Ski Japan

We're back at home and kids are now asleep after a day of swimming, sledding and bus-train-train-train-taxi. Now I can show pix of our ski weekend.

First, travelogue.

We took the "Shinkansen" bullet train from Tokyo Station to Nagano. Here's the nose of the thing (speeds up to 300 km/hr - or about 200 mph). It looks like an airplane inside, nothing posh.



An hour later, we were in the country. A half-hour later, mountains - and then a big snow-topped volcano, Mt. Asama, which is apparently still active.




We reached Nagano after about 1.5 hrs, and it was nothing to look at despite its 1998 Winter Olympics fame. Gray city, mountains, bleh. A Japan Railway train took us into the mtns, and a crowded, third-worldish resort bus ferried us to Hotel Tangram. The accomodations weren't fancy, but we were pleasantly surprised to find a pull-out bed and day bed for the kids, thank god, and a lovely view out the window.




This is the lodge and the view from lodge of Mt. Madarao.




We seemed to be the only Westerners who were staying at the hotel, and the food was mostly typical Japanese meals - that is, lots of soups, fish dishes, marinated seafood, hard-boiled quail eggs, marinated veggies, sushi. Milk was served next to the cornflakes and Cocoa Krispies at breakfast, but unavailable to drink the rest of the day. There were barely warm fried eggs and potato wedges, not too appetizing.

This morning, my breakfast was miso soup, tofu with soy sauce and green onions, and cornflakes. This was lunch on day 1: edamame and udon noodle soup with a delicious lump of tempura. Not the usual Vail/Steamboat ski fare of burgers, fries, pizza, fries, hot chocolate and fries.



The kids seemed a little shocked that the food was so relentlessly Japanese in texture, temperature and style; we take them to Japanese restaurants, of course, and I cook some of it, but they always know they'll find Life cereal and English muffins for breakfast. Lucinda ate spaghetti and tomato sauce for three straight lunches. Arno ate potato wedges for two days - but enjoyed 4 fat slices of tofu this morning for breakfast. It was a challenge to get them to try new foods when the whole experience was so new.

Next up... the activities.