Japan Part I: Niseko

The journey over to Japan was a long one: our flight in Shanghai got delayed, which caused us to miss our connection in Osaka where they told us that the next flight out to Sapporo was also delayed and could potentially turn around once in the air if the weather worsened. We took our chances and in the meantime, enjoyed wonderful Japanese innovations like an auto-dispensing draft beer machine:

Thankfully, we made it to Sapporo later that night, about 15 hours after leaving our place in Shanghai. But our travels weren't over yet; the next day we took a three-hour bus ride to the mountains of Niseko.

We chose to stay in Hirafu, part of Niseko, a ski resort seemingly overrun by Aussies. It's a very cool place, with the same mellow vibe that's so characteristic of mountain towns, but where bowls of ramen replace bowls of chili.

Mike booked us at the Niseko Prince Hotel where we stayed in a traditional Japanese room, complete with tatami mat flooring and a private onsen (like a jacuzzi minus the bubbles). In theory, sleeping on tatami mats is lovely; in practice, and after long days on the mountain, not so much. The private onsen, however, was crucial.  

Top photo: onsen; bottom photo: mountain view from onsen

The snow was fantastic; Mike was in heaven. Somewhat new to the whole snowboarding thing (and being the LA girl that I am), I had moments when I questioned what the f*ck I was doing in such cold. But I also had moments of pure joy when all I wanted to do was get one more run in.

See that thermometer? Minus 10 degrees celsius!

Up next: Fatty Tuesday, Japan-style.

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

We're in Beijing!

We spent most of today traveling by train from Shanghai to Beijing, and although the landscapes were beautiful (think: farms and fields and small villages), I slept most of the way thanks to our 5:00 a.m. wake-up call. 

And this evening, we went snowboarding. Didn't know there was snowboarding in Beijing? Me neither. But if there was any kind of snowboarding to be found in the city's vicinity, my husband would be the one to find it. The "mountain" was an indoor ski slope just outside the city; as you can imagine, expectations were low. Once inside what looked like two or three merged warehouses, we were pleasantly surprised to find two decent-sized bunny slopes, one slightly bigger than the other, with a jump and rails for Mike, and soft "snow" for me. This was certainly no Squaw, but it was a fun couple of hours that made up for missing opening day -- which Mike hasn't missed for the last 10 or so years.