Superficially, I get the sense that あの is for something far away from both speaker and listener, and その is for something closer to the listener than speaker. However, I seem to get in trouble when dealing with time and past events, so I'm wondering if someone can provide a more thorough explanation of the difference?
Answer
In conversation, you switch between あの and その depending on whether or not the subject is known by both of the speakers, or only one.
話し手も相手も共通に知っている場合 ー＞「あ」
When both the speaker and listener know the subject -> "あ"
どちらか一方が知っている場合 ー＞ 「そ」
When only the speaker or listener knows the subject -> "そ"
For example:
A: 昨日久しぶりに山田さんに会ったよ。kinou hisashiburi ni yamada san ni atta yo.
B: えっ、山田さん？その人、だれ？ ee, yamada san? sono hito, dare?
A: ほら、大きくて派手な眼鏡をかけている人。hora, ookikute hadena megane wo kaketeiru hito.
B: ああ、あの人ね、知っている。aa, ano hito ne, shitteiru.
This can simply be used for time and events as well.
When the time is only known by one speaker.
A: ２年前、日本に行きましたよ。その時、日本語がぜんぜん話せませんでした。2 nen mae, nihonn ni ikimashita yo. sono toki, nihongo ga zenzen hanasemasen deshita.
B: そうなんですか。sou nan desu ka
Or when the time/event is known by both.
A: 子供の頃、一緒に野球をやっていた時を覚えてる？ kodomo no koro, issho ni yakyuu wo yatteita toki wo oboeteru?
B: うん、あの時楽しかったな〜 un, ano toki tanoshikatta na~
The majority of this comes from the text book 「中級を学ぼう」.
There is also the use of 「この」and「その」in writing, which refer to previously mentioned things, but I think they are outside the scope of this question.
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