Kandatsu Kogen

Well, it looks like this winter/spring will be the one in which we hit many ski resorts in Japan. Until I came to Japan, I had only been skiing once in West Virginia. I had tried snowboarding and was so terrible at it, I ended up crying and demanding to walk back to the rental place and rent skis. I did much better on skis, but it definitely wasn't love at first lift. I have never been particularly athletic, so I was bad at skiing too....but at least I could move both of my feet independently of one another.

Flash forward six years and my trip to Mt. Naeba on Christmas 2012 was only my second time skiing. Then we went to Grinpa/Yeti and now Kandatsu Kogen and I can definitely say I've come a long way. I enjoy skiing much more than the first time and with each trip I get a little better at it. At Kandatsu Kogen, I took lessons through the MWR Outdoor Rec....I learned a lot and I think I'm actually starting to call myself a skier.

Japan has arguably some of the best ski spots in the entire world. The climate in some areas dumps this wonderful powdered snow on the ground making it an ideal ski paradise. Within a day's driving distance of Yokosuka, there's tons of ski resorts. Kandatsu is northwest of Yokosuka in the Niigata area, about a 5 hour drive. John and I book our snow trips through the base's MWR Outdoor Recreation center. You can definitely drive/train to ski resorts on your own, but if someone else can do the driving for $75/person (which is a little less than you'd pay in train tickets and tolls), then I am definitely going to choose that option. We sleep all the way there and back, so although the bus is uncomfortable, it is much better than driving.

Anyway, next month we're doing two ski trips, March we have three planned, April two and then May will be the end of the season and we'll try to do two trips then as well.

Here's some pictures from Kandatsu Kogen:

The two person chair lift was painfully slow.

It didn't stop snowing the entire time we were there.

View from the chairlift.

This was at the edge of the snowboard park.

My skis at the start of the run.

John catching some air.

John doing the board slide.

All those tricks were hard work!

This chairlift faced straight down the mountain.

I was taking photos!

I swear I'm looking at the camera.

Comments Moderated

Hello all,

Unfortunately, I'm going to start moderating comments. Also, you now have to be following this blog in order to comment.

Over the past few months, as my readership has skyrocketed (13k views and counting!), so has the number of spam posters and posters with weird comments I don't care about, but they found my blog while searching for something else and feel they MUST let me know their opinions (even though nothing else here is relevant to their needs).

So, yep, just to let people know what's going on.

Snow Day 2013

Yesterday, mid-morning, people in my area started posting pictures on Facebook of snowy cars and houses with captions that said, "Snow in Yoko!" For a minute I thought, "How nice...." and for some reason completely forgot I lived in Yokosuka. A few seconds later when it all clicked, I ran to my window and flung open the curtains to discover HUGE, CHUNKY snowflakes falling to the ground. It was not only snowing, it was a full blown snow storm. The snow fell for a few hours, most of it sticking. Schools were let out early, roads were closed and the base shut down allowing only essential personnel to continue working.

As the day progressed, the roads got worse. People who normally had a 15-20 minute drive home found themselves stuck in traffic for over 5 hours. Children were loaded onto school buses at 12:30 in the afternoon but did not get home until 6pm. John and I ended up staying home, watching movies and catching up on various house chores. I am so glad we didn't have to be anywhere yesterday.

Today, there appears to be no snow on the American base (probably due to it's closeness to the ocean, the salt can melt the snow quickly), but where I live about 5 minutes away, the snow is still piled up inches thick. The roads near our house seem to be clear and it took John only a few minutes to get into work.

Here's some pictures of this wild snowstorm:

Picture taken when I first noticed the snow.

My poor car :(

Our street.

Snow storm in the town!

The snow wouldn't stop!

My hand print.

Our yard.

Another picture after hours of snowfall.

The road in front of our house.

The next day.

This afternoon, snow still sitting in our yard.

Grinpa/Yeti

Yesterday (Sunday), John and I went to visit Grinpa/Yeti. This place is an amusement park (year round) and ski area (winter only) nestled at the base of Mt. Fuji. Grinpa is the amusement park area and 10 minutes up the road is the ski area.

My advice is to choose to do one or the other, but not both. Both areas have separate entrance fees, which can add up to almost $100 per person in entrance fees alone. I did not go to Grimpa, but judging by the looks of it (and judging by the people who got off the bus there), the place is for small children ages 2-7. Older kids might have a more enjoyable time skiing, snowboarding or sledding at Yeti.

Yeti was a small ski location. It had two beginner runs and two expert runs. One beginner run was dedicated to skiers only and even then only people taking a ski school....which means, everyone else (who wasn't an "expert") was shoved onto one run and it was CROWDED. If you're not that great of a skier/snowboarder, Yeti may be difficult for you as the crowds make living obstacles in the snow. Not to mention, the snow was mostly packed ice. The sun shining on the snow plus the crowds packed the snow and made for treacherous terrain. Anyone who's skied/snowboarded before can tell you that when the snow packs tight and forms ice, it can be hard to control your speed and stops. No one wants to go careening down a mountain without being able to stop themselves.

Overall I had fun, but the crowds, the ice, and doing the same ski run over and over got a little old. If you're serious about skiing/snowboarding, I say save your money on this one and do another mountain (like Naeba or Hakuba). On the upside, you do get to ski at the base of Mt. Fuji and the view was amazing.

Here's some pictures: