Snow Monkeys
We were so excited for skiing in the Japanese Alps...Katie more so for the snow monkeys. Another trip on the bullet trains to get us to Nagano and an hour bus ride to the ski resort of Happo One took us nearly a whole day to get there. But we were very pleased when we arrived to find the whole town buried in snow. Japan is said to have some of the best powder for skiing and we were about to find out. Jared couldn't hold still long enough for me to get my snowpants on before heading out the door and onto the slopes.
Now I have never been skiing anywhere other than Pennsylvania and Australia which is not saying much. Also, I only learned to ski 5 years ago and have only gotten a chance to go skiing about once a year since then. But I was very surprised at how un-intimidating the world-class ski resort was. The runs took about a half hour to complete top to bottom (even though I am a little slow) but the slopes weren't too steep. That was at least when we stayed on the intermediate slopes. I wasn't at all prepared for the double black diamond we happened upon on our very first run. It looked like a half pipe with wall to wall moguls...and there was only one way down. It took me a few hot cocoas after that to get back on the slopes but it was still snowing and day two was amazing with fresh powder up to our waist. Literally. Even Jared got buried in the snow a few times. I myself lost my skis twice and had to spend nearly 20 minutes poking around in the snow until I found it. I guess you take the good with the bad.
That night I took my bruised and aching body to the onsen. It is a traditional bath in Japan which is mostly a volcanic island. But to me it was just a hot tub...except that you have to go naked. The onsens are usually segregated between male and female but I am a very private person and it did weird me out. I stayed about 5 minutes before calling it quits.
Now I have never been skiing anywhere other than Pennsylvania and Australia which is not saying much. Also, I only learned to ski 5 years ago and have only gotten a chance to go skiing about once a year since then. But I was very surprised at how un-intimidating the world-class ski resort was. The runs took about a half hour to complete top to bottom (even though I am a little slow) but the slopes weren't too steep. That was at least when we stayed on the intermediate slopes. I wasn't at all prepared for the double black diamond we happened upon on our very first run. It looked like a half pipe with wall to wall moguls...and there was only one way down. It took me a few hot cocoas after that to get back on the slopes but it was still snowing and day two was amazing with fresh powder up to our waist. Literally. Even Jared got buried in the snow a few times. I myself lost my skis twice and had to spend nearly 20 minutes poking around in the snow until I found it. I guess you take the good with the bad.
That night I took my bruised and aching body to the onsen. It is a traditional bath in Japan which is mostly a volcanic island. But to me it was just a hot tub...except that you have to go naked. The onsens are usually segregated between male and female but I am a very private person and it did weird me out. I stayed about 5 minutes before calling it quits.
After a few days of being snow monkeys, we were going to actually see some snow monkeys on our last day. It took us 2 hours on trains and buses to get to a small valley where the snow monkeys are known for living. Then we had to walk a further 2.5 km into the woods to the creek where they are often spotted...and there they were, just sitting in the snow and soaking in the natural onsen! Even little baby monkeys. We will see how long it takes me to get through all those pictures.
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