Hello, I am new on the forum.Moved to Tokyo 5
months ago for work. Surfing Chiba and Ibaraki has been a terrible
experience so I am taking up skiing (and hiking) as my official life in
Japan lifestyle.I stopped skiing 10 years ago and it appears
that gear has changed A LOT since then. I no longer own anything and
need to buy it all. I suppose my first question is are there any
english speaking skiing shops in Ochanomizu? After 5 months of tuition
I am not confident enough in my Japanese to survive the technicalities
of buying boots etc.Also, I am excited about skiing again, I
love the 'smell' of the snow country. Am I going to be in for a nasty
shock re. the time it takes to get to the slopes on saturday morning
and the crowds I will find when I arrive? The shinkansen looks great
but in a city of this size I suspect a lot of other people think the
same!

I wonder who wrote this in Sept 2002?  Would this guy in 2008 recognize his 2002 self?