After talking about it for many years, we finally decided it was time to go skiiing in Japan. There are many ski resorts in Japan; but, we chose the place where the 1998 Winter Olympics were held.

The Alpine skiing events took place about a 1 hour drive from Nagano in the Hakuba Valley.

When planning a ski trip, you always hope for good snow on the slopes; but, you also dream of being in a winter wonderland.

This year both came true as the locals told us this is the most snow they have had in years & it is three times the norm.

Not wanting to lug skis through Japan’s busy train & bus terminals, we chose to rent our skies & poles which we got at a tiny shop near our hotel.

The Hakuba Valley has many resorts in varied sizes which are separated only by short distances from each other. With your ski pass, you have the option to ski at 6 different resorts. Each resort is connected by a free shuttle bus.

There was so much snow that sometimes our skies almost touched the snow while we were riding on the chair lifts. Many chair lifts had to be dug out from the snow to operate.

In the 5 days we skied, we were lucky to have 3 days with sunny blue skies.

Many skiers come to Japan to experience the light fluffy snow called Japow (Japan Powder).

On our last ski day we got to experience this magical condition when it snowed almost a foot in a few hours.

Japanese food always provided a warm & tasty lunch break

If you need something to drink, you could opt to use one of the many vending machines which found both inside & outside.

One ski lodge temped skiers with yummy desserts of ice cream or crepes.

Some resorts had gondolas to reach the top.

My greatest apres-ski pleasure was going to an Onsen (public bath) which was only a 10 minute walk from our hotel. For only $5, I could relax in hot mineral water for as long as I wanted. Maybe this is why the average person lives to be 85 in this area.😌

Time to see more of Japan.