Hakuba 7th December, 2010

Posted on December 15, 2009 by Hakuba Blog
Anime

We get all sorts of guest coming to the hotel

Well our first guests are in. When booking a snow holiday in Hakuba I will always be completely honest with people. The last thing I want from guests is for them to be upset with me because I possibly embellished what we have. The guests that are here at the moment were completely aware that there may be limited snow conditions at this early period of the season. They still decided to come and test their luck. This year they lucked out but are still lining up the many other options available for when conditions aren’t much good in Hakuba. A trip to the monkey onsen, Matsumoto Castle, and Zenkoji Temple are must do’s. Late night drinks at the local izakaya’s and bars and long bathing sessions at the onsen followed by a massage turn the holiday into a very chilled out experience.  The last 2 years have seen everybody up on the mountain in November. This year we are running a little behind schedule with the snow but we all know it will happen soon.

Hakuba Hotels

http://www.whitehorse-hakuba.com

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Hakuba 6th December, 2009

Posted on December 8, 2009 by Hakuba Blog
House in Hakuba

Traditional Hakuba House

Still waiting for the snow and the snow forecast is telling us it is on it’s way in a big way. At the moment it is a good opportunity to stroll around Hakuba and take some photos of some of the traditional architecture in the area. There is quite a mix of buildings in Hakuba ranging from grass roof houses to random tudor style mansions. Make sure you bring your camera when holidaying in Hakuba. Snow on the 3 peaks makes the background of every shot look very scenic.

http://www.whitehorse-hakuba.com

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Hakuba 5th December, 2009

Posted on December 7, 2009 by Hakuba Blog
wine tasting

Just a few of the wines on selection

Snowing a little up high today but still not quite enough to get the lifts moving. The next best thing would be to hold an industry wine tasting day. When I first came to Hakuba many years ago I was disappointed by the range of wines available here. The supermarket has  super cheap bottles of something that looks like wine however if it is, it has been strained through Roger Fedderer’s tennis shoe after an open win. When I started the White Horse Hotel in Echoland I had sourced some very good suppliers of international wines predominantly Australian as they were the wineries and regions I knew best. Over the last few years I have broadened the range to include New Zealand, Californian, French, South African and South American. Today I asked one of our major suppliers to hold a tasting at the hotel for the other restaurant, bar and hotel owners to try a number of different wines. I think that it is only a good thing for every business here to have a good selection of wines in every price range. It only improves everyone’s overall experience here in Hakuba. It is also good that I can go out to any of the great restaurants here and order a bottle of good wine myself. Today we had 50 different bottles to try and I must say a great day was had by all. It’s a tough job here but hey someone has to do it to ensure our guests get the best. Life is too short to drink bad wine.

Kampai (cheers in Japanese)

http://www.whitehorse-hakuba.com

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Hakuba 4th December, 2009

Posted on December 6, 2009 by Hakuba Blog
Hakuba sun rise

Hakuba sun rise

Rain in the Valley. Don’t dispair. Hakuba Valley sits on an elevation of 750 meters above sea level. The top of Happo One rises quickly from the valley floor up to 1831 meters.  The resort boasts 1071 verticle meters of runs and the longest course is 8 km. Down in the restaurant at breakfast I inform our guests  that while it may be raining and miserable occasionally outside the  big windows, the freezing level may only be a hundred meters up the road and it has been dumping snow on the mountain all night.  Each morning we assist our guests in finding the best snow conditions in the valley. Our experience here and knowledge of the weather ensures that our guests get the optimum skiing and boarding available. As there are a number of microclimates throughout the valley it means that there can be a huge difference within the 25 km between the resorts of Cortina and Kashimayari. Which mountain will you be choosing. I see many people come into our reataurants and bars each night who are staying at other hotels saying they had a pretty ordinary day and our guests telling them that they had one of the best days of their lives on the mountain. When staying in Hakuba please make sure your hotel can get you to ALL of the resorts and that they have the knowledge of where the best place is to go to each day.

http://www.whitehorse-hakuba.com

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Hakuba 3rd December, 2009

Posted on December 4, 2009 by Hakuba Blog
cocktails and dreams
Cocktail showdown at the White Horse

Well we all loved Adam san but hey, you just have to move on. It was time for a showdown of the shakers and for Adam to pass the baton so we brought in Tara and Rolly.  It was a big night at the White Horse with some of the best coctails being passed around. My vote went for Tara this time with the best Espresso Martini known to man. I was also impressed with what Rolly was doing with wasabi. I look forward to a season of creations from the pair of them. I think a March playoff series will take place. Please feel free to challange our Hakuba Masters. Tell them what you are feeling and let them loose with the best range of beverages in the valley.

It’s a tough life but somebody has to do it to ensure our customers receive the best coctails available.

http://www.whitehorse-hakuba.com

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Hakuba 2nd December, 2009

Posted on December 4, 2009 by Hakuba Blog
Adam san

Adam "the best barman ever"

All those that were here last season would remember our most exceptional barman, Adam. I would have to say that Adam is THE most professional barman I have ever had the pleasure of working with. His energy just made our bar the most vibrant place in Hakuba. He helped us out in so many ways and has improved our level of service and our commitment to making our bar the best place for apres ski in the Japanese snowfields. Well, Adam has been enjoying himself over the summer working in Osaka. His intention was to explore a little more of Japan and then come and work another season here. It was a sad day when he told me that he needed to move on and challenge himself in a pilgramage to India. On a brighter note he had to come back here to pick up his snowboard so I was able to spend a week of catching up and I most certainly got him behind the bar for one last big night of mixing the best drinks in town.

Thanks Adam and good luck with your travels. We will meet again.

