It was 3.30 in the morning when we arrived at our accommodation, but we were welcomed by three pairs of slippers lined up at the edge of the genkan (entrance where you leave you shoes) and two polite and helpful staff members. We are staying in a traditional ryokan in Nozawa Onsen, and our room has tatami mat floors, a thermos of hot water to make green tea, and most welcome of all, futons laid out ready for us to collapse into.
The bus ride was long but a great (re)introduction to Japan. In Tokyo, where it was clear, dry and cold but above zero, we started off on a large bus full of other Westerners headed for the snow. As the journey progressed it got colder, the snow started billowing down and we transferred with two other groups to a mini bus. After a stop to put on chains, the driver ended up navigating the steep, narrow and very snowy lanes of the town in the dark, looking for our accommodation.
Along the way , there was a 20 minute stop for dinner. It took us 5 minutes to work out the system, another 5 to choose food and pay at the vending machine (my rusty kana skills didn't hold up too well under pressure and tiredness, and there was no English and few pictures), and 5 to wait for the food to be ready, leaving only 5 to gulp down the ramen. At another stop in the middle of the night, I encountered the best roadside public toilets ever - clean, light, with flowers (fake but colourful) and, best of all and a very pleasant surprise, heated toilet seats,
Tune in tomorrow for our first day on the slopes - hopefully I'll have worked out how to add photos by then.
The bus ride was long but a great (re)introduction to Japan. In Tokyo, where it was clear, dry and cold but above zero, we started off on a large bus full of other Westerners headed for the snow. As the journey progressed it got colder, the snow started billowing down and we transferred with two other groups to a mini bus. After a stop to put on chains, the driver ended up navigating the steep, narrow and very snowy lanes of the town in the dark, looking for our accommodation.
Along the way , there was a 20 minute stop for dinner. It took us 5 minutes to work out the system, another 5 to choose food and pay at the vending machine (my rusty kana skills didn't hold up too well under pressure and tiredness, and there was no English and few pictures), and 5 to wait for the food to be ready, leaving only 5 to gulp down the ramen. At another stop in the middle of the night, I encountered the best roadside public toilets ever - clean, light, with flowers (fake but colourful) and, best of all and a very pleasant surprise, heated toilet seats,
Tune in tomorrow for our first day on the slopes - hopefully I'll have worked out how to add photos by then.
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