Japan
Iiyama Shi

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    • Day 10

      Fresh blanket of snow

      March 4 in Japan ⋅ ❄️ 0 °C

      After a couple of days of cold clear skies we have woken up to a nice new blanket of snow. Will head out soon to enjoy some fresh powder. Breakfast was a mixed bag today. Curried vegetables with rice and good old tinned 2 fruits!Read more

    • Day 7

      Big day on the slopes

      March 1 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 1 °C

      After a 10cm snow fall overnight we hit the slopes early. Mind you it takes about one hour to get dressed, pick up skis and boots and take the gondola to the main ski field. Lovely powder and today I felt that my ski legs had returned (yesterday was a bit disappointing in terms of my technique). After lunch the sun came out and we would have liked to do more runs but we were buggered. After a few runs it was time to head for home on the 10km top to bottom run. We could hardly walk the short distance home after that run. A reviving Onsen meant we had enough energy to walk down the hill for dinner. Will be in bed by 8pm. A lovely day skiing only marred when my stock hit Jayne just above her eye. There was a fair bit of blood but fortunately no stitches required. Understandably, Jayne kept well clear of me for the rest of our skiing day!Read more

    • Day 69

      Stop 1: Nozawa Onsen

      January 15, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ❄️ -3 °C

      Von Tokio ging es mit dem Shinkansen und Bus nach Nozawa Onsen. Bedingungen eher so lala da es die Tage davor viel geregnet hat. Wir haben das beste daraus gemacht. Am 15.01. war auch das Dosojin-Feuer Festival.Read more

    • Day 90–93

      Nagano, Nozawa og 🐒

      November 10 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

      Første aften i Nagano fik vi den lækres Ramen og gik en tur op til templet - sent om aftenen er det de lokale der kommer forbi og beder en bøn mens de går aftentur med hunden. Noget af en kontrast til dagstimerne hvor der er fyldt med turister. 😅
      Vi tog et par dagstur ud til nogle af de små bjergby udenfor Nagano. Nagano var vinter OL by/område i 1998 og her så vi den gamle skiskydningsbane på vores vandretur. Japanerne er meget forsigtige generelt, så de vi spurgte på turistinformationen om vandreture i området fik vi at vide at de var lukket.. og en sø på den anden side af bjerget fortalte hun at der havde været bjørneangreb..😳 (de har mange typer bjørne både brune og sorte🐻) vi holdt os tæt til byen og fandt en rute op til et lille tempel (billede 11) viser den ryg vi gik op ad. Da vi kom tilbage til bjergbyen, kom de lokale gående i kimono til onsen (varme kilder) og det skulle vi selvfølgelig også prøve🥵😂 en af onsen i byen var 90grader varm og den benytter de lokale som fælleskøkken, hvor der koges grønsager og æg😅
      Dagen efter besøgte vi en anden bjergby, hvor aberne havde indtaget onsen 🐒🌫️
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    • Day 6

      Furusato no Yu - Public Bath

      February 22, 2017 in Japan ⋅ 🌙 2 °C

      Onsen translates to hot springs, so as you can imagine Nozawa Onsen has an abundance of hot springs which make for great public baths. There are 13 public baths scattered throughout the village (as well as numerous private baths in hotels and lodges).

      Wanting to immerse ourselves in Japanese culture we took the plunge (some what of pun, however it is considered rude to 'jump' into a bath) and give it a crack. We were recommended by our hotel to try Furusato no Yu which is Nozawa Onsen's newest public baths (opening in 2011).

      It was a bit daunting first and I will admit to a few nerves on the way there. Once you get into it though it is actually quite enjoyable and very relaxing.

      There are a few customs to follow, however they are generally common sense:
      - take your shoes off before entering (as is the case everywhere);
      - wash yourself thoroughly and wash away the soap before entering the bath;
      - don't splash or swim in the bath; and
      - dry yourself before going to the changing area.

      This bath had an indoor and outdoor bath. I tried them both. It is certainly a very relaxing way to end your day, and imagine it's something we will look forward to after skiing tomorrow.
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    • Day 12

      Nozawa Onsen - Day 6

      February 28, 2017 in Japan ⋅ 🌙 -2 °C

      A bit of a quiet one for me today. Spent the day in bed resting my knee and doing not too much.

      We did venture out for dinner tonight though to the awesome Okonomiyaki place we went to the other night. Can confirm it was just as good as last time.

      It was actually really nice to walk thorough the village and remember how great a place this actually is. We will definitely be back.

      Near to our hotel a local group were playing their instruments outside one of the cafes and had attracted a bit of a crowd who were dancing in the street. People seemed to enjoy the song 'would you like some Oyaki'. Oyaki is a Japanese style steamed bun which is sold next top where the band was playing.

