switzerland...in japan
just got back from a lovely mini holiday to 'zao', one of japan's ski resort's up north in the prefecture of yamagata. the town itself is nestled at the base of the mountain, with old buildings, windy streets, and steam coming up in every direction from the natural hot springs. we arrived about mid-day on saturday and checked into a quaint chalet only a 4 minute walk from base of the slopes. this weekend i tried lindsay's mini-skis, and have discovered it's a bit like skating down the mountain. i had far more control and thus had a fantastic time! the resort is huge, and the snow is far better for skiing than the wet slush you find in niigata. after the skiing on saturday, we walked (around the corner) to the nearest onsen, stripped down and took a dip in the boiling, steamy water. it was heaven on earth.
that night we spent curled up on cushions by the fire in the chalet, drinking wine and singing to guitar that our japanese neighbours had brought down to the restaurant. it was the perfect ending to the perfect day.
zao is famous for it's 'snow monstors' - trees at the very top of the mountain that withstand the wind from the north japan sea, but in the process are covered in several feet of snow and ice and look as though they should have eyes and fingers and should treck the top of the mountain on their own. sunday we took lifts almost all the way to the top to see these 'creatures' and saw several at the base of the cable car. we then climbed in a ginormous cable car to make the final stretch up to the top - but upon arriving it was so blizzardy (sp?) that we couldn't see our hand in front of our face let alone the snow monsters. skiing down from the very top was exciting and frightening. you could barely see a thing, the wind and the snow was so strong. as we gradually made it down the runs the weather got warmer and warmer, until we reached the bottom and it was again a comfortable -2.
it was quite a long way to go for only a day and a half, but it was well worth it, and the perfect 'mini' holiday. good company, good food, good fun.
that night we spent curled up on cushions by the fire in the chalet, drinking wine and singing to guitar that our japanese neighbours had brought down to the restaurant. it was the perfect ending to the perfect day.
zao is famous for it's 'snow monstors' - trees at the very top of the mountain that withstand the wind from the north japan sea, but in the process are covered in several feet of snow and ice and look as though they should have eyes and fingers and should treck the top of the mountain on their own. sunday we took lifts almost all the way to the top to see these 'creatures' and saw several at the base of the cable car. we then climbed in a ginormous cable car to make the final stretch up to the top - but upon arriving it was so blizzardy (sp?) that we couldn't see our hand in front of our face let alone the snow monsters. skiing down from the very top was exciting and frightening. you could barely see a thing, the wind and the snow was so strong. as we gradually made it down the runs the weather got warmer and warmer, until we reached the bottom and it was again a comfortable -2.
it was quite a long way to go for only a day and a half, but it was well worth it, and the perfect 'mini' holiday. good company, good food, good fun.
posted by Justine at 6:26 p.m.
6 Comments:
i am so glad you guys had a fab time, it was so gorgeous yesterday... when did you come back to dingy Shibata? it is colder than well-digger's ass today....eeek!
it took us about 4 hours from murakami on the way there because of traffic and snow storms. u know how it is here - traffic lights everywhere, shitty slow drivers and unplowed, un-salted slippery roads. on the way back my car set off at 12 so emma could make her ferry, but there was a bad car accident (in a tunnel?) and we waited in a line for almost an hour before turning around and making a detour. once we set off again (about 1:45) we made it to niigata city by 6, so we made much better time, despite the detour.
the lodge we stayed at was reasonable for accommodation though the food was extremely expensive. the lift passes were just a bit more expensive then ninnox/tainai but the equipment rental was the same. we should definitely head there in the summer, too. it's gorgeous.
n-chan,
really wish you had come! i think you would have loved it.
a 'well-digger's ass'?
you're hilarious, my dear.
Like HOW MANY times have i said...Zao kicks ass, you should go there? Eh, DJ Jazzy Jeff?
Zao was amazing, yesterday me and nick found this awesome run, that just went on for ever and ever, and when the sun came out....i was in heaven..and no, i am NOT exagerrating, it really was great.
I love it!
And yes, the summer is fab too....
i really wanna go back,..the onsen was fun, and me nick and lins grabbed a nice hot bowl of Udon too...yum!
Good times, good times!
xxxxxxxx
MEWR!
MEWR!!!
Post a Comment
<< Home