Adam at the White Horse

All I said was...............................

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Hakuba 1st December, 2009

Posted on December 3, 2009 by Hakuba Blog
ski Jump

Hakuba Ski Jump - No Snow

No snow at the moment so what should you do in Hakuba now. Check out the Olympic Ski Jump. About a 15 minute stroll from the hotel, the ski jumps were constructed for the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics.

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Tuesday, February 17, 1998

Harada’s golden redemption

HAKUBA, Japan (AP) — The shame of Lillehammer — it had almost become Masahiko Harada’s nickname.
Failing to hit even a mediocre ski jump at the 1994 Olympics, a failure that cost his team the gold, was a moment that had defined Harada’s life for the past four years.
Now he was atop an Olympic ski jump again — this one at Japan’s first Winter Games in 26 years, in front of 50,000 noisy, expectant countrymen.
On his first leap, under awful conditions, he had taken his team from first to fourth place. As he set up for his second and final attempt, he looked down the windy slope through a light snow and knew what lay ahead was either redemption, or another moment of ruin.
“To be honest, I felt like it was Lillehammer all over again,” he said. “I just decided to do the best I could, to just fly as far as I could.”
History did not repeat itself.
To the resounding “banzai!” cheers of the elated Japanese fans, Harada was all gold, soaring 137 meters to tie the Olympic record set by teammate Takanobu Okabe just minutes before and virtually assuring Japan of the victory. It also was Japan’s 100th Olympic gold medal.
Final jumper Kazuyoshi Funaki, winner of the individual gold on the large hill, jumped 125 meters to make it official.
“We did it! We did it!” Harada cried, embracing his teammates and breaking down into tears.

It was a cry heard round Japan.

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You can catch the lift to the top and take in the view that these crazy skiers get when they are about to take off. Imagine the stress that Harada san must have felt before that amazing jump. During the season keep an eye out for the jumpers practicing and we will keep everyone informed of any events throughout the winter.

http://www.whitehorse-hakuba.com

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Hakuba 30th November, 2009

Posted on December 2, 2009 by Hakuba Blog

Liberty skis

Liberty Skis in Hakuba

I dropped into the opening party for another new business here in Hakuba yesterday. Liberty Skis from Colorado have opened up their Japanese distributorship on the Olympic road.

Liberty was founded in 2003 in Avon, Colorado. Liberty creates unique freeride skis based on rider input and a commitment to functional innovation. Every detail is designed to enhance rider experience from backcountry to the park. All Liberty skis feature our laminated bamboo core as well as custom edges, UHMW and bamboo sidewalls, sintered P-Tex 2000 and 4000 Electra bases, multi-radius sidecuts, cab-forward stance, and many features specific to each model like elongated tips and tails on the powder skis, or fully centered flex on park models. In addition, every Liberty is backed by the industry leading 3 year warranty.

It’s great to see the growth of the sport and to see Hakuba at the forefront of the Japanese ski industry.  Thanks for a great afternoon. Joe and Tomiko will do well, I am sure.

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Ski Shop Area In Tokyo

Posted on December 2, 2009 by Hakuba Blog
Carlie

Cheap skis and snowboarding gear.

The Ski shop area of Tokyo.

If you are in the market for some ski gear and have a bit of time before you make your way to Hakuba then a trip to JimboCho in Tokyo may be a good idea.

The ski/snowboard(sports store) area is located between Ogawamachi and Jimbocho subway stations in the Kanda district of Tokyo (about 10min walk west of Akihabara), along Yasakuni Dori(Yasakuni Street) and the small streets just off it. There are a few exits at Ogawamachi subway station, but get out at the Yasakuni Dori exit(B5). You can follow the map from Akihabara if you’re game.

You can also get there via JR (Japan Rail, useful if you have a JR Railpass). Get off at Ochanomizu station at the east end of the station(not the Ochanomizu-bashi exit), and head south down Hongo Dori (it runs down the hill away from the river) until it hits Yasakuni Dori just near Ogawamachi subway station.

Cross to the south side of Yasakuni Dori, and then walk west along Yasakuni Dori, and within 50-60m you’ll see some ski/snowboard shops. One of the first ones on the left is the London Sports surplus store, where you can get some amazing bargains. This is absolutely the cheapest store in the whole area. EVERYTHING in the shop is cheap. Skis, snowboards, boots, bindings, clothing including Goretex. ( REAL Goretex jackets start at $90) Skis start at a ridiculous $40.

A few people speak English in the shop, but you need to know your models. If you have a few days in Tokyo, get onto the internet and find the models.

Keep going and there are numerous shops on both sides and in side streets. Make sure you know your prices, because the brand new stuff before the season can be INCREDIBLY expensive. Once you start seeing book shops and music stores, you know you’ve gone too far. Double back on the other side of the street.

There are probably 40-60 shops in all…..

We can also arrange shopping tours for all types of things in Tokyo

Here is a map of the Ski Area in Tokyo

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Hakuba 28th November, 2009

Posted on December 1, 2009 by Hakuba Blog
Happo Hiking

The Warren Miller crew a couple of seasons ago hiking at the back of Happo One.

When will there be snow.  I had a guest send an email through today concernerned that there is nothing open at the moment.  The 28th of November is very early in the season and as we were out on the snow the last couple of years at this time already, that fact is no surety that it will happen every year.  The one thing for sure about Hakuba is that it will come. Even in bad years Hakuba is better than most other places. A bad year in Hakuba is 8 meters of snow. In 2005, 8 meters fell just in December. Everybody is anxious including all of us here but I know what is coming and I know I will shovelling a lot of snow again this year as I do every year. By the way there is plenty of snow up high right now for the adventurous backcounty skiers.

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