The Daily Gaijin: January 2008

Ishiuchi Maruyama Snow Resort

This past weekend, Josh, Elise and I traveled to Niigata prefecture to enjoy a day on the slopes and in the snow! We went with 3 other couples from our Bible study and had a really fun time.
Niigata is known for two things; snow and rice. It is located just a few hours from Tokyo and is in the heart of the Japanese Alps. It's also not far from Nagano, which was the site of the 1998 Winter Olympics.

We left Yokosuka around 3:00am and traveled by bus to the Ishiuchi Maruyama Snow Resort. We arrived there by 7:00am and had plenty of time to settle in and get bundled up before the slopes opened at 8:00! They had gotten over a foot of fresh powder throughout the night and it continued to snow all day, so we really got the full winter wonderland experience!

Josh and I took turns watching Elise and skiing in the morning. We met up with our crew for a lunch of ramen and curry rice and then our friends offered to watch Elise for a bit so we could ski together in the afternoon.

Skiing in Japan is wonderful. It is reasonably priced and never seems to be too crowded. Additionally, there are always plenty of places to enjoy warm food and beverages - which is so nice after a couple of cold runs down the mountain.

Elise seemed to enjoy her big day out, too. She was bundled with as many layers as we could fit around her and she looked like a rolly polly little ski bunny. I guess we'll wait until she can walk before we put skiis on her - maybe next year! At least she liked her first snow experience, so that's a good start!

Happy Seijin-no-hi Day!

Today is a Japanese holiday known as "Coming of Age" day. It is celebrated on the second Monday of January to honor young people who have reached the voting age of 20. These young people often wear traditional kimono dress and cities or towns sponsor ceremonies on this day.