JAPAN

YESSSSS.  Here they are, the long suffering Japan photos.  For those of you that don’t know, Garrett and I went to Japan for 3 FULL days of skiing at the end of December.  After spending a week running around Korea, we flew to Narita Int. and then travelled to a little ski town called Nozawa Owsen, home to a serious ski resort called Nozawa Ownsen.

We left Seoul Tuesday afternoon (Dec. 28) and landed in Japan pretty late, after arriving at the resort very early in the morning on Wednesday (at about 1am, via taxi) we got some sleep and then we were on the slopes by 9.  The first day was a blue bird day, with about 4 inches of day-old snow and most of the skiing was on corduroy lines (groomed snow).  We were a little disappointed by the lack of real snow and by the amount of vegetation sticking through, but it was great because we got a good tour of the mountain.  Our disappointment didn’t last, however, because the next morning (Thursday) it started dumping snow and just didn’t stop.  Most of Thursday was spent trying to keep warm and out of the wind.  Even though it was New Years Eve, Garrett and I went to bed early (after watching HEAT, ka-ching), hoping to catch fresh pow lines.  Once again, we weren’t disappointed.  We woke up Friday morning to 4 FEET of powder.  It was just insane.  I’d never seen that much fresh, fluffy, and dry snow in my life.  Our friend Andy showed us all the great pow runs, and Garrett and I made hay.    We flew out the next morning, Garrett to Portland and I back to Seoul.

Here’s the proof:

1st Pow Run, Friday

Andy, Garrett and I, Friday

Japanese Bath House, Thursday

Blue Bird Day, Wednesday

The Bullet Train, Saturday

4 Feet of Pow, Friday

Snow Cat, Wednesday

Our Room, Wednesday (1am)

Our Paper Window, Wednesday

Nozawa Ownsen Town, Wednesday

The Lodge, Thursday

Pow Run, Friday

The Diana, Wednesday

Outside, Friday

PS.  A few other things; first, Japan is insanely expensive.  The lift tickets and accommodations were reasonable, but everything else was very pricey.  Second, the lodge rocked, it was called Resort Inn Toemu.  It was only a short walk from the chairs, there was an enormous bath in the shower room, and the beds were soft and warm.  Our friend Andy was on the staff and he was really helpful, he booked our taxi from Narita to Nozawa as well as made all our stay arrangements (and answered a million of our questions and showed us where the pow was).  So good.   Finally, thank you God for all the snow, the good friend that I have, for keeping us injury free, and for skis (and snowboards).

~Dickie