For the second year in a row my lovely husband and I escaped Suzhou for the slopes of Japan to snowboard our way through Christmas. In 2013 we went to Niseko which was magical, but a lot of travel as you cannot get a direct flight from Shanghai, so we decided to try the Happo One which can be reached in under 2 hours on a train from Tokyo.
The flights for the beginning of the season are cheaper than around the time of Chinese New Year and so for us the risk of less snow was worth it. The earthquake a couple of weeks earlier was a concern, but our accommodation was intact as were the roads that we needed to travel on. There was even a massive dump of snow a few days before we arrived and several days of snow whilst we were there. Heaps of fresh powder on the edges and some days we even had powder up to our waists. The lift passes sadly were not great prices. In Niseko we were able to get a 9 day pass that was greatly discounted and didn't have to be used on consecutive days. The deals just weren't as good. The other issue was the lack of sign posts on piste and the number of runs that changed from Red to either Black or Green. It was nigh on impossible to navigate your way down via just one colour. This did help with my confidence on double diamond runs and I managed to look like I had seen a snowboard before at least once when navigating my way through a steep mogul field.
Japan is such a lovely contrast to China for us. The streets are spotless, no one drops litter or spits, everything is clean, the sky is blue, the public bathrooms are not unpleasant. One of the best things about the bathrooms are the showering toilets. As a snowboarder I can't help but spend a certain amount of time sat in the snow doing my bindings up. So, sitting on those toasty warm toilet seats is just great. The shower function is not so helpful for warming...
Happo One is a really good resort if you are with a group that has some non snow sports people. You can catch the bus into Nagano to shop, visit the temple, or even catch another bus to the snow monkeys. It is also possible to catch a train from Nagano to Matsumoto Castle. We took two days off to rest our legs and enjoyed strolling around Nagano and the Zenkoji Temple in Nagano.
The Snow monkeys were incredible too. It's a 2 kilometre icy walk from the bus stop uphill and then through the woods to the monkeys. They are fed by people who work there, but can roam free. The monkeys don't stray far as they are in need of the food provided and the pool that was built for them to contain the natural hot springs and allow them to stay warm. I loved how close the monkeys would walk to you, but it felt a little wrong when I saw people turn their backs to the monkeys to get a selfie or sticking a camera on a stick in the monkeys face.
Niseko v's Happo One. Niseko wins. The food at the restaurants was cheaper, the ski passes were better value, the aprés ski life was far more fun, the powder was deeper, the runs were better and the accommodation choices were better for us in Niseko too.
Spending Christmas away is no big deal. I actually prefer spending Christmas away as it stops me from getting sucked into the consumerism and with moving around so much you really need to avoid buying lots of silly unnecessary items. You can still blare Christmas music in your hotel or hostel room and you can still watch your favourite Christmas movies and specials on flights, trains, buses and in the evenings. We exchanged small gifts on our return once we were back with our labradoodle who had eagerly been awaiting Santa Paws and had a special meal with some delicious saké purchased from Japan.
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