Ozgirl’s Japanese Adventure
So a little background.
A few years ago I met a President of a ski club at a friend of a friends party.
This ski club is pretty large and is part of a bigger global club who come together every year in the Northern Hemisphere season. The purpose is racing and drinking! (I was warned about the drinking but didn’t think it was be as big as it was - their here to race supposedly)
Day 1
We arrive at Tokyo Narita a little blurry eyes and start to run into a few of the group who had spent some time in Tokyo during the week. Reports were in that their were a few sore heads as they had been out til 4am!
We arrive in Sapporo and not long after the other flight from Haneda also showed up. The plan was to catch the train into Sapporo and walk the short couple of blocks to the Hotel. Some bright spark had heard there was a bus that dropped us off at the Hotel (so we didn’t have to walk) the majority chose the bus. So we got on the bus. It turns out to be the bus from hell! 2.5 later we finally got to the hotel.
A quick shopping trip (back at the train station we should have gone to) and we headed off to the Sapporo Bier Hall for Korean BBQ.
Waiting for the bus
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Sapporo Bier Hall
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Cooking up a storm
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After dinner our two buses (60 of us) was divided into party poppers and party goers. I was shamed into getting on the the party goers bus but had the last laugh when I refused to get off and made the driver take me back to the hotel! I thought it best to pace myself… pity that was the last time I had that thought for most of the trip!
Day 2
The next day we boarded the buses and headed up to Niseko after a quick stop at the supermarket in Kutchan we went to check in to the Hokkiado Tracks managed apartments at Yama Shizen, I didn’t take photos of the apartment but they were really nice and HT looked after us brilliantly!
The view
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We then headed out to a Wine tasting and then a Welcome from the resort.
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Our buffet dinner
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After dinner there was some Taiko Drumming (I have a video from this it was pretty cool and i even got to have a go!)
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This was a relatively quiet one.
Oh and a funny pic from Sapporo
“Downhome food” anyone (above the second window)
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Day 3
First Day on the Mountain.
I headed up with the boys and we had a great morning riding powder over at Hanazono - Mainly Strawberry Fields, man that is so over rated (IMO) got tracked out very early.
I loved my ski’s - everyone told me I shouldn’t bother taking them but I am glad I did. They really are an all mtn ski. They held their own.
That night we had another welcome party at Wild Bills. Great food but the age old problem of their not being enough and needing to be near the kitchen.
Day 4
I took the boys to Gate 8 - there was a bit of eye rolling wondering where the girl would take them but I didn’t disapoint and they had a great day. Not a lot of pics and stuff sorry. I had kind of been holding off posting this TR wanting for others to post pics. I may have to wait for the reunion drink up to get some more :-(
Tonight we headed to NAC and JoJo’s for a Sake breaking ceremony - after we detoured to the Ice bar before heading home.
First photo from the mtn
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Ice bar
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Ice bar slide
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Me and a new friend Matty (who apparently just signed up to the boards)
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Day 5
I think it was this day that didn’t start off so great when I went arse over tit in front of the building. I am still feeling the effects of that fall today.
Funniest thing was one of the older ladies was in the lift with me and for some reason made the connection that I was going up on the mountain with the ‘boys’, the expression on her face was priceless, she was horrified. My response was that I had being ‘skiing’ with the boys every day!
Day 6
Today the whole group headed to Rusutsu. One of the Niseko Photographers came along for the day and followed us around (can’t wait to see some of the footage). He knew some great spots and even though we hadn’t had any decent fresh snow overnight the were still a lot of freshies to be had.
Tonight was a big night. I was wearing Waldo’s watch (can’t remember why to be honest) and I didn’t find out til the next day it was slow , not on Aus time, but slow. Anyway it seems that when I got home just after midnight (the door locks at midnight to the building but I had no key/code to get in) and found a couple of the guys in my apartment home (thank god!) that it was really after 3am!
Matty in some pow - under Swinging Monkey chair
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I did hang out with girls occasionally 
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At Jam before the night got very messy!
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Trail Map at Rusutsu - Biginner runs anyone?
