Honeymoon Day 2 and 3

Well, it turned out the Hilton hotel didn't have the Internet, or at least free Internet. I'm to miserly to pay 1500 yen for 24 hours, so I couldn't upload my first post until I got back to Anjo. Bah Humbug! So here is he condensed summary of what happened on Days 2 and 3.

We woke up early on Day 2 and were in the first group of people up the mountain when the gondolas opened. Conditions were a bit cloudier and windier that day, but the snow was still good. I started to get better at turning on a dime, which meant that I could go down the mountain faster and in more control of my movements. I didn't crash into anyone, although there were some close scrapes, some of which were not even my fault!

Tsuna did something unusual with a pair of skis that I'm forbidden to repeat in this blog (*cough cough*) I guess this is what it's like to be married or something :P

That night we went to Kutchan, the town down the road from Niseko. Like fish that swim up waterfalls to return to the lake where they were spawned, I can find a restaurant I liked in the past by closing my eyes and retracing the steps. We found the Hamako izakaya without much of a fuss, although I did sink right up to my knees in powder snow on the sidewalk with a badly placed jump. I had forgotten it was primarily a seafood restaurant, so while I enjoyed my Hokkaido potato dishes, Tsuna ate lots of fresh Hokkaido sashimi. The meal got two thumbs up from both of us, followed by a quick scramble to make the bus back to Niseko.

Day 3 began on a real bad note. The night previously it had started to snow, but by the time we woke up it had turned into rain. For those of you living in drier climes, snow + rain = real slushy snow that is a pain to ski on. This was bad, but what was worse was the complete lack of visibility due to fog. When we arrived at the top, we could only see two meters in front of us. The 20 minute average run down the mountain turned into an hour long ordeal with multiple crashes and breaks due to leg cramps. Tsuna and I got separated in the mist and wound up arriving at different ends of the mountain. By the time I made it back to the hotel at 9:20 AM, the gondolas had shut down and that was the end of our skiing vacation.

Rather than let the rest of the day go to waste, we decided to take the train to Otaru, a small port town on the Sea of Japan. I think that Otaru has a real downtown Freo vibe, just with a lot more snow and Russians. We tried another sushi place where we had salmon, tuna and hamburg steak sushi (the last being so awesome I had to take some pictures of it). Afterwards we went to a German style brewery on the canal, complete with bar-wench costumed waitresses and big German-sized meal portions. At one point, they brought out an entire pig's leg and began carving bacon off it.

We had a lot of trouble getting back though. Our train was delayed, so we missed our connecting bus back in Kutchan, which meant we got back to the hotel two hours after our reservation for our Valentine's Day meal. As such, we had to wait until 9:00 before we could get another spot. But we wound up enjoying the meal, and it didn't completely bankrupt me. So I guess that's a good thing

Overall, we had two good ski days out three, ate lots of fresh Hokkaido food and saw some beautiful natural scenery. The company wasn't too bad either... ^_^

I'll write more as the wedding plans progress

-Blake
The Fortress of Solitude, Anjo, Japan