Merry Xmas 2006 in Aomori, Japan
This is hopefully my last Christmas away from home / family for some time to come. It has been some five years since I last did it but this time was my first completely on my own.
I was up at dawn and off into the hills after stuffing my face at the eat-all-you-can buffet breakfast at my hotel. First stop was Moya Hills, a skiing / boarding place. Boring as hell - only half of the lifts open and the life groomed out of the runs that were there.
The second stop was Mount Hakkoda which was the best place I have been in Japan. Pricey, but well worth it for the 5 or 7km long runs through the lollipop trees. The scenery was stunning and the clouds parted at all the right times for me to get the shots I wanted. The boarding was challenging and interesting. You couldn't get one of those damned grooming machines down the runs. Finally, I lost my sunglasses on the way down (I was being a bit too ambitious with my jumps) and actually had tem handed back to me with a Merry Christmas to boot. Now I know I love Alpine boarding.
I never did manage to find the onsen I wanted to go to. I did manage to find a good yakiniku shop. No turkey on the menu though, I am afraid. Here are some more photos:
Moya Hills - though I love boarding I hate what the resorts do to the views.
The top of Hakkoda - see what I mean about the trees?
Partyway down the hill on the forest course. The trees were not so heavily coated here.
Labels: Aomori, Hakkoda, Japan, snow, snowboarding
Off to Lake Tazawa for boarding and sightseeing
I was up at 5am to get my guzzler off the boat. As soon as I was off the ramp i was off and into the countryside at the part where Akita meets Iwate, in the middle of Touhoku.
The first thing that struck me was the ominous lack of snow anywhere in sight. As I got clear of the city and out into the badlands things started to look up and I started seeing patches of white between the trees in my headlights. It must have been a good hour and a half before I stopped for food and fluid. I spotted that the convenience store had wireless internet for free so I took five minutes to check everything out and email the missus. The map seemed clear enough so I ploughed on, keeping my eyes open for those joke signs the japanese put up up to three junctions before the one they refer to.
I got there at about 8am and headed straight for the ski-slopes. First stop was tazawako-kogen. Strike one: though they were recruiting for staff outside I tried to get on the slope. "Nope," I was told, "try the mountain dear." Now in English this looks like she forgot a comma in being friendly, but in Japanese it can only mean a kind of animal related to Rudolph, of red nose fame. I left none the wiser than you.
Luckily, I had planned for this and my backup was to head up through the mountains to a place called Hachimantai, a national park surrounded by ski fields. Straight up 341, turn left after 30km or so. Or not. Now I know how Gandalf felt on Kharadras. My mountain didn't need the help of Saruman to see me off, just a guy in a uniform to lock the gates. Strike two.
After a long, hard look at the map I noticed a ski-place called Kamoshika Gellende. That means Mountain Dear Skiing Place to you and me. Arrive at ten, check the price, decide to give it a while because the first day of opening is half price. I buy a 1,800yen 5 hour ticket. Gear on, boots tight, goggles on and off I went.
I had a great time. I'm no great shakes but I was probably the best boarder there. All the newbies were snowploughing the life out of the middle of the track. I saw a few guys go off through the trees on the left so I took the right and stayed there all day. Six inches of powder and a fresh track each time. All I needed from that day. I got my Ollies, jumps and 180s going by the end and had a thoroughly satisfying two hours of it, after which my knees teamed-up with my thigh muscles to call things to a close. On the way out i managed to flog my ticket to a guy for half price so I was well-chuffed.
After that I wandered round taking photos, hooning about in my car and searching for my vaguely located Youth Hostel. The people there were really friendly. For those who have never stayed in a Japanese youth hostel, let me assure you the message was lost somewhere along the way to Japan. A huge room to myself, parafin heater and a hot bath. Also, I am afraid to tell you die-hard hostelers, there was a beer machine inside.
The only slight blemish was the curfew at 9pm. This was enforced by hiding the guests shoes. Not that i wanted to go anywhere, but I left my towel in the car and was forced to use a Tshirt instead. Luckily no-one caught me.
So what does Akita look like then? Here you go:
This is Lake Tazawa. It is almost round. Note the lack of snow on the hills!
This the beautiful waterfall I stumbled across after boarding. It was right outside the Onsen that I went to.
I thought this rock looked kind of like a monster with hair on it's arms and head. Note that it is now snowing. It snowed for about four or five hours, and eventually overnight, too!
More from me tomorrow about what I did today!
Labels: Akita, snow, snowboarding, tazawa lake, tazawako
