drc13’s Japan 2012 (Hakuba/Tokyo) Trip Report + Videos!
That was the best thing i have eva read, great TR!!!!!!!
Cheers drc love it 
good write up mate
shame about your jacket
live and learn
That was the best thing i have eva read, great TR!!!!!!!
Cheers drc love it
Good to see people are finding the long read worthwhile!
It makes your stolen jacket seem all the more unlucky,.
I work with a guy who just got back from Hakuba but was unlucky enough to get pneumonia while he was there, limiting him to only a few days on the snow. He said they didn’t make it easy to share tickets or get around the different resorts in the Hakuba area. Would you agree with that?
Yeah I didn’t for a second think it was a local Japanese thief definitely a foreigner, I guess next time no matter what everyone else is doing I’ll keep everything on me.
You might need to explain the ticket thing a bit more to me as I’m not sure I’m interpreting it correctly but this was my experience with tickets/transportation.
I had purchased a 6 day lift pass which could be used on any of the mountains in the area. It is given to you in the form of a piece of paper with a tear off for each day (so you really need to take care of this piece of paper!)
Basically in the morning you would jump on one of the free shuttles provided to your mountain of choice. Some of these shuttles were direct and in some cases the shuttles would drop you off at the happo info centre where you jumped on a connecting shuttle to the mountain, it was the same deal on the way back.
Once you got to the mountain you would go to the ticket office and hand over your paper which they would stamp and tear off a day. You would then give them a deposit of 1000yen (500 in the case of happo) and you are given a chip that you use to get through each lift gate (except for cortina where you show them a paper ticket they give you). You return this at the end of the day and get your deposit back (I still have a Happo one as I never made it back after the police)
I found all this pretty simple, sometimes the shuttles were crowded and a bit of a pain but it was also fun trying out a new mountain each day. Obviously with each day’s ticket you can only use it for one mountain per day.
Ah ok. I think he meant if you were at one place and on a whim decided to go elsewhere, it could be difficult as the pass is different. Also he said something about the shuttles being good at getting you somewhere but not necessarily back again.
Ah ok. I think he meant if you were at one place and on a whim decided to go elsewhere, it could be difficult as the pass is different. Also he said something about the shuttles being good at getting you somewhere but not necessarily back again.
Yep that’s true once you purchase the ticket for a certain mountain that’s the one you are staying at for the day unless you want to buy another ticket at the other mountain. I don’t think that’s particularly strange though and would probably be pretty standard fair for most ski areas.
I tended to catch the 2nd last shuttle of the day when leaving (around 3pm it get’s dark by 4.30pm) and my experience was pretty much the same as the morning. Busy but on time.
Having your own car would be the ultimate but not always feasible, On mountain would be nice but I wouldn’t want to be riding the same mountain the whole week when you have lots of great options to pick from.
If I’d had my own car I would have driven to checkout shiga kogan which apparently had more snow during the time I was there.
Ah ok. I think he meant if you were at one place and on a whim decided to go elsewhere, it could be difficult as the pass is different. Also he said something about the shuttles being good at getting you somewhere but not necessarily back again.
This was my experience to! But it was a couple of years ago for me to recount exact experiences..
But I do remember the shuttle bus to get around to restaurants and bars ended pretty early so if you ventured further afield than walking distance you had to catch cabs home.
Ah ok. I think he meant if you were at one place and on a whim decided to go elsewhere, it could be difficult as the pass is different. Also he said something about the shuttles being good at getting you somewhere but not necessarily back again.
Yep that’s true once you purchase the ticket for a certain mountain that’s the one you are staying at for the day unless you want to buy another ticket at the other mountain. I don’t think that’s particularly strange though and would probably be pretty standard fair for most ski areas.
I tended to catch the 2nd last shuttle of the day when leaving (around 3pm it get’s dark by 4.30pm) and my experience was pretty much the same as the morning. Busy but on time.
Having your own car would be the ultimate but not always feasible, On mountain would be nice but I wouldn’t want to be riding the same mountain the whole week when you have lots of great options to pick from.
If I’d had my own car I would have driven to checkout shiga kogan which apparently had more snow during the time I was there.
shiga kogen is a different fish all together… definitely not something to explore in one day
the field is massive with 70 lifts
100+ runs
on the down side…found no night life…though we didnt really care to look.
eating dinner anywhere besides your hotel is a task but pretty much all accommodation on the mountain is ski in ski out
awesome trip report mate!
if you wanted to freak out your room mates that were pumping, shoulda started undressing and in a soft voice repeated ” shhhh shhhh its ok, its ok just let it happen”
Into this late but.. Deanobruce = HAHAHAHAHAHAA!!
That was some really good reading. Thanks for taking the time to document your trip so well. Really sorry to hear about your jacket and the other stolen goods. Hopefully insurance takes care of it for you. You made me feel cold and tired just reading about your day with the monkeys haha. Tokyo is such an awesome place, I’m stoked you had a great time there.
I did give Jordan a hell of a scare when he witnessed me catching an edge on top of a kicker which resulted in me getting a fair bit of air before landing on my head. He said the sound was sickening. I can only say I’m lucky I was wearing a helmet and walked away with some whiplash. Pretty sure I’ve got some helmet cam footage of it to somewhere.
