As Time Goes By: Winter Wonderland ....

Niseko. The place with the most powder snow! The first Winter Wonderland for me! We went to Niseko on the twenty-eighth and stayed on till the second. We booked this lodge called Ramat Niseko, owned by an Australian family. They are really nice, they drove us wherever we wanted to go, and gave us a room downstairs with two bedrooms and a living room complete with a small kitchenette!

Upon reaching Niseko, we were dropped at the main Welcome Centre where the van from the lodge came shortly and picked us up. Then we were introduced to the people running the lodge. They came all the way from Brisbane and really took care of everyone. The mistress even made some delicious tomato soup for us! She said she understands we had a long journey (it was almost three hours from Sapporo to Niseko) so we would like some soup to start off. How nice of her!

En route to Niseko from Sapporo

After settling down, we went to check out the various ski slopes and ski schools. It was too late for any lesson then, so we just bought ski passes to enable us to go up the chairlift to ski down. Then we went to Inski, the shop to get kitted up for our ski gear.

For a skiing holiday, please prepare your own ski suit (jacket and pants), ski gloves and goggles. Ski boots, skis and poles can be rented, but suits are best to be bought on our own because we need fitting clothes in order to ski. My own jacket is too bulky which is why I fall so often, but that is another story.

Anyway, before getting ski boots, we had to measure the length and size of our feet as well as our weight. This is because everything has to be coordinated. The ski boots have to fit our feet perfectly. The skis will have to fit the ski boots perfectly, but at the same time not too heavy so we can carry them up the slope. The ski poles will then have to go according to the size and length of the skis and the person’s height.

The shop assistant found a nice pair of ski boots for me. If you think it is easy walking in them, think again! Ski boots are heavy, they weigh you down so as to prevent you from slipping in the snow, and you can hardly walk properly in them! In fact, we have to walk like Robocop with our ski boots on!

The skis I rented

My ski boots

The scene outside our lodge

Ramat Niseko - our ski lodge

Lying down in the snow!

Inside the lodge

We took it easy on the first day, and proceeded to sign up for lessons on the second day. Unfortunately, the lessons were totally booked, so in the end, my friend just taught us some tips he picked up during his last ski trip, including how to strap the boots to the skis, how to hold the ski poles and how to stop the skis from sliding.

First thing, ensure the soles of your boots are free of snow, otherwise you will never be able to strap them on. So we had to kick the boot against the other boot to let it go free from snow. Then we slip the front of the boot onto the ski and pressed the heel down firmly until the catch is in place. That is to prevent the boot from sliding out.

One foot was easy. The problem was the other foot. Once one foot was in the ski, the ski tends to slide away and before you know it, you can fall and tumble down the ski slope. So you need to have a very good sense of balance to prevent the completed ski from sliding while you slip in the other ski boot into the other ski.

The handles of the ski poles are to be wrapped around your hands so they would not go flying if you fell off. However, just when I finally managed to strap both my boots securely in place, my skis slid and I went flying off the slope, crashing into those people who were queuing to use the ski lift!

I had not figured out how to pick myself up after skiing, so when I fell, I had no idea how to get up save to remove my skis, but when you were in an awkward position and your legs were all over, it was hard to remove the skis! So those waiting the ski lift kindly helped me and I managed to lift myself up after that.

After a short lunch, we decided to practice again. This time round, I tried to stop the skis by having my knees in an inverted V, but the skis slid too far and I literally did a split before falling. My legs were in another awkward position since I did a split, so they were crossed in the most obscene manner. I could hardly move at all, otherwise I would start spraining every bone in my legs! We decided to call it a day after being on the slopes for three hours.

That night, we had a good Yakiniku dinner before going to the hot spring to soak all our aching muscles and sore limbs away! The next day, we signed up for lessons in the afternoon. We took it easy in the morning, cooking breakfast, playing pool in the lodge, before getting ready to go for our lessons.

Our instructor is a jolly young chap who speaks English relatively well for a Japanese. He taught us basic skills like how to stop the skis and how to pick ourselves up after we fell down, without removing the skis. After an hour of lesson, we were ready to go up the slope, so we took the chairlift up and tried to ski down. But by then, I had fallen, tumbled, slipped and slid so much that I could hardly bear to go down! So the instructor told me to take a rest in that case while he tried bringing the other two girls down.

At the end of the lesson, I was so sore that I could hardly move anymore! The instructor told me to ski into the school on flat ground, but I fell before I reached it, so in the end I just removed my skis and carried them all the way back. That night there was a blizzard. The streets were so dim and foggy we could hardly see a thing in front of us! We went for the open house, then went for dinner and another hot spring!

Gearing up for the ski slopes!

Fireplace of the lodge

One of the rooms in the lodge

All suited up and ready to go!

The ski slopes

Removing snow from my ski boots

Trying to balance on the slope

Finally, all strapped on and ready to ski!

The next day (New Year’s Eve), we spent the morning skiing as our lessons were in the afternoon. I fell again in the morning, but by the time my instructor saw me, he said I had improved a lot! That night, we had a nice dinner, hot spring, then went out to see the fireworks and the New Year’s Eve celebration.

It was too dark to see anything, but there were lots of skiers and snowboarders carrying torches, skiing and snowboarding all the way from the top of the hill down to light up the fire (our ski instructor was one of those!), and hence the countdown began and the fireworks started!

Mozart Restaurant for New Year's Eve dinner

Interior of Mozart Restaurant

Playing a rendition of "Auld Lang Syne" on the piano

Fireworks galore!

New Year’s Day. We took a trip to the other side of Niseko Village where Hilton was situated. The slopes around Hilton seems smoother yet steeper than the ones we were on. We took the gondola up then took a look around the top, before taking the gondola down again while the guy skied his way down. Then we went into the Hilton for food and drinks and hot spring while waiting for the guy to go another round.

A snowman outside our lodge

Hilton Niseko

Inside the Hilton

The gondola

Top of the mountain

Snowmobile (the guy is fake)

Inside the gondola

Being a snow angel

After that, we went to Kutchan but there was no one around that day, so we went back and had a New Year’s Day dinner. We also played a drinking game where the loser had to drink! I downed a whole glass of draft beer all at one go after losing! Here is a clip of me downing beer after losing!

The next day, the other two girls went to catch the bus back to Sapporo Airport, while my guy friend and I continued skiing. I did four more rounds at the ski slope before finally calling it a day, and we went back to the lodge to do last minute packing, changed and caught the bus back to Sapporo.

View of Mount Yotei en route to Sapporo

Back in Sapporo, we went back to the same hotel. Then we each did our own individual chores – he to buy work wear, while I had to get my train tickets to Tokyo, then we met back at the hotel where we went for dinner. We thought of eating seafood but most places were closed, so we ended up at a Egyptian-themed restaurant specializing in seafood curry!

After that, we wandered around Odori Park and walked around Sapporo City before going back to the hotel. The next day, we each went our separate ways, he to the airport and me to take the train to Tokyo. And that is the end of my Winter Wonderland!