few sets of visitors arriving in early 2015 who have already been to some of the more well known resorts (Niseko, Hakuba, Nozawa) so I am trying to think of a more local resort to head to.

So the only place on the list is Charmant Hiuchi for a day trip, can anyone else suggest other places that may be more suitable for 2 - 3 days?
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How does El Nino affect Japan again?

September 27, 2014, 11:38 pm
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What's the oldest piece of kit that you still regularly use?

September 29, 2014, 6:38 pm
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I was fixing up a pair of second hand bindings from 2002 the other day. The rubber grommets holding in the toe straps had rotted and basically disintegrated resulting in the straps pulling out last season (both of them, while on the hill and about 5 minutes apart!). At the time, the ski shop couldn't help me (they had no idea what I was talking about) so I ended up folding pieces of gum tape until I had a sturdy enough rod to feed through the hole left by the grommets that anchored them into the binding. Happily enough, I was good for the rest of the day. This has got me thinking about how viable old gear really is. I've since replaced the gum tape with metal rods and the straps feel as sturdy as I imagine they originally were.

Snowboarding is a sport that is heavily dependent. Having gear you can rely on is definitely a big part of it but on the other hand, I'm really not adverse to using gear that is 10 years plus old. In my mind, the tech hasn't really changed that much, especially in the case of the snowboards themselves. I was wondering about other people's opinion on old gear vs new gear is. Do you still use any gear that is 10 or more years old? Have you had any experience of gear giving up on you that made you wish you hadn't used anything so old?
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RIP - JP Auclair

October 1, 2014, 3:05 pm
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Someone who I respected a lot passed away in an avalanche in Chile.


Quote

Quebec extreme skier Jean-Philippe Auclair was found dead after an avalanche that struck San Lorenzo mountain in Patagonia on Monday.
National Geographic's Carl Andreas Fransson, originally of Sweden, was also found dead.

Chilean police officers and members of the armed forces recovered their bodies in a joint rescue operation.

Authorities said Fransson and Auclair arrived in the Aysen region of Chile's Patagonia on Thursday along with two other tourists from Sweden. They had been hiking the 3,600-metre mountain and disappeared when a wall of rocks and snow cascaded down, dragging them to a stream in Argentine territory.

The two survivors in the group were treated at a local hospital, and police said they provided information to help locate the bodies.

The regional director of Chile's Emergency Service, Sidi Bravo, said 90 per cent of the people who go missing in the hard-to-reach area are never found. "It was lucky to have found them and to be able to recover them," Bravo said.

Officials said the bodies would be removed by Argentine authorities and were expected to be examined by the forensic medical service in Rio Gallegos, Argentina, before being returned to their homelands.

Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs issued a written statement saying it is aware of reports indicating that a Canadian citizen may have been affected by an avalanche at Chile-Argentina border. The statement also says Canadian consular officials are in contact with local authorities and stand ready to provide consular assistance.

Auclair was world renowned in the extreme skiing community. He was featured in this widely acclaimed video produced by Sherpas Cinemas:


Here he is skiing in Japan.

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Hardoff in Minami Funabashi 2014

October 2, 2014, 4:54 pm
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I just popped into the famed Hardoff behind Lalaport in Minami Funabashi today and I'm happy to report that they have put out all their snowboard and ski stuff. Saw some nice stuff there. Not so many boards/bindings as there was outerwear - basically both sides of one aisle devoted to just old jackets and pants so if anybody is looking for outerwear on the cheap, this is the place to go.
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'Accommodation Spotlights' & online booking for accommodation in Japan

October 2, 2014, 5:33 pm
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Here we are in October and it's time I introduce something new to SnowJapan - even though I can't show it you all just yet.

Until now we have of course had our popular Places to Stay section on the site. That is going to continue with a bit of a change name - accommodations on that section will now be called 'Accommodation Spotlights' but will essentially remain the same... you can contact them directly. We will of course be continuing to support those places and encourage you to take a look. Here they are:

http://www.snowjapan.com/japan-places-to-stay

Some more will be added in the coming days and others are welcome to join.

