Gun Shooting in Hakuba

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Hakuba Blog
Hakuba weather report

It’s a rootin, tootin, shootin good time.

Looking for something to do on an off day in Hakuba. How about heading over to “Weather Report” in Echoland for some gun play. With it’s casual self serve bar and cafe you can sit back and relax or get your competitive spirit going with a game of darts, pool,  pinball or test your skill at the shooting gallery. Open from 9:00am until 11:00pm it’s a good place to just chill between mountain sessions.

For anyone in Hakuba on the 14th December come and try it out for free from 1:00 PM.

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Wine tasting is on again

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Hakuba Blog
Hakuba wine

Here’s cheers to good wine

Every Year for the past 8 the White Horse Hotel has been holding a wine tasting before each season and invites all of the hotel and restaurant owners along to try out some great wines. I think it is very important to be able to supply a quality product for the tourists that arrive here each year. In other countries around the globe you are able to drink nice wines at a reasonable price. When I first started coming to Hakuba on snow holidays it was difficult to find a decent bottle of wine. You may have found a reasonable red on a drink list however it was taken from the fridge and served up in a sherry glass. Things are changing now though with many of the restaurants in the valley realising that along with great food they should be serving up great wines. Japan does not have a wine culture however they are slowly learning and more and more good wines are finding their way onto the shelves. 

Here is an open invitation to all of the business owners in the area to try out a big selection of wines and discuss in Japanese and English from trained experts what types would best suit your establishment.  Life is too short to be drinking bad wine.

Date – Monday 3rd December, 2012

Time – 1:00PM to 4:30 PM

Where – White Horse Hotel

Address – South on 4th Street, Echoland, Hakuba.

Drink driving is dangerous and also illegal in Japan and the White Horse Hotel would like everybody to stay safe. Please call them on 0904 180 1266 the day before if you would like a lift or please spit your wines, catch a taxi,  have a designated driver or take a pleasant stroll home..

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First day of the season – Local Knowledge

Posted on November 20, 2012 by Hakuba Blog
Hakuba

The local news crews were out on the slopes to capture the first turns of the season.

Winner Winner chicken dinner. The resorts opened up on the 17th of November and the competition has been won by yours truly. I do study up on the weather a little here as I like to plan out my powder expeditions during the season. As with anywhere in the world, forecasting is sometimes a bit of guesswork especially when it comes to the amount of snow that might fall. We also have the Japan Sea just on the other side of the Alps and when a big Siberian cold front comes across, nobody could possibly predict the amount of moisture it will pick up out of there. I think I had a lot of wishful thinking, a bit of local knowledge and I was lucky this time. Thank you everybody for putting in your dates. I feel like the Grinch that stole Christmas so I’m going to put up another competition shortly. I will still accept my prize though 🙂

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Hakubas first snow to the valley floor

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Hakuba Blog
Hakuba

The first day of snow in the valley before each season creates a buzz in town amongst the locals. Snow fever

I keep an eye on all the weather charts to see whats going on with the snow and I thought we might see some down in the valley last night. Like an excited little kid on Christmas day I was up before the dawn looking out the window to see what was happening. Sure enough there was snow coming down and I had to dash straight out into it. That’s probably classed as a little obsessive however I have been craving this day since the end of last winter. This morning, unlike during the season when we want to see blower dry powder, what we have  is wet and heavy snow. This is in fact what we like to see around Hakuba at this time of year. Early season heavy snow pushes down all the sasa grass and small trees that would otherwise obstruct us off piste. Hopefully we get a good heavy base over the next few storms to set us up well for the rest of the season.

Hakuba

Heavy snow will flatten these little branches that poke up and will help create a perfect gully run without splinters.

Check these links for more information on the weather

Yahoo Weather – Accurate short term forecast

Unisys – For the layman – you are looking for the blue to come into the smile of Japan.

Kochi University – Good for real time satellite video.

Snow-Forecast – consistently has the freezing level a couple of hundred meters above the actual level and the amount of snow is under valued however good in predicting that something is coming.

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Win Win Win – First day of the Hakuba season competition

Posted on November 10, 2012 by Hakuba Blog
Hakuba

First day of the season 2011/12. A fist pumping good time.

Each year we run a competition to pick the first day of the season. The rules are

  • The first day the lifts open for skiers and boarders at any one of the resorts in Hakuba.
  • One date per person. If 2 or more people choose the same date then we will have a draw out of a hat to choose the winner.
  • The date must be chosen at least one week in advance
  • If a date isn’t chosen then it’s the closest date before.

The prizes are

  • A Hakuba White Horse long sleeve tee or hoodie.
  • 2000 yen voucher at the White Horse Bar in Echoland.

So go to the bottom of this blog and put your date in the comments section or email me HERE and I will add it. Good luck.

The list so far.

