February 21- March 2, 2008 Cost $3,750
9 of us set off with a mixture of exhilaration, anticipation and a very small amount of trepidation towards the tiny, relatively remote area on the globe known for having the 2nd largest amount of snow in world.
Many did not know anyone else, but that changed quickly. The bonds grew instantly while climbing the bronze cats at Pearson’s Terminal 1 departure lounge and continued to strengthen. Everyone wanted to take full advantage of the time to absorb as much of the local culture and sights as possible.
The first 12-hour flight seemed to go by relatively quickly between all the mood-setting Asian style food that was served, beverage service, movies, chatting, reading and naps. We got to Tokyo and picked up our bags without incidence or loss. Our tour guide, Haruko was waiting in the arrivals lounge with a “High Park Ski Club” sign and she escorted us to our 20-odd-seat tour bus, where the driver obligingly helped load our bags. This was the talisman of things to come for the most part and a true indication of the hard-working, exacting, professional Japanese culture that we’ve all heard of. On our drive across Tokyo, knowledgeable Haruko gave a light-hearted running commentary on all the sights in her slightly broken, though excellent English. The city is clean and modern but not as imposing as we’d expected.
Le Meridien Pacific Hotel Tokyo is located in the south part of the city across the road from the main train station, JR Shingawa. There are water lilies, ferns and rocks gently blooming out of a beautiful, calming pond with a tall, slender waterfall flowing into it off the buffet restaurant to the side of the cavernous, elegant main lobby. In the rooms (reasonably sized by western standards) they provided beautiful linen kimonos in white with a simple, blue pattern printed on it.
On our first night we walked through the station and hordes of people at about 7pm coming from work and heading out for dinner, dressed in their dark conservative suits with crisp white shirts. We found ourselves at a large intersection with cross-walk stripes reminiscent of Abbey Road and tall buildings glowing with vibrant neon signs. Narrow streets ran from the intersection like tentacles of an octopus. There were endless tiny restaurants on street level and above. We bypassed some restaurants and discovered many others were full. Off these streets were some narrower laneways. Our adventurous natures led us down these alleys, where we discovered a multitude more tiny restaurants with bamboo and frosted glass sliding doors. Most restaurateurs did not speak English but the universal head shaking indicated that most were full. We wandered up a winding set of cement stairs on the outside of one building. The restaurant we found could only hold a few of us. We were beginning to think we would have to split up, when we lucked upon the restaurant one level up. The cheerful owner instructed us to take our shoes off and go into the back room, where we sat on the floor at a table with our feet in a well underneath. Again, the owner spoke very little English, but brought us menus with pictures. In his halting English, he told us proudly that he had visited Niagara Falls. Smiling constantly, he explained our options and helped us choose. I had thought I wasn’t hungry, but after looking at the beautiful food on the menu, consisting mostly of sashimi and sushi, I couldn’t resist and over-ordered, not for the last time on this trip. I felt like I’d died and gone to heaven. We shared a couple of large bottles of Asaki, one of Japan’s lager-style beers with a crisp, clean finish.
In the morning some of us braved the traditional Japanese restaurant, with some complications trying to get a coffee. The restaurant overlooked a nicely coiffed garden with some lovely purple flowers in bloom. At this point I was pre-occupied with the food and skiing was somewhere off in the future. Breakfast was presented on a wooden tray with about a dozen little colourful ceramic bowls and plates all elegantly laden with unusual jewels like an oval poached egg in a crystal clear pool of savoury caramel sauce, a bowl of miso soup with seaweed and tofu, pickled fruits and salads and a bowl of congee (rice porridge), a glass of juice and a cup of green tea amongst other things. The Japanese seem to eat a pretty large breakfast.
Off we went for a fantastic tour of Tokyo. We visited the Imperial Palace (the outside of it anyway…it’s only open on the Emperors birthday and my father’s birthday..seriously!), surrounded by a large stone wall above a moat. A very symmetrical double-arched bridge leads your eye to one of the main buildings at the front. Again the garden was beautifully coiffed with the national stubby windblown evergreen trees and the buildings have that very soothing layered and curved roof line. This used to be Edo Castle.