Japan is a big place though of course and more people are wanting information on accommodation outside of the main really popular areas for foreign guests, so for a while we have been thinking of ways in which we can introduce a much wider range of accommodation throughout Japan. Our solution is a tie-up with booking.com, and there is some more information on that here:

http://www.snowjapan.com/japan-places-to-stay/accommodation-bookings

So if you so wish, you can make use of that functionality and find and book places throughout Japan from 'within' SnowJapan.

The above page is just one way in which this new content will be available, but I just wanted to share that for the moment.

It's going to take us a while to sort everything out and get settled, bear with us and I'll keep this updated when all is in place.
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Ski Areas that are day trip from Tokyo

October 2, 2014, 7:41 pm
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Any info on places to ride that are within 2 hours of Tokyo and are worth the trip?

I just moved to Sagamihara from Seattle (in Kanagawa) and I'm trying to figure out my options for regular riding this winter. I've got a car so I'm not limited to spots with close train stops. Cross-referencing train routes, driving times, and good snow is getting dizzying.

Thanks!
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Yen

October 3, 2014, 8:21 am
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Hi I have been watching the Yen go down lately (allthough a bit late for me as I already changed my money)

What is the history has it ever been $1AU to 100Yen

And does anyone know why the Yen is devalueing I heard they are thinking of printing more money?
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Gym in Niseko

October 4, 2014, 2:08 pm
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Hi guys,

Im off to Niseko in December as an instructor and would like to know if you guys know of a good gym within the Grand Hirafu region.

Rather than fitness, weights, but both would be ideal.

Thanks,

Jamie.
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Marunuma Kogen In Late November?!?!?!

October 5, 2014, 7:18 pm
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Hello all snow Japaners, it is great to see the forums firing up again in anticipation of the coming season.

I have moved to Tokyo from Niigata (where I got into skiing) and I am looking to maintain the habit while living in Tokyo. At the first sign of cooler weather, I started clicking around the numerous sites offering bus/train package deals from Tokyo. I found one deal, 初すべり　11月限定日出発 (first ski, November departure) with tickets to Marunuma Kogen in Gunma, starting on November 22nd. What is the chance of the resort even being open at that time, even partially? Are they using artificial snow there?

This year they are claiming a pretty impressive park, I wonder how much of that terrain they will be able to build so early in the season. You can see the snow park layout on the pdf downloadable from their site.

I just had a click around Kagura and they are hoping to get the lifts moving on November 22nd with a full open　(Tashiro area) scheduleｄ for December 7th. I seem to recall them putting the same dates up last season but I believe that things didn't actually get going until about a week after that. I remember because it was my first slide last season.

Also, other than Marunuma and Kagura, does anyone else have any early season favourites in the Yuzawa/Minakami or even Nagano areas?
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Is Yuzawa area as good as it looks?

October 7, 2014, 4:23 pm
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Hi :wave:

Never been to Japan, but planning on a trip.

Great to find this website, it's easily the best info. Been reading up on places and I like the idea of the Yuzawa area in Niigata Prefecture. Sounds like there's lots of ski hills around the town and just slightly further out as well. You could spend 2 weeks and go to a different place each day.

Am I right? I know some of them are small, but that sounds decent to me. I actually prefer places that are more compact than spread out over huge areas, as long as the snow is good and there's a decent variation of terrain.

Onsen sound good too.
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A very rainy summer = winter implications?

October 7, 2014, 6:03 pm
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Other than well worn tales that have no basis in fact!

There's sure been a lot of rain this summer.
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Kurodake closing temporarily during season?

October 8, 2014, 4:29 pm
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Hi

Reading info about skiing in Japan in another phorum I've come accross to one topic from 2013 where it says that Kurodake typically closes during the season between early January and Febraury because of the amount of snow and the lack of costumers. Is that right?

What about this upcoming season?

I'll be in Hokkaido in January making a ski trip and planning to spend half of it in Asakihawa. If Kurodake is not an option, then it's only left Kamui and Asahidake on the agenda. Is it stil worth it? or should I change the plans and look for something else?

Thanks in advance.
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Happo One - Cortina

October 8, 2014, 8:19 pm
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Anyone know if there is still a public bus running between Happo One and Cortina?

Or is there a better way of getting between the 2 resorts?

We'll be staying in Happo. Made it to try a day at TK last year but would really love to try Cortina in Jan.
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