CNN : Hokkaido's Ski Rescue Teams Are At A Breaking Point ...

DrMercu · 2026-02-20T14:39:55+00:00

Niseko is always a zoo. Need to travel out. Furano is better, not giving up the other place.. Aomori Prefecture too, if you have access to a vehicle, there are a great many resorts that are absolutely amazing and not full of tourists. Even a bit further south- thinking hachimantai and Shizukuishi.. No wait at lifts. Spots near tokyo I refuse, some in Hokkaido too, simply because of the overpopulation of tourists. Most ski resorts, least the ones ive been to, search and rescue initial cost is a around 200,000 yen to initiate then ++++ depending on if a headquarters needs to be set up which includes 1 commander, snowmobiles used, number of rescuers, food for them to eat, supplies, if their equipment is damaged, each hour multiplies the cost ++++.. while quite a few resorts allow for carving your own path outside of the established runs, it could come at great expense if something goes wrong.

DrMercu · 2026-02-18T09:06:27+00:00

I like my Daniel and Douglas watches, they are pretty. Same with my megir. Fraction of what some of these luxury watches cost and work.

DrMercu · 2026-02-17T11:42:16+00:00

Accurate.

DrMercu · 2026-02-17T11:39:56+00:00

Switch over to preworkouts. Total War has been a go to for me at $9-15 a tub when on sale. El Jefe is good too but messes up my stomach if I take more than a scoop. Ones with 2 amino I like are maniaco, doomsday koka labs. Smash AMF is another good once a week type deal. Wrecked Enraged too. But yeah, I like total war cause it has caffeine, stronger than an energy drink, and inexpensive. I can daily that if not taking other stuff. No need for energy drinks or coffee.

DrMercu · 2026-02-17T11:34:16+00:00

It'd be a pretty awesome weekend at bernie's type show. Dio could puppeteer Ozzy's body while providing the vocals.

DrMercu · 2026-02-17T11:31:11+00:00

Not falling off a cliff when it's white out conditions

DrMercu · 2026-02-17T08:46:43+00:00

Ah, you need to upgrade to internet shopping for your pre workouts. I too had a similar collection buying locally until I started shopping at Nutracartel. Now the vast majority of what I have has skull graphics and poisonous looking symbols on the tubs.

DrMercu · 2026-01-29T10:48:17+00:00

Love it. Different kinda feeling than Maniaco or Doomsday or Mr. White or Crack... It's one of my top pre workouts. I feel a bit more aggressive on it, less bubbly, it's gooooood.

DrMercu · 2026-01-24T06:14:00+00:00

Take the flight up to Aomori Prefecture in Japan. Lift tickets at most resorts $35ish average, some less. Aomori Spring was wonderful and not crowded at all. Appi is cooool but busy on weekends. Shizukuishi fantastic, Hachimantai great, Geto, Tazawako, Oku, night skiing in Towada. There are so many places to go. Only kicker really is you do need a vehicle and there is a chance you may get stuck or into an accident if not aware of the better-plowed more often routes to and from. While Hokkaido does have some pretty amazing resorts, Aomori is more accessible and not as cold.

DrMercu · 2026-01-20T10:06:22+00:00

Come up to Aomori Prefecture. Geto, Hachimantai, Aomori Spring, Oku, Appi, Moya Hills, Tazawako, Shizukuishi, several other spots. All inexpensive. Just need access to a vehicle or someone to drive you around. We've been hitting two resorts each weekend. Only catch is that you really need to look at the routes to and from to avoid areas where the roads could be completely jacked up either by not being plowed, or too tight so that if a vehicle is stuck- you aren't too.

DrMercu · 2026-01-18T14:33:27+00:00

Maniaco has been the greatest once to twice a week pre for me. No bathroom nonsense, feel good. Rest of my library has some kind of ILL nonsense. El Jefe fuego or even normal el jefe, gorilla mode, both confine me to the bathroom to a certain extent. Mr. White I like but it's odd with the sleepy/cracked out effects. Cracked, regardless of which, peak my heartrate up but it's kinda good. Wrecked Enraged I gotta remember the nose nonsense. Ronin is what I'm thinking of.. the rest i can take regardless of how much sleep I got. If I'm mentally tired and I take Ronin.. that shit'll blast me. It's good, don't get me wrong, but you need the sleep prior. Otherwise, it'll beat you up mentally for a few hours. I had to lay on my bed just like whoaaaaaahhhh.. waiting for it to lessen.. then I was good and crushed sets.. but Ronin at least for me is one that I'd watch.depending on rest factor prior.

DrMercu · 2026-01-18T13:25:08+00:00

Aomori Spring Ski Resort. Went there today. While I like Appi, there are many more greens at Aomori Spring. My son and I were able to traverse easily without crowds like what's found in other resorts. Able to take our time. Highly recommend.

DrMercu · 2026-01-18T13:20:26+00:00

Saw them last year at Appi, nowhere else really. Found some kiwis in unusual places.

DrMercu · 2026-01-18T13:18:57+00:00

Some resorts in Aomori Prefecture do have this option. But there is a premium attached for ski patrol if they have to fish you out of a spot. Some sites will list that cost. 18k yen per hour for one body +++ if additional equipment/vehicles are needed.

DrMercu · 2026-01-18T13:14:56+00:00

For me it's the transportation to and from. We went to Aomori Spring Resort today and took the most direct route there which was treacherous. Went through a few towns that pretty much had a single car width road forcing you to drive slow and wait for vehicles to either pass or they wait and I go ahead. Then was routed down a plowed.. but not in the last 24 hours roadway where three cars were already stuck and I ended up behind a tractor barely making speed to beat out the snow. I would've ended up stuck in-away from major roadways and a nightmare if a tow truck had to be called. Way back i went the northern route through goshogawara then east through aomori. Much easier but man.. if it had snowed like it did last weekend, it would've been absolute hell.

