The snow returns...

So much for "no snow for a while"



Fresh snow above my calves this morning on & off trail, and hardly anyone on the mountain. I just wish my legs weren't so tired! I lasted until 1, then pulled the pin because I was riding lazy. Found a few places where it was up to my waist, if it keeps snowing it'll be great tomorrow.

Nightrife

I went out with the guys from RPS on Sunday night. We went to Umi No Hana sushi which was fantastic. Check this out for a 3 person platter:


Then the trouble started. I'll say no more...


Last night I visited Doxon in Kitanomine. As always the doria curry was awesome. After eating the owner invited me down to the kitchen for dessert and a chat in english. You can't really feel any more welcome than that.

Tomamu Snowbohdo...

After 2 days in Furano, I checked out Tomamu Alpha Resort on Monday. No fresh snow but some good lines in the trees. Their backcountry/off-piste policy is interesting; to ride the trees you have to have a helmet and cellphone and register at the front desk. Then you get to wear a trendy yellow bib. Makes me feel like a racer though, so no probs. Racing through the kids park!:


Tomamu is a pretty interesting resort, it's almost eery riding there. There are 4 skyscraper towers around 40 storeys tall, as well as a heap of other big hotels, but there's noone there. Apparently the resort was built in the 80's when there was lots of money around but it's not that popular anymore. It's almost like finding a 'secret' resort. I went back for a second day while there wasn't any fresh snow in Furano.

Furano Snowbohdo

Alright, I'm here and I'm riding. Had a great day on Saturday and got to ride with Seki from the hotel. How anyone can ride a 154 in thigh deep powder and stay on top the whole time is beyond me. He's good!
Rode the rest of the morning with some of the RPS crew and found some great powder stashes around the mountain. We left around 2ish and then headed back for night skiing. I had a great time back on a smaller board and got better at a few tricks. Had dinner at North Country.

Sunday was sunny (which is rare) so not much fresh snow but some great views of the volcano. The legs are definitely starting to feel it, hopefully after a few more days I'll be over the initial soreness!



Vending Machine Drinks Of The Day:
Saturday: Salon de Cafe - cold iced coffee, not bad! (after the initial surprise of getting a cold coffee)

Sunday: Aquarius - the english label said something about repairing my parched body, after a hard morning of riding that sounded like exactly what I needed.

Herro Tokyo!

I got into Tokyo about 4:30. Not really much to report, smooth sailing throughout the flight and all the customs jazz. I got away with 23kg of checked luggage so thanks to the friendly old guy in CHCH that checked me in! Had a chat to a nice old Dutch couple in Auckland and had to laugh when the lady said "veeeeird" like in Goldmember. Then they trundled off to board Business Class, nice for some!

No dramas at all finding the hotel, compared to last times mad rush through the subways to make it to the backpackers with 10 minutes to spare before we would have had to sleep outside. I suppose that's the convenience of an airport hotel though. Early night tonight and off to Hokkaido in the morning, where I'll finally get to see some snow.

"Vending Machine Drink Of The Day"
Sapporo Beer - I've had it before, but the novelty of buying it from a vending machine is brilliant!

I Love Technology

Fantastic, the day that I leave, my ipod decides to play up. 15 new cds on my laptop to listen to, and I can't transfer them. Yay for Apple! Looks like I've pushed things too far by trying to use an ipod for 2 years when everyone knows they're only supposed to last one.

Post Number One

Okay, I've started this up to document my snowboard trip to Japan. Hopefully I'll be able to keep it up to date every few days, and add a few photos as well. Who knows, I might even keep it going once I've got home.

I've just spent the afternoon in the sun waxing my boards, which always seems like a funny contradiction to me - doing snow stuff in summer. "The big gun" is ready to go!: