Konichiwa Japan! Niseko Ski Trip: Jan 19-25 2013

To sum up our trip to Japan this past week into a short blog post is a difficult task. I guess the best way to start would be to simply say “snow, snow, snow, and then more snow!” We had been looking forward to this trip for a long time, and we had such an amazing experience. It was our first international trip since moving to Korea and we had an unforgettable time!

In our contracts, we are given nine days of vacation in the winter and nine in the summer. For the winter break, we decided to split up the days into two separate trips (Japan and Thailand). Ian and I both love to ski and had heard/read great things about the skiing in Japan, especially about the amount and quality of powder snow. So we decided to check it out for ourselves this past week. Here is a brief summary of our Japan trip (I promise I will try to keep it short although we have so many stories).

Saturday January 19^th, 2013

On Saturday, we flew out of Incheon International Airport to Osaka, and then caught a connecting flight to Sapporo. The first flight was 1.5 hours and the second was 2 hours. Although I was a little worried packing for this trip (we decided against checking in any luggage), it was nice traveling light. We had a 3-hour layover in Osaka, so we really got to know that airport. From Sapporo, we took a 2.5-hour shuttle bus to Niseko Mt. Annupuri. Sapporo and Niseko are located on the large northern island called Hokkaido. Niseko is what the area is called where we stayed and the mountain is called Annupuri. On this mountain, there are four separate resorts: Annupuri, Niseko Village, Hirafu, and Hanazono. We stayed in Hirafu, which is the most popular and liveliest one. We met so many Australians living and working or vacationing in Niseko. Hirafu is very popular amongst the Australians, so much so that there are even lodges called “The Australian House.”

We decided to stay at Grandpapa Lodge, which was a perfect match for us. It is a family run business that is proud to be one of the few places in Hirafu that is still run by its original Japanese owners. The manager, Kohei drove and picked us up from the bus terminal. I was so excited as we were driving to the pension, as this was our first glance at the mountain and the insane amounts of snow everywhere! It was also snowing at the time, which only added to my excitement.  There is so much snow in Niseko that the snow banks are ridiculously tall. The Grandpapa lodge is close to the base, and in the mornings we usually caught a shuttle bus. The lodge really reminded me of the days of staying at Mt. Tremblant Chateau Beauvelant with my family. Grandpapa had a very warm and relaxed atmosphere. Upon arriving at the lodge, an older Japanese lady came to greet us and simply said “Welcome, I am Mama Grandpapa. Nice to meet you. You hungry? You must be hungry. I will make you dinner.” She was the “mother” of the lodge and it was so nice to eat a delicious Indian-like curry dish after the long day of travel. It was also very nice of her to offer us dinner as dinners are not included with our accommodation, we only receive breakfast and unlimited green tea, which of course was something Ian loved.

Sunday January 20th, 2013

This was our first day of skiing! In the morning, we had a delicious, hardy breakfast, and then headed to sort out rentals and ski lift tickets. The lodge gave us a discount on ski passes, which was great! We each bought an all mountain pass for 5 days, meaning we had access to all four resorts from 8:30am to 8:30pm. Ski tickets were relatively inexpensive compared to Canadian mountains. I also really liked the ticket system they had. It was a card that we placed in our left pockets and every time we took a chair lift or gondola the card is scanned, but the scanner works through your jacket, so we never had to take out the card.

Once on the hill, we were blown away by the powder. It was everywhere and yet again, it was snowing. The powder in Niseko is very different as it is extremely light and fluffy. It was so fun skiing down the hill and not ever having to worry about hitting a patch of snow that would drag us down. We skied mostly Hirafu on our first day. As I mentioned above, ski tickets were relatively cheap, but I want to clarify that ski tickets are an exception in Japan - almost everything else we had to buy was expensive! We think we were also in shock at some of the prices since we really have gotten accustomed to prices in Korea, where food is very cheap. Either way, our lunches on the hills were light and supplemented with many granola bars that we brought from Korea. For dinner, we met up with my co-teacher Jiyoon who was also vacationing in Niseko. We went for a traditional Japanese meal with her and her friends in a nearby town called Kutchan. This was a fantastic meal! We had tempura, sashimi, beautiful sushi rolls, miso soup, and of course a Sapporo beer. I am normally not a big fan of sashimi but I really couldn’t turn it down when I was in Japan and I am happy I tried it because it was really good. The sashimi basically just melted in my mouth. Overall, it was a great first day of skiing!

 Monday January 21^st, 2013

On Monday, we skied with Jiyoon and her friends at Annupuri resort. It was a beautiful clear day! We mostly skied off piste in the bowls. There was so much powder; it came up to our thighs at some points. After a few warm-up runs we decided we would hike up to the peak of Mt. Annupuri. This was a challenging hike but it was definitely worth it! Jiyoon and her friends had proper backpacks where they could attach their snowboards, and they had poles to help them hike. Ian and I didn’t have these special bags, so we just took off our skis, held them over one shoulder with one arm and held our poles with the other. We hiked for around 45 minutes and then finally made it to the top! The peak has an altitude of 1308m. Since it was so clear, we had a great view of Mt. Youtei, a semi-dormant volcano that faces Mt. Annupuri. We were told that it is rare to see the top of Mt. Youtei as it is usually hiding in the clouds, but we actually saw it 4/5 days! We took a mini break at the peak and then had, in my opinion, the best run of the week! One of Jiyoon’s friends had arranged for a car to be on the other side of the mountain. So all we had to do was traverse across and then make our way down one of the best faces of the mountain. Normally, if we had chosen this same route we would have been stuck on the wrong side of the mountain and would have needed to hike back up.

