Feeding my addiction

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I have been hearing about the amazing powder snow in Hokkaido for over a year now and was a bit sad when I left Japan without experiencing it. When I found out that I was to return, the first thing I did was book a snowboarding trip to Niseko (an area that I’d heard lots about).

Ready to put my Tokyo grumpiness behind me, I rocked up to Haneda airport almost three hours before my flight. I passed the time with a good book, crossword puzzles, and lots of people-watching. I began to notice a high percentage of foreigners checking in with snowboard and ski bags in tow.

My flight up was a bit rough, but it wasn’t able to wipe the stupid grin off my face. I was giggly the whole bus ride to Niseko and probably even a bit in my sleep that first night. It had been snowing for several days and would continue well into the following evening. Then it would be a day and half of blue skies, followed by a dumping of fresh snow that managed to close all the lifts by 1PM on my last day (I boarded until 12:30 then caught the bus to the airport).

Mom was a bit worried that I would be lonesome going up there by myself, but I told her that I’d be fine as Niseko’s mostly populated by Australians and other foreigners during ski season and they happen to be quite friendly. Boy was that an understatement!

I boarded until around 4PM my first day and then grabbed some snacks and went back to the lodge to shower and relax. While I was chilling on my bunk, reading a book, a couple of new lodgers showed up and started chatting with me. One of them (a guy named Cam from London) and I really hit it off and decided to go grab some dinner together. He had been there for a little over a week and had met quite a few people around town. We had such a fun time that we decided to go boarding the next day together (and the next, and the next, and the next).

One really cool thing about Niseko is that they have night skiing - they light up some of the lifts and you can stay out until 9PM. So on my second day, Cam and I decided to take advantage of this feature. It was fun but I was completely wrecked by the end of the night. My six weeks of sitting on my butt at home certainly showed.

I still managed to do another two and a half days though, including some more night runs. Cam is much better than me and has boarded all over the world, but he was patient enough to ride with me and help me a bit on my form. Such a nice guy! Thanks to him, I got to try riding off-piste for the first time. His coaching made such a difference that I'm actually looking into going to a snowboarding camp to take my skills to the next level. Look out! 😉

Needless to say, it was hard to get on the flight to Osaka. Though I have a lot to look forward to and am enjoying the chance to visit with my friends at the moment, I'm still going through powder-withdrawal. 😉


That's it for now. It's about 6AM and I'm heading to the airport to fly to Singapore.

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Photos

Snowed in
Out of the bathroom window at the lodge

First morning
Another shot out the window

The cave
This is a view from my bed in the lodge.

Off the slopes
Jamaica night at the bar across the road

Hooray Jamaica
This guy was jumping around like such a fool, I had to get a picture.

A hammer came out
Not sure why though

Maasa and hammer guy
New friends

Second to last morning
It started snowing quite heavily

Comments

[Suz]

corrections.
1. you didn't sit on your butt the entire time you were home. Sometimes you walked up and down 6th Street. 2. That guy who was jumping around like a fool... was he more or less ridiculous than Tom when he just wanted to Shout?

[Nicole]

Looks awesome!
Looks like it was awesome! Cam and the "hammer guy" are cute, can you bring them back with you? :-p Miss ya but glad you're having a blast!

[Cam]

I would just like to add I could tell where lyss was by the giggles and how deep the snow was! what a ripper 4 days together... remember youtubeing! Come on toshi... ahaha