Hokkaido

We made it to Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan. Hokkaido is known for a number of characteristics but we came for seafood, booze, snow sculptures(?) and powder skiing.  Once off the ferry, we beelined it to Niseko. Snow was in the forecast and we needed a fix. Niseko is home to a ton of skiing, whether on Mt. Yotei, the fuji-like volcano sulking behind town, or in and around the area’s several ski resorts. We mostly stayed out of the resort area, as it kinda has a bit of a Park City type feel and is overrun with Aussie vacationers, and instead explored the terrain outside of the lift-served area. We found really deep, Wasatch quality powder everywhere and racked up a bunch of good ski days. Coincidentally, some friends, Gus, Adam, Julie, and Greg, were also in the Niseko area and we were able to meet up for an awesome evening of food and drinks. It felt good to see familiar faces so far away from home, especially these fun and wonderful people.

Finally, the urge to move on and the forecast of fresh snow sent us on our way. The next few days we jumped around with some of our best ski days yet mixed in. Eventually we made it up to Daisetsuzan National Park, where at the end of the road sit a few onsens and great backcountry ski access. For those who don’t know, I’ll save you the google search. Onsens are large hot baths that usually cost around 500-700 Yen. They are typically separated by gender and usually consist of a number of indoor and outdoor tubs. They tend to vary slightly in temperature but are just about always HOT. Some are often crowded but there were certainly a few we had all to ourselves. It took some research and observation but I think we’ve got down the process of how to correctly onsen. In short, you take off all your clothes and head into a washing area where you sit on a tiny stool and scub the hell out of every part of your body. Every aspect of Japanse culture that we’ve experience tends to be very clean, and bathing is no exception. Once you’ve cleaned up, you’re ready to wander from pool to pool looking for just that right temp. Awesome. And the only way I want to finish a ski day anymore. It was a few more days of that glorious combo before we finally hit our first and only high pressure system while up North. 

With Sunshine in the forecast we decided to make a run for Asahidake, the highest point in Hokkaido at 2291m (the mountains here are not particularly tall here but they pretty much come right out of the sea) and where you can see for miles if you get a break in the clouds. We couldn’t have asked for a better weather window. We summitted to clear skies and spent the day taking long, smooth runs above treeline.

This was essentially the wrap-up of the skiing portion of our trip (although we did still ski, just not so single-mindedly) and a change in focus to food, drink, and celebration. I think it probably goes without saying, but the food in Japan is awesome. Takoyaki (dough balls with squid in the center), okinomiyaki, pork rice bowls, ramen, sushi, mutton, tonkatsu, fried chicken, croquets, even the egg sandwiches at the convenience stores with their perfectly done, hard boiled eggs are all incredible. We checked. Over the next while we sampled different bowls at a “ramen village”, ate crab and scallops and sea urchin at fish markets, chased sashimi bowls with miso soup, and ate 7/11 packaged food while driving Yoshi South towards the end of our Hokkaido adventure. But, in typical Crystal and Trever fashion, we made sure to sample the local spirits as well. In Asahikawa we visited the Otokoyama Sake Brewery and Museum for a quick education and tasting. In Sapporo we visited the Sapporo Brewery for a self guided tour and a few flights of their offerings. And in Yoichi we toured and tasted at the Nikka Whisky Distillery. Japanese booze passes with flying colors although we’re not hard to impress.

One of the events high on our list was the Sapporo Snow Festival, which runs in early February and attracts just over two million people. Along a 7(ish) block long park are food vendors, a ski and snowboard event, and a ton of snow sculptures ranging in scale from about refrigerator size to the size of a two bedroom house, some in incredible detail. The most intensive are build over the course of a month. They even have a unit of the military that is responsible for the building of one of the largest. Definitely worth plugging into our itinerary.

Currently we are on a ferry headed back to the main island of Honshu where we will say goodby to Yoshi and Japan and jump a quick flight to South Korea for some family time and the Winter Olympics! Japan has been nothing short of incredible and Crystal and I are so grateful that we were able to experience it. It has easily made the list of countries we would like to return to in the near future.

Sayonara Japan and our trusty car, Yoshi!