Japan

The way the Japanese say it sounds like Nee-Say-Co to me, but us Gaijin (foreigners) say Nuh-Say-Co cos we're stupid.

Are you with the group Moe? Have you priced out all the travelling costs involved to see Moe in Japan? They better be really good! 

You can travel for cheap in Japan but you better do some research or it can be pricey. The first thing you after you get off the plane is to go to the TIC (tourist information center) and they can hook you up with a cheap room, or at least point you in the right direction. There are some cheap places to stay in tokyo, but it depends on where the shows are and how close you want to be to that.

As for moving around that much in one week,  if you want to do it on the cheap, you should be getting the JR rail pass and then you can take a train wherever you want for one price. You can only get that in advance from your own country (last time I checked). I would take the train one way to Niseko from tokyo (takes about 12-16hrs). I think you can only get the pass for one week blocks, so plan you start and stops accordingly. http://www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en001.html

If you stay with us, we can rent you some fat skis and set you up with everything you need on the cheap. www.bdlodge.com We can also book you a flight for your return to your original airport usually for pretty cheap but we need to book that asap as prices can go up.

PS. Anytime from Dec-March is deep powder season. It's only if there is some very strange weather happening that you won't get the goods. It does happen but 95% of the time it's exactly like what you see in the movies. Feb is usually the deepest month, but I swear by March. Longer days, the chance of sun and touring possibilities increase, and the crowds dissapear.

Nomihoudai! They're normally between Y1,000-2,500 for a couple of hours depending on what drinks you want included, or if you want to order food too.

But once you start, there is no limit to how much you drink. You keep ringing the bell, and they keep bringing the drinks. It's virtually impossible not to get hammered.

I've got a Nomi / Tabe houdai lined up tonight (nomi = drink, tabe = eat, houdai = unlimited).

Japan's beer is almost as good as its pow! Sapporo, Asahi, Kirin, Yebisu, Suntory all have great beers. At the moment there are limited edition autumn/winter beers which are all good to try.

Look out for 'Happoshu' though. It looks like beer, and is sold in shops next to beer and is alot cheaper. It tastes like piss and will destroy your head the next morning. (It's not actually allowed to be classed as beer, as the malt content is too low or something, but it means it can be sold cheaper as it isn't taxed the same as beer)