This weekend I did something I love to do but don't get a chance to do very often; I went skiing. But lest I ever be charged with doing something mundane, I must add that I went skiing at the site of the 1998 Winter Olympics in Hakuba, Nagano. I skied right past the original building (and took a picture! see right) for the 1998 Olympic Ski Jumping Competition, and that same night watched the results of the 2010 Olympic Ski Jumping Competition. Rather fitting, wouldn't you say?Hakuba happens to be the hometown of my friend and neighbor, Yuki. I always have a great deal of trouble finding people who know how to ski, so I was quite pleased to find out that not only does she know how to ski, she has been doing so every year since she was 6! Good enough for me!
So, in the morning, we went to a shop in Ota to rent me some ski equipment. It was cheap, only 1500 yen. I did eye the boots a little critically; they looked about as old as me. This turned out to be a "get what you pay for" sort of situation, but it has been some time since I have skied regularly, so I was not a very good judge of what I needed, and the shop was really small and short of many options.
We didn't leave until that evening on Saturday, because Yuki's friend was coming with us, and she had to work (on Satuday... she was a teacher, go figure). So we left at 5, and it took 3 hours to get to get to Hakuba. Even though it was already 8pm, the first place we went was to an onsen. The little town was full of them. We paid 750yen at a little machine by the door and went inside to the public bath. It was quite different from the ryokan we had stayed at in Oigami. The inside bath was quite large and boring looking, much like any public pool, with a number of shower stations off to one side. It was also the first time I had really gone to a public bath, particularly with such high traffic. Chingyi and I were lucky enough to usually be the sole occupants of the baths at our hotel. Not here! and, lucky me, being foreign, I drew a number of looks and stares. I may not mind this much on a usual day, but being stared at when you are buck naked is enough to make anyone self-conscious!
I did like the outside bath. It had a rocky "natural spring" look and, although it was walled in, was right next to the snow, with snow falling around as all the time.
Hair looking a bit worse the ware from the humidity, we finished the evening by going to Yuki's family home, where we would be staying. I heard Yuki tell her friend in Japanese that it was quite crowded, with her mother, father, grandmother, aunt, sister, and her sister's husband and two children. I was quite impressed they had room for us at all! Nobody was awake when we arrived, so we would meet them the next day.
So, in the morning, we went to a shop in Ota to rent me some ski equipment. It was cheap, only 1500 yen. I did eye the boots a little critically; they looked about as old as me. This turned out to be a "get what you pay for" sort of situation, but it has been some time since I have skied regularly, so I was not a very good judge of what I needed, and the shop was really small and short of many options.
We didn't leave until that evening on Saturday, because Yuki's friend was coming with us, and she had to work (on Satuday... she was a teacher, go figure). So we left at 5, and it took 3 hours to get to get to Hakuba. Even though it was already 8pm, the first place we went was to an onsen. The little town was full of them. We paid 750yen at a little machine by the door and went inside to the public bath. It was quite different from the ryokan we had stayed at in Oigami. The inside bath was quite large and boring looking, much like any public pool, with a number of shower stations off to one side. It was also the first time I had really gone to a public bath, particularly with such high traffic. Chingyi and I were lucky enough to usually be the sole occupants of the baths at our hotel. Not here! and, lucky me, being foreign, I drew a number of looks and stares. I may not mind this much on a usual day, but being stared at when you are buck naked is enough to make anyone self-conscious!
I did like the outside bath. It had a rocky "natural spring" look and, although it was walled in, was right next to the snow, with snow falling around as all the time.
Hair looking a bit worse the ware from the humidity, we finished the evening by going to Yuki's family home, where we would be staying. I heard Yuki tell her friend in Japanese that it was quite crowded, with her mother, father, grandmother, aunt, sister, and her sister's husband and two children. I was quite impressed they had room for us at all! Nobody was awake when we arrived, so we would meet them the next day.
Waking up that morning and looking outside was quite a shock. The mountains were HUGE, gorgeous covered in snow, and so close! I imagine it would be quite blissful to wake up to that view every morning.Yuki's mother was cheerful and friendly. She was kind enough to make breakfast for us, the 2nd of that morning, since she had to make breakfast for all the family members that left for work at 6 and 7am. It was very good, though not typical of what I expect of a typical Japanese breakfast, including salad and scrambled eggs in addition to the usual rice and bread.
Two of Yuki's family members worked at the ski resort itself. When we arrived, Yuki went off to find something to unfreeze the skis from the roof (oops!) and came back with three staff ski passes. A little borrowed gift that saved us 5500-4500 yen each! I rather liked the ski pass system they used. Instead of those annoying sticky paper ones that you have to cut off at the end of the day, they used an IC card. Just strap it to your arm to scan as you get on the lift, and at the end of the day, drop it in the recycle box to get 1000 yen back! Smart (those clever Japanese).
