Sunday waits for no man.... or woman.

Alrighty, this is being written Monday morning cause I finally have net and power. Yay for both.

So after waking up from the tiring day before I realised 1 thing immediately. I need more sleep. 7hours isn't enough after a plane ride. So we all hazily woke from our slumber to notice Mum and Steven had disappeared. No great surprise Whitney tells me because they both whisper like a vacuum cleaner sucking a Tuba. HOOOOOOOTTT!!!

We got up and out the door by 7.30 and made a return trip back to the Tokyo Central Station. One young man was nice enough to carry mum's bags up the stairs. All 3 flights. I felt sorry but he was so polite in offering. Probably a good definition of the Japanese.

We made our way easily enough onto the Shinkansen, no racing for us. With 5-10mins to spare we all got some Bento boxes and boarded the train. I do love the Shinkansen. Not just because it is fast, but also because it's for the most part comfy. If I could have the same seat in the Train as I did on the plane then there would be no problem for me getting to sleep. We got some nice moving pictures, and some we didn't get are going to have to stay in our memories, mainly because they were 2 second images in between exiting and entering a tunnel.

Nagano was it's usual cold self, though I am so appreciative of my wool jumper. Scratchy yes, but boy does it keep me warm. Same couldn't be said for my skinny little legs freezing in my Pants. We got some water and boarded the bus to Ichinose, Shiga Kogen. The trip there was a lot different this time to last year. The snow this season is much more consistent, so Nagano was gently draped with snow and looking pretty and picturesque(?). The bus was boiling though so it was a shirts and pants only affair.

After our 40mins, but oh so brief, busride, we arrived in lovely Shiga Kogen, and walked a small distance to our hotel. I'm so thankful we don't have to walk the 200m or so to the other hotel we stayed at. This one is much more accessible, though the accomodation itself is much the same dealy.

Well, by now although tired we were eager to get on the snow. But as i'm learning on this trip, time waits for no Conrad's Stomach. It was food, and water, and NOW! So we walked to the Hotel Khuls, and sat down to have pizza. When I SAY pizza though, I really mean "Japanese Interpretation of Pizza that must include Corn, Daikon Radish, or Cabbage. In this instance is was Corn. A Salami, Crab, Corn, and Bacon (with Cheese) Pizza to be precise. However, although strange, it tasted great. Or is that the Hunger talking?

Alright, let's go, come on, it's SNOWBOARDING time. I've been waiting for the past year now.
So after prepping our boards, and kitting up, we buy our lift passes (40k Yen = $480?) that will see us out the 10 days, and make our way to the first lift. YAY FOR CONRAD!!!!
So halfway up, we see what Shiga Kogen is all about. As we turn around all you can see is mountain tops with cloud floating between them. Such a beautiful sight, and I wish I could have gotten my camera out, but I'm sure there is plenty of time for that over the next 9 days.

I left Conrad and Steven to strap in at the top and took my first tentative slides down the mountain, trying to regain balance and skill that has been going to waste since last time. After my first fall at the top (I knew it was coming, and just wanted it out the way) I slid my way down the Green Ichinose Run. I was doing fairly well. I stack at the top, I got bogged down when I tried going into some deep stuff for fun, and then made it most the way down before realising my nose was runny (it's a constant thing in the cold) and managing to wipe and wipeout at the same time. Nothing broken, so I kept going and made it to the bottom picking up speed and weaving in and out of the Ski School kids. I made it to the bottom, pleased with myself for picking up the skills so quickly, boarded the lift and went back up to find the BOYZ!

So they made it further then I thought, and Conrad, for all his bulk and awkwardness, was doing alright. Falling over alot yes, but doing alright. Steven disappeared by himself and I helped Conrad to keep going, giving pointers and advice, along with moral support. Positive reinforcement helps right? A few more falls, and a few more slides and we made it to the bottom. 1 and a half hours, not bad for a first run down, but would we get another run? Well the lifts were supposed to close at 4.30, but at 5, we managed to get the last ride up. They shut the lift down right behind us, after the Ski Patrol got off, and we strapped in and started down the mountain.

We were making good progress too, would have made it in a third of the time. However it was getting late, and Steven was getting silly. On his way past me he goes to throw a snowball at me, misses, and mid throw flatlines on the ground. I think he flipped, but all I know is he winded himself and ended up flat on his back, with goggles and beanie sitting a few feet away. Laughing ensued. Stack of the Day award goes to Steven with his head flip.

So the patrol turned up on their Snowmobiles, and Conrad got a free ride to the bottom, cause they wanted to go home and the mountain was closed. Steven and I just rode the mountain down, boards off, and returned to the hotel.

Great day, I wasn't sore, and we stowed our gear and went upstairs to change for dinner.
I'm sure if you want to hear about the Dinner you can read steven's blog in detail, but we had Nepalese Curry and Tandoori chicken at the Nipplegreation place (My name for them), made our way back to the hotel, and Conrad and I had a brief dip in the onsen. Fortunately it was devoid of naked Japanese men, much to my appreciation.

So day over, I passed out, along with everyone else, to see what Monday would hold. They promised snow, and I wanted them to be right.

Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest. It's the new sabbath.
Snow where is thy victory, cold, where is thy sting?