Those dates are nearly identical to ours there. Look for a couple of tall Caucasian fellas with a few others.
-
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International (Europe/Japan/Southern Hemisphere) 2024 Hokkaido Trip Report
- Thread starter Mattadvproject
- Start date
I'll be with a group of 6, all Caucasian...all pretty average American height...haha. 4 ladies, and 2 gentlemen (opposite ratio of groups I normally travel with!). Two snowboarders, 4 skiers.
Thread Starter
TS
I'll be in Aomori for 3 nights (29th Jan - 1st Feb). Hirosaki for 3 nights (1st - 4th Feb), Hanawa for 3 nights (4th - 7th Feb) and then Shizukuishi for 4 nights (7th - 11th).
We’ll be in Hirosaki for 4 nights (29th-2nd), Tazawako for 2 nights (2nd-4th), Hachimantai for 4 nights (4th-8th), and ending near Geto Kogen for the last two nights (8th-10th).
Sounds like we have potential to cross paths..or not. Have a great trip, I’ll keep an eye out for a group of gaijin…haha.
Thread Starter
TS
Yep, you'll probably hear us before you see us!
Thread Starter
TS
24th Jan - Pow pow in Otaru
It was our first day of skiing in our Otaru zone and we had a fun time. We drove about 40 minutes from our hotel into the mountains to one of my favorite resorts (#2 on my Hokkaido ranking!). We arrived just after 9am and quickly got ready. We bought a full day ticket for 5,000 JP (about $34 USD) and headed up the gondola.
It started off bluebird and we enjoyed a fun sidecountry lap. It's definitely brushier than usual as the snowpack is still shallower than normal for this time of year but it's still good skiing. I found the usual traverse line out and we made it out pretty easily. I think the guys were pretty happy they didn't have to skin and we could just harness gravity to get out. The whole lap took about 30 minutes.
For the next lap we headed out into the backcountry for about a 40-minute tour. The weather started to close in and it started snowing hard as we transitioned in a clearing away from the top of the gondola. Still, despite the snow and increasing wind, it was a beautiful skin. This would be the longest skin the guys had done and it was great to see the transitions getting much faster and skinning technique improving.
We got a little higher than necessary, but that wasn't a big deal. We skied down a little but to look at the open face we would normally ski first, but visibility was poor and we could not see far enough to safely be able to ski the line. Instead, we traversed over to the ridgeline that was our primary objective and had a bit of ducking and weaving to do to make to to a steeper section where we could drop in.
I had a nice spot to do a ski cut and nothing moved, so I dropped in and skied a fun line. It was skiing nicely and and I got my first legitimate faceshots of the trip. Huzzah! The guys came down one at a time and then we were able to team ski a couple of mellower sections down to the creek bed and our normal exit from the line. No one had been all the way down the spine to the creek, so I couldn't see if anyone had skied back along the creek bed, so I was unsure if we could get out that way.
There was a nice skin track leading out higher up with only 2 switchbacks in it, so we decided to put the skins back on and get out of the creek bed that way. It was a little exposed (steep face down to the covered creek bed below) but still very doable for the guys. That was a really efficient line out and only took 6 or 7 minutes to make it up to the original exit traverse we had used on the previous run. After that it was lunch time.
After lunch we had a couple more inbound tree runs that were skiing nicely before calling it a day. The snow was really starting to come in and the winds were really picking up as the big storm was getting close. By the time we got back to Otaru it was blizzarding hard back and it was tough to want to go outside again to go out to dinner, but after a short taxi ride but we warmed up over charcoal BBQ for dinner in the canal district. The walk back was pretty tough, with gusts of wind nearly blowing us off our feet, but we made it back to the hotel and settled in for the night. The challenge for the next day would be the weather and if anything would be open......
The Big Ridge and the Zone of Plenty, one of my favorite areas in Hokkaido. It's a shame the weather didn't stay like this for the whole day, it would have been glorious.....
A quick sideocunty lap through open trees
Skinning up to the big ridge through the changing weather. This was the biggest skin the guys had ever done, great job team!
Loving the Big Ridge!
Starting the skin out of the creek. Our second group is also transitioning, below us.
Steve, getting some more good turns in after lunch.