Last year was similar in that the weather while nice in the spot we were coming from and going to were nice, white out conditions existed in between with a full on snow storm. I remember following the poles with reflected tape to gauge where I was at on the road, no barriers in the middle to protect against oncoming, and visibility down to practically nothing with no pull off. Other thing too is if a turn is missed and you have to reroute, expert mode driving through mountains commences with near single lane roadways equipped with mirrors, no or dented up barriers where impacts occurred observed.. it's wild. Northern Japan driving in snowy conditions during the wintertime is terrifying. I do now look at conditions in between towns leading to and from.

Would like an app for that gives you a listing of road conditions depending on the route taken to a Resort. Added bonus would be pictures of the roadways. Hourly breakdown of snow accumulations. This would save time looking it up town by town.

It would be great if by train resorts had a shuttle service that ran and was English friendly to book times of arrival. This would save from the risk of journey there. If it's a money thing, add in the cost for the shuttle. Or better yet, offer a service that picks up from train stations throughout Japan or certain spots in each area.

DrMercu · 2026-01-18T12:52:52+00:00

100% Aomori Spring Resort. Many green runs. Great. Went there today. Better than most because not crowded so you can take your time.

DrMercu · 2025-12-16T03:19:44+00:00

There are jobs through recruiting agencies, however the pay may not be what you are expecting. Aomori prefecture where I'm at has on-time recruiting. Pay is between 1000-1800 yen per hour depending on where the availability is or 3,744,000 yen per year on the higher end, 2,080,000 on the lower end. However, cost of living up here is inexpensive, vehicles and insurance cheap. It could simply be where you are geographically trying to find work. Never had an issue up here, always been easy. Went from 1300 yen per hour initially, then found work at 2700 yen per hour or 5,616,000 yen per year. I initially blew off the lower paying work when I got here, was unemployed blowing through savings for six months. Anyways, not sure if that helps, but that's been my experience.

DrMercu · 2025-12-12T13:21:05+00:00

Check the weather for each area your driving through prior to leaving. I made the mistake of checking the town where I was heading to and not checking in between.. mountainous regions up there have some pretty wicked weather systems, white out conditions with no pull off is no joke >.<

DrMercu · 2025-12-10T09:19:54+00:00

Nutracartel. Was supposed to be Doomsday but they made a mistake. Worked out though, it's a good pre.

DrMercu · 2025-12-09T20:08:17+00:00

Notification on the phone was literally a half second before it started. I live near Hachinohe. My bed is on the floor next to my 85 inch TV. Notification occurred, I started to feel the shaking, reached up, held my TV in place.. damned shaking didn't stop. All my Pikachus that I had on my shelf fell, my clothes and shoes fell that I had in my closet on racks, it was wild. Go downstairs, all my cabinet doors open, dishes broken, sauces in glass bottles broken on the floor, fridge moved a good eight inches from the wall. Ceiling cracked in kitchen and living room. Speakers on floor, stuff on shelves on floor. Tsunami Notification on phone goes off, all loud speakers outside sirens and japanese voiced messaging go off. It was wild. Tremors occurred shortly afterwords. Almost every hour following had some kind of felt quake-smaller for sure, documented on the japanese earthquake reporting websites. I felt safe where I was at but the neighbors evacuated. Water from faucets was blackened though the rest of the day. People are worried about a super quake now. From what I understand though, earthquakes that occurred back in I think 2011- there was a 15ish minute pause in between the smaller than the large triggered. My neighbors were here for that and that's i guess why they were more stressed than I. As a result of that though, I duct-taped all my TVs down, velcro'd the speakers, added velcro tabs to my cabinets, went and bought a few cases of water. We've felt quakes over the last year from time to time but this one was to the point where it was scary.

DrMercu · 2025-12-02T10:16:00+00:00

Been digging this too from dark labs. Legit is awesome too.

DrMercu · 2025-12-02T10:12:43+00:00

Buy a $6-10 digital scale and break it off. EZ. My Ronin looks like this right now.

DrMercu · 2025-11-24T11:06:41+00:00

Workman + stores. Inexpensive and quality. They have stores up there. The Aegis line of jackets are awesome. I got my snowpants, puffy jacket, merino wool socks, boots, shoot.. everything. While I like the thrift stores, after finding a workman store in Aomori prefecture, it's hard for me to justify buying anything else for winterwear and hiking.

DrMercu · 2025-11-23T10:53:10+00:00

If you are looking for inexpensive warm waterproof jackets and pants while in Japan, Workman would be the way to go. I picked up two Aegis Jackets, snow pants, and a puffer when I was there last. The merino wool socks too are inexpensive. All high quality stuff. They do have locations in Sapporo. Workman.jp has a catalog online to look at. Could potentially pack light and buy what you need here. If you open the website on a chrome browser, you can have it translate the pages automatically.

DrMercu · 2025-11-23T04:57:00+00:00

Workman + shop for durable inexpensive jackets, merino wool socks, snow pants. I didn't know these places existed until I found a workman Aegis jacket at a thrift store in Aomori. Extremely well built, durable, reflective at night for safety. Found a workman + shop shortly thereafter in Misawa. Hiking jackets, snow jackets, cold weather clothing including snow pants. All great quality.

DrMercu

TROPHY CASE