Later for dinner, we went to a place that is popular amongst the locals. We ordered Okonomiyaki, which is a Japanese pancake with slices of pork, onions, and other vegetables that is cooked right in front of us on a large hot plate. After dinner, we headed to relax in an Onsen, a Japanese hot spring. It was a beautiful and very relaxing to sit in the hot spring outdoors with snow around us and to drink a Sapporo Classic beer, one that is only brewed and distributed on Hokkaido Island. The only catch was that bathing suits were not required… The guys would bring in a small little hand towel to cover themselves and the ladies had to rent these orange and green dressed to wear in the water. So while Ian was naked I wore a dress that went to my knees. It was an odd concept to us but we just followed the lead of our new Japanese friends.

Tuesday January 22^nd, 2013

On Tuesday, Ian and I skied by ourselves on Niseko Village and Hanazono. It was simply another fantastic day of skiing.

Wednesday January 23^rd, 2013

On Wednesday, we met up with Jiyoon and her friends again for another day of skiing at Annupuri. It was really nice having someone to show us around the mountain. They knew where to find the best powder. It was another fun day of skiing with great weather. Everyone kept saying how lucky we were about getting to see Mt. Youtei. 

For dinner, we went to a restaurant called Wabi Sabi in Hirafu. I love Japanese food for the tastes, and the consistently beautiful presentations. This night I had a noodle dish, salad, miso soup, and green tea. We then headed to a famous bar in Hirafu known for having the entrance be a refrigerator door. It was fun chatting and meeting other foreigners. It was funny how many foreigners could distinguish our apparent Canadian accent.

Thursday January 24^th, 2013

This was our last day of skiing, and we tried to get the most out of the day! This was the coldest day, but overall it wasn’t as cold as we expected. After a long day of skiing, Ian went to another Onsen (Hot spring) closer to our lodge before dinner. For dinner, we went to a Japanese restaurant and had a large variety of dishes including salmon, tempura, several sushi rolls, tofu, and dumplings.

Friday January 25^th, 2013

We were sad to leave on Friday morning. This day was devoted to traveling back to Incheon, and we actually almost didn’t make it back! Our flight from Sapporo to Osaka was delayed by 40 minutes due to the weather, which meant that we were cutting it pretty close with our connecting flight to Incheon. Our plane landed at the same time that the check in for international flights closes. The stewardesses were very helpful and made sure we were the first people off the plane and we had to run to the international check in counter. Luckily, we didn’t have any checked in luggage or we wouldn’t have made it! In the end, we arrived safe and sound back to Incheon.  

Arigato Japan! We had five fantastic days of skiing, met a lot of nice people, ate amazing Japanese cuisine, and had our first co-ed Onsen experience. Here are some pictures from the trip :)

On our way to the airport Saturday morning. It's great being able to subway there. 

Ian on our way to the airport. Please note he is wearing snow pants to save room in the carry on bag.

Our pink plane :) 

Our layover in Osaka.

Osaka airport.

Ian teaching me Taekwondo in Osaka

After a long layover in Osaka.

Plane from Osaka to Sapporo

We love that when we exited we saw a woman holding this sign. Jan and I loved being greeted by this sign to show us to the shuttle bus.

Grandpapa Lodge in Hirafu

Ski House where we store our ski equipment. Look at all the snow snow snow!

Walking down the road to the rental shop. The snow banks were sooo tall!

Loving Niseko and Japan!

Don't bounce the chaih! It was also very scary that so many chair lifts didn't have safety bars. 

Traditional Japanese meal in Katchan.

Sashimi

Our new friends. From left to right: Japanese Ian, Jiyoon (my-coteacher), Yushko, Ken, Nadia, Ian, Emily

Sashimi 

Day 2 skiing in Annupuri

Group Shot

Jiyoon and I

Ian and I before climbing to the peak. 

Hiking to the peak

Just before starting the hike

Near the peak, Ian looking out on Mt. Youtei.

At the peak it was so windy. There is this small building for shelter.

The route we hiked up to the peak.

Ian looking down moments before we have our "run of the week" down the other side of the mountain in awesome powder. It was amazing!

Okonomiyaki - Japanese pancake cooked in front of us.

This is the view from our building in the lodge. There is Mt. Youtei!

Gourmet ski food.

Fanciest french fries. Sadly, no poutine in Niseko.

Walking around Hirafu at night.

This was a scary one person chair lift with no safety bar!

Wabi Sabi dinner - noodles, salad, miso soup, green tea

Famous bar with refrigerator door as entrance.

Beautiful sushi on our last night

More delicious sushi