snow fun

we have had some fun with the snow in japan over the last week.

after going up to the frozen waterfall in daigo last weekend on the first day of snow in mito, this weekend we went to niigata to visit matt at gala and also do a bit of skiing and snowboarding ourselves.

we got to yuzawa at 8pm by bus. the bus just stopped at the side of the freeway and we had no idea where to go next. matt had said do we want a taxi, but i had looked at the bus stop on a map and it had looked close. but when there is over 4 metres of snow all around you, it is not that easy.

after a crazy cab ride, i am sure the driver thought he was a rally car champion, we got to the hotel and matt arrived to see us.

we met up with another friend from ibaraki and then had dinner. the next day was to be a big one so it was an early night.

tom had tried snowboarding last time at buller with no luck, so this time we went for skiing. i put the skis back on my feet after a rest of 6 years. it was a funny feeling. i had forgoten most of it but it came back fast enough.

the snow was amazing. as i said, 4 metres all around. it was snowing pretty hard all day on the saturday and it was powder heaven.

it was so soft that at one point i had to rescue tom from the side of a run. i got myself caught too, up to my waist and when he got out he had to pull me out too.

my friend aurelien decided it would be a good idea to go dressed to the snow as a cow. literally a cow. he had a cow costume on which had a tail and even ears. he had quiet a few funny looks and a few people pulling his tail.

that night we went to dinner at an izakaya and then drinks at an aussie bar

the next day, the weather was amazing. blue skies and warm. the snow was still soft and there were less people on the mountain. japanese people like to ski on saturadys. 6000 of them. only 4000 on sundays.

i snowboarded on saturday and left tom on the beginer run to go out and try a few tricks with matty. i have now learnt the 360. but at one point i ended up on my butt and matt ran straight into me. i think that hurt more than the original fall.

we left the mountain after lunch for a quick japanese bath and then a long train ride back to mito. our train was cancelled due to the snow, but lucky for us we were able to get on the shinkansen for the price of a local train. we saved over 1 hour doing this and got home in only 4 hours.

today i am pretty stuffed. got a few bruises and sore muscles, but i think we will go back again in march cause you get a free lift ticket on your birthday. matty and warick might also come down to mito to visit some day soon.