After the short bus ride into Zao Onsen, a quick visit into the tourist information centre resulted in the hotels shuttle van being sent straight up to collect us. We were ushered into the van with the driver insisting to load our bags, so as to not cause insult we went along. After arriving at the hotel and having him carry out bags into the lobby (again he insisted) we proceeded to check in. The young girl behind the counter escorted us to our room, and also insisted on pushing the trolley with the bags on it. The room is average size, with 3 beds, shower and toilet, what else could we want? How about some awesome views being on the top (6th) floor (see photos). With nobody haven eaten, we wandered off into the town for a browse and in search for a snack. We also started to enquire about the hiring of skis and poles, and the first thing we found was the very limited (or non existent) english skills which made some of the conversations quite interesting. We did find a little very bakery after a bit of a search, and was able to communicate in single words as to the ingredients. This was enough to fill our hunger urges until dinner time. We also found some interesting smells walking around the town, like rotten egg gas, which is actually the high sulfur content in the hot spring waters used for the onsen baths throughout Zao (see photos). After a bit of lazing around back at the hotel we headed down to the restaurant for the first of our included dinners having no idea what we were going to be fed. What we found was an already prepared table full of Japanese foods, and with the hot plates on the table fired up we were ready to cook. There were a few interesting and questionable looking things on the plates, however we gave most of them a go and only had a few screwed up faces. One thing we have noticed so far is we are the only foreigners in town, however this was not totally unexpected as I had read this before we left that foreigners were a rarity. I guess this is the reason for the very limited english skills. They were also very surprised that we said we were skiing for a week; I have read the resort is basically empty during the week. After an evening beer sitting sitting in the lobby (which is a perfect time to write this blog), it was time to call it a night in preparation for our first day skiing tomorrow.

What can i say about the flight? Let’s just say it was average. Given it is a 9 hour overnighter, and they serve both dinner and breakfast, it only leaves a little time for sleeping in between. That also doesn’t include the fact I am not the best sleeper in moving vehicles at the best of times. I was a little tired when we first arrived (given it was still dark), however soon woke up as we started to get moving. Being able to finally stretch the legs was also great; being cramped in economy with the seat in front fully reclined doesn’t make for comfort when you are tall. Getting through immigration and customs was a breeze; no issues with our documents so the language barriers caused no issues. Buying tickets for the train however was a different story, but in the end we were sure we had it sorted out. We found this however not to be the case, as after being given a couple of separate tickets and not being sure what they were all for, we were tripped up at the train gates where some of the tickets needed to be inserted all on top of one another for the gates to open. With plenty of staff on hand though it was quickly sorted and we were on our way. After catching the Narita express into Tokyo, we then boarded the bullet train to Yamagata. I had read on the net these trains were not very suitable for lots of luggage, however on each carriage bags could be put behind last row of seats. We squeezed our bags into this space, however just after departure the conductor tracked me down (being the only outsiders in the carriage) and wanted to do some reorganising. With our poor ability to communicate, it resulted in some pointing along with the universal thumbs up or thumbs down to achieve his requests. I’m still not sure of what the problem was, but i’m thinking maybe because it restricted that last row reclining their seats. With that now under control I relaxed back into my seat checking out some of the mountain ranges and closely packed houses as we traveled across Japan at a high rate of speed. We even travelled through Fukushima which had the nuclear meltdown in the recent earthquake, luckily did not stay for too long. Before I knew it we were climbing in altitude and we were surrounded by snow on the ground and in the trees; very different to what I have seen in Australia. I will also say how great their trains are, you would almost think they only came out of the factory that morning. They are so modern and clean with heaps of leg room, unlike our trains back in Australia. I guess you get nice things when you look after them. After arriving in Yamagata we headed off in search for the bus to take us on the final leg. We found a very helpful Japanese employee in the ticket office who was determined to make sure we got where we needed, so he basically put us on our bus when it arrived and we headed on the last leg to Zao Onsen.

Sitting at the airport in the Qantas club lounge enjoying dinner, desert and a few drinks. Bit of a mad rush getting through customs with a bag full of electronics (iPad, 2 phones, and several cameras), and then getting randomly picked for both full body scan and drug swab, but finally made it. Just over an hour before we start boarding. Will be my last hot day for a couple of weeks. So exciting!

Well as most of you might know by now I am off on another overseas adventure, this time to Japan for some skiing and sightseeing. By the time I leave in early-mid January it will have been just over 3 years since my last trip (you can check out it’s blog here http://mathewspackman.com/holiday) so figured it was time for another. To give you a bit of a summary of what i’m doing, I spend the first 8 days skiing at Zao Onsen in the Yamagata district (http://www.powderhounds.com/Japan/Honshu/Zao-Onsen.aspx). This is a pretty traditional ski resort and is known to be quite laid back and very quiet at times, yet with a 10km ski run from top to bottom it should keep me pretty worn out. Next I am off to Tokyo for 7 days where I plan to see the local sights, do some shopping, and a go on a day trip to Mt Fuji. For my last 4 days I am heading over to Tokyo Disneyland; something I can’t pass up for a few reasons, 1. Have already done Disneyland Paris and Disney World Florida so can’t stop now when I am almost half way to visiting them all. 2. My sister Marnie has one up on me having been to Disneyland Hong Kong, so I need to even out the sibling rivalry. 3. I am still a big kid who loves a good theme park. My hotel room is supposed to be overlooking the park, so hopefully it doesn’t disappoint. My last day in Japan I will spend packing up, doing some last minute shopping, and making my way back to the airport to fly home. All of that should keep me pretty busy for a few weeks, so now I just need to stop spending money so I have more to spend while I am over there. It’s looking to be a busy few years from here with a few more overseas trips already being planned in the years that follow. This blog will be pretty quiet until I go, but be sure to check back while I am away to see what i’m up to and my latest holiday snaps!