I just completed a ski trip to Japan and Canada. As I am not one to just write an amazingly thorough report I thought I would outline what I did and then if anyone has any questions that might make the small amount of travel knowledge I accumulated useful I would be delighted to do what I can to make your trip easier.
35 days from home 18 were skiing.
8 airports
11 flight segments ADL-SYD-NRT-CTS- NRT – YVR- YEG-YYC / YLW-YVR-NRT-SYD-ADL
1 upgrade I think, Y to PE.
4.5 airlines QF, JAL , JAL express, West jet, Air Canada.
5 ski mountains Niseko Annupuri, Sunshine village, Lake Louise, Revelstoke, Big white.
Way to much gopro footage to do anything useful with
And 6 new Starbucks mugs.
So the short of it was a mate and I left Adelaide and skied in Japan then spent 3 weeks travelling from Banff west through the rockies in Canada it was an absolute blast.
Some other observations/ lessons:
JAL’s seat reservation system is strange for some reason it didn't have my mate and I listed to travel together so on a few flights we couldn't sit with each other. By the end of the trip was starting to think that out travel agent had booked two separate tickets not 1 ticket with two people and hence they weren't linked.
Unlike QF when you log in to select a seat for JAL it doesn't show you what seat you have been given by default for Y at least so you don’t know if you are getting a better seat or not. Of course this also means that if you don’t select a seat you will get a bad one when you arrive at the airport.
Canadian airlines make buying extra baggage so easy, just pay $20 at the self serve check in counter.
I love the way you can fly AUS domestic with liquids.
The ski culture on Japan was much nicer. It was dominated but blokes on a trip with mates, Couples on trips, groups of couples on trips and families. This meant that most people were there to ski and for a shortish period of time. This opposite of this was Canada which is full of Aussies trying to “get work” although I met a lot who seemed to give up on work and just party. The residential nature of these job seekers was quite unpleasant compared to the tourist nature of Japan.
In the future Japan would most likely be my preferred ski destination, Niseko was great but I would like to see Rusutsu, Hakkuba and Furano. The Japanese snow seems so much more reliable than Aus and NZL and Japan is a lot closer than Canada.
I have also put up reviews on Trip advisor for our accommodation my handle there is P34p
Moorea Lodge , Hirafu
The Cube Boutique Hostel, Revelstoke
Urban retreat Hostel Big white
Big White Resort, Big white
35 days from home 18 were skiing.
8 airports
11 flight segments ADL-SYD-NRT-CTS- NRT – YVR- YEG-YYC / YLW-YVR-NRT-SYD-ADL
1 upgrade I think, Y to PE.
4.5 airlines QF, JAL , JAL express, West jet, Air Canada.
5 ski mountains Niseko Annupuri, Sunshine village, Lake Louise, Revelstoke, Big white.
Way to much gopro footage to do anything useful with
And 6 new Starbucks mugs.
So the short of it was a mate and I left Adelaide and skied in Japan then spent 3 weeks travelling from Banff west through the rockies in Canada it was an absolute blast.
Some other observations/ lessons:
JAL’s seat reservation system is strange for some reason it didn't have my mate and I listed to travel together so on a few flights we couldn't sit with each other. By the end of the trip was starting to think that out travel agent had booked two separate tickets not 1 ticket with two people and hence they weren't linked.
Unlike QF when you log in to select a seat for JAL it doesn't show you what seat you have been given by default for Y at least so you don’t know if you are getting a better seat or not. Of course this also means that if you don’t select a seat you will get a bad one when you arrive at the airport.
Canadian airlines make buying extra baggage so easy, just pay $20 at the self serve check in counter.
I love the way you can fly AUS domestic with liquids.
The ski culture on Japan was much nicer. It was dominated but blokes on a trip with mates, Couples on trips, groups of couples on trips and families. This meant that most people were there to ski and for a shortish period of time. This opposite of this was Canada which is full of Aussies trying to “get work” although I met a lot who seemed to give up on work and just party. The residential nature of these job seekers was quite unpleasant compared to the tourist nature of Japan.
In the future Japan would most likely be my preferred ski destination, Niseko was great but I would like to see Rusutsu, Hakkuba and Furano. The Japanese snow seems so much more reliable than Aus and NZL and Japan is a lot closer than Canada.
I have also put up reviews on Trip advisor for our accommodation my handle there is P34p
Moorea Lodge , Hirafu
The Cube Boutique Hostel, Revelstoke
Urban retreat Hostel Big white
Big White Resort, Big white
