Winter vacation is over and now it’s back to work. I think it actually makes it harder having a long vacation because you fall into a routine of sleeping late, eating whatever yo want, and doing whatever you want when you want to do it. With shorter vacations, at least you don’t feel the impact as much because the thought of going back to work looms over you the whole time. I’m not trying to look a gift horse in the mouth, of course, but…

The first half of the vacation was relatively uneventful and most of it was spent lounging around, some photo-taking, and a fair amount of sento-going. I wanted to get out of the apartment more, but partly I wanted to save money and also there was a certain amount of lack of motivation, as well. I did however end up going to the gym a good amount, so it’s not like I didn’t give any effort at all.

The second half of the vacation was pretty hectic, so in retrospect, it was probably good that I spent most of the time resting up. We went to Nami’s parents’ house on New Year’s Eve and had a big dinner. At midnight we went with Nami’s mom, her aunt, and her aunt’s two kids, to a family friend’s shrine and rang the impressively large bell there. I had never done hat before, so it was quite an experience. It was pretty chilly out, but luckily for us, they had a bonfire setup that kept us nice and toasty while we waited in line to ring the bell. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get any zenzai (azuki beans and mochi) because they were all out. I guess you had to get there early in order to get some.

The next morning we got up early and after a light breakfast, Nami’s mom helped her put on a kimono for a trip to Atsuta Jingu to throw some money and get some mamori (charms for good luck in the new year). It was incredibly crowded but unlike the other time I’ve gone, the crowd moved along relatively quickly. After we threw out money and bought a charm or two, we headed back to Nami’s parents’ house where I took some pictures of Nami before she took the kimono off. As a side note, I bought a Nikkor 85mm 1.4 back in summer, and it is one amazing lens. Expensive, but well worth it.

That evening, we went to Nami’s grandmother’s house where all of the extended family on Nami’s mom’s side was gathered. That night was when the real feast began. There was nabe, sweets, and all sorts of other tasty stuff of which I don’t know the names. We ended up cutting the evening short though, as we had planned a skiing/snowboarding trip with Nami’s aunt (without kids), Nami’s sister Mayu, and Mayu’s boyfriend, and planned to leave that night. Nami’s aunt is a professional skier who travels all over the world. She just got back form Switzerland, all expenses paid, and will be headed off to Italy soon. She lives in Nagoya, but has a second house in Nagano, and frequently goes up to practice and compete, and also for fun. From Nagoya it was about a four or five hour drive. It was amazing to see snow again, it felt like being back home. I didn’t realize how much I missed snow. in Nagoya’s it’s just cold, and you’re left wondering, “if it’s already this cold, why doesn’t it just snow already?!” Also, that day saw a load of snow dumped in the Nagano area, so that meant fresh powder for the next day. It also meant difficult driving conditions, but we had no problems getting through it. They were surprisingly fast at plowing the roads and getting rid of any obstacles.

Once we arrived we had to shovel away the snow from her driveway that had been falling since her last visit. One nice thing about driveways in Japan is that they’re so short, there was really nothing much to shovel. Her house is located on top of a mountain overlooking Nagano city, and the view was breathtaking. The house itself was also beautiful. Simple design, but very nice. All wood and tile in the entryway. I meant to take some pictures but we were always on the move, so I forgot. I especially wanted to get a picture of the trophy room, which apparently wasn’t even big enough to hold all the trophies she has collected over the years. We ended up getting there at around 1:30 a.m. and by the time we cleaned up and got ready for bed, it was already 3:00 a.m.

The next morning we got up relatively early to head over to the slopes in Niigata, which is about a 40 minute trip by car through the back roads. It was one of those things were you had to live there to understand, because there is no way you would be able to find it otherwise. The resort, Myoko Suginohara, is among the top in Japan (although, I would imagine that it doesn’t hold a dime against the resorts in Hokkaido) and boasts the longest run in the country. As I haven’t been snowboarding in five years or so, ever since I came to Japan, I was pretty rusty. After a few runs, though, I was surprised how much came back to me. I guess it’s like riding a bike; you never really forget, it just takes time to get back in your groove. The lifts end ended at 4:00 after-which you can stay and wait for the night skiing to start at 6:00. We elected to hit the onsen. As a self-proscribed sento/onsen expert, I can say that it was quite nice. I think that they used onsen water, but the stlye was more like a sento, with an open dining hall, and various other attractions. I can easily say, that after a long day boarding, there is nothing better than soaking in scalding hot water.

The second day we got up earlier and headed out. Compared to the first day, I wasn’t nearly as agile as my battered limbs wouldn’t listen to my brain signals, but that’s to be expected after such a long time not having boarded. Nevertheless, after a few hours, the soreness worked itself out and I was able to have a good time. We ended up heading home in Mayu’s boyfriends car around 3:00, as we had a long drive ahead of us (or riding in our case) and Nami had to work the next day. I made plans to go snowboarding next week (maybe Hakuba? not sure yet) so now that I got a little warmed up last week, I can’t wait to head back and really tear up the slopes (yeah, right).

Technorati Tags: Winter, Snowboarding, Niigata, Nagano, Oshougatsu, New Years