INTO THE WILD: SNOW COUNTRY!

January 18, 2015

i got up at 4am this morning and was too excited to go back to sleep. i was supposed to leave at 7am but instead leave at 5am. so i jump in the shower, pack my bags, and head for the long journey to hokkaido.

i got outside and it was freezing cold! so cold that i turned left instead of right to get to the station. i had to walk all the way back up the hill and go back around. my hands and ears were freezing cold. should i get a taxi? no way, i’m going to challenge myself and see how much cold my body can take.

yes, it was so early that there were just a few people around.

as i sat on the train and passed by roppongi and ginza, i saw so many drunk people coming back from last nights saturday night fever. i did that a few times long before and that’s something i don’t miss at all. but people watching was pretty fun this morning on my way to ueno.

then i get my shinkansan pass. i see snowboarders everywhere! the last time i snowboarded was over 15 years ago. i use to go every year until i hit a tree and realized that trees don’t move.

but cool to see people with their friends heading to the mountains. hokkaido is snow country and is known to have the best powder snow in the world. i kind of miss my experiences at niseko.

don’t let these signs confuse you. very complicated, but very efficient once you get to understand them. it took me a while.

going to eat my breakfast, read a book, and try to sleep. 6 hours later, i’ll be in snow country!

japan is the land of the rising sun. and it is rising right now!
last night i was shopping for warm clothes in ginza and bumped into a surfer from hiroshima. his name was Hashimoto-san. Hashimoto-san, it was very nice to meet you last night. sorry i couldn’t talk to you more because i was actually in a rush. had friends were waiting in the car downstairs. thanks for checking out my blog and hope to surf with you in hawaii someday. keep on surfing!