Had a chance to go back up to Hokkaido for a ski and snowboard trip at Niseko, one of the top ski resorts in Japan and a destination that has made it to at least one “top-100” lists. We got incredibly lucky with some fresh powder throughout the weekend, making for some really great conditions for skiing and snowboarding.
We stayed at the Hilton in Niseko Village, notable for being the only hotel in Niseko that is ski-in ski-out. I will admit it was really convenient to be able to walk outside right onto the gondola, but I thought that was about all it offered. Lousy service and marginal food. Although with views like these from the guest rooms, I guess I shouldn’t complain.
Once the sun came out, the view of Mt. Yotei came out from behind the clouds, as if entranced in a dream. It’s amazing how it is utterly invisible on a cloudy day – when I first saw it on Saturday, I could not believe my eyes.
Yoteizan is also known as Ezo Fuji, Ezo being an old name for Hokkaido…Hokkaido’s Mt. Fuji. It really does look a lot like Fujisan.
What made this trip so quintessentially Japanese was the izakaya we went to one night. Typically I crave fried food and chocolate when I’m out snowboarding (carbs and sugar!), but as they say, when in Rome… Since we were at a Japanese izakaya we ordered sashimi, tofu, mussels and had a huge pot of hot nabe. Quite a big difference from the burgers and fries I usually order.
The resort itself was not as big as I expected, and to my surprise, given Japanese signature efficiency, I felt the lifts and gondolas were a bit slow, and the lines pretty chaotic and inefficient (no singles line!). The food options were limited – I longed for the vegan cafe in the main lodge at Mammoth – and the lines, again! I hate being negative, the slopes themselves were delightful, but to be honest I missed terribly the California vibes of Mammoth. Perhaps it is the continued long winter that is finally getting to me. Unlike in San Diego, where snowboarding is a quick winter retreat from the sunshine, snowboarding in Japan is simply a trip from one freezing city to a freezing-er city, each minute praying that snow or ice doesn’t delay or cancel your flight.
Speaking of the winter blues, with winter inertia setting in at full speed, I completely missed the plum blossoms in Tokyo. These late-winter flowers are some of the most beautiful and fragrant – they were at peak blossom during the weekend I was in Niseko. I had to find solace in some remaining blossoms in Shibakoen before a week of rain washed everything away (with an iPhone that didn’t seem to focus properly). Fingers crossed that I come out of mental hibernation for the sakura!
lisatokyo.wordpress.com 