8th February, 2010
This morning it was hard to get up for breakfast, after the big day we had yesterday.

So after tidying up our room and getting the cleaning lady to vac the floor it was lunch time and we headed out for a few hours on the ski's/board and my boots are still giving me a hard time but its getting better each time. I think the boot is fine but my foot is rolling along the side of itself and pushing the flesh under my foot and short of having the side of my foot removed there isn't much I can do about that....but I will persevere.

We pulled the pin around 3.30pm and decided to head over to Ningle Terrace which is a collection of local Crafts People housed in little wooden cottages dotted throughout a forest area near one the more fancy hotels.
As we were walking through here the snow began falling in huge flakes and it was so peaceful.







After we caught the bus back into Furano we found a place for dinner...was a seafood & sushi restaurant and we both managed to get a good meal. I had a plate of sushi and it was fantastic and it was all made fresh for me as I ordered it...the way it should be!!

We then walked back the the B&B and the snow was quite heavy and huge fluffy flakes as you might be able to see in the picture below. Also took a few pics of the river we crossed and how much snow was landing on the trees in the streets as we walked back into the ski village.




This is a Temple Garden on the way home from Furano




Snappy insisted we pop into McDonald's for a Hot Apple Pie and Choc Sundae!!






Sachi River

One of the trees that line the streets up to our B&B..nearly 2 inches of fresh snow that you can blow off the branch with a puff of air.

We thought we would cut across the back of our B&B and discovered that it might not have been the smartest thing as it was hip height deep of soft powder snow...hehe


Short Video of the snow we were waling through on the way home....

Sapporo Snow & Ice Festival

February 7th, 2010

Today was a HUGE day for us as we went to the 61st Snow & Ice Festival in Sapporo.

It was up early to catch the bus into Sapporo approx 3hrs travelling but the scenery was interesting...Ice Fishing Huts on a Dam, all different types of Japanese houses.

When we arrived in Sapporo it was snowing small pellets of ice as it was quite warm around 1deg but over the course of the day it was sunny, snowing fluffy flakes then pellets again and more fluffy stuff..almost like Melbourne's four seasons in one day.

Once we located the "mall" that the festival was in - this was interesting as we had a rough idea where it was but couldn't quite work it out and being good tourists we didn't have our passports with us if we got into trouble but it all worked out well by finding a hotel and an English speaking concierge who kindly gave us a map with clear directions.

Here area few of the sculptures that lined the mall which went on for about 8 city blocks and each of the statues took about a month to complete and the army were brought in to build them all.
Most have a steel skeleton which the snow is packed into and around, some huge amount of snow is used for each one.

Japanese Temple



Me in front of Local Zoo's Statue



Local Zoo Statue with band playing in front of them




Ice wall covered in carvings - bit hard to see in the photo



After we had a look at all the sculptures, and after we had enough of walking in the snow in all its forms, we headed underground to a shopping centre. This is a sight to be seen...walking down a subway staircase into a strip mall was quite an experience.

We were both hungry and looking for a feed and couldn't really see anything that interested us so we opted for McDonald's instead as at least we knew exactly what we were getting..he he
Once we had our order taken we went to get a seat when promptly our tray was taken from us by one of the workers and we were shown to a table inside the restaurant...what GREAT service!!!

After lunch we did a bit of shopping and picked up bits & pieces and made our way towards the JR Station (JR = Japan Rail) and did some window shopping along the way.
Once we arrived at JR station we had to find where our bus was going to pick up from which sounds easy enough but when you can't read all the signs it makes for interesting times. So once again armed with our trusty little guide book and a bit of pointing we found the number stand that our bus was leaving and I think we were a whole 30secs too late for the bus as it had gone and the next one wouldn't be along for another hour.

Tom & I decided to go up the flight of stairs directly up from our stop to have a look in the Electronics Store and were instantly assaulted by lights, music and staff members calling out god knows what as we walked by...it was total insanity. No wonder the Japanese are such big consumers of everything and make so much of this stuff as people are buying anything and everything at 530pm on a Sunday night!!!
I think there were 6 floors like this but we only checked out 3...that was enough!! We headed back to where we think we entered the shop but we got this wrong and ended up inside the shopping complex inside of JR Station and just walked in circles until we had no idea of where we had been or going to....also trying to find something to take on the bus to have for dinner was a nightmare and it just took us further into the abyss of the shopping centre.
So we stopped and looked for a door outside and headed for that to find the bus terminal...mind you just making it onto a very full bus and I had to sit most of the trip on the little dickie seat in the aisle.
The bus dropped us off at JR Furano Station and we then went to Okonimyaki Sanya for dinner which is a Teppenyaki Restaurant that we went to on the last trip so we knew we would get a decent feed as we were both very hungry after the bus trip.

This is my dinner of Chicken, Omelette & Rice with a Gravy like sauce....it was so yummy and hit the spot perfectly...even if it doesn't look like much!





After a filling dinner we caught a taxi back to the B&B and crashed into bed as we were both exhausted.

Naps, New Boots & Culture

6th February, 2010




This was the view from our room this morning!! Glorious sunshine but it didn't last for long as it began to snow lightly and kept up most of the day.






This was our breakfast this morning.. eggs,Sausages, potato salad and pasta with pesto ( I think)After breakfast we came up to the room to think and we ended up having a nap for a couple of hours..the joys of having no plans!!



After we woke up, we both thought doing something physical would be a good idea and so we got all the ski/ snowboard gear on and went out for some snow time...not many photos as the wind was quite strong and not real photo taking weather.

