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Published: February 3rd 2011
Winter Olympics
Helped the area tremendously.Dear Blog Readers,
Here is the fourth part of our Japan travel blogs. This one is dedicated to Hakuba. If you haven't done so already, check out parts 1, 2 and 3 by clicking here:
Part 1 - Korea Part 2 - Osaka Part 3 - Tokyo Hakuba
Sprinting to the subway station leaving the Tokyo/Eiffel Tower in our dust meant that we had to quickly grab some food before catching the first of many trains to get to Hakuba. There was the chance of getting the bullet train south and then buying a bus ticket to Hakuba and saving ourselves nearly 2 hours but we decided to do the whole thing on trains because we’d forked out for the Japan Rail Pass. We weren’t going to get any snowboarding in anyway so time wasn’t really an issue. I managed to get a really good pork hot pot and Laura stumped for a pot noodle. Like an actual pot noodle. Not even a ramen. We rushed onto the train and realised Laura hadn’t even got any hot water to put into her pot noodle. The trolley women didn’t have any either! After a moment of contemplating putting coffee into a ‘curry’ pot noodle, we decided she’d
Caption Competition
Your entries please - click 'Add Comment'. just have to go hungry until the next train change…in two hours.
The views from the train as it wound through the Japan Alps were spectacular. I’m glad we didn’t have to witness it thrashing past us at over 200km/h on the bullet train. By early evening we had reached Hakuba and our hotel had arranged a pick up to this gorgeous hotel right next to the mountain, HappoOne. Our hotel was one of the cheapest but it had so much character and we were upgraded to a much nicer room for the first 4 nights which was great. They even had a little green tea set waiting for us in the room! We got some well-earned rest before starting our snowboarding for the rest of the week.
We woke up eagerly on Monday morning and had a cooked breakfast waiting for us downstairs with the biggest pieces of toast you’ve ever seen. We rushed out and found a shoe and snowboard hire for a bit cheaper than we had anticipated. We got our lift pass and scaled up the side of HappoOne (pronounced Happo-o-nay which means 360 degree ridge). We started off a bit sketchy – Laura
Snowboarder
At the top of Goryu. Awesome views of the valley. even fell over before getting onto the lift – but we soon picked it back up again. However, within an hour my shoe binding had snapped and the end of Laura’s board had peeled back like a banana skin! We took them back and got some new ones though and they didn’t seem to care so I guess they were waiting for them to break!
HappoOne was used for the downhill races in the Nagono 1998 Winter Olympics so it was really cool getting to go down the same runs. I’m kicking myself for not taking my camera up for the first day but the views were mostly obscured by the intense snow. On the way down one of the red runs I caught my toe-edge on some ice and smashed forward hitting my face. This knocked me out for a bit as I only remember Laura coming down soon after me panicking! I took on the mind-set of a self-respecting doctor and carried on for the rest of the day unscathed.
What better way to finish a day of snowboarding than soothing the aching muscles in an onsen? Japan is sitting on hot water, literally. There are
Snowboarder
Professional. hot springs called onsens everywhere in Japan and the ones at the resort were great and really cheap. You have to be naked and follow strict rules of etiquette. I’d read up on the etiquette beforehand so felt confident striding into the changing rooms. Stripped off. Check. No Westerners. Phew. Strutted into the washing room and sat down and gave myself a scrub like never before. Before going into the hot bath you have to be completely clean and make sure everybody sees how clean you are.
Once in the bath, I checked for nosebleeds and slowly let my body turn into a look not too dissimilar to a purple raisin. I exited the bath with a smug self-confidence and with not even a hint of disdain from the locals because of bad etiquette. I opened my locker and to my horror there was no towel!! Oh no! Contingency plans started running around in my head. Had I missed the towel rack? Normally there are piles upon piles of towels. Damn. Was there some in the washroom? Nope. Ok, what could I do? Is it completely unreasonable to dry my entire body with toilet paper? Probably. At the same
Snowboarder
More professional. time I knew Laura was going through exactly the same motions as I was in the women’s section. One Japanese man realised the error of my ways and after having a good laugh with his mates (deservedly), he lent me his towel.