      Tomorrow we are heading back to Tokyo for the last few days of our trip.
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    • Day 7

      Shabu Shabu

      February 23, 2017 in Japan ⋅ 🌙 2 °C

      For dinner tonight we enjoyed Shabu Shabu. Shabu Shabu is a Japanese hot pot style of dining where you cook your meal in a hot pot of boiling water. The name Shabu Shabu is derived from the noise the meat makes when you cook it.

      Meats are sliced thinly for quick cooking and you also get a plate of vegetables and noodles to cook also.

      We tried two meats the 'standard' which was Australian steak and the 'premium' which was Wagyu Steak. Both were lovely (though the Wagyu was exceptional) and we could not finish our meal as there was simply too much.

      Shabu Shabu is a very enjoyable meal to have also. We made an absolute mess of our table as we were continually dropping noodles and vegetables. It would be a great way to eat when there are a large number of people to entertain also.
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    • Day 7

      First Day Skiing

      February 23, 2017 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

      The day got of to a bit of a miserable start with rain falling over night and through the morning. As such, we took the opportunity to have a bit of a sleep in and take our time getting up to the slopes. We got up to Nagasaka, one of the two gondola stations in the resort probably around 11am.

      We spent the day on green runs (easy runs) so I could build my confidence and practice my turns. By the end of the day I felt as though I was doing pretty well. It all came back pretty quickly which was good.

      We headed up the Nagasaka Gondala a bit before lunch and were greeted with thick cloud cover. We had some lunch up the mountain to see if it would pass, which it didn't. We had visibility of about 30-40m so decided to take it easy down a green run which goes all the way down the mountain. It's about 7km all up, so by the end of it we were pretty spent.

      We played around a bit on the lower slopes where there was better visibility (though the snow was noticeably more sludgey).

      Stack count for the day for me was 2. Each time I drifted off the groomed run onto some heavier snow - the runs are very wide and sometimes it is difficult to tell where the groomed part stops.

      It was a miserable day, so no photos. It's snowing outside now, they are hoping for another 10-15cm overnight so let's see what tomorrow brings.
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    • Day 6

      Nozawa Onsen - First Impressions

      February 22, 2017 in Japan ⋅ 🌙 0 °C

      Wow. Every now and then you come across a place you just know you will fall in love with before you actually do. This is such a place.

      Narrow cobblestone streets, the constant sound of running water, the occasional whiff of sulfur from a hot spring, beautiful traditional Japanese architecture, sweeping vistas to the Japanese Alps, vending machines on every corner, wide ski runs, tall pine trees, everything comes together to make this place what it is. Oh, and the snow! As far as the eye can see.

      We took the opportunity this afternoon to have a look around, originally thinking we would be gone for an hour or so, we got back to our lodge about 4 hours later. Despite being such a small village there is so much to see and do (before even getting to the skiing).

      The towns traditions appear to be very much in tact. I look forward to exploring more of what this wonderful place has to offer over the coming week.
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    • Day 10

      Nozawa Onsen Day 4

      February 26, 2017 in Japan ⋅ 🌙 -1 °C

      We (especially me) woke up this morning feeling pretty tired and sore so took it pretty easy. We headed up the mountain around 10am and skied a few runs before lunch. After lunch we ventured up to the top of Mt Kenashi (1,650m) which is the highest part of the resort.

      We skied back down to the resort via Skyline which is a red run running along one of the ridge lines. It was enjoyable however challenging due to an icy run and large crowds. The ice did however make it quite quick.

      Another highlight was when we were doing down the Karasawa slope we noticed a partly submerged shrine of to the side. We ditched our skies and trudged (in knee deep snow, which bought back some memories) closer to it and found a lovely spot.

      For dinner we headed to a place called Sukai which offers a sort of Japanese tapas. It was a delicious meal. To finish we enjoyed (especially Sally - we'll see if she still enjoyed it in the morning) a Sake served in a wooden cup.

      One of the things we have noticed here is Sake is generally poured to overflow the glass and is caught in a saucer. After asking the owner of the restaurant and doing some research it appears as though there is no entrenched tradition in this apart from a fad which developed in the post war period and had since caught on. The purpose was to make the patron feel special by giving them more then what they purchased. This however is a bit of a con as the a single serve of Sake should be 180ml.

      The Sake was served with salt which we put on the lip of the cup. This contrasted with the sweetness of the Sake. This 'Yin and Yang' approach to food is something I've found often in Asian cuisine and is something I would like to play with more at home. I feel as though it is underutilized in Western cooking.

      Much of the same tomorrow. Only two days of skiing left so we will try to make the most of it.
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Iiyama Shi, 飯山

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