Last years trip to Japan confirmed the general opinion that the country has some of the best snow in the world. Very light and dry, and plenty of it. Two weeks last year felt a bit short so we extened the itineray this time round. Alex and I flew in early January, with Olav joining us 10 days later. Things looked promising right from the start when the base in Niseko was reported to be 1 meter more than at the same time last year. We again stayed at Shizenkan, the aussie dominated backpacker. The snow was awesome from day one and we quickly got into a daily routine. Up early, boarding all day, swimming training in the evening and finally a bit of internet time before heading for bed. It snowed every few days so we there weren't many days without freshies. The night Olav arrived, a big low came over and started dumping snow. By next morning there was about 60cm of pow and it just kept on snowing. The day after there was at least a meter. This made for some crazy conditions. Niseko isn't exactly renowned for consistent grooming so there was deep powder to be had everywhere. I hate to say it, but there was almost too much snow! A lot of the off-piste stuff wasn't rideable until it got a bit tracked up allowing you to carry more speed. But we weren't complaining and I'd have to say I had pretty much my two best boarding days ever then and there. We ended up staying a two weeks exclusively at Niseko, with only a day trip to Rusutsu to break things up. Rusutsu is only 45 mins away and has great terrain, far fewer people, but not the same snow quantity due to its position on the other side of Mt. Yotei.
After Alex left, Olav and I embarked on a mini road trip around Hokkaido. We rented a car in Asahikawa for five days with the aim of skiing a different resort each day. We started with Kamui Ski Links. Cool little place, no people, but heavy wet snow because of its low altitude. The next day we drove to Asahidake, a supposed freeride place with a big reputation. One gondola, a couple of prepped runs, otherwise everything off-piste. Unfortunately the place was much flatter than we expected and except for one face at the top the rest proved to be more or less unrideable, unless you were prepared for some considerable hiking out. The snow was also part of the problem, there was just too much of the soft stuff. After half a day we called it quits and headed for the local backpacker lodge. A surprisingly luxurious place with wonderful dinner and breakfast provided. Recommend! We had been planning and staying two days but it just wasn't worth it and the next morning we packed up and headed for our next stop, Furano. After Niseko this is probably the second most well known resort on the island. Great terrain, good snow but off-piste skiing is very much frowned upon. Someone told us it was due to the fact that the area is part of a national park and therefore heavily regulated. All good stuff was fenced off regardeless, but we did sneak under every now and then to find some nice little gems. There is one large designated off-piste area, but this was closed and apparently is hardly ever open due to avalanche danger. They have a policy of not blasting in Furano and hence it takes a lot longer to settle. We had a look at the area and there were big horizontal cracks running through and it certainly looked unstable. Frustrated by this we again only stayed one day and then headed for our last stop, Tomamu. Hanging out for some good riding we finally found it here at a somewhat strange resort. This place was tucked away far from anywhere and the only accommodation available seemed to be large expensive hotels. Eating took place at even more expensive restaurants and nightlife was non-existent. The only cheap part was the all you can drink beer deal for 1200 yen at our hotel's buffet dinner. The riding however was awesome. The place seemed filled with package deal skiers who stuck to the groomers. Even though it had been around 5 days since the last snowfall, Olav and I found untracked powder on pretty much every run. The tree skiing was very interesting, with a nice mixture of open and tight stuff. After Niseko, this was easily our favourite place, and we ended up staying for two days. Tomamu is also where our snowboarding ended. After 3 weeks non-stop I felt my appetite for snow totally satisfied and ready to do something else.
After Olav departed I was left with a week to be normal tourist, so I headed down south to do some sightseeing. First off I booked myself on a 3 day Shinkansen Tour to Kyoto. Not having a JR Pass this seemed to be the cheapest way of getting around Japan. The tour simply includes Shinkansen (bullet train) tickets and hotel accommodation at a discounted rate, although still expensive. My reason for wanting to see Kyoto was because it was once the capital for over 1000 years and has an abundance of temples, shrines and palaces. The sights are somewhat spread around the city and I was recommend to hire a bike, but decided against it when I saw the amount of traffic and pedestrians. So the next few days were simply spent walking round looking at all the historical sites. The highlight had to be Nijo Castle and the biggest disappointment, the Imperial Palace. Here access was very limited and what we saw wasn't particularly spectacular. By the 3rd day I was all templed-out and happy to head back to Tokyo. The Shinkansen trains are very cool. Their punctuality, efficiency and the system in general is very impressive.
On getting back to Tokyo I had three more days before flying home to Oslo. To be honest, I wasn't really in the mood the be a tourist anymore but I did the obligatory tourist round of Shinjuku, Harajuku, Shibuya, Roppongi and Ginza. I transported myself with the help of the subway. Somewhat daunting and confusing for a start but you quickly get the hang of it and you have to be impressed by how smoothly things run for that size. I finally found a good deal on camera too. The strong yen means Japan is nowhere near as cheap as it was last year, but I still ended up getting a FujiFilm F100fd for a nice little price.