Having chatted to many people during the day and in the evening we came to the conclusion that on the resort the population is divided 75:20:5 between Australians:Japanese:Others. This meant I had to follow some simple rules:
1.Not all the men are called Bruce.
2.Not all the women are called Sheila.
3.Don’t, under any circumstances, mention The Ashes.
In fact, all the Aussies we met were very kind and gave us loads of information about the resort which was particularly useful. They even use Celsius for reading the temperature and say the words “bloody hell” quite regularly! This meant that them saying, “Bro”, “G’day” and “Far Out” even less annoying.
We woke to a view of snow covered trees from the night’s fall and decided to head to nearby resort, Hakuba 47 which is connected to Goryu resort on the same mountain. Unfortunately, the winds were pretty high at the summit which meant all
The Fallen
www.myspace.com/thefallenyork
Ironically, a great name for a snowboarding clothing company... of the high level lifts were closed and the connecting route to Goryu was an advanced run and even that was closed! Luckily they have free shuttle buses so we spent the morning in 47. The runs were great and visibility wasn’t too bad. The powder was phenomenal from the fall during the night. During the gondola lift we passed over a snow park which had some amazing snowboarders doing tricks on the half pipe and these huge jumps. There was a smaller jump to the side of the lift which I tackled a couple of times and managed to successfully complete the jump. I thought now would be a good time to get the camera out for a quick video. The run up to the jump was fine but half way up the ramp I realised I’d gone a little bit too fast. The consequence? Well I’ll let you watch
this video to find out!
We decided to stop for lunch to nurse my throbbing bruised coxics. Laura got a beer and was drunk by the end of the meal, this included her getting stuck trying to put her jumper back on and speaking in French – classic signs.
Snow Monkeys
Chilling out by the side of the pool. We got the shuttle across to Goryu which had some amazingly long runs and the visibility was good. At the bottom were a cool Totoro shop and a Hagen Daaz ice cream shop. We thought this was a bit odd. Imagine a curry house selling a vindaloo in the middle of the Sahara Desert. Anyway, we got back to our hostel and looked in the guide for a good restaurant. There were very few Japanese restaurants so we were mostly eating western food whilst we were there. We were slightly tempted by one restaurant claiming, “How about beer party with superb dumplings?”
On Wednesday we went to Tsugiake which was really good considering its ridiculous name. The runs were long and wide, the powder was good and the visibility was OK in-between snow showers. I had a particularly awkward moment where I thought Laura was joining us on a 4 person lift but she didn’t reach the line in time. Consequently, I somehow ended up sandwiched between a Japanese couple who didn’t speak a word for the entire journey to the top of the slope. Awkward city! I also realised that hardly any of the ski lifts have safety
bars on them! They must assume to powder will brace any potential fall.
We found out on our way home that Wednesday was Australia Day. We didn’t know what they were celebrating, and to be honest, neither did most of the Aussies. They definitely weren’t celebrating the crushing and humiliating defeat in The Ashes so I didn’t join in the festivities. We later found out from a cool Aussie couple that they celebrate the day Cook landed and have a massive party. We got hopelessly lost due to the terrible sign posting and maps given to us for the resort but we stumbled across some thriving bars and fireworks in the forests which was cool.
After the previous faux-pas, we walked to another local onsen, towel in hand. What could possibly go wrong this time? We paid our money, the big black gay guy in the changing rooms recommended the outdoor bath and off I went. The routine was now slick and the owner kept popping his head in to the onsen to check I was following the etiquette. Whatever could be contrived as uncomfortable was forgotten as I acknowledged him as he left which basically handed me
Snow Monkeys
Contemplating the reigns of onsen veteran. I knew what I was doing. A quick dip in the baths and I was about to get out but then horror dawned on me. I was supposed to bring my towel in with me! This was exemplified by the sign on the door which had a towel and a huge red cross over it. How was I going to get out of this one? I peeked around to check the owner wasn’t in the changing rooms and quickly made a naked dash for the towel and run back to the drying area. Phew. Don’t think he saw me. As I was drying, I heard the curtain open and the owner walk in. He looked at the carpet in the changing rooms with the unmistakeable signs of wet footprints going to my basket, back again, and finishing at the dripping wet floor beneath where I was standing. You could say I was caught wet handed.
