Hokkaido

Japan's northern island. Hokkaido once not once part of Japan, but home of an ethic people known as the Ainu. It's Japan's final frontier, the wild north where bears still roam free and wide spaces are filled with snow and sky.

We arrived Thursday afternoon to check out the Snow Festival in Sapporo City. Overall it was amazing. Great sculptures and food from all over the world.





Snow sculpture

Interestingly enough we also ran into two local girls who decided to show us some of the good spots in Sapporo. Resulting in lots of drinking and singing karaoke until 3AM.

The next morning was spent walking around Sapporo, mainly getting lost and then going to a chocolate factory where I bought a bunch of chocolate for my co-workers.

The next morning started early heading to Niseko to snowboard at Grand Hirafu. The snow was like powdered sugar and my friend John and I shredded it like confectioners. Niseko is unique in that its snow comes from Siberia creating powder that rivals even Montana's cold smoke. On top of this, the scenery was epic.


On top of Grand Hirafu looking at Mt. Yotei

After 3PM a blizzard hit the mountain and I couldn't see more than 4 feet in front of me, which forced me to shred like a Jedi using the force. That evening was followed by walking the streets of Sapporo with beer in hand (it's legal in Japan) and then hitting a pretty cool bar.

The vacation was very quick, and I miss Hokkaido. With delicious food, powder and friendly locals. Arriving back home at 10PM on Sunday allowed me to sleep before reality on Monday morning.