Di Hannel – 15th November

Clare – 16th November

Tony A –  17th November

Chris Wilson – 18th November

Amelia H – 19th November

Steph Eastcott – 20th November

Cheryl Parry – 21st November

Nathan Smith – 23rd November

Dan Cockburn – 24th November

Kathryn Wright – 25th November

Steven Bliim – 26th November

Bobbie Ryan – 26th November

Adrian Taricani – 27th November

Drew Eldred – 29th November

Adam Lam – 2nd December

Joseph Papparlardo – 3rd December.

Daniel Mee – 6th December

Danny Wright – 12th December

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Travel Insurance for the snow

Posted on November 3, 2012 by Hakuba Blog
Hakuba

You can get into all sorts of predicaments on the snow

Sliding around on snow can be dangerous and just a walk around on the icy streets can end up cutting short your winter holiday. Every year we see lots of different injuries and afflictions from broken bones to cuts and scrapes and head injuries to torn muscles, tendons and ligaments. Thankfully nothing life threatening has passed by me yet. It’s not a nice way to end up especially after the excitement that builds prior to coming to Hakuba and the money that you have spent getting here. We always recommend to all of our customers that they purchase travel insurance as soon as they start spending any money  for their trip. There are all sorts of reasons that can alter your plans and even though you may miss out on going on your holiday or having to leave early then at least you are covered financially for your costs.  I really feel for the people we see each season with plaster casts or walking around on crutches however it is just apart of this crazy sport that we do, in this slippery environment.

Some tips

Ski and board under control and look out for your fellow sliders. Skiing doesn’t usually injure people, it is the crashing that does the damage

Warm up with a few light stretches. We don’t get many lift lines here so you usually won’t get that time before you jump on the first lift unless you make it.

Put in some pre holiday exercise training.

Protective clothing, braces and strapping are good precationary measures.

As for walking around town always take small steps and try and walk on the crunchy snow on the side of the paths. Stairs can get icy so take care. Anything shiny is a warning not to walk on. Another word of warning is to not dive into a snow bank. It may look nice and soft but you never know what might be hidden under it.

Stay safe this winter and have lots of fun.

Check out these travel insurance options for good snowsport policies.

World Nomads

1Cover

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First snow to the resort level for 2012

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Hakuba Blog
2012

The snow has arrived

It goes without saying that the scenery in Hakuba is purely spectacular. Now that we have the snow up on the peaks, it again just blows me away how beautiful the Japanese Alps are. At this time of year everybody is waiting for that first real glimpse of snow on the tops of the mountains. It has come with abundance today and right down to the top of the resorts. Yesterday was cloudy, cold and rainy all day in the valley so to wake up to the beautiful sight of snow on the mountains was just fantastic. There was excitement in the air around town with everyone out taking photos this morning but then the realisation hits that snow is on the way so get all your outside work done NOW.

Hakuba

A beautiful sight especially for the winter crew here.

 

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Season passes

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Hakuba Blog
Early bird season pass

The early bird catches the cheap pow.

It’s that time of year again when everyone is asking where will you be skiing and boarding this season. The early bird discounts are available now so do your sums and work out if is it worthwhile getting a season pass or two to the mountains here. 12 days of sliding on Happo pays for an early bird discounted ticket then it’s all free. It’s  a good way to look at it 🙂

Happo One – 65000 Yen (55000 yen if purchased before November 15th)

Hakuba47/ Goryu/ Immori – 60000 yen ( 48000 yen if purchased before the 31st October)

Iwatake – 45000 yen

Tsugaike – 50000 yen

Cortina /Norikura  – 50000 yen

Minekata – 35000 yen 

Sanosaka /Aiokiko -35000 yen

Kashimayari – 45000 yen (28000 yen if purchased before the 30th November)

Yanaba – one day ticket is just 1000 yen

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GoPro

Posted on October 21, 2012 by Hakuba Blog

Over the last few years we have noticed so many crew with the GoPro cameras attached to themselves in all sorts of manner. This new one will no doubt be a big hit this season with a better image presentation and in a smaller body. I am looking forward to seeing the footage each night when everyone comes back to the hotels. It’s quite common for people to return from the mountain, download straight onto their computers and with a little editing have a good 5 min presentation ready to watch at the bar. This year we will be running a competition for the best videos so bring it into the White Horse Bar and if we put it up on the blog we’ll hand over some prizes.

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Skiing in Japan

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Hakuba Blog

http://vimeo.com/50834545#at=0

Here is a fine example of what you can expect to experience in Hakuba. Tatsya Tayagaki does a great job capturing the essence of powder skiing in this short edit of his travels around Japan. It is difficult to explain the feeling we get from floating down the mountain to someone who has yet to try it but I know it is addictive and it is the reason why I live in Hakuba. It can take a little practice to get moving in the snow when the conditions are like that in the video however once you get it, you will chase it for the rest of your life. Phat ski’s and longer boards will make it easier and I can recommend getting a lesson here to fast track your progress. You’ll never look back.

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