The sky was dark by the time we settled down at our stay for the next few days. The long hours of travelling through frozen landscapes of snow and bare trees famished us to the core but still, it didn't stop us from exploring the nearby town and the ski parks. While searching for a dinner place at Hirafu Slope, I was welcomed by the arrival of snow, showering lightly above the town, making it all very dreamy and romantic. Upon reaching the ski rest stop of Grand Hirafu Base, the rain of powdery flakes got heavier as though a snow confetti cannon was launched at me, celebrating my achievement of walking up to the top despite my empty stomach and frozen face.

This was where I had my first glimpse of skiing right before my eyes. I tried to observe and absorb as much as I could to prepare myself for my skiing session the next day. My anxiety had to make sure I knew what I was getting myself into, especially when it kept reminding me about Michael Schumacher's unfortunate skiing accident. Dark thoughts aside, I was for sure pretty much stoked for my first ski lesson, always happy to learn a new sport!

Finally stopped for dinner at Hirafuzaka where I remedied my hunger on a cold night with plain ol' udon noodles and fried tofu pieces soaked in warm dashi soup. I might look back at this dinner some day and regret on my timidity to order something out of the ordinary than the common Kitsune Udon. 

I LOVE HOTEL BREAKFAST BUFFETS. Well, I'm not even sure if I'm allowed to say that in a general way because I ALWAYS take the same scrambled eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, sausages, ham, butter, hash browns, and toasted bread which cannot go wrong no matter where I am. Yea, I know. I'm pretty dull when it comes to food because if I like that one dish, I can have it for days and years and never get sick of it.

Alright, enough of my boring food review, let's talk about THE VIEW. It was a bummer that I could not document and capture the beauty of my breakfast view via camera phone (though a small part of it is visible in the photo below) because sometimes that's just how it is, nature is always best perceived with the naked eye rather than its technologically-advanced counterpart. So I'll just have to describe it here just so that when I revisit this post in the next decade, my memory will be jolted with the image of this peaceful scenery that accompanied me while I relished on my morning meal.

After a sentimental feast in the morning, I switched emotional gears during my super fun yet tough ski lesson. My lack of stamina and leg strength meant that I had no time to think of sleeping winter trees as I had a hard time maneuvering around. Worst of all, my legs gave way and I fell off the magic carpet.

The slow moving conveyor belt transports the skier from point A to B while the skier stands on it without needing to move a single muscle. Yet I fell off the belt halfway through because my legs decided to go jelly on me. I remember lying on the snow after my fall, thinking if I should just pretend that I fainted or get up and face the awkward situation. I chose the latter, not because no one came to my rescue, but because my face was frozen anyway, nothing to save, really.

As Asians who value every single cent spent, we decided to illegally continue 'practicing' after class hours to make the most out of our ski lesson fees. By then, the gray afternoon skies were gone and the purple evening canopy loomed over us signaling the end of the day. It was an extremely enjoyable day, for me at least, and I got to practice until my energy cells died.

That's one whole day spent at the slopes of Grand Hirafu and to save our lethargic bodies from breaking down, we gave up on searching for restaurants and dined in at Hirafuzaka once again, and you guessed it right, I ordered Kitsune Udon, again.

By the way, I had no guts to use my film cameras in Niseko just in case the snow takes their lives away nor had I the confidence to take care of them in this weather. But I guess my phone camera would work just fine!

xoxo,

R.