The Hakuba Hear-say: 7 - 14 February 2015

After catching a 2pm bullet train from Kyoto and a connecting "scenic wide view" train from Nagoya, we arrived in Nagano around 7pm.  Leaving us just enough time for the customary ramen (near the bus station) to kick off the snow leg of our tour.  As always it was delicious and suited the cold evening perfectly.  We got into Hakuba around 9pm and caught a taxi to Pension Arles, which to our surprise was right across from the best cafe in Echoland (maybe Hakuba)...‘Sounds Like’ Café'.  It definitely has the best coffee in Hakuba from what Rudy remembered.

During our time in Hakuba we visited several ski fields including Happone, Iwatake, Goryu, Hakuba 47 & our new favourite, Cortina. This may have been just because of the big snow falls from the night before, but Cortina which was a bit of an adventure to get to,  had some of the best tree runs on our trip & we shared the experience with our ‘housemates’ Emily and James. Cortina also marked Carla’s first foray into black runs. The day concluded with less than a minute to spare.  A "Chinese downhill" dash from the top chair, through the black runs to a Hakuba bound bus, that fired up its engine just as we stepped in.  Missing it would have meant we would have got back to Nagano/