Mon 13 Hakuba - Nagano

The day started as every day - rise at 7,  dress, breakfast at 7:30.

Packing went smoothly. 

Henry had previously arranged Mountain Watch Travel to collect us at 9:40.  The same young Aussie lady driving as we'd met at drinks. She snow boards.

At the bus station,  a big queue and an enthusiastic fellow guiding us to line up on the footpath not the road.  Phoebe and I looked after the bags and held our place while Henry ventured inside and returned with tickets ¥10500 $105 for the three of us. 

Second back row had extra legroom. A very comfortable ride.  About an hour. 

LUNCH

TEMPLE

No photos allowed inside the temple.  It's Buddhist. Lots of gold.

I ponder the effect of religion. Some people argue theirs is the right way and will even kill for it. Others will kill because of it. Fear of difference.  Yet religion is blamed when in my view its people all the way. 

Looking back down the street.  Temple behind me. 

Silent reminders of a "great " moment in time.  When was that again?

just looked interesting 

DINNER

don't be fooled, it could be Keto but the glass is not water. It's Shochu.

¥201.84. $183.83

We had teppanyaki. The meat was amazingly tender. 

We didn't really know how to order. 

A bit of google translate but still we only got meat and had to order salad separately. 

SHOCHU

Shochu is a traditional Japanese distilled spirit, similar to vodka or brandy, made from ingredients like rice, barley, sweet potatoes, or brown sugar, using koji mold for saccharification before fermentation and distillation. It differs from sake (which is fermented, not distilled) and comes in two main types: honkaku (single-distilled, traditional) and continuous-distilled, with alcohol content typically ranging from 20-45% ABV.

Sun 22 Tsugaike Phoebe

Today was the first opportunity for Phoebe and I to ski together.

One run at the base.  Huge queues.  After queuing for the second time and closely consulting the map, we made our way sideways and arrived at the gondola mid station.  

https://youtu.be/Ee9RfvOpFb4?si=YUqqqp5-d17N6N_P

Sat 21

Phoebe crook.  She stayed home to give her body a chance to rest and recover.

TSUGIKE

Henry and I walked down the hill caught a T2 bus to Tsugike. A very long and high gondola ride.  Lots of great runs. 

11:30am An early lunch.  I really just wanted soup but although soup was available,  it wasn't on the menu as an individual item. I had too buy a pork and rice meal in order to get the soup. As with many cafes, chips water was free. 

This was the lunch venue. 

A lot of the infrastructure looks rusty.

We then took a bus to Iwatke.

IWATKE

Henry warned me that I might get the wrong idea and Iwatke because it was afternoon and a hot suny day and so the snow was likely to be slushy. 

Iwatke is very tourist focused. A gondola takes people to a location that includes multiple activities.  It also allows non skiers to engage in the activities and then ride the gondola back down. 

Activities:

Dog petting,

Swing out from a platform.

Cafe with cantilever verandah. 

We went to the above mentioned Cafe but the queue to buy a coffee was huge so we availed ourselves of free iced water and sat and looked at the view. 

Pointing to a Cafe in the distance at Hoppo where we had a less than Stella coffee a few days earlier. 

Bus home. 

The buses seem confusing.  These signs provide route and time info and are way clearer than the paper schedule. 

EVENING 

Walked down the street to an Italian place.  Aperol Spitz, Pizza, water & Tiramisu.

As we walked back up the hill the sound of rushing water signalled that winter was over.

Hakuba equipment

FORGOT

Wire Coathangers

BROUGHT & GOOD

Ski Jacket & pants.

Puffer jacket. 

3 quick dry polo shirts.

5 undies

Socks

Small torch

Tooth paste & brush.

Lanolin

Lip moisturiser. 

2m extension lead.  3m would have been better. 

Nail scissors. 

Japanese adapter lead - I had too cut off the earth pin but I wanted a Australian outlet with an earth because my laptop, the extension lead and Phoebe's CPAP all had earth pins even though all had switch mode power supplies and  at 100V far less important than at 240V.

NOT NEEDED

Long sleeve button up shirt.  I keep packing one and never using it. 

Too many socks. 

Frank:

Rhythm Hakuba had a fancy machine that made a 3D model of my feet.

Ski boots 28.5

Which were a size smaller than everywhere else in the last few years. They were OK.

Phoebe:

Hakuba Thur 18

DAY 2 

Phoebe dropped at ski school.

  H & F went off. 

Far side of gondola was a beautiful run.

Eventually caught up with Henry's friends at a Cafe very high up.  Very nice hot choc muffin and a coffee. 

This is the record of where H & F travelled. 

PHOEBE LUNCH 

Phoebe records 

Today i experienced my first Onsen. A traditional Japanese bathhouse. Stepping into the first room, I found a basket for my belongings. Sliding a door across, I entered a spacious second tiled room. A large square tank on one side held hot water, inviting me to take a dip. A step down submerged me in liquid warmth. Small stools lined the left and right, perfect for washing my body before entering the bath. Washing and rinsing thoroughly is requested. so I settled on a stool, relaxing and hosing myself down. This sensible bathing method, unlike standing, was far more enjoyable. After washing and rinsing, I stepped into the hot water, letting it soothe my muscles after a day of snow. I lingered until I could bear it, each muscle relaxing. Then I returned to my stool, washed again, and savoured the calming, gentle flow of water from head to toe. Time passed slowly. It was a serene and peaceful experience. I highly recommend an onsen.

Frank:

Henry and I had an Onsen at the same time. The Onsen is segregated by gender. They are done nude.

First room had baskets to hold our belongings. We stripped. Went into second room. Sit down and wash with liquid soap and rinse. Step into the hot tub. It's was very hot.  Sat on the step with just my legs in the hot water. Eventually I lowered my body into the hot water. Did that a couple of times. After that,  H&F had a rinse off then got towels and got into the sauna. Sweatted profusely. Eventually out for another rinse. Put the bath robe on. 

Hakuba 1

First day at Hakuba.

It feels a lot like Threadbo. None of the super powder snow that I'd expected. 

We made our way down to the drying room and swapped our house slippers for ski boots. I inadvertently put my gloves on top of a locker and they feel in.  There's a hole in the top of each locker to accommodate long skiis.  I went upstairs to get my second pair and wrote a note that I dropped into the offending locker. While I was upstairs my phone rang and it was Phoebe who'd forgotten her helmet.  Turned out i had too.

Reconvened in the ski room.  I dropped my note into the locker. 

Henry and I walked with Phoebe to "Evergreen " ski school.  Left Phoebe to work out where her lesson started from. H & F went down the hill and obtained the ski passes. 

Hakuba skiing is included in our Australian epic pass.  We had to show a screen shot of our epic pass and our drivers licence. 

The day started hot and sunny. I wore my sunnies and no gloves. Jacket unzipped. 

Phoebe went off on her adventure. 

Henry located two of his friends and we spent the day skiing.  Another two joined us at lunch line after their morning lesson. 

Dinner at a less than impressive Cafe:

Dinner experience:

Order via a machine. 

We did not feel relaxed. It was jump up and grab a plate. Then jump again...

Some dishes were just microwave reheat and not very hot and concern about salmonella.