Tanoshikatta!
I'm back now from my trip to Niseko in Hokkaido. It was a great few days up in the mountains if Niseko, boarding and meeting mates.
Keiko and I decided to give the ferry a try, instead of flying up to Hokkaido. Obviously it took longer (20 hours versus 2), and there was a chance that the seas could be rough, but after flying out to Thailand a few weeks ago, I fancied a change. (And it would give me a chance to relive those memories of crossings from Hull to Rotterdam!)
After work on Tuesday, I finished packing, loaded the car and picked up Keiko. We drove up to Niigata an got on the ferry. We slept in the cabin beds and was woken up by announcements for the stop in Akita and for annoucements saying the restaurant was open for breakfast. Ignoring those, we slept through til about ten. We had a wander around the ferry then overdid it with the buffet dinner. Another nap and some reading and we were in Tomokomai, Hokkaido. The sea had been calm throughout, and with all that sleeping, I felt quite refreshed and ready for teh drive to Niseko.
I had been warned that roads in Hokkaido can be more hazardous than roads in Niigata. Luckily, the lack of snow meant teh roads were clear and we made it to Niseko in about two hours to meet up with Ben (for the first time in months), Simon, Akiko, Chuck and Amy in a bar called Jam We drank, had some food with hot chilli sauce and moved onto another place (Wild Bill's I think) where we met Debbie and Lindsey before heading back to Debs to sleep.
Day 2, we got an early start in the morning and, after coffee and bread, were on the slopes by 9.30. Debs had to go to work at 1pm so she gave us a quick tour around the Hirafu and Hanayama slopes. The weather was sunny and the slopes looked gorgeous. The volcano opposite was clear, which was unusual according to the locals. The pistes are quite wide, but there are also lots of areas between the pistes that you can also go. The last big snowfall was quite fresh between the trees so it was great to go in there. At 1pm, Debs left us so Lindsey, Keiko and I went for lunch (of course, katsu curry rice for me) and them met Emma. After leaving her Sado Island JET job, Emma has been travelling around and in now also working in Niseko. She showed us around her side of the mountain, Higashiyama, including the fantastic 'Limited' run. At the end of teh afternoon, we went to the place Emma works and had dinner. I chose the soup curry, which is a local specialty for Hokkaido. After Emma drove us back to the apartment and we took onsens and got ready for the evening. We met up with the others in a karaoke place underneath one of the hotels. After we'd killed songs for a couple of hours, we where merry and in the mode for more cat strangling. So we headed to another karaoke bar, Mascot, where we inflicted our bad singing on unsuspecting bystanders.
Day 3, another coffee and bread at the shop under the main gondola. The weather was colder than yesterday and the volcano was covered in cloud. Debs and I headed for the peak of the mountain, but the long hike to the top didn't look nice in minus 6 weather, so we took another route through teh backcountry from teh top most ski-lift. Debs took me to this excellent backcountry spot with loads fo trees and some araes of untouched powder. It took us a good twenty minutes before we hit the access road back to the piste and probably the best twenty minutes boarding of the trip. He hiked back to the road and met up with Simon and the others in the rest house. We took a break for pizza man and coffee and then tried out the skate park. It had a half-pipe (the only decent one I've seen all season) some kickers, rails and boxes. it was a pretty good park and we stayed all afternoon. In the evening we went to a restuarant in a mongolian yurt. I was hoping for lots of lamb based foods (another specialty of Hokkaido) but most of teh food was Thai. It was really tasty though and I was able to drink local Niseko beer (a bit like ale from home). After we went to Fatty's where Debbie works. They where having a final night event and all drinks were 300 yen. It wasn't long before I was drunk and sleepy (forgot to nap in teh afternoon) and ordered to home by Lindsey.
Day 4 and I had a steaming hangover. Still, coffee, bread an crisp air on the slopes had me feeling much better and desperate to get as much boarding in as I could before we left in the afternoon. We had another session on the park before Simon and teh others left to go pack their things. I took a few runs through the trees on the way back before finishing for the day. We all met at Jo-Jo's for an amazing burger. Jo-Jo's in in the Niseko Adventure Centre which also houses it's own climbing wall. By 5, Keiko and I were ready to leave and saying our goodbyes before driving up to Sapporo. We met Simon and teh others at the hotel and we went out for food and beers. The hotel recommended a 'Jingis Khan' restaurant which is lamb-based yakiniku. We ordered a two-hour nomi-tabe hodai (all you can eat and drink) and got throughly stuffed. The night felt young at 11pm so we stopped at a karaoke place for song-killing and another nomihodai. Good fun and a good way to round off teh weekend.
Day 5, Keiko and I drove to Otaru to catch the ferry back to Niigata. We slept a little, read a little and watched a movie in teh afternoon. We had dinner, a bath and then went to sleep by 11pm (lights out). We woke at 5, got our bags ready and were in Niigata for 6am. Again, the sea was calm so I felt pretty refreshed after twenty hours of relaxing.
And that was my trip to Hokkaido. It was great funand I'm seriously considering going again next year. I might even head up in summer to enjoy the mountains without snow. Wanna join me?
