NON-OUTDOORSIG EVENTS

OSIG Events Intro
10 steps to organising a successful OSIG event!!
Event Coordinators
'Membership has its priviledges'
OUTDOORSIG's ANNUAL EVENTS
Other Non-OSIG Annual Events
Medical Insurance

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

These are events that are NOT sponsored by OutdoorSIG............

Jump to:

JANUARY

NAGANO AJET HAPPONE SKI TRIP
Set on the world famous slopes of Happone in Hakuba, this is a trip not to be missed by seasoned skiers or amateurs alike. As anyone who has been there will tell you, Happone is not only huge, but has excellent snow and a huge range of ski runs from little beginner nursery slopes to vertical demon hard core mogul blacks?..and of course then there is the POWDER! It was also the site of the Olympic downhill ski-slalom and you can still ski the run (if you dare!).
Held on the last weekend of January every year......you usually have to register by December 1st....over 150 JETs from all over Japan!
Link to the Nagano AJET website (register info etc): http://www.naganoajet.com
Background info on all the places to ski in Nagano: http://www.skijapanguide.com

-SCUBA SIG TRIPS- winter break, spring break, Golden week and the summer
SCUBA SIG WINTERBREAK TRIP (Past trips have been to Vietnam, Thailand and other places)
The winterbreak SCUBASIG trip offers any number of different courses/options often with free accomodation. Contact SCUBASIG at: scuba_sig@hotmail.com for further deatils.
Jump to past articles

-TOYOTA BIG AIR JAPAN
See the best in the world compete annually for the $100,000 purse....an annual event....plan a trip to hit the slopes at the same time.
Toyota BigAir website: http://www.htb.co.jp/bigair/2002/index.html

-BACKCOUNTRY RECREATIONAL AVALANCHE AWARENESS COURSES
Don't even think about going into the backcountry without taking this course. These Recreational Avalanche Awareness Courses are taught all over Japan (mostly Hokkaido and Nagano) every year by Dave Enright, a certified and well respected Instructor of the CAA (Canadian Avalanche Association). These are internationally recognized courses and could well save your ass in the backcountry..........get in on one .......and get aware.
Jump to an article by an OSIGers who has taken the course

FEBRUARY

-HAJET's SAPPORO SNOWFEST WEEKEND (at the start of POWDATOPIA in Feb)
....put on by Hokkaido AJET.....followed immediately by OSIG's legendary POWDATOPIA trip.....tie the two together! The deadline is usually around December 15th. (The weekend is EPIC....and the 100 spots are picked off fast)..... registration for POWDERTOPIA if of course separate.
Jump to past articles

HYOGO AJET SKI TRIP
Usually in early February at Kannabe or Hachi Kogen Ski areas. (Tajima) Includes 2 nights accomodation in a Japanese style, two dinners and two breakfasts for around 15,000yen with unlimited access to the hotel onsen. English lessons can normally be arranged.
For more info contact Hyogo AJET directly at: events@hyogoajet.org and check out their website at: http://www.hyogoajet.org

MARCH

SCUBA SIG SPRING BREAK TRIP (In the past trips have been to Micronesia and Okinawa)
Drift on the currents above the sea floor.
Swim with the marine life.
Relax in the ideal atmosphere of a place stuck in time.
Contact SCUBA SIGat: scuba_sig@hotmail.com for further deatils.
Jump to past articles

APRIL

NISEKO ADVENTRURE CENTRE.......In Hokkaido...
Tonnes of well-organized events all year long......whitewater rafting races, sea kayaking camps, adventure survival camping, night trekking, concerts, parties.... and of course the annual Niseko Adventure Triathalon in which OSIG regularly enters a team (see the OSIG EVENTS October section) Of course they run all kinds of snow stuff in the winter....given they are in the 'powda capital' of Japan!
Check out their website: http://www.nac-web.com/

MAY

Know of any events? drop us a line at events@outdoorsig.com

JUNE

-ROLL YOUR OWN BLACKOUT
June 21 (every year)
One of the ECO-PROJECTS that OSIG takes part in.... What better way to help the earth (and consequently the outdoors) than to join people all over the world on the same day and use as little energy as possible. On June 21st (the first day of summer) turn off all your lights and electrical appliances .........and roll your own blackout.
For more info on the blackout check out: http://www.rollyourownblackout.com/index-blackout.html

JULY

NAGANO TUBING RACE
T he Tenryu Tubing race happens is late July. A lot of fun and the perfect way to cool off. In 2001 Nagano JETs managed to scoop up some seriously cool prizes, including a BBQ set, collapsable chairs and a very fetching bag. The entry fee is in the region of 2000 yen which will includes a free t-shirt. If you want anymore info, get in touch Nagano AJET well in advance: Entry deadline is early July.
For more info check out: http://www.town.takamori.nagano.jp/sports-water-tubu.htm
Also see the All-Japan Tenryuugawa canoe championships in late August.
http://www.town.takamori.nagano.jp/sports-canoe-set.htm

AUGUST

-FUJI ROCK FEST
Held at Naeba ski resort in Nagano....every year....camp and party for three days straight.
Past Fuji Rock Festivals have included big names like The Chemical Brothers, Prodigy, Bjork and many others. For all the info check out: http://www.fujirockfestival.com (there is an English version too!)