Now this I want to see!
Yeah…... um….. now the real story is out I don’t think warranty for your cracked helmet mount is covered when you land on your head! 
It took me until this morning to find the time to read your TR (wanted too when you first posted-but been sooo busy!)
I’ll be buying the full mount kit and would be stoked to give you the curved helmet mount from it as a thank you for writing up this awesome TR. Spewin about the Drift monopod as well. I haven’t given mine a full workout yet but so far I’m impressed with it - I’ll get you another, if you want one, and give it to you as well.
The DriftHD must be as tough as it feels - especially since you were wearing and shooting with it at the time of your head plant.
I’m surprised you did this trip on your own - it’s inspiring.
That was some really good reading. Thanks for taking the time to document your trip so well. Really sorry to hear about your jacket and the other stolen goods. Hopefully insurance takes care of it for you. You made me feel cold and tired just reading about your day with the monkeys haha. Tokyo is such an awesome place, I’m stoked you had a great time there.
Now this I want to see!
Glad you got a chance to read and enjoy this Rider. I was worried with so many people overseas at the moment a few of you would miss it.
Hah well you will be happy to know the data recovery program did a pretty good job on my memory card and recovered a few videos including my stack.
I’ve probably oversold it as it’s probably a standard fall for more experienced riders. It certainly reminded me how quickly/easily you could hurt your head while doing this sport we love. Once I get a decent broadband connection I’ll upload some video.
Yeah…... um….. now the real story is out I don’t think warranty for your cracked helmet mount is covered when you land on your head!
It took me until this morning to find the time to read your TR (wanted too when you first posted-but been sooo busy!)
I’ll be buying the full mount kit and would be stoked to give you the curved helmet mount from it as a thank you for writing up this awesome TR. Spewin about the Drift monopod as well. I haven’t given mine a full workout yet but so far I’m impressed with it - I’ll get you another, if you want one, and give it to you as well.
The DriftHD must be as tough as it feels - especially since you were wearing and shooting with it at the time of your head plant.
I’m surprised you did this trip on your own - it’s inspiring.
Hah I actually hadn’t considered that, as I landed on the back of my head but it makes sense. No problems with the DriftHD though definitely a tough camera.
That’s a really generous offer from you mate, goes way beyond what’s expected for after sales service. I’d love another monopod as from the quick test I have it it definitely gave the most interesting video but as far as I know you’re not the one who stole it in Japan so it’s not your job to replace it! 
Really glad to hear you enjoyed the TR!
Just read this after I had to search around for it!!!!! I didn’t know that ya had finished it, until ya mentioned it in another thread!!!!! 
(That’s what happens when I am not on here for 2 weeks!!!!!)
Great TR, drc!!!!! Glad that things got better for ya in the end, cause it sounded like a f$%#in miserable start to ya holiday!!!!! Damn!!!!!
Really good TR. I enjoyed reading it - a good mix of photos and words. You had a bit of a disclaimer at the start about whinging…that was nothing - you have to check out the TV show - An Idiot Abroad! haha
it is a shame you didn’t get to experience some pow - you obviously weren’t there for long enough! Good an excuse as any to stay longer next time!
Just read this after I had to search around for it!!!!! I didn’t know that ya had finished it, until ya mentioned it in another thread!!!!!
Great TR, drc!!!!! Glad that things got better for ya in the end, cause it sounded like a f$%#in miserable start to ya holiday!!!!! Damn!!!!!
Yay I will sleep better knowing that you have finally read my TR! You were hounding me for it before you hit whistler and I suspect I may have posted it just after you left.
Yeah mate, it was a really tough middle of the holiday but overall a truly great experience!
Really good TR. I enjoyed reading it - a good mix of photos and words. You had a bit of a disclaimer at the start about whinging…that was nothing - you have to check out the TV show - An Idiot Abroad! haha
it is a shame you didn’t get to experience some pow - you obviously weren’t there for long enough! Good an excuse as any to stay longer next time!
Glad you enjoyed it cords! haha funny you mention that show, at times I felt a little bit like Karl and was just waiting for a call from Ricky or Steve telling me it was all a big joke
I’ll admit to being quite jealous of all the pow Japan got since pretty much the day I left and the overall snowboarding experience wasn’t what I had travelled half way around the world for. But you’re right it gives me a great reason to go back to truly experience what Japanese snow has to offer.
Since being back I’m really surprised at how much I am missing Tokyo. I find myself comparing a lot of what we have here as well as the people and I find myself really wanting to go back ASAP
The original plan was if I got through this as my first OS trip that Canada was next on my list but I’m really leaning towards doing Japan again just with a few tweaks to the plans.
Me????? Hound someone for their TR????? 
Make sure that ya go to Japan, when there’s a few of us there next season!!!!!
I promise that ya wont be walkin into any two headed beasts if ya come with us!!!!! Oh, maybe Warren and fatima sleepin in the same bed will startle ya at first, especially when fatima has a whole salami in his mouth at the time!!!!! But at least they wont ask ya to leave the room!!!!!!