Charcoal BBQ time down near the canal district
Grilling time~
- Matt
It was our first day of skiing in our Otaru zone and we had a fun time. We drove about 40 minutes from our hotel into the mountains to one of my favorite resorts (#2 on my Hokkaido ranking!). We arrived just after 9am and quickly got ready. We bought a full day ticket for 5,000 JP (about $34 USD) and headed up the gondola.
It started off bluebird and we enjoyed a fun sidecountry lap. It's definitely brushier than usual as the snowpack is still shallower than normal for this time of year but it's still good skiing. I found the usual traverse line out and we made it out pretty easily. I think the guys were pretty happy they didn't have to skin and we could just harness gravity to get out. The whole lap took about 30 minutes.
For the next lap we headed out into the backcountry for about a 40-minute tour. The weather started to close in and it started snowing hard as we transitioned in a clearing away from the top of the gondola. Still, despite the snow and increasing wind, it was a beautiful skin. This would be the longest skin the guys had done and it was great to see the transitions getting much faster and skinning technique improving.
We got a little higher than necessary, but that wasn't a big deal. We skied down a little but to look at the open face we would normally ski first, but visibility was poor and we could not see far enough to safely be able to ski the line. Instead, we traversed over to the ridgeline that was our primary objective and had a bit of ducking and weaving to do to make to to a steeper section where we could drop in.
I had a nice spot to do a ski cut and nothing moved, so I dropped in and skied a fun line. It was skiing nicely and and I got my first legitimate faceshots of the trip. Huzzah! The guys came down one at a time and then we were able to team ski a couple of mellower sections down to the creek bed and our normal exit from the line. No one had been all the way down the spine to the creek, so I couldn't see if anyone had skied back along the creek bed, so I was unsure if we could get out that way.
There was a nice skin track leading out higher up with only 2 switchbacks in it, so we decided to put the skins back on and get out of the creek bed that way. It was a little exposed (steep face down to the covered creek bed below) but still very doable for the guys. That was a really efficient line out and only took 6 or 7 minutes to make it up to the original exit traverse we had used on the previous run. After that it was lunch time.
After lunch we had a couple more inbound tree runs that were skiing nicely before calling it a day. The snow was really starting to come in and the winds were really picking up as the big storm was getting close. By the time we got back to Otaru it was blizzarding hard back and it was tough to want to go outside again to go out to dinner, but after a short taxi ride but we warmed up over charcoal BBQ for dinner in the canal district. The walk back was pretty tough, with gusts of wind nearly blowing us off our feet, but we made it back to the hotel and settled in for the night. The challenge for the next day would be the weather and if anything would be open......
The Big Ridge and the Zone of Plenty, one of my favorite areas in Hokkaido. It's a shame the weather didn't stay like this for the whole day, it would have been glorious.....
A quick sideocunty lap through open trees
Skinning up to the big ridge through the changing weather. This was the biggest skin the guys had ever done, great job team!
Loving the Big Ridge!
Starting the skin out of the creek. Our second group is also transitioning, below us.
Steve, getting some more good turns in after lunch.
Charcoal BBQ time down near the canal district
Grilling time~
- Matt
Thread Starter
TS
Jan 25th - Down day in Otaru
The weather was really wild with blizzards and 70kmph winds, so unfortunately most of the ski areas were either shut down or had limited terrain open.
Instead, we opted for some cultural activities so we hopped in the van and drove up the coast to the Otaru aquarium. The seas were massive on the way.
The highlights for me were the penguin walk where the penguins came out and walked through the snow close to the visitors and then the multitude of smaller exhibits.
After that we headed to Yoichi and the Nikka Whiskey tour and sampling. That's definitely worth a visit to their impressive, sprawling facility.
Then we capped off the day with a meal with Motohiro, a good friend of Grant and he took us to an old firehouse that had been converted into a sushi restaurant. We had way too much food but we were well catered to and we all left fat and happy....
Sturgeon
Whiskey tasting
Old exhibits at the firehouse sushi restaurant
Way too much food!
- Matt
The weather was really wild with blizzards and 70kmph winds, so unfortunately most of the ski areas were either shut down or had limited terrain open.
Instead, we opted for some cultural activities so we hopped in the van and drove up the coast to the Otaru aquarium. The seas were massive on the way.
The highlights for me were the penguin walk where the penguins came out and walked through the snow close to the visitors and then the multitude of smaller exhibits.
After that we headed to Yoichi and the Nikka Whiskey tour and sampling. That's definitely worth a visit to their impressive, sprawling facility.
