Zhoumo kuaile!

You may remember that the question asked among expats in December is, "When are you going home?" whereas the question asked at this time of the year is, "Where are you spending Chinese New Year?"

For us, it's Japan! (It was South Korea last year.) This time next week, we'll be on a plane to Sapporo (after a very short layover in Osaka). We spend one night in Sapporo where we hope to catch a glimpse of the city's Snow Festival that starts a few days after our arrival. It promises streets and parks lined and filled with snow and ice sculptures. From there, we head to the mountains (Hirafu) for three days of snowboarding. To give you an idea of the conditions, it's been snowing there every day since Dec. 28 (excited husband!).

We'll end the trip in Tokyo with a couple of days filled with sushi, sake, and shopping (although I imagine the sake will likely get previewed in Hirafu during après-ski.)

Last year's requisite snowboarding pic