Ski/Snowboard Season is over!

John and I have officially called it quits on ski season for the beginning of 2013. Outdoor Recreation offers ski trips through May, but the weather is getting too warm. The conditions in most places are icy as the snow is rained on and then melted by the warm weather, although the mountain views are probably beautiful this time of year with clear skies.

This year we did a power tour of all the ski places within drivable distance of Yokosuka. We went on six trips in all and were completely exhausted by the end. What did we learn for next year?

1. Quality not quantity. We will try to do only two or three ski trips next year, each one probably lasting three or four days. The one day trips are great when you just want to feel what Japan has to offer, but waking up at 3am to ride the bus for 6 hours, ski for 8 hours, and then hop on the bus for another 6 hour ride back to base is tiring. Overnight trips and long trips are wonderful. You can do night skiing, have a few drinks, sleep in, and go at your own pace.
2. Skip MWR Outdoor Rec. We did all of our trips with MWR Outdoor Recreation. This is an on-base organization that coordinates these trips for base patrons and their guests. They are wonderful at what they do and you don't have to do any driving or thinking BUT there's other ways to get to the ski resorts in Japan that are more comfortable....the bullet train for one...there's other travel agencies and groups in the area that will help you coordinate your ski trips....and none of them involve waking up at 3am or earlier!!
3. Start in December, end in February. We started skiing at the end of December last year and did our last trip in March. We wonder if the conditions would be better if we started earlier and ended earlier. During our last trip (Zao) conditions weren't spectacular.

Well, that's all. Those are our lessons learned. We'll see you on the slopes next year!