After the Palace we headed for Asakusabashi, famous for its myriad electronics and computer shops. We got off the bus to find ourselves in front of one of the true symbols of Japan; a “corner store” made up of outdoor vending machines selling everything from pops and snacks to hot and cold coffee or green tea in a can. These are everywhere and often even sell beer (like at the hotels, ski hill and even the airports).We were on a bridge above an arm of the Sumida river surrounded by business signs in strong primary colours, one of which was the familiar Toshiba sign. We wandered through an electronics supermarket which had at least 5 floors of TV’s, camera’s, stereos, computers and other items. I found it overwhelming, though if you know exactly what you are looking for and know the comparative prices, you might fare better.
The last stop before lunch was Asakusa Shrine, the 5-storied pagoda and Asakusa Kannon Temple. We entered through Kaminarimon Gate, walked up a market alley full of stalls selling all kinds of Japanese knick-knacks and snacks made on the spot. Overhead, on each side, was a row of fake in-bloom cherry blossom twigs, creating a delicate canopy above the market. We arrived at a stand where we threw some money into the middle and poured water over our hands which blessed us. Then there was another one with incense smoke that you pull towards you with scooped hands and direct to certain parts of your body to heal your ills. A lady had a red-faced monkey who did all sorts of tricks from walking on its hands up a flight of stairs to walking on stilts. At the base of the stairs leading to the temple were 2 huge stone lions. Snuggled between the front feet of one of them was a little tabby cat all curled up and absolutely indifferent to the world around. There were some beautiful mythical paintings and statues around. We got our fortunes at one wall. After, we wandered through the market which also spilled out into some side streets and warehouse buildings. It was endless and vibrantly colourful.
In the afternoon we went up Tokyo Tower, wandered through the funky small streets of Shinjuku and the Yorkville-esque Harajuku. We also made it to Tokyo’s oldest Shinto Temple, Asakusa. What a stunning, calming spot. The trees, light, and grand gate were perfectly aligned, as were the buildings. There was a bride in the midst of photographs in a traditional white kimono and huge black head-dress. It was stunning.
After the tour we had dinner in the region of Shibuya at a mixed Asian restaurant and then headed to Ropongi to determine if the stories told by one of the party animals on the trip were true. He found a karaoke bar for us offering “Nami Hodai”: Happy Hour: All you can drink in 1 hour, but you can’t order one until you’ve finished your current one. Anyway, we sang our little hearts out. Luckily the rooms are sound-proof. Then we found a night club and the first person we met was from Ontario. We certainly didn’t feel very far from home. We danced up a storm for a while and then found another fun place where we danced some more. Who knows what time it was when we finally took a taxi home..after prying a certain person from his new-found friends….it’s not at all what you think! Then he snuck back on his own again! Ah well! Apparently we’re all adults and he was there for the bus to the airport in the morning, with is fist thrusting up into the air and shouting loudly “ROPONGI!!!!” Of course, he was not alone in this.
Our final morning in Tokyo and I tried the buffet breakfast out of curiosity. It was quite good, but not as interesting in my mind as the true restaurant. The view is much nicer. Unfortunately the waterfall was turned off, likely due to the high winds. The ducks were getting blown all over the place.
Our new guide was there, but it seemed to take some time to get everything on the bus. She indicated there may be cancellations and/or delays at the airport due to the weather. Sure enough, many flights had been cancelled or delayed and the airport was a seething mass of people and bags. Our guide ran around trying to figure out where we should be. By the time it got sorted out we only had ½ hour left before the plane was due to depart and we hadn’t checked in yet. She stood in line quietly while the person in front of us did what he had to do in slow motion. Finally our turn came up and everyone was in a panic. After some tense moments we did make it. The wind was still howling and there was some turbulence. We didn’t have time to eat at the airport and they did not serve us lunch on the plane. We got to Chitose Airport in Sapporo and there was our guide as expected. We all ran around ordering lunch and a drink to take on the bus with us. We had a huge 48-seater to ourselves again, with rumble seats. After settling in and eating everyone stretched out in their own row for a little nap on our long but scenic ride. There were birch trees, small lakes and volcanoes all over the place and the sun was setting. The snow was falling. There was so much of it! On several occasions we got turned back due to road closures from the snow. Everyone took it well except the bus driver, who was cursing and swearing (some things you can just tell from inflection). Our guide was pretty quiet and did not speak much English, but she did manage to provide some information. We had a little rest-stop of 15 minutes at a funky little road-house/market-type store. They were selling Japanese preserves, dried fruits (like kiwi), all sorts of candies, rice snacks of all kinds and wild mushrooms. I was going to be in heaven on earth! Big powder, wild mushrooms galore, fresh seafood everywhere, lamb and beef! Wow! Too bad we only had 15 minutes! I could have spent hours in there. We got to the hotel finally. The attendants spoke less English than our guide, so this was an interesting challenge. Anyway, we got things sorted out. If you wanted to eat at the hotel you had to order 2-3 days in advance or buy dried noodle soups from the gift shop. They also had a variety of snacks like sweet dried little fish. Personally, I quite enjoyed it. We went for dinner at a BBQ restaurant that was full of smoke (mostly from the meat that you cook on your own grill at your own table) and there was lots of action. Again, you paid for a time frame and then ate like mad…the more time you take the more it costs. We went up to the buffet (4 fridges like those in the supermarket that you look down into). There was an assortment of vegetables (including a couple of types of wild mushrooms), meats and seafood. It was lots of fun and relatively tasty.
