Hachikita ni ita, skitte mimasu

This weekend I embarked into the northern winter wonderland of Hyogo prefecture with my colleagues from work for a short two-day ski trip. Our destination was Hachikita, one of the biggest and most popular resorts in the region. I was a little nervous since it was my first time doing any sort of winter sport, but still very eager as it was something I’d wanted to try since I was small.

A quick peruse of the resorts website the night before revealed that there were rental places with my shoe size so all systems were go. It was an early start as the drive would take us about 3 hours but I still wasn’t over jetlag at this point so rising early didn’t prove too difficult. As we got closer the temperature dropped considerably and soon we were surrounded by a wide snowscape. The northern region of Hyogo is particularly pretty at this time as it is much more rural with many snowcapped mountains and fields of white.

 

After a brief stop to put chains on the car we were up the mountain and ready to get kitted out. Snow sports are absolutely huge in Japan and now I finally understand why. It’s actually not incredibly expensive to do. Hire of all the gear, ski’s, boots and clothing, as well as a lift pass came in at under 8000 yen. This combined with the shear number of ski resorts, all those mountains are good for something ey, makes the whole thing much more accessible than in the UK.

Testament to this was the large volume of people on the slopes. Not just numbers but also a range of ages, from toddlers to pensioners. I went with Ski’s on the advice of friends, it was apparently easier to pick up, and after getting kitted out I was left to my own devices. I didn’t have a clue what I was doing but I did enroll in a ski school to get the basics. Sadly I missed the morning class so I just dosed around on the nursery slope till the afternoon.

 

The afternoon was much more fun however. I Joined a mother and her small child in the absolute beginners class (初めてです。) to learn the fundamentals. I quickly grasped how to stop and was told to progress to a different class as I was a little more advanced than my class mates.

The second class had me joining three kids between about 10 and 14 (I think) and was a good giggle. The instructor was really chatty and the kids kept spouting phrases at me in English followed by much laughing. It was a bit annoying but I know I do the same since I really want to practice my Japanese. After learning how to stop and turn safely I went to my first proper slope and after a few goes I could slide all the way down without falling.

 

By 4:30pm it was time to leave and after meeting up with everyone we bundled back into the car to set off for our accommodation for the night. I was pretty happy with how the day had gone, I didn’t fall over too much an even had an excellent opportunity to practice my language skills, all the classes were taught in Japanese though I guess they were fairly visual.

That night we stayed in a Ryokan, traditional Japanese guesthouse, in the wonderful Onsen (hot springs) town of Yumura. Yumura has a long history, having been established as an Onsen town over 1100 years ago. The temperature of the springs at the source is an impressive 98⁰c and many tourists buy eggs from nearby shops to cook in the springs. Alongside the river the are also many places to bathe your tired feet. The whole town has a great aesthetic feel of old time Japan and it really was very scenic.

Inside the ryokan we donned our Yukata and bathed our weary muscles in the inns hot tubs, also fed from the hot springs. Onsens are definitely one of the best things about doing any kind of sport in Japan.  I went back to the room to get changed again and on my way heard one of the older members of staff mumble something I doubt was too kind about rowdy foreigners when she thought she was alone. Classic 本音　(ones true feelings) and 建前　(ones public feelings) in action.

After that it was back up to the second floor to get our lavishly prepared traditional Japanese meal. Sadly the area is particularly famous for crab and beef, two things I couldn’t eat but was assured were delicious, however as the meal consisted of about 12 different dishes I didn’t go hungry. Well fed we went back to our room, I think our boss had hoped for a night of drinking and chatting but everyone was wiped and asleep by about ten.

The following day we were up early and after a quick soak in the tub it was time for breakfast. As with dinner it consisted of many small dishes. Most of it was fine and in fact I quite like miso in the morning but I still can’t stomach rice. Fish no problem, tofu, ok, but rice just doesn't sit right. My boss asked me what a normal English breakfast was like so I decided to try and explain egg and soldiers to his amusement.

We headed back to the slopes and they were as packed as the day before. I was now faced with a dilemma. Do I ski, which I’d picked up fairly quickly and thus could see a lot of the mountain, or do I give snowboarding a bash. My ego got the better of me. I’d really wanted to try snowboarding and I figured since I’d skateboarded for like 4 years it couldn’t be too difficult right?

Wrong. I spent the morning on my bum. I could go forward but I just couldn’t figure out how to turn the board to stop and so rather than crash into anyone I just threw myself at the floor. After a frustrating two hours I joined the guys for lunch, taking a break from the assault on wrists and rear.

Now I had a choice. I could try and get some lessons again but then I’d lose another two hours and not get to see much. I opted to figure out on my own and, rather stupidly now I look back at it, took the ski lift to the top. I strapped on my board and just went for it, worst come the worst I could just go down on my bum.

I’m not sure how but I realized that I actually found it easier to ride switch, opposite foot forward. Suddenly I had more control and could brake and turn a bit. Now that I could control my speed a bit I made my way to the bottom. I still fell over but not quite as much. Feeling a bit more confident I rode up to the top again, the height and incline not quite as daunting as before. It was a lot of fun now I could pick were I was going and how fast to go. I’m glad I kept at it in the end, though my body isn’t, boarding was a lot more fun than skiing once I could bomb it down the slope safely. I definitely want to go again though maybe once my bum has recovered a bit.

 

 Mata kondo ne.