Sliding through Japan
In January we spent 10 days in Japan where we explored a mix of culture, history, food, shopping and skiing.
It was nice to escape the steaming hot Perth summer in place of Japan’s cool winter and of course SNOW! We visited Osaka, Kyoto, Hakuba and Tokyo – all of which had something different to offer.
At the Shibuya Tokyo crossing
In Osaka, we visited Osaka Castle and enjoyed department store shopping. In Kyoto, which was the original capital city of Japan, we explored Nijo Castle, The Golden Pavilion, shrines, temples, samurais and more.
In Hakuba we skied and snowboarded for the first time. And in Tokyo we made the most of the winter sales, went to a sumo wrestling match (must do), spent an afternoon at Disneyland, visited Tsukiji fish market and more.
Osaka Castle
The Golden Pavilion
Sumo wrestling at Ryogoku
The snow and skiing/snowboarding in Hakuba was the main reason for this trip and was definitely a highlight. I skied and my partner snowboarded and we spent two full days trying to master the sport.
On the first day we both had beginner lessons in the morning. I must admit there were a few slippery moments where I almost ended up in the cafe, and on another occasion, taking out the board racks. By the end of my first lesson I could turn left and right and stop with my snow plow (when I didn’t get scared and lose control).
At the end of the lesson I convinced my partner we could take the chair lift up the small mountain behind my lesson and we would be experienced enough to ride down it. Sure enough he went down no problems at all, whereas I totally stacked it and gave up around 20m down.
After being told I couldn’t take the chair lift back down, he walked me down to the bottom of the mountain – what a relief! After lunch I decided another lesson was a must for me so I could at least conquer one mountain and booked in for beginner novice the next morning.
The mountain I didn’t make it down
Day two was a little more successful but I was still hopeless for the majority of it. We were separated into different groups of beginner novice standard and of course I was in the bottom group. Our instructor definitely had a lot of patience to handle the four ladies he was left with.
Throughout the 2.5 hour lesson we only made it down the mountain about four times as we were just so slow! By this stage I was too scared of not being able to stop so my snow plow was not going anywhere which meant I was so slow I almost wasn’t moving! I finally gave way a little and by the end of the lesson I managed to do a run with my partner, who had spent the morning practicing on a few different mountains.
My intense snow plow
I really did love Japan’s soft white powder snow! It was the perfect cushion every time I fell over, made amazing snow angels and made it so easy to build my snowman Bob. I definitely wished we had more time in Hakuba to perfect my skiing and experience other things like the snow monkeys and snowmobiles.
One highly recommended thing to try when you are on ski trip to Japan is an onsen – Japanese hot baths – as it’s the perfect recovery after a long day of skiing or snowboarding.
My snow angel
Our snowman Bob
I really enjoyed this trip to Japan. The Japanese people are some of the nicest people I have met and the food was delicious! Must try is the Ninja Restaurant in Tokyo. Can’t wait to go back one day!
Sword meal at Ninja Restaurant
Lobster at Ninja Restaurant