If snow doesn't come to Kyoto - Nozawa Onsen （野沢温泉）

After going to Sapporo Yuki Matsuri, I was still missing something that can be done when it snows: snowboarding!

I tried to organize a ski/snowboard trip, but all my attempts failed. When hope was diminishing, Meg sends me a message inviting me to go to a ski site. Talk about mind reading! And the weekend chosen was the best choice for me as well.

I was also allowed to bring some friends, so I invited some friends who already had mentioned they would like to go ski/snowboard somewhere. I just forgot about the chain effect that usually happens in those cases: like when I went to Takaifuji last year, a friend called another, who called another... Although I knew all people who were invited, some people decided to join almost on the closing date for reservations.


Regardless of those minor problems, we managed to go to Nozawa Onsen Snow Resort in Nagano on February 21st to 22nd with a group of ten people from nine different nationalities. Again like Takaifuji, it was an "international summit" ski trip as Steffa pointed.

I am getting better with a snowboard. The only thing I have to remember is to tell the rental shop that I am a goofy next time. I always forget because when playing soccer I kick the ball with my right foot (even though I'm left-handed).



The landscape seen from the ski station is beautiful. If I weren't with a snowboard I'd probably like to go around and take some pictures. Those I took aren't all that nice.

The snow was also great. Powder snow accumulated until noon, when it stopped snowing and we had a clear sky until we returned to the hotel. And returning was also a small adventure, since I decided to try intermediate tracks with Meg, Steffa and Stefan. We forgot to calculate the time to get down the mountain to return our rental equipment on time and we had to rush to the base of the mountain after losing one of the lifts on our way down.

More fun with weird games after dinner (in the boys' room that was conveniently placed in the meeting room with no other guests in the rooms on the sides... Coincidence?) and walking around the town the next day completed the trip.

Since the name of the place is "Nozawa onsen" it has hot springs. We decided to go to one that's famous and free to use. Overall the atmosphere is nice with the place itself being small having a rustic design, but the water was too hot! It was like feeling what a boiling egg feels like... I could stand for a while only. It was nice nevertheless.

Snowboarding in 2009... check. With hot springs as a bonus. I think I can say I enjoyed winter now... now may spring come bringing ume and sakura!