The cool Aussie couple that we chatted to the previous night said they were going to Cortina on Thursday. We’d heard nothing but great things about the place so thought it would be worth checking out so we tagged
Snow Monkeys
Falling asleep. along with them to share the shuttle ride. At the bottom of the mountain is this bizarre Victorian-esque building with red panelled roofing. It’s a really grand place. Unfortunately, the conditions were anything but grand. The snow was coming down hard and the visibility was terrible. The runs there were pretty short too so we were really disappointed to have seemingly wasted a day there. However, after a ‘make-your-own-pizza’ lunch and the sun showing its face for about an hour, we were able to get into the groove and do a few runs. For some strange reason they thought it would be OK to put beginner ski schools on the narrow intermediate runs so we did our best to weave in and out of them. However, one turned sharply causing Laura to stumble into the side and me to crash into her back which left a nasty bruise. Included in the lift pass is a free trip to the onsen in the building which was pretty spectacular and included one bath which overlooked the mountains which was great.
Our last day of snowboarding brought with it a tough decision – Hakuba 47 or HappoOne. We really wanted to do
Zenkoji Temple
Awesome temple. the really long runs on HappoOne and take some photos of the Olympic signs and scoreboards but the runs on 47 and Goryu were really great. We decided to go to 47 and quite a few people had the same idea because the bus was packed. We got off and walked towards the ticket office where, to our horror, we discovered that due to high winds only one of the six lifts was operational. One!? You could see where the lift finished too which meant the run would last about 25 seconds. We then realised the next free shuttle bus to Goryu was at noon which meant we would repeat the same run about 75 times before getting to go anywhere! We enquired about getting a taxi which would take about 8 minutes but it would cost £40!? We stood there in desperation, anger and misery which obviously rubbed off on the ticket women who then informed us that they were putting on a free shuttle bus in 20 minutes. Hurrah!
Goryu was experiencing much better conditions. The Sun was out and there was very little wind or snow so we could blitz our way down the runs. We
Snowboarder
She's a professional. got some good photos and videos too which made it really worthwhile going. In the evening we went to a nearby onsen and a Mexican place for dinner which tasted great. On our way home we went to the area where the Ski Jump event was held and into the nearby museum which had tonnes of memorabilia and looping videos of the Japanese man who won the event. We also found a place called ‘The Pub’ which, thankfully, live up to its name and even sold Bass Pale Ale which was a treat for Laura.
We’d read that the queues on the weekend were horrendous and filled with hunting packs (
click here to see Jisan blog ) and a tour that had been recommended to us seemed like a good way to avoid them. Although expensive, the Snow Monkey and Zenkoji Temple tour was said to be one of the best tours in Hakuba. Our guide, Rob, who had lived in Japan for over 15 years but for the last 5 years had been herding goats in his spare time living in Hakuba, was very knowledgeable and filled the tour with good humour and interesting facts. He’s one of the nicest goat herders
Snowboarder
Shortly before bruising my coccyx. that I know. Unsurprisingly, the tour also attracted skiers and snowboarders who had been injured so the people on the bus pretty much had the classic catalogue of related injuries. Broken arms, broken collarbones, sprained wrists, damaged knees and a particularly nasty spinal injury were all present.
The surrounding area has been active for over 100 years and archaeological digs have found remains from over 1000 years ago. The place is dotted with thatched roof houses and store rooms and pretty much the entire population would have been involved in farming. There is very little free land around Japan so the fruit here not only has to be of exceptional taste, but also extremely aesthetically pleasing. Consequently, the Fuji Apples here cost about £2.50 each and there are boxed mangos being sold in Tokyo for £80 each. It’s pretty crazy but it is the only way the farmers would be able to get money for their goods.
As you can imagine, being stuck in the mountains far from any big cities meant that this extremely rural area was relatively technologically in-advanced. However, then came the Nagano 1998 Winter Olympics and all of a sudden the area had money
Cracking View
Looking down Hakuba valley. There are about 12 resorts here. ploughed into it and the infrastructure that was put into place was exceptional and it has completely changed the area for the better.