Then we capped off the day with a meal with Motohiro, a good friend of Grant and he took us to an old firehouse that had been converted into a sushi restaurant. We had way too much food but we were well catered to and we all left fat and happy....
Sturgeon
Whiskey tasting
Old exhibits at the firehouse sushi restaurant
Way too much food!
- Matt
Thread Starter
TS
26th Jan - Finally, Skiing Again!
The storm hitting Hokkaido has been pretty savage! High winds, There's been plenty of snow, but the high winds and poor visibility have shut down most of the resorts in the Otaru zone. Anything that was open during the storm, was low angle terrain and just a couple of runs. It wasn't really worth going out.
Finally on the 26th we were able to ski some runs, albeit on limited terrain at a small ski area about 25 minutes from Otaru. I wouldn't normally go there, but it was skiing and it's only a short drive from the hotel, so it was worth giving it a shot. Only half the team wanted to come out, so I had a small crew with just the 3 of us. We were there by 9am and purchased a 4-hour lift ticket.
There was only 2 lower lifts running, but that gave us access to some short but steep trees and some hidden side-stashes. We enjoyed plenty of fresh tracks in the trees and on the ungroomed runs. I spoke with a a couple of ski patrollers about being allowed to go up skinning to the next lift that was closed. They said yes so we started transitioning. Right as we did that, a guided group of 10+ Westerners pulled up alongside us and started transitioning too. Grrrr! They had tried snake us on another tree run and now they were going to be heading up to the same area as us on the skins. I just wanted to do a nice mellow tour but now we would be pushed.
So we made sure we did a quick transition and set off at a strong pace and sure enough, we were able to pull away from them. It was only about 20 minutes to get to the top and it felt nice to stretch the legs and get the lungs working again. We found some good snow underneath the closed lift and then skied down to the base to have lunch. After lunch we did the skin again, but this time pushed further skier's right to the big lodge that they use for their golf course.
There are a coupe of nice pitches below that and we had fresh tracks on both. We had to sidestep up to a wide open run which would make it easier to get back to our van. It had some tracks on it, but was still pretty fresh. We enjoyed some nice turns but as we neared the bottom, we heard a snowmobile coming towards us with a siren on. Uh oh! That could only be for us..... Sure enough it was a patroller and he was not too happy. Thankfully as we got near to him, we realized it was a patroller that spoke good English (his name was Nobu) and we apologized and he was all cool in the end. It was our last run so no big deal if he had pulled our passes, but he didn't and we had anice chat in the end. That all just added to the adventure of the day.
After we got back to Otaru, we had a fun evening meeting new people and eating tasty foods, the highlight being the grilled Genghis Kahn lamb we cooked in a small, 6-person restaurant down a tiny sidestreet....
One of many tree runs that we skied. This one was a little hidden away and involved a short sidestep and really opened up as you got further in.
Skinning up to the closed area
Steve enjoying some nice turns in the closed area. Patrol were happy to do it if we had avi gear and were responsible for self-rescue (which was all good with us).
Lap #2, Scott getting some nice pow
Steve
Skiing a line with some dam walls in it. There first time I skied here, about 5 or 6 years ago, by myself, I fell off one of the dam walls, not knowing it was there. This time I was prepared!
Enjoying a little appetizer in a small, side-street bar owned by a lovely mother and son.
The owners of the bar, a super friendly family. I just love the friendly interactions we have, despite the language barrier.
Eating in a little 6-person sidestreet restaurant in Otaru. We met some really nice Kiwi guys who were enjoying their first time in Japan.
Grilling lamb on your own personal grill. Lovely stuff!
- Matt
The storm hitting Hokkaido has been pretty savage! High winds, There's been plenty of snow, but the high winds and poor visibility have shut down most of the resorts in the Otaru zone. Anything that was open during the storm, was low angle terrain and just a couple of runs. It wasn't really worth going out.
Finally on the 26th we were able to ski some runs, albeit on limited terrain at a small ski area about 25 minutes from Otaru. I wouldn't normally go there, but it was skiing and it's only a short drive from the hotel, so it was worth giving it a shot. Only half the team wanted to come out, so I had a small crew with just the 3 of us. We were there by 9am and purchased a 4-hour lift ticket.
