Welcome to Japan

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Flying out of the states was a whole lot easier than flying in, but everyone still has to take their shoes off, without exception. I'd allowed 3 hours, and I was at the gate in 20 minutes. Oh well! The 12 hour flight seemed shorter than that, even allowing for a couple of hours kip. On the way in the captain spoke over the pa to tell us there was a good view of mount Fuji, and sure enough, there it was, rising from the haze and completely dominating the landscape; you can see why it's so important to the Japanese. On landing my snowboard was almost on the carousel before I got there! Had to wait for my backpack, mind, and I started to remember why I like Japan so much; it's the little quirks. On the carousel there was a cute little cartoon to tell you about customs, and the customs guy was wearing a facemask so that he didn't pass on any germs. I sorted out an airport hotel, and once there admired the heated bathroom mirror and the clock that dimmed 20 seconds after you turn out the light! Next day, sitting on the plane north, waiting to take off I noticed the crosswind, and as the plane danced down the runway I suddenly remembered the plane that flipped over at this airport last year, in 2 violent crosswind! That put the willies up me! After 20 or so minutes flying north I wondered where the snow would start, and sure enough, a couple of minutes later, I spotted it hiding behind hedgerows. Not long afterward it had plucked up the courage to sneak out into the fields, and very soon there was blanket coverage. On the bus from the airport there were even a few flurries, not that it mattered as the resort has a 2m snowbase, and it snowed all night...

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