back to basics
Woke up early next morning after a hectic flight from Tokyo to Hokkaido. It’s around my third time here now, after the Snow Festivals and Hokkaido in Summer.
I had to take a long walk to Sapporo station, having to take refuge from the cold just to eat breakfast.
It was quite gruesome but I eventually made it and after a 2-3 hour bus ride, I finally got to Niseko.
There she stood. Libby. A Couchsurfer from Australia that I hosted way back. Did a lot of fun stuff from hiking Mt. Takao to the winter illuminations at Oi Racecourse.
We went to a nearby café to chill while I wait for my gear. We had a quick lunch and then we were off to the slopes. It was my second time trying out snowboarding, the first being at Fujiten Snow Resort in Kawaguchiko.
This time around, I had Libby to teach me, I also had a couple of months worth of breakdancing built into my body so learning the basic proved to be quite easy: from strapping on of boots, moving one-legged, going downhill with the heel and toe edge, though the toe-edge was very difficult for me.
I also got the falling leaf technique down which I used a lot.
All in all, it was quite fun and for my first day, I was glad I got the hang of it almost immediately.
wow niseko
Afterwards, we started to head back to Wow Lodge, the place where Libby was staying and where I was crashing for the next few weeks or so.
The walk was hard as I didn’t have any shoes for the snow, ice and snow were getting in my socks. The flurries were also quite intense, blocking the view, it was pretty much a blizzard which was fun on the slopes as the snow cushioned my fall but it was difficult heading back as the walk took a good 15 minutes.
We finally got back and I got to relax at Libby’s place.
The place was really nice and cozy, with a lot of room for interaction like the cafeteria and the TV room. I was resting for a bit before getting invited to join everyone downstairs for some drinks and card games.
I met a lot of people there including Dan, Joe, Sam, Kyle, Ami, Hina, and Momo, Ryoppi and of course, Libby’s boyfriend Kieran later that night.
We played some Uno and had a couple of shots and food, it made for a pretty good first day.
visiting kutchan & night riding
The second day was much more chill with the morning snow pouring outside, I was quite embarrassed to have snored the night away.
Poor Libby and Kieran.
We lazed around for a bit before Libby and I went to Aya to have lunch and then tried to do some more snowboarding.
This time around went much better, had some rough falls but still I was getting the hang of it.
A lot of my time in Niseko was a blur really, but I remember we also went to Kutchan that day to meet one of Libby’s friends. We played some darts in his man-cave garage with another dude.
We went to the supermarket as well to get some more food for the rest of the week as we were planning for a Mexican night.
We also did some night riding, it was here where I really started to enjoy snowboarding though I also did a tomohawk and planted hard on the ground.
Very memorable and very painful.
onsen
I rode with Momo today, she picked me up in her car and drove us to another slope area.
It was fun, and I was still trying to get used to my toe-edges with no luck as I kept on falling. The slopes were also pretty wild but it was still very fun.
My ankles started to hurt though and we had to stop after a couple of runs.
We ended up back in Wow Lodge where I just had a nice rest.
Kieran and I were relaxing in Momo’s room for a bit. Afterwards, we had a nice day trip to Goshiki Onsen to remove all the fatigue from snowboarding. Sam, Ryoppi and Takuto as well as Ami, Hina and Momo came with.
A quaint and unassuming place, we were the only ones there. Surrounded by snow, it was definitely a Japan vibe.
The guys made snow dicks and titties by the outdoor baths which was pretty funny. It was just us and the snow reached several meters high, what a relaxing ambiance.
I also showed them some breakdancing and taught them some easy moves like the baby freeze.
new year's in niseko
New Year’s Eve, one of the most memorable moments of the night was me eating a whole-ass Vienetta cake at night time.
We had our pre-game and some fun at the lounge where we took our nice photos. Libby gave me some vintage-looking photographs taken from her special camera.
After a couple of more drinks, we started our long but fun walk in to the blizzardy cold.
We went to Tamashi, the only bar open in Niseko at that time. Everyone else had the same idea, we had our New Year countdown and a lot of dumb stuff happened, there were some fireworks outside and Joe and I shared a long conversation before heading back to Wow Lodge. This friendship later solidified further as we went on to explore Kagoshima and Miyazaki in the near future.
On this night, the legend of Hina was born and was passed down to our circle of friends.
the last few days
Hangover day and lazy day. The blizzard was at full force so it wasn’t a good riding day.
Kieran, Libby and I lazed about inside and watched a Netflix mockumentary called Death to 2020.
At night, Sam, Joe and I went to Kutchan’s MaxValue and found whopping sales up to 90%. Needless to say, we bought so much and had a feast back at the lodge.
Some solo riding on January 2, Libby joined me later but I was able to get amazing views of Mt. Yotei with a sunset, it was a very rare sight on a very rare clear day during winter.
My last day in Niseko. Libby and Kieran went out riding with me, we headed up to the top of the mountain with the hooded lift and I was able to experience amazing powder, at knee length.
I wasn’t even feeling it at all and I felt like I was floating on clouds.
It was a wonderful send-off, as we waited for my bus together. I was really thankful for the whole Niseko experience and especially to Libby for inviting me over.