-IBARAKI AJET FUJI-SAN CLIMB
Ibaraki AJET run a Fuji-san climb usually every year in August (soon after the new JETs arrive).....if you are interested in joining them in the climb contact them directly. http://www.ibarakijets.org

-SHIZUOKA AJET SUMMER FUJI-SAN CLIMB
High season in August with often crowded trails.......yet still chilly at the summit! The Annual Shizuoka AJET Fuji Climb....at the end of the climbing season they round up the new ALTs who've just arrived and haven't had time to hear the horror stories to send them on an all-night climb up their prefecture's tallest inactive volcano, also known as Mt. Fuji. If you are eagerly awaiting your very own opportunity for self-abuse, track down the newly inaugurated Shizuoka AJET Prefectural Representative sometime before August. The price is usually well under ¥6000 for a bus ride to and from Fujinomiya station to the starting gate at the 5th station, some volunteers to aid and abet, and some 50 or more comrades in climbing.

-FUJI-SAN MARATHON! (calling all 'human-lungs' out there!)
Each July, the Fujiyoshida City Hall hosts a half marathon beginning at City Hall (elevation 770 meters) and ending on the summit of Mt Fuji (elevation 3,776 meters). As you can tell from any photo of the graceful, perfectly conical Mt Fuji, the climbing angle only increases the higher that you go.
Link to http://www.city.fujiyoshida.yamanashi.jp/
Jump to past articles

-BICYCLE for EVERYONE'S EARTH (BEE) ECOSIG trip (from Aug thru Oct)
A multi-week trip for the eco-conscious and super genki!...travelling the entire length of Japan by bike to raise environmental awareness. The BEE Ride across Japan started in 1997 when a group of three ALTs rode their bicycles from Wakkanai, northern Hokkaido to Kagoshima, in southern Kyushu. The subsequent BEE Rides were equally successful. This year, get in on the Bicycle for Everyone's Earth.....no matter how small your contribution to the ride it would be much welcome.
Check out their website at: http://www.beejapan.org

-SCUBA-SIG SUMMER TRIP TO Nha Trang, VIETNAM
SCUBA-SIG will be diving with Rainbow Divers (http://www.divevietnam.com) in Nha Trang, Vietnam. They offer several different options, including boat dives, a variety of PADI courses, and trips to Whale Island. Vietnam is quickly emerging as a popular (but not too crowded) diving destination. Its coastline is about 3450km long, and except for around the Mekong Delta, the water visibility tends to be really good. Nha Trang, and the 70 or so islands offshore in its turquoise waters, boasts numerous dive spots to keep you busy. When not in the water, the Cham Towers of Po Nagar (built between the 7th and 12th centuries), the pagoda, and the nearby fishing villages will all conspire to lure you away from your fruity drink under the coconut palms.
Usually held around the second week of August.
Interested? Contact SCUBASIG at scuba_sig@hotmail.com

SEPTEMBER

Know of any events? drop us a line at events@outdoorsig.com

OCTOBER

Know of any events? drop us a line at events@outdoorsig.com

NOVEMBER

INTERNATIONAL BUY NOTHING DAY
Nov 23 (every year)
It's one of the ECO projects that OSIG has decided to support....Nov 23 every year....reminds us that the easiest way to reduce out collective environmental impact is to buy fewer things....a simple message. SO...on Nov 23rd try to buy nothing.
For more info:http://www.adbusters.org/

DECEMBER

Know of any events? drop us a line at events@outdoorsig.com

Back to top

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Medical Insurance

All JETs should have received a medical insurance booklet (you know..... the little coloured one (approx 10cmx15cm) wrapped in transparent plastic). It is essential that you bring this card along with you on any OutdoorSIG events, (such as hucking yourself off the cliffs of Niseko or scuba diving at 35m on the shipwrecks of the Bonin Islands).

Should you have an injury (knock on wood) you need to have it with you in order to receive medical treatment while on OSIG events......often out of your home prefecture.

Back to top