Breakfast was on the 5th floor with a phenomenal view of the valley on 1 side and a ski hill on the other. Directly below was the Onsen (hot-spring bath) with a pagoda in the middle. It was lovely, surrounded by snow in that calming, artistic Japanese style, with steam rising above it. In the morning we decided to get going really early to take a taxi into town for those of us who needed to rent skis. We found a great place (InSki) where some Aussies worked and they all spoke English. They had some amazing skis and we were set up relatively quickly. We planned on skiing over the top and took the Gondola up, followed by the Swinging Monkey Chair, but ran into a block and were late reaching the concerned group at the other hill. In the meantime, we found an incredible stash of fresh powder (I didn’t tell them that :~}. Anyway we all met as planned and had a fantastic lunch experience at the bottom of Annpuri ski hill. As at most of the restaurants on the hill their menu consists of a glass cabinet full of plastic renditions of the meals with numbers and explanations of what they are in English and Japanese. You put money into a “vending machine”, which gives you a ticket. You take this into the dining room and hand it in at the bar. Then they call your number when it is ready. Here you get Sashimi, Sushi, Hot Pots, Pork Cutlets, Udon Soup bowls, curries, and other incredible foods. The presentation is amazing and the food is fantastic. You order your beverages in the same fashion.
Don, our Powder Scout made a point of taking various lifts with different people outside our group and came up with some great information regarding where to ski. The snow was unbelievable! Deep, light and fluffy! And for the most part it stayed like that all week. The lifts were an assortment of old and new and varied from a 1-person chair lift with no safety-bar to a modern pod-type gondola and everything in-between (though no t-bars). There was always a high pitched Japanese female sing-song voice at the top of the lift telling you to lift your tips & prepare to offload, which provided a futuristic feel.
Apres ski involved gathering in the lobby of our small hotel with beer from the vending machine, in our kimono’s, after soaking in the Onsen and perhaps napping.
We spent our evenings in various manners. Sometimes we had pot-luck at the hotel or a quick bite at a casual restaurant. One night we went to a really nice fusion (Italian/Japanese) restaurant. We explored all the bars in Hirafu (which is the main town and place to be). There were a couple of ice bars that were interesting for a quick drink. Bar Barunda was a favourite, with an Indonesian feel. For the most part the majority of us were relatively tame though one night someone got into the game of hat-testing and he even wore a tiara briefly. Once the dancing started we knew the show was about to begin. On our last night we ordered a fantastic traditional Japanese dinner to have at the hotel. It consisted of Hot Pots…big urns of hot soup with platters of vegetables, meats, noodles and seafoods to cook in them. It was very interactive, tasty and lots of fun. We wrapped up our stay with a round of karaoke, which was good fun. Everyone got involved and the last note of “Baby We Were Born to Runnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn was held so long we thought it would never end. At that point another patron of the hotel came in & asked how long we would be. That was our cue to head to bed and prepare for the long travel day ahead.
The hotel prepared us a beautiful warm triangle of rice stuffed with pickled plum and wrapped in sushi seaweed along with a few other bits and pieces. This was our breakfast on the go. It was quite tasty. At the airport in Saporro we were astounded by the selection of food being sold. It was like a fish market and incredibly colourful. Of course there were other food products and knick-knacks for sale as well. The trip home, though long, was uneventful and many indicated they would like to do it again next year.
If you have a group who is interested in skiing in Japan, ADVENTOURUS Active Vacations can help you put it together. Visit www.ADVENTOURUS.com.
