Niseko, Hokkaido

March 29-31, 2015

I have never been good at any sports. I just didn't grow up being thrown into tennis, or basketball, or really found myself outside too often. Out of the five of me and my siblings, I'm pretty certain I'm the most un-athletic. But along with my lack of athleticism, I am now living a life I never thought I would have, so I am taking opportunities I normally would pass on, like snow boarding. Sure I have been snow boarding twice before but this was years ago! But when a friend from Houston, who would be visiting soon, asked me if I wanted to join a snow boarding trip to Hokkaido, I had to say yes. I was really hesitant because I remembered how terrible I am at snow boarding but I didn't want to look back and regret having a chance to go among friends to a part of Japan I haven't been to yet.

So early Sunday morning, a group of ten of us boarded a plane headed to Sopporo. Within the group was my friend from Houston, Tayo, along with Japanese friend Ash and his close companions. I had hung out with Ash before at a few matsuris and drinking nights so I had met mostly all of the other members of the group. The others consisted of two pairs of husband and wife along with their children whom were in their teens and early twenties. The husband and wife duos were a trip, especially the husbands, Marbow and Kiibo. They are the type of men who drank for breakfast, made inappropriate jokes, were loud, and didn't get a crap about what other people thought, I love it!!

Upon arriving in Sopporo, we first headed to the car rental place and then to the resort. I honestly had no idea where we were going or staying, I just knew I was going to Hokkaido to board. It turned out that I would be snow boarding in Niseko! Only recently did I learn that Niseko is a famous mountain range known for its powder snow which is great to snow boarders and skiers. That works out for me because powder snow means softer snow to fall on!!

Once getting situated in the hotel, everyone immediately started putting on snow boarding gear and headed out to get our lift passes to head up the mountain. Honestly I really wanted to not go. I could feel the fear building up in me but with everyone so eager and ready, I couldn't be the one who came all this way not to even touch the mountain. So with my borrowed gear and board, I suited up just like everyone else and said a little prayer for the day.

The first day was not so bad. We could only board for a little over two hours because of closing time. The whole first day I stuck to just using the gondola to get up a part of the mountain and continued to go down the same path till closing time. Ash was so nice, he slowly snowboarded along side with me helping me get my bearings. I'm sure he would of rather speed down the mountain or join the others on the higher slopes but I really appreciated him being there with me.

After the first day, we all went back to rest in our hotel rooms. These weren't just regular hotel rooms though. They were a Japanese style where once you enter the room, its completely tatami mats and looks just like a living room. For sleeping, you would have to get out mats and blankets located in the closet to lay down over the tatami mats in which ever placement you choose. Ash also told me that the price was not per room but per person. So even if you crammed ten people into one room, it wouldn't matter because everyone had to pay a specific amount anyways. But the hotel was nice and I enjoyed how different it was. One of my very favorite things about the hotel was that it had an onsen!!! So as some of you might know, an onsen is like a public bath. Japan is famous for them and everyone loves going to them. I, unfortunately, have only been able to go to one because of strict "no tattoo" rules. Luckily for me in Niseko, the hotel had a "do as you wish" policy in which they kind of turn a blind eye to tattoos. That worked out for me!! So after the first day of boarding, I went down with Ayako to enjoy a relaxing wash in the onsen. The most beautiful part of the onsen was the section that was located outside. Yeah sure it was freezing opening the door but once you got in the bath and looked at the view it was stunning!! Needless to say, I enjoyed the view, feeling of clean, and hanging out in my birthday suit.

The second day was a full day of snow boarding. I suited up a bit later than the men and headed out with the women. I expected to stay on the same slope as I did the previous day but we exited the lockers in a different direction which forced me to follow the others. One of the things I feared in coming to snow board was the lift. The two times I had been snowboarding before, I had ALWAYS fallen when getting off the lift. So being that I had to take lifts to get to particular parts of the mountain this time, I was terrified. It's not the pain I feared but the embarrassment. I hate being embarrassed and being on a mountain with all these people that actually knew what they were doing with the possibility of them seeing a rookie like myself face-plant while simply getting off a lift, was a highly embarrassing thought. But as we boarding the lifts, two by two, I was verbally coached by one of the wives as how to slowly get off the lift. Miraculously I did it!! That day I actually had no problem getting off the lift and had a mini celebration every time I did. It's funny I should be celebrating I got down the mountain but the lift was my real challenge!! So the whole second day, I dragged myself to follow the others, taking my time and going slowly down each mountain slope. I seriously went on slopes that were much steeper than I had ever gone on my before, but with a lot of mental concentration, verbally coaching myself through, taking pointers from Ash and Tayo, I made it down every slope... even if at some parts I had to strap out and walk my board.


The others though, were amazing. I was so amazed at how even at an older age, they were able to board with kids in their twenties just as good or better. The wives were as old as my mother but boarding fast and hard even taking on jumps. It really makes me thing how amazing our physical bodies are as long as we train it to be so. Marbow and Kiibo cracked me up as well as Kiibo's wife. They were so rachet they carried a bag of beers up the mountain and just burried it under snow near lifts to go back and have drinks during the day. I had never seen such a carefree, "rachet" group of adults but it was awesome and such a trip. Along with the adults, their children were amazing at boarding as well. I asked one of the daughters, Chinatsu, how old she was when she started to snow board. She had told me she was three!! It really shows that a physical environment can really shape you as a person growing up. She was amazing! I saw her take ramps and jumps, getting such air that I couldn't even wrap my head around it.

After closing time, we all went back to the rooms to rest, shower, drink, or take naps. Being in Niseko kind of made me feel like I wasn't even in Japan. I was surrounded by Japanese people but all over the town were foreigners. Even on the mountain, you would see foreign kids taking sky lessons in English as well as hear English and other languages all around you. But I guess that is expected with such a famous sky town like Niseko.

The time I had with this bunch was really great. It warmed my heart how open they were and accommodating to other people outside their group. Even though I was slow and a rookie, they encouraged me and stayed back with me if need be. The dinners we had were also enjoyable with plenty of delicious food and drink to go around. Some of the other adults even started playing a game that incorporated English for Tayo and I's sake.

I am so blessed to be able to know such kind hearted people and have such great memories with them. Even though the trip was only less than three days, the experiences and laughs I had were unforgettable. Now I can check Niseko off as places I've been!! With only about a week of spring vacation left, I quickly flew back to Kansai, rushed to my apartment to pack a new bag and closed my eyes for a few hours before having to wake to go back to the airport for my flight to Saigon!

Big thank you to Tayo, Ash and all of the others who made my first trip to Niseko memorable!! You guys are awesome!


xx
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