A Japanese Christmas

For Christmas, we went skiing in Nagano! We met up with about 30 other people from George’s squadron to carpool/caravan up and out to the mountains (a four hour drive). Nagano is where the 1998 Winter Olympics were held, and has great skiing. We arrived Thursday afternoon and to our surprise, there was no snow on the ground. Anywhere. I was pretty devastated that we wouldn’t be able to ski! It did eventually start snowing and on Friday morning when we woke up, there was about a foot and a half of snow! We took a shuttle (and by shuttle—I mean riding in the back of the owner’s van) from our bed and breakfast/hotel about 200 yards up to the ski lodge. George and some other friends of mine headed off to the beginners hill to get our ski-legs (like sea legs… get it?) acclimated and most of us made it successfully down the hill. We did that a few times then headed to the restaurant at the top of the mountain to grab lunch with the rest of the group.

The snow was incredible. I’ve never skied on such fresh powder! It was unbelievable. Because it snowed continuously, the visibility was pretty awful. Also, my goggles would not suction to my face very nicely, so they were pretty foggy. It actually wasn’t that bad knowing everyone else couldn’t see either, it kept the slopes relatively safe because most people weren’t flying down them. I don’t know what it was about my boots, but they were digging into my shins. By the end of the day I could hardly walk and both of my shins were pretty swollen. George made it without any injuries and overall it was a very successful and fun day of skiing.

That night was Christmas Eve and we and the other 30 people did a white elephant gift exchange. It was really funny seeing the types of gifts the single guys brought along compared to what the married couples brought. In the end I wound up with some Christmas socks, funny sunglasses, and some funky jewelry.

The B&B we stayed at served us breakfast and dinner, which was really nice to not have to brave the snow storm to find dinner. George and I had our own room, with two twin beds, which was great because there were other rooms with 5-8 people in them!

On Christmas morning we headed out for the slopes again, but my shins hurt SO bad that I only skied one run and quit. Poor George. I had left him to ski some more advanced slopes the first day and the second day I left him again; I just couldn’t ski another minute. I went and sat in the lodge and had hot chocolate, played on my iPhone and hung out with one couple and their 2 kids. It was a lovely day of people watching, but I was pretty bummed to not be able to ski. My shins hurt too badly though!

After a long afternoon nap I went to my first Japanese onsen!!! I have been looking forward to going to one of these since we arrived but have needed a group to go with. An onsen is a traditional Japanese bathhouse. They separate the genders, and it’s a place where you get completely naked, shower and then sit in very hot springs/bath tubs and relax. I am modest and was a little afraid and nervous to be completely nude, but it actually was alright once we all were and I knew everyone else felt the same way. And it was SO incredibly relaxing. I got a little overheated in the first tub and just wanted to get out of the water, it made me a little lightheaded and I wasn’t sure I’d last the whole hour… I’m just glad I didn’t pass out! We discovered an outdoor onsen at the back of the building and it got added to the list of things to have in my dream house. It was a stone pool, with a waterfall and the water was hot but the rocks outside of the water were cool, and the air was freezing. It was actually very lovely, and I really want one of those someday! The onsen was one of my favorite Japanese experiences so far. I just couldn’t believe that I was sitting in the mountains of Japan, naked, on Christmas night, surrounded by friends. It’s certainly not the way I’d ever imagined my life to work out, but I really am so fortunate and blessed to be able to experience all of the adventures that life here in Japan has to offer!

The next morning we got up early, dug our car out of the snow (Man I hope I never have to live somewhere that I have to dig my own car out. What a pain the butt!)

I didn’t take many pictures on this trip, but here’s a few of them! The first and third nights we walked down the street from our hotel to a bar run by Australians, and the bartenders were from the UK, they were so nice and we had a really fun time getting to know them, and I think they had an even better time hanging out with 30 crazy Americans. :)Haha!





Here's George and I on the third night!


I hope your Christmas was filled with tons of adventures, laughter, and love.

XOXO,
Chelsea

P.S. I thought this was cute. It was a painted picture in the hotel stairwell... it made me miss Cheyenne who was left at home to be cared for by our neighbors! She did get a new doggie bed for Christmas, so I think she forgave us!