After a brief coach ride we had a 20 minute hike into the mountains to see the tours’ main attraction – the snow monkeys. On the way up, I heard two Aussies speaking behind me:
Bruce 1: I was going up the escalator on the subway and this bloke barged through me.
Bruce 2: What side were you on?
Bruce 1: The right hand side. Why?
Bruce 2: Well you’re meant to leave that side for people who want to get up the escalator quicker.
Bruce 1: What? That’s so stupid. Where else in the world would you do that?
Bruce 2: Erm…well they do it in England too.
Bruce 1: Oh. (Then realising I was about a metre in front of them and they knew I was English.)
Anyway, the story is that the women who owned the onsen in this mountain used to have a troupe of Macaug monkeys surround the area which she occasionally fed. It was a particularly harsh winter in the early 1960s and the women put the food
Cortina
Mental building at the bottom of the slope. near the onsen so that the monkeys would stay a little bit warm by the steaming pool. One time, however, a baby monkey was playing and accidently fell into the water. Other monkeys went into the water to save it and realised how good the water felt. This has passed on to the generations and it is the only place in the world where the monkeys have naturally gone into the water, learnt to go into the water by themselves and they are completely wild. It is where all the documentaries are filmed and there really is no place in the world like it. It was amazing how close to the monkeys you could get and their resemblance to humans bathing in the onsen was uncanny.
After this unforgettable experience, we visited a local sake brewery which had its own restaurant. We had a really tasty traditional beef lunch. The chopsticks here are joined at the top so you need to break them in two before you can use them. We joined the waiters in laughing at the ignorance of some people who were trying to eat their meal with a singularly joined chopstick. The pudding consisted of one
Goryu
At the top of 47 and Goryu perfect, but absolutely massive, strawberry. We also had a wander around the shops surrounding it – one of them sold apple strudel bizarrely. We then visited Zenkoji Temple which is the oldest temple in Japan. In fact, it is so old that it was built before Buddhism was even divided so it doesn’t belong to any sect. The temple is amazing and the history behind it is incredible. Shinto and Buddhists practice their religions simultaneously and harmoniously at the temple so they perform ceremonies for each religion every day at the same time which I think is quite cool.
On the journey back to the hostel, we got chatting so some Aussies on the bus. Apparently Australia and Japan were playing in the Asia Cup Final that evening and they were planning on finding a bar to go and watch the match. A momentary lapse of concentration meant a slip up on the three rules as we left the bus I wished them well, “Hope you have a good time tonight. It’s about time you lot had some sporting success.” We rushed back to the hostel amidst a torrent of abuse, corked hats and a can of Fosters being
Cracking View
One of the few days that the view was good. thrown at us. We found out it had pretty much been torrential snow for the entire day so it didn’t look like we particularly missed out on anything. We went to our favourite of the restaurants nearby for dinner and relaxed in our final onsen of the trip in a recommended hotel.
Our snowboarding trip was over and we left with mixed feelings. The horrendous signposting and constantly getting lost, even on the slopes, was particularly frustrating, and sometimes bloody dangerous! The constant, non-stop snow was actually really annoying! There is such thing as too much snow! The visibility suffers and a lot of the lifts were closed during our stay. Particularly when we can compare it to our trip to France last April where the snow was far from perfect but we had clear blue skies and the Sun beaming down on us. We both agreed that the powder here is phenomenal; probably the best in the world, and it would be brilliant for accomplished back country snowboarders and skiers. However, if you are in the beginner to intermediate bracket, we would have both felt pretty sick if we’d paid for a flight just to come for the
Tea Set
Cracking Japanese green tea set waiting in our room. snowboarding when we have the Alps on our door step. What you won’t get, however, is the chance to experience really cheap onsens, the snow monkeys and the surrounding temples which are truly remarkable and a niche into the Japanese culture which is strangely, but seemingly, being pushed aside by the European feel of the resorts.
Tink and Laura
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pete
non-member comment
the Diana, monkey style