There was only 2 lower lifts running, but that gave us access to some short but steep trees and some hidden side-stashes. We enjoyed plenty of fresh tracks in the trees and on the ungroomed runs. I spoke with a a couple of ski patrollers about being allowed to go up skinning to the next lift that was closed. They said yes so we started transitioning. Right as we did that, a guided group of 10+ Westerners pulled up alongside us and started transitioning too. Grrrr! They had tried snake us on another tree run and now they were going to be heading up to the same area as us on the skins. I just wanted to do a nice mellow tour but now we would be pushed.
So we made sure we did a quick transition and set off at a strong pace and sure enough, we were able to pull away from them. It was only about 20 minutes to get to the top and it felt nice to stretch the legs and get the lungs working again. We found some good snow underneath the closed lift and then skied down to the base to have lunch. After lunch we did the skin again, but this time pushed further skier's right to the big lodge that they use for their golf course.
There are a coupe of nice pitches below that and we had fresh tracks on both. We had to sidestep up to a wide open run which would make it easier to get back to our van. It had some tracks on it, but was still pretty fresh. We enjoyed some nice turns but as we neared the bottom, we heard a snowmobile coming towards us with a siren on. Uh oh! That could only be for us..... Sure enough it was a patroller and he was not too happy. Thankfully as we got near to him, we realized it was a patroller that spoke good English (his name was Nobu) and we apologized and he was all cool in the end. It was our last run so no big deal if he had pulled our passes, but he didn't and we had anice chat in the end. That all just added to the adventure of the day.
After we got back to Otaru, we had a fun evening meeting new people and eating tasty foods, the highlight being the grilled Genghis Kahn lamb we cooked in a small, 6-person restaurant down a tiny sidestreet....
One of many tree runs that we skied. This one was a little hidden away and involved a short sidestep and really opened up as you got further in.
Skinning up to the closed area
Steve enjoying some nice turns in the closed area. Patrol were happy to do it if we had avi gear and were responsible for self-rescue (which was all good with us).
Lap #2, Scott getting some nice pow
Steve
Skiing a line with some dam walls in it. There first time I skied here, about 5 or 6 years ago, by myself, I fell off one of the dam walls, not knowing it was there. This time I was prepared!
Enjoying a little appetizer in a small, side-street bar owned by a lovely mother and son.
The owners of the bar, a super friendly family. I just love the friendly interactions we have, despite the language barrier.
Eating in a little 6-person sidestreet restaurant in Otaru. We met some really nice Kiwi guys who were enjoying their first time in Japan.
Grilling lamb on your own personal grill. Lovely stuff!
- Matt
Thread Starter
TS
Sat 27th Jan - Pow Time!
The storm finally cleared out and it was time to hopefully reap the rewards! There was a decision to be made though, where to go. I have a definite favorite in that area but felt that it might be quite busy on a Saturday and the weather was still not amazing (high winds still), so I still felt it was going to be a bit of a roll of the dice if we went further afield, so I proposed to the guy we stay local and ski the resort closer by. Hopefully there would be fewer powderhounds going to a smaller place when all the bigger places were opening. Plus the winds were really going to die down on the Sunday so conditions would likely be prime after a small refresh on Saturday night.
So we took the quick 15-minute drive and made it up to the resort. There were only a few cars when we arrived and we headed straight to the ticket counter and bought our full day tickets (3,500 JPY). This "resort" only has 3 lifts and 300m vertical but it's steep and you don't have to traverse much, so the bang for the buck is pretty high. We made it onto the first tram at 9am and had an easy open powder run to warm up with.
The storm had really filled in the mountain and coverage was great. We headed into the trees and had lap after lap of untouched snow. The powder was a little heavier but it was predictable and consistent, it made for awesome conditions. There were 3 Aussies skiing the trees but they only seemed to know the obvious tree runs so the more secret stashes were not getting hit at all. We had no competition for fresh tracks in those trees and had runs all to ourselves. It was an amazing day and the guys were pretty stoked! I did notice a lot fewer ropes out this year; sections that had been roped in previous years were now open. The top of the main run which is closest to the ropeway was closed, but that looked like there had been a big glide crack there. The new storm seemed to have filled a lot of it in.
It just goes to show you don't need a lot to have an amazing time! There's no Epic or Icon passes here and that's just the way we like it. Not bad for a 3,500 JPY day pass (that's about $24!). That's one of the reasons why we love Hokkaido.... I was happy for the guys, they had finally gotten more of the Japan experience that we are normally accustomed to. The final day was also shaping up to be a belter! More to come.....
When the clouds lifted we had views of the city and the Ishikari Bay
Jon
Scott
Kelvin
Steve
Jon
Jon
Jon
Jon
Jon
Steve
Goblin mask museum at the resort
Rub the goblin's nose in certain ways, for different kinds of good luck!
Jon and Steve enjoying the views and the untouched powder
The team - from the left, Kelvin, Jon, Scott and Steve.
- Matt
The storm finally cleared out and it was time to hopefully reap the rewards! There was a decision to be made though, where to go. I have a definite favorite in that area but felt that it might be quite busy on a Saturday and the weather was still not amazing (high winds still), so I still felt it was going to be a bit of a roll of the dice if we went further afield, so I proposed to the guy we stay local and ski the resort closer by. Hopefully there would be fewer powderhounds going to a smaller place when all the bigger places were opening. Plus the winds were really going to die down on the Sunday so conditions would likely be prime after a small refresh on Saturday night.
So we took the quick 15-minute drive and made it up to the resort. There were only a few cars when we arrived and we headed straight to the ticket counter and bought our full day tickets (3,500 JPY). This "resort" only has 3 lifts and 300m vertical but it's steep and you don't have to traverse much, so the bang for the buck is pretty high. We made it onto the first tram at 9am and had an easy open powder run to warm up with.
The storm had really filled in the mountain and coverage was great. We headed into the trees and had lap after lap of untouched snow. The powder was a little heavier but it was predictable and consistent, it made for awesome conditions. There were 3 Aussies skiing the trees but they only seemed to know the obvious tree runs so the more secret stashes were not getting hit at all. We had no competition for fresh tracks in those trees and had runs all to ourselves. It was an amazing day and the guys were pretty stoked! I did notice a lot fewer ropes out this year; sections that had been roped in previous years were now open. The top of the main run which is closest to the ropeway was closed, but that looked like there had been a big glide crack there. The new storm seemed to have filled a lot of it in.
It just goes to show you don't need a lot to have an amazing time! There's no Epic or Icon passes here and that's just the way we like it. Not bad for a 3,500 JPY day pass (that's about $24!). That's one of the reasons why we love Hokkaido.... I was happy for the guys, they had finally gotten more of the Japan experience that we are normally accustomed to. The final day was also shaping up to be a belter! More to come.....
When the clouds lifted we had views of the city and the Ishikari Bay
Jon
Scott
Kelvin
Steve
Jon
Jon
Jon
Jon
Jon
Steve
Goblin mask museum at the resort
Rub the goblin's nose in certain ways, for different kinds of good luck!
Jon and Steve enjoying the views and the untouched powder
The team - from the left, Kelvin, Jon, Scott and Steve.
- Matt
Thread Starter
TS
Sunday 29th Jan - Finally, the proper Japow experience!
Our last day of skiing for my Hokkaido group finally delivered the quintessential Japan powder experience. Conditions have been tough for this trip, but this day was exceptional and an amazing way to wrap things up. We had to leave early for the resort with the van full packed up ready to head to Chitose right after skiing. There had been a reported amount of 5cm's of new snow but that's a Hokkaido 5cm's and that can often mean a lot more.
The objective was to ski tour into the sidecountry from the top of the gondola. It was busy, but I've never seen so many ski tourers here before. When we got to the transition point, there was already a big group of Japanese skiers (12 plus) about to start skinning up. We transitioned quickly and soon caught up as they were moving slowly. They would let us past so we had to go around them which took extra energy. We finally made it round them and quickly made it to our transition spot. That group climbed higher. We skied down to the open, untouched face below. The turns were delicious!
At the bottom, we started transitioning to head to the big ridge, our next objective and the Japanese group dropped in on top before we had cleared the runout. We had to do another quick transition and I put in the skin track up to the big ridge. No one else had been there yet..... Thankfully the big Japanese group went in a different direction when they reached the ridge. We had an amazing untouched run all the way down. Sweet turns were had.
We had lunch and then the group wanted to do another tour, so we headed back up for me. We skied a different part of the face that took us to an even steeper ridgeline and that was probably even better. The guys all said this was one of the best days skiing of their lives, potentially the best, so I was pretty happy with that. It was a joy working with a group of traditionally resort experienced skiers and teaching them how to tour and helping them develop the touring and backcountry skills. The change in their mindset was a real inspiration. Overall, this has been a great trip and experience for all involved. Cheers team!
And that's a wrap for my Hokkaido group! What a great way to end it, I'm stoked the last 2 days were awesome and the guys finally got the proper Japow experience. I'll finish this blog later when I add all the video's, but I'll probably do that when I get back to Denver after my Uzbekistan trip is over (Feb 27th). I'll have more time then. Now I have the Tohoku group about to start and I'm currently in Aomori waiting for the full team to assemble. I will definitely be posting, but I think the initial posts will have to be a little briefer initially (I'll probably just copy and post my Insta/FB posts first, just to save time as I'll be pretty tired after a full day of guiding..... then I'll add more detail later.
So, still plenty more to come! Thanks for following so far.
- Matt
Our last day of skiing for my Hokkaido group finally delivered the quintessential Japan powder experience. Conditions have been tough for this trip, but this day was exceptional and an amazing way to wrap things up. We had to leave early for the resort with the van full packed up ready to head to Chitose right after skiing. There had been a reported amount of 5cm's of new snow but that's a Hokkaido 5cm's and that can often mean a lot more.
The objective was to ski tour into the sidecountry from the top of the gondola. It was busy, but I've never seen so many ski tourers here before. When we got to the transition point, there was already a big group of Japanese skiers (12 plus) about to start skinning up. We transitioned quickly and soon caught up as they were moving slowly. They would let us past so we had to go around them which took extra energy. We finally made it round them and quickly made it to our transition spot. That group climbed higher. We skied down to the open, untouched face below. The turns were delicious!
At the bottom, we started transitioning to head to the big ridge, our next objective and the Japanese group dropped in on top before we had cleared the runout. We had to do another quick transition and I put in the skin track up to the big ridge. No one else had been there yet..... Thankfully the big Japanese group went in a different direction when they reached the ridge. We had an amazing untouched run all the way down. Sweet turns were had.
We had lunch and then the group wanted to do another tour, so we headed back up for me. We skied a different part of the face that took us to an even steeper ridgeline and that was probably even better. The guys all said this was one of the best days skiing of their lives, potentially the best, so I was pretty happy with that. It was a joy working with a group of traditionally resort experienced skiers and teaching them how to tour and helping them develop the touring and backcountry skills. The change in their mindset was a real inspiration. Overall, this has been a great trip and experience for all involved. Cheers team!
And that's a wrap for my Hokkaido group! What a great way to end it, I'm stoked the last 2 days were awesome and the guys finally got the proper Japow experience. I'll finish this blog later when I add all the video's, but I'll probably do that when I get back to Denver after my Uzbekistan trip is over (Feb 27th). I'll have more time then. Now I have the Tohoku group about to start and I'm currently in Aomori waiting for the full team to assemble. I will definitely be posting, but I think the initial posts will have to be a little briefer initially (I'll probably just copy and post my Insta/FB posts first, just to save time as I'll be pretty tired after a full day of guiding..... then I'll add more detail later.
So, still plenty more to come! Thanks for following so far.
- Matt
Last edited:
Thread Starter
TS
2024 Hokkaido Video Highlights
It's been a little challenging to find the time to go back and start editing all the footage I took from my trips this season but I finally was able to put together a highlight reel for my first session in Japan.
Admittedly it was low tide this winter in Japan, in mid-January at least and the storms didn't turn on until the end of the trip, but we still had fun and found some decent snow, all things considered. The last 2 days were really special and Yuki finally delivered the proper Japow experience. I'm grateful for that. Thanks to my group for keeping the faith!
Let me know what you think of the Hokkaido blog from this season. I still have a lot of content to add to the Tohoku and Uzbekistan reports and then I'll be starting a new report for Norway when I leave this Saturday......
- Matt
It's been a little challenging to find the time to go back and start editing all the footage I took from my trips this season but I finally was able to put together a highlight reel for my first session in Japan.
Admittedly it was low tide this winter in Japan, in mid-January at least and the storms didn't turn on until the end of the trip, but we still had fun and found some decent snow, all things considered. The last 2 days were really special and Yuki finally delivered the proper Japow experience. I'm grateful for that. Thanks to my group for keeping the faith!
Let me know what you think of the Hokkaido blog from this season. I still have a lot of content to add to the Tohoku and Uzbekistan reports and then I'll be starting a new report for Norway when I leave this Saturday......
- Matt
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