Skiing in Japan during the Chinese New Year holiday turns out to have been a highlight for all of us. We were told that over three feet of snow fell during the time we were in the Niseko area, beginning around the time we arrived and snowing continuously during our entire stay.....fluffy, white powder everywhere you look...trails that aren't too crowded...new snow falling constantly...Jeb and Madeline picked up snowboarding while we were there, Hope kept up with everyone on the harder runs (not sure I did though), and we had a great time with our friends the Sloans who also planned a week in the same location. Not too many mountain shots of John because he was busy as official photographer of the week:).....
Quick layover in Nagoya, on our way to Hokkaido -- the northernmost island of Japan - our first true taste of cold.
Niseko....
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| Madeline and Jeb with Sam and Grace on the Gondola |
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| Jeb has a new favorite sport |
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| Madeline in the powder |
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| Waiting for the ski shuttle in a snow fort |
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| Hope knee deep in powder |
On the way home, we spent one night in Tokyo. Its a gorgeous, clean, modern city that is totally cosmopolitan and gave us all a much needed taste of "the West." One of our biggest takeaways from Tokyo was the incredibly clean feeling everywhere, from subways to public restrooms to restaurants and the sidewalks. One day in Tokyo is definitely not enough, but gave us a feeling for the city and made all of us eager to get back there on another trip.....
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| cute little shop girl.... |
Shibuya Crossing is known as the world's busiest street crossing...kind of like Times Square. Its one of the most famous images of Tokyo. Eight streets converge on the crossing and when the lights turn red, every car stops and pedestrians flood across. Then the lights change and the car scramble begins all over again. It's like orderly chaos.
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| Shinjuku Central Park |
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| Tokyo at night |
Big highlight of our time in Japan: Toto auto toilets....endless fascination for the whole family! They wash, dry and warm your little fanny...you can find them in fancy hotels, restaurants and even gas stations...welcome to Japan, the home of the clean:)
