Japan | Day 7

Our Saturday in Tokyo could not have started any better. We had a huge buffet breakfast at the hotel and then hopped on the train to the Starbucks roasting plant. It.was.amazing. Not only because I love coffee, but also because it was a four story architectural masterpiece that had something for everyone. (Including an $18 black coffee for Chris!)

We ordered our coffee beans, style, and brew process. The above was the siphon process. As entertaining as it was, it still tasted just like an excellent cup of Starbucks.





The second floor served tea, the third floor served coffee cocktails.





Chris’ accidental order of an $80/bag cup of coffee.

After we were sufficiently caffeinated, we continued wandering the town. This included a stop at a low-key brewery.

Our next stop was an amazing park with a traditional Japanese shrine. It was hard to photograph since it was a whole complex, but it was neat to see.

I liked the city, but I loved being back in a bit of nature.

We grabbed a quick bite for dinner and didn’t stay up too late with another travel day tomorrow.

Japan | Day 6

Today was a travel day from Niseko to Tokyo. We got up early and left our rental house at 6am, heading to the airport in a snowstorm. At this point, it has snowed the majority of every single day we’ve been here. Pretty awesome.

One of the most beautiful parts of our drive was the volcano we drove along / around on our way out of town. Chris and I both lobbied for a stop to take a photo. We had to hike through the snow in our tennis shoes to get past the trees, but it was worth it.

It was quite the contrast to go from a remote mountain town to a city of 3 million people! We had an easy flight, checked my and Shawn’s large bags at the airport, then headed into Tokyo for the weekend with our backpacks and Martina / Chris’s ski gear via train. 

I haven’t talked much about the Japanese culture. They have been so kind. From our above and beyond Air B and B hosts, to our servers who give us their best try at English, to the sweet employees who let us bring way-too-big luggage on their train cars...everyone has been so sweet, polite, and helpful. 

We also found Tokyo to be very clean. People don’t eat on the go here, meaning less wrappers and trash are carted around. 

The culture as a whole values order and efficiency. The lines to get on a train car are very neatly marked on the ground, and obeyed by everyone.

(Note everyone standing on the left in an orderly fashion, and passing on the right)

Riding the train was cheap. We bought one way tickets everywhere we went and paid just over a dollar per person.

We checked into the Westin near the Ebisu Garden Place area. It was beautiful. 

We had club level rooms, so enjoyed drinks and apps each night and an amazing international breakfast buffet each morning (thank you, Martina!!)

The club room had a panoramic view of the city and our bedrooms had a view of Mount Fuji.

After getting settled at the hotel, we hit the town to go see Shibuya Crossing in its evening glory. 

It was like Times Square. You could see the street lit up from the upper levels of our hotel even though it was far away.

It was warm with all the lights and bright as day. We got a great view of multiple mesmerizing crossings from the second level of Starbucks.

(Loving these fun cell phones lenses from Christmas!)

We continued to wander the streets for the evening and had a tasty (and cheap!) sushi dinner.

Sushi + Sake

Japan | Day 5

For our last day of riding, we went to Niseko United again. With a little more snow than Day 1, it made for a great last day in Japow!

It’s worth noting how affordable the lift tickets are in Japan. Niseko United was a particularly good deal because Chris had discount buddy pass privileges with his Ikon pass. But even the other resorts were very reasonable. Rusutsu was $50 for a 6 hour pass, Kiroro was $54, and a 4 hour pass at Sopporo Kokusai was around $34.


Due to the continual snow we had this week, the runs (on and off piste) were great. Chris helped us find snow that was less wind packed (more dense / more packed) in favor of lighter, fluffier snow. 






For lunch, we stopped at an authentic Japanese restaurant called Boyo-so on Grand Hirafu. It was our second time there and each time we found a table, good food ($7?!) and $5 beer from the vending machine. And they had a fireplace to warm your gear.

Martina and I - our gear and our shadow :)



Every resort looked like this - trees and shrubs coated in snow.


It was interesting to me that the runs were signed up at the top, but not really throughout the runs like in the states. Maybe because it wasn’t a very complex layout of runs. Made it easy to ride today despite forgetting my contacts :) It was also nice that all the trails were labeled in Japanese and English - same for their trail maps.




Most lifts were rode throughout the trip were either bubble lifts or gondolas - making it easy to grab a snack, ‘hydrate’, and chat.


Miss Martina :)


Hilton at the base of the Niseko Resort. Architecturally, I had to grab a shot of this crazy building. The inside was also interesting. Not your typical ski lodge.


The above photo was my favorite run of the day. We rode it a couple times and each time, the sun came out just long enough for a few good photos and videos. The snow was untouched and so light.

At one point, I split up with Chris & Shawn as they went to explore an area outside of the resort gates. My run happened to be a green (only option at that point) and I had to walk a solid 300 yards. BUT it was a beautiful nature walk and I got this entertaining photo above :) These animal cushions were pretty common. I don't understand...

Japan | Day 4

Our house has been amazing. There are two bedrooms / 2 bathrooms downstairs and a great room upstairs with an incredible view - all in a compact footprint. Decked out in Ikea. I love it. We haven’t had a ton of hangout time at the house, but I look forward to the early mornings and late nights when we do.

Getting in and out of the snow-filled driveway in our ‘bus’ requires an Austin-Powers maneuver each time, but Shawn rocks it.







Today’s resort was about almost 2 hours away, but we had incredible views around the Yotei volcano much of the way.



Shawn’s first time riding his new snowboard was on this trip!



Just like the other days, it snowed like mad all day.



Such a winter wonderland.



Every single tree at every ski area we went to was caked in snow. So beautiful. There were also green leafy bamboo chutes sticking out of the snow on the woods. Very unique compared to any other area we’ve been to.

So fun traveling with these two!

The only tricky thing about today was that there were buses of inexperienced high schoolers on the mountain. Tons of people to dodge. Other than that, it was great.



Scoring more canned hot coffee from the vending machines.



Snowing SOOO hard!!! After our day of skiing, Shawn drove through some whiteout conditions on our way to the onsen. 

While you can’t take photos in the onsens, this photo is pretty close to what the onsens are like (taken before the locker room area) - natural rock pools, snow covered rocks, snow falling down, surrounded by trees. This was the Hoheikyo Onsen.

After our hot soak, we walked down the street in Kutchen and found a nice dinner spot where we had some pasta and wine. It continued to snow like crazy.



It was snowing so hard that we saw many locals walking around with umbrellas for all the precipitation.


Sekka Lab (above) - dinner spot. 

Our next stop was the ski village town of Hirafu. Fighting the architect in me, we all piled into the packed bar through the tiny entry fridge door that most certainly would not meet code in the US. The only other door I saw once inside was blocked by a piano infront of it. 


We did a little more wandering around Hirafu before heading back to our house for the night.




Food trucks...


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