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In case anyone missed it in the japan thread here is a bit of an edit from one of the guys gopro’s
Day 7
The day after the night before…... it was hard to get out of bed this morning - for some reason I thought the best thing to do would be to drink the Vodka and OJ i had mixed the day before and then had a Vodka Red Bull as well! That combined with the low light meant this (Watch to the end for a wicked slowmo)
Tonight the organised a sleding comp next to Herbies. Basically you had to drink a shot of Jager run up the hill drink another and then sled down the hill. I was doing really well until the second shot and lost :-(
Today Yotei came out to play in the afternoon
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Herbies Shotski
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Losing with a smile on my face!
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Day8
The final day of the Pre Week - we headed to Wild Bills again for a farewell party. They gave us more food this time which was a plus but the night ended pretty messy.
Bring on Week 2!
I am not looking very sober here!
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Second Week Days 9 - 13
So on the Sunday most of us (and a few went home and we had some newbies) moved to the Hilton in Niseko Village.
I had got a snowboard the night before but the hangover, plus packing, plus being organised to get my bags on the transfer bus meant a lot of scattered people that morning and it seemed I was on my own with the board. I did a couple of runs under the Gondola of Hirafu but I found the fall line really weird (I find it really hard knowing the ‘best’ way down a mountain and not being able to do it if that makes sense. Anyway I was feeling rotten and I was craving ‘real’ found so I decide to brave the top of the mountain and did really well until I decided to take the easy way down to the Hilton )ie cat track, and it was long and brutal!!
Anyway I finally made it to the Hilton and decide to check out the famous lunch buffet, pretty awesome for only 1600 yen all you can eat. But you know what I got? Two plates of salad!! Oh and some sourdough bread. I was in heaven.
That night we had the official opening ceremony and team parade including fireworks - but those pics seem to have disappeared :-(
The next morning I seem to have promised Waldo my Eminence board to race on and the next thing I knew I was fighting Skate Banana and i was not having fun. So i hung around on snow watching the first run of the snowboarding quals and then got my board back but my heart wasn’t in it.
That night we had a quiet team dinner in Hirafu. Then I was shattered - I had been watching the weather and Tuesday was not meant to be nice and so I went to Kutchan for the day. The bad weather didn’t seem to come in until Wednesday though and even though I got suited and booted to head up the mountain I ran into heaps of people who had been up and came back down and said it was terrible up the top so a bunch of us went over to The Green Leaf and had lunch and then went to cheer on the ladies in the GS.
That night was the Turning Japanese party which was heaps of fun, our whole team dressed up as Japanese School Girls (including the guys!)
The next day I ended up skiing with one of the other lady’s in the group and had a great final morning skiing with her. Even thought there had been some rain damage the snow was still really fun.
In the afternoon there was team fun races and a kind of carnival where the teams from all over the world set up stalls with things from their home country. The Aussie had an Aussie Shiraz and Kangaroo on the bbq! I tried reindeer!!
That night was the gala dinner. I bailed pretty early as I hadn’t really packed and my alarm was going off at 6am for the trip home!
Up the top of the Niseko Gondola
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I made it on a board!
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The ice carving welcoming us to the Hilton
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team mascot - who has since been stolen and now has his own facebook page showing of his world travel (seriously check out https://www.facebook.com/skippy.kangaroo1)
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Snowboard racing
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The Woman’s GS finish line with Yotei in the background
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Showing our team spirit with the aussie flag and cow bell
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Our school girl outfit
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With some of the boys
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A couple of guys from a European team
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View from my hotel room
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Oh and the final pic - up on a table and the time stamp on this is 1.45am!
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Amazing… You sound like you had so much fun.
Amazing… You sound like you had so much fun.
Sarcasm font?
I was pre-empting the edit 
Very VERY jealous. Japan is top of my list to ride. Looks like a lot of fun!
Nice stuff, oz!!!!! 
Thanks everyone.
Final upload done. Now all I need is a video…. I found the fireworks, they were a video LOL
Awesome TR! Looks like sooooooo much fun!
Little disappointed you didn’t get stickered !!!!!
Great report!!!!
Haha Azz
Oh I gave a sticker to the GM of the Hilton. He promised to put it up in the staff room.
But I did fail at putting them up over the resort. Talked about it a lot but would forget to take them up the mountain!
I stuck one on the Air NZ table tho.
Just read the second part, and those pics are gonna be gold around here!!!!! 
Mizu those and more are on Facebook…. i was screwed anyway.
At least this way i get to put them into context!
At least this way i get to put them into context!
Don’t worry, I’ll make sure that they stay in context!!!!! 