~ NISEKO 2013/14 ~
i say this thread is a GO…. and its a GO..
but Mizu u forgot to add my name to the list ...
man always get left out here.
You’re not goin to Niseko!!!!!
And ya forgot to log off of ya Alter Ego, mate!!!!! 
Ahh now I see the point of this thread!
Excluding moist…. Ah lano!
Carry on then!
i say this thread is a GO…. and its a GO..
but Mizu u forgot to add my name to the list ...
man always get left out here.
You’re not goin to Niseko!!!!!
And ya forgot to log off of ya Alter Ego, mate!!!!!
Uggghhhhh u forgot where I am going and ughhhh I forgot I was logged in as my alter ego, bloody hell…..
Ahh now I see the point of this thread!
Excluding moist…. Ah lano!
Carry on then!
Spot in…
I can’t do start of Feb, because its my little sisters bday.. And a few of the others can’t do mid/end,of Feb so start of march it is!!
(honestly.. Any snowboarding before mid June is a win in my books)
Also.. Price wise.. Its $24,500 for 10 of us…
so $2450 each.. And that’s everything except spending,money (so flights, accom, transfers, lift passes etc) looking at taking at least $1000 over for spending (looking at camera lenses over there lol!)
pricing that our selves we get a similar amount.. (was actually more the first time I priced it) and we don’t have to worry about booking anything.. They do it all for us 
So you’re stoppin over in Tokyo????? (For the lenses)
Fair enough. Can’t comment on the price without knowing how much of that is the flight but sounds like you looked into it.
There’ll be a solid base down by then there’s no doubt about that. Fingers crossed you get some Japow!
Yeah Japan is a camera lovers paradise (yodobashi, bic, a million 2nd hand places in Shinjuku, Akihabara etc) I’m sure you’ll burn through the 1k in no time, hopefully the exchange rate holds up!
The exchange rate is lookin very favourable at the mo, hey!!!!!
The exchange rate is lookin very favourable at the mo, hey!!!!!
Yeah not too shabby at all. My partner in crime on the last trip certainly propped up the retail sector over a 2 week period!
Not quite as good as when my parents travelled in April (it was something like 105yen/$) but that was breaking records.
Still makes currency conversion on the fly really easy. I basically just knock a couple of decimal points off and add a tiny bit
speaking of money, whats the go in niseko? I read somewhere that most places dont do card and there are bugga all ATMs, i dont have any problems with this i just want to pick your brains abit and see if there’s anything i should be doing
Japan as a whole don’t do cards as much as we do.
Cash is king and yes there is difficulty because there are only two ATM you can get cash out at (with international cards). One at the 7/11 I think and the other in the HT building Yama Shizen.
In Tokyo it is easier but you still have the problem that you need to find an ATM that takes international cards.
speaking of money, whats the go in niseko? I read somewhere that most places dont do card and there are bugga all ATMs, i dont have any problems with this i just want to pick your brains abit and see if there’s anything i should be doing
Argh just typed up a long reply and it somehow deleted itself so you are now getting the condensed version.
Miz can speak for Niseko much better than me but I’ll talk about money in Japan in general.
Yes it’s true for smaller places (usually places you eat and drink) are mostly cash only. For larger purchases or bigger places (hotels, some clothes/electronics stores etc) you can generally use card now.
There are two main travel cards to consider. The 28 degrees mastercard (what I use) and the citibank plus visa card. They don’t charge fees and give you true conversion rates (this adds up) both are also priceless if you make online international purchases. You preload these cards with money before you leave (effectively turning them into a debit card) which avoids running into any cash advance issues.
The two main places to withdraw cash from international ATM’s are 7/11’s or Post Offices. In the past year 7/11’s have blocked international mastercards so you will be restricted to post offices. Last I checked visa could still be used at both.
I can find post offices pretty quickly but I still usually withdraw about a weeks spending money as carrying cash in Japan is very safe (although you do have a history of losing expensive shit so I’ll leave that decision to you)
I’ll also throw another payment option in SUICA cards. Basically this is a prepayed card you use for the train network in Tokyo (and other places) it is also now becoming widely accepted in familymarts and other convenience stores plus a bunch of other places. I sometimes find it handy to quickly tap this card when grabbing food or drink on the run rather than dealing with the pocket full of coins you will end up with.
Miz can speak for Niseko much better than me but I’ll talk about money in Japan in general.
:-(
Can no one else say anything?
There are two main travel cards to consider. The 28 degrees mastercard (what I use) and the citibank plus visa card. They don’t charge fees and give you true conversion rates (this adds up) both are also priceless if you make online international purchases.
I don’t think you need a special card. unless you were already considering getting a travel wallet. I personally have never used one.
I have a citibank credit card. The only thing it was really helpful was for after hours access to ATM’s in Tokyo.
Citibank is you best bet in Tokyo for cash withdrawals. You can use mastro cards (ie westpac atm card) there but the lobby of the branch where the ATM’s are is locked after hours. I could use my citibank card to gain access but use my westpac card to get money out.