Keiko and I decided to give the ferry a try, instead of flying up to Hokkaido. Obviously it took longer (20 hours versus 2), and there was a chance that the seas could be rough, but after flying out to Thailand a few weeks ago, I fancied a change. (And it would give me a chance to relive those memories of crossings from Hull to Rotterdam!)
After work on Tuesday, I finished packing, loaded the car and picked up Keiko. We drove up to Niigata an got on the ferry. We slept in the cabin beds and was woken up by announcements for the stop in Akita and for annoucements saying the restaurant was open for breakfast. Ignoring those, we slept through til about ten. We had a wander around the ferry then overdid it with the buffet dinner. Another nap and some reading and we were in Tomokomai, Hokkaido. The sea had been calm throughout, and with all that sleeping, I felt quite refreshed and ready for teh drive to Niseko.
I had been warned that roads in Hokkaido can be more hazardous than roads in Niigata. Luckily, the lack of snow meant teh roads were clear and we made it to Niseko in about two hours to meet up with Ben (for the first time in months), Simon, Akiko, Chuck and Amy in a bar called Jam We drank, had some food with hot chilli sauce and moved onto another place (Wild Bill's I think) where we met Debbie and Lindsey before heading back to Debs to sleep.
Day 2, we got an early start in the morning and, after coffee and bread, were on the slopes by 9.30. Debs had to go to work at 1pm so she gave us a quick tour around the Hirafu and Hanayama slopes. The weather was sunny and the slopes looked gorgeous. The volcano opposite was clear, which was unusual according to the locals. The pistes are quite wide, but there are also lots of areas between the pistes that you can also go. The last big snowfall was quite fresh between the trees so it was great to go in there. At 1pm, Debs left us so Lindsey, Keiko and I went for lunch (of course, katsu curry rice for me) and them met Emma. After leaving her Sado Island JET job, Emma has been travelling around and in now also working in Niseko. She showed us around her side of the mountain, Higashiyama, including the fantastic 'Limited' run. At the end of teh afternoon, we went to the place Emma works and had dinner. I chose the soup curry, which is a local specialty for Hokkaido. After Emma drove us back to the apartment and we took onsens and got ready for the evening. We met up with the others in a karaoke place underneath one of the hotels. After we'd killed songs for a couple of hours, we where merry and in the mode for more cat strangling. So we headed to another karaoke bar, Mascot, where we inflicted our bad singing on unsuspecting bystanders.
Day 3, another coffee and bread at the shop under the main gondola. The weather was colder than yesterday and the volcano was covered in cloud. Debs and I headed for the peak of the mountain, but the long hike to the top didn't look nice in minus 6 weather, so we took another route through teh backcountry from teh top most ski-lift. Debs took me to this excellent backcountry spot with loads fo trees and some araes of untouched powder. It took us a good twenty minutes before we hit the access road back to the piste and probably the best twenty minutes boarding of the trip. He hiked back to the road and met up with Simon and the others in the rest house. We took a break for pizza man and coffee and then tried out the skate park. It had a half-pipe (the only decent one I've seen all season) some kickers, rails and boxes. it was a pretty good park and we stayed all afternoon. In the evening we went to a restuarant in a mongolian yurt. I was hoping for lots of lamb based foods (another specialty of Hokkaido) but most of teh food was Thai. It was really tasty though and I was able to drink local Niseko beer (a bit like ale from home). After we went to Fatty's where Debbie works. They where having a final night event and all drinks were 300 yen. It wasn't long before I was drunk and sleepy (forgot to nap in teh afternoon) and ordered to home by Lindsey.
Day 4 and I had a steaming hangover. Still, coffee, bread an crisp air on the slopes had me feeling much better and desperate to get as much boarding in as I could before we left in the afternoon. We had another session on the park before Simon and teh others left to go pack their things. I took a few runs through the trees on the way back before finishing for the day. We all met at Jo-Jo's for an amazing burger. Jo-Jo's in in the Niseko Adventure Centre which also houses it's own climbing wall. By 5, Keiko and I were ready to leave and saying our goodbyes before driving up to Sapporo. We met Simon and teh others at the hotel and we went out for food and beers. The hotel recommended a 'Jingis Khan' restaurant which is lamb-based yakiniku. We ordered a two-hour nomi-tabe hodai (all you can eat and drink) and got throughly stuffed. The night felt young at 11pm so we stopped at a karaoke place for song-killing and another nomihodai. Good fun and a good way to round off teh weekend.
Day 5, Keiko and I drove to Otaru to catch the ferry back to Niigata. We slept a little, read a little and watched a movie in teh afternoon. We had dinner, a bath and then went to sleep by 11pm (lights out). We woke at 5, got our bags ready and were in Niigata for 6am. Again, the sea was calm so I felt pretty refreshed after twenty hours of relaxing.
And that was my trip to Hokkaido. It was great funand I'm seriously considering going again next year. I might even head up in summer to enjoy the mountains without snow. Wanna join me?
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home