A short Japanese lesson:
The word for like is “suki”, but it’s pronounced much closer to “ski”. Thus, to say I like skiing, one would say “ski ski!” It’s great for marketing (apparently.)
In other news, it finally snowed enough for a ski trip! I rode the train out to the mountains to catch up with the group, and at every stop there was just a little bit more snow on the ground. Good omens.
It snowed up until Friday night, and a good part of the day Saturday, so there was a solid three feet of the fluffy stuff. I’d made friends with some of the beginners, so while I stuck around for their lesson, I engaged in some quality frolicking.
Snowballs were thrown. Quality memory photos were taken. (For me, anyway!)
They figured out pizza french fry before we hit the slopes, but the art of getting up was still a bit elusive.
The strangest part was discovering that only the top half of the mountain was open. It didn’t diminish any of the fun, but we did spend a lot of time on the gondolas. (Thankfully closed door!)
I appreciated the warning signs, and I suddenly understand how it’s possible to fall headfirst into several feet of snow. (Disclaimer: I behaved, and we stayed on piste!)
I’m very partial to ski-in, ski-out dining. And have a new-found appreciation for ski-in lodging. It was a long walk to the lift in ski boots!
After the first day, I cheated and carried mine. Much easier to lock up the shoes later.
After a nice long day of skiing, we grabbed some chuhais (fruity alcohol) and went for quality hot spring time.
I lied a little bit. Chuhais are supposed to be fruity; mine had cumin in it. (A shock, considering I thought it was going to be raspberry!)
Sunday came with less snow and more sunshine, which was a more than fair trade-off. It was the first time we could see beyond the clouds and appreciate the scenery.
Not falling is not an excuse for failing to do a full faceplant in the snow. So we fixed it.
Last cultural fun fact: on powder days, the locals will get up around six am, take their skis and boards to the lift, and leave them to hold their place in line while they go back to bed. Japanese politeness seems to go a longer way than I thought! (Though I still don’t entirely trust it.)
myTia 