We were at the mountain from 9am to 3pm. In reflection, this sounds like an impressive amount of time, but I think we spent most of it on the lifts. The first run of the day, we went straight up to the top of the mountain and had to take 3 lifts to get there. It was certainly worth it though. Although it was a cloudy day, we had actually risen above the clouds, and thus had a gorgeous view of Hakuba, Nagano, and Hakuba's famous 3-peak mountains (see above). We popped off our skiis and went to admire the view - along with a hundred other people! Everyone was taking pictures and asking others to take their pictures. I think if you stood around up there long enough, you'd become a professional photographer! Naturally, of course, I didn't miss out on my own oopprotunity for a photo op:
For lunch, we went to the lodge at the bottom of the mountain, where, for an hour, they were offering free Japanese soup. We had a better offer than that, even. Yuki's aunt worked at the soup booth. She brought us each a bowl of soup, a delicious mochi "dumpling" soup, ohagi (rice balls covered in red bean paste), plus two different bowls of vegetables, a chocolate covered
bun, and some potato-tofu to share. It was all complements of her aunt! Their generosity was overwhelming.The only problem was that it was really too much food for the three of us. Yuki told me sagely, "We have to say thank you [and accept it] even if we don't want it... and we have to eat it ALL. It's the Japanese way!" Oh goodie. This unfortunate revelation was accompanied by some reluctant prodding at the questionable portions of our shared meal. The chocolate covered bun, I discovered, was stale or overcooked to the point of being almost rock hard, and the inside was a really strange mix of apple and sweet potato. After the first tentative bite, it was clear that it was not something that most people would eat voluntarily. Even Yuki's aunt came over and told her it was no good. But that didn't mean we didn't have to eat it!
After lunch, we waddled out to work off our meal on the slopes.
It was really a fun day. There were WAY too many people on the mountain, carving away at the snow until there was mostly ice and moguls left. Not to mention I am so out of shape as to be a disgrace to my former abilities. I do like to put some of the blame on my equipment. The 20 year old boots I was wearing were too lose and thus made my skis hard to control. This was my major complaint; your boots should make your skis feel like an extension of your body, not like you are dragging a dead limb around! My skis were also desperately in need of waxing. I think gravity was the only reason I moved at all. But it was fun because we took frequent breaks to catch up to one another and catch our breath. By the end of the day, I was so dead tired, it was sheer will alone keeping me from merely rolling down the mountain.
Immediately after leaving the ski resort, we went to another onsen. We practically ran, just making it before closing. This one was much smaller, but had a much more elaborate selection of amenities, which I appreciated. The outdoor area was nicer too. Rather than being walled in, it was open on one side, face out toward a great view of the mountains. Three little girls in the bath had great fun throwing snowballs, trying to knock icicles off the roof. If I hadn't been in that bath myself and known how hot it made you - my skin was literally steaming when I stepped out - I would have thought they were crazy for running around in the snow naked.
That night we were treated to another meal cooked by Yuki's mom. When Yuki asked me if I wouldn't mind eating at home, she seemed amazed that I would agree. I didn't know how to communicate to her that the chance to eat authentic Japanese food in someone's home was worth more to me than any meal, no matter how expensive, in any restaurant. As it turned out, it was better than any meal I would have gotten in a restaurant anyway.
Dinner was served at a long kotatsu table in the main living room, around which we sat on floor cushions. Sadly, I didn't get a picture of the feast she spread before us, but suffice it to say that it was vast and impressive as it was delicious. Salmon, rice, tofu, miso soup, slightly burned rice balls with miso, salad, little sweet fish, and super sweet sweet potato were among some of the things she served. The sweet potatoes were particularly amazing. I will have to get Yuki to give me the recipe. I tried to compliment Yuki's mom on her cooking, but as it was, I could only thank her repeatedly and tell her it was delicious. I think I got my point across anyway.
I feel very lucky in my experiences so far.
Cheers,
It was really a fun day. There were WAY too many people on the mountain, carving away at the snow until there was mostly ice and moguls left. Not to mention I am so out of shape as to be a disgrace to my former abilities. I do like to put some of the blame on my equipment. The 20 year old boots I was wearing were too lose and thus made my skis hard to control. This was my major complaint; your boots should make your skis feel like an extension of your body, not like you are dragging a dead limb around! My skis were also desperately in need of waxing. I think gravity was the only reason I moved at all. But it was fun because we took frequent breaks to catch up to one another and catch our breath. By the end of the day, I was so dead tired, it was sheer will alone keeping me from merely rolling down the mountain.
Immediately after leaving the ski resort, we went to another onsen. We practically ran, just making it before closing. This one was much smaller, but had a much more elaborate selection of amenities, which I appreciated. The outdoor area was nicer too. Rather than being walled in, it was open on one side, face out toward a great view of the mountains. Three little girls in the bath had great fun throwing snowballs, trying to knock icicles off the roof. If I hadn't been in that bath myself and known how hot it made you - my skin was literally steaming when I stepped out - I would have thought they were crazy for running around in the snow naked.
That night we were treated to another meal cooked by Yuki's mom. When Yuki asked me if I wouldn't mind eating at home, she seemed amazed that I would agree. I didn't know how to communicate to her that the chance to eat authentic Japanese food in someone's home was worth more to me than any meal, no matter how expensive, in any restaurant. As it turned out, it was better than any meal I would have gotten in a restaurant anyway.
Dinner was served at a long kotatsu table in the main living room, around which we sat on floor cushions. Sadly, I didn't get a picture of the feast she spread before us, but suffice it to say that it was vast and impressive as it was delicious. Salmon, rice, tofu, miso soup, slightly burned rice balls with miso, salad, little sweet fish, and super sweet sweet potato were among some of the things she served. The sweet potatoes were particularly amazing. I will have to get Yuki to give me the recipe. I tried to compliment Yuki's mom on her cooking, but as it was, I could only thank her repeatedly and tell her it was delicious. I think I got my point across anyway.
I feel very lucky in my experiences so far.
Cheers,
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Great pictures, Lindsay!
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