The first run in my boots that have recently been adjusted as I was getting nerve damage in my feet was lets says interesting!! I thought my feet were going to fall off and the pain was a bit much, but after a few more runs and slight adjustments they feel so much better and I hope that each run will keep on getting better!

After a few hours we decided it was time to come inside as the weather looked very threatening, so we had a hot bath and felt a lot warmer and relaxed.

For this evening actvities we chose to go up to the Tourist Information Centre where they had a Local Cultural Night showcasing some local talent. The meals were "snacky" in nature but yummy.

There were 2 different groups performing, firstly the dance troupe made up of a few children and some adults performing different dances for Good Health and Good Harvests. They also had a dragon performing and afterwards it "bit" everyone on the head for Good Health!!

A duo then performed some traditional & popular songs the Guitar & Bamboo Flute which sounds a little like a pan flute.








They also had free hand painting on offer so I got mine painted and the artist even wrote my name in Japanese for me.....




On the way home we found an Igloo that had several rooms and snow scupltures in it...it was -10 inside!! and a few degrees cooler outside, brrr




Tomorow we are off to Sapporo to the Snow & Ice Festival which should be a great day!!

The "Last of Everything" Day

5th February, 2010

Since we left Melbourne its seems that its the the last of everything....seats on planes, Airport Gates out the boonies, last on planes due to delays...hehehe, but don't get me wrong its been a great trip with everything going smoothly apart from the approach to Sydney where we hit a storm cell and got shaken up a bit and the plane had to circle 3 or 4 times before we could land.

This meant that our 1hr & 10mins wait for our connecting flight to Tokyo became a mad dash for the plane so we didn't miss it.

Snappy Eating on the plane to Tokyo - Greek Style Chicken with Pearl Barely and Vegies
















The flight to Tokyo was uneventful and we had plenty of time at Narita Airport ( International) to organise our Rail Passes for the middle of the trip. Then it was a bus trip over to the Haneda (Domestic)Airport for our flight out to Ashikawa.



Snappy munching on mini oreo's at Ashikawa




















Mt Fuji
















First Snow sighted on the way to Ashikawa




Snow Flurries across the tarmac at Ashikawa




Temperature at Ashikawa Airport ~ -7.2 deg...brrr





After getting off the plane we had a short bus trip to Furano and it still amazes me how pristine and flat the snow on the side of the road and in the paddocks is.





We finally arrived at our home for the next week, B&B Furano its simple but comfortable and close to the ski runs which is the most important. Once we had a nap and went for a wander to pick up some munchies we headed off to Tirol Mongolian BBQ for dinner and as always it was the perfect way to finish off a big day of travel.

Dinner




Whilst we were walking around the snow was "crunchy" to walk almost like walking on polystyrene..so we took a small movie so you could here it...it was -10 at the time and very still.







So that was our first couple of days travelling and exploring....hit the slopes tomorow and see how bad we have become on the ski's/Snowboard...haha

Goodnight all...I'm stuffed and need sleep and this bed is very comfy...night!!

New Member of the family.....Snappy!!

This is Snappy....keep an eye out for him as he travels thru Japan... Tom Snappy & I are waiting for our flight out of Melb to Sydney, the place is bustling with people heading off in all sorts of directions

Its getting closer...

Afternoon all !!

Im sitting here in the kitchen watching the rain fall and the clock slowly tick over.

Poor Poppy is unsettled as she knows something is going on and we will miss her while we are away but she will be fine as Tom's Dad is looking after her for us! :)

So everything is packed and last minute items have been shoved into the spare spots, just hope that we are underweight ( according to our scales we are).

Both of us are over excited and just can't wait to get on the plane and get moving!! I think there will be a few stiff drinks had on the way over.

Okies time for a quick shower and then its time to head off.

Chat soon

Web Cams

For those of you that want to escape the heat and chill out for a few minutes below are the links to webcams at
Furano
http://www.visitfurano.com/English/furano/live.html

Hakuba
http://www.ski-hakuba-japan.com/Live-Hakuba-Web-cams/


Happy viewing!

Map of Japan

This is a map of where we will be over the next 3 weeks...Enjoy!



View Denise & Toms Trip in a larger map

Almost there...

Woohoo its getting closer!!
I finished work this morning and I dont have to go back till the first week of March!!

We picked up our Rail Passes for the train leg of our trip and that was the final detail to fall into place.

Now to start packing and try to keep under weight so we can bring back lots of goodies..hehe

Well its 3 days until we leave for Japan for 21 days of exploring and skiing our way around.

We fly out of Melbourne at 7:00pm on the 4th Feb arriving in Tokyo ( via Sydney ) at 6:35am.
Then we take a domestic flight out to Ashahikawa, a bus will then take up to Furano where we are staying until Feb 12th.

On the 12th we are catching the train to Hachinohe where we will be staying the night and the next day we will be catching the Fast Train the "Shinkensan" to Tokyo where we will stay 2 nights.

On the 15th we will catch the train out to Matsumoto where a castle built in 1565 is and spend the night there after exploring the castle and surrounds.

Leaving Matsumoto on the 16th for Hakuba where we will be staying until the 24th of Feb.
Lots of travelling and exploring to do and we both can't wait to get over there and start!!

Japan 2010

Welcome all to the blog for our Japan trip 2010!

Thought we would try this way of leeping in touch with everyone while we are away in Japan.

Will try to post on a regular basis and upload some photos for you all as well.

Feel free to contribute as well !!