I want your board

The day is coming.

To such a date I have only heard about the mystical, faraway slopes that lie near the rump of Hokkaido. For years I heard about the powder, untouched hills in waylaid mountains. Dusted snow so deep and so fresh that it calls out, resonates across wavelengths calling people to come and get lost in the winter wonder of Hokkaido. Niseko. One of those places.

This week, at the lumpy end of this week, I will be dragging board in tow and slogging steps through the Sapporo Snow Festival. World famous the festival is, I might add. I will be downing seared choppits of lamb, gorging if just per sip on golden Sapporo brews and snowboarding with careful safety (to appease the snow-bearing gods) across the slopes of and surrounding Niseko.

I remember catching view in one travel-ocumentary about soaking in onsen after boarding. That I will do. Sleep in this weekend? I think not. Even now I am throwing bits of clothes at my mini suitcase just dying to board bus and get to the mountain. This year’s Snow Tour (brought to you by a local JET Programme coalition for teachers, &c. &c.) will be a doozie. We have more snow in Hokkaido this year and colder winds. Should make for a draft of a time.

Sorry. I don’t want to parch my own throat with wearisome words but I am building a case to satisfy my absence come Monday. I will be away from desk and chair if just for a few days. So any read-able post set here will be coming to you live and wild on Tuesday -at least!

Keep your chins covered and your nasal drip apart and I’ll catch you next week. Again, don’t worry, I tend to have really full workdays. Its just that when it comes to snow and being in a part of the world that offers pristine outdoor recreation -you just gotta cash in those days off and get out there!
I can’t wait to see the other peeps coming up from southern Japan who have little to no snow in their regions. When they hit Hokkaido to come boarding with us they may be in for a shock. For cold!

Drink something warm. Cocoa works, too, and I’ll catch you next week.
Ciao!

And keep on wherever you’re at!