The Swatch TTR 5-Star Nissan X-Trail Nippon Open is set to rock Japan from February 26th to March 2nd 2008 at the Alts Bandai resort in Fukushima. Some of the world’s best snowboarders including Shaun White, Antti Autti, Jamie Anderson and Torah Bright will be making the long trip to compete in Halfpipe and Slopestyle formats for two batches of 850 TTR Ranking points and over $125,000 in prize money.

The women’s field is set to see some changes in the rankings post-Japan, as the current TTR top four female riders (Jamie Anderson, Kelly Clark, Torah Bright and Jenny Jones) all have the chance to become the new TTR World No.1.

Other female riders looking to move up in the TTR rankings are Swiss rider Sina Candrian, who could clinch a spot in the TTR Top 5 and Claudia Fliri (AUT) who is seeking out a spot in the TTR Top 10.

The Nissan X-Trail Nippon Open is sure to be a hotly contested event as many of the best TTR riders clash and compete for Japanese glory and inch one step closer to the $250,000 end-of-season Swatch TTR tour prize purse. The Nippon Open is one of Japan’s most popular snowboarding events, drawing over 40,000 spectators from around the world. If you can’t be there to join them, catch the live webcasts of the semi-finals and finals at go211. Stay tuned to the TTR website for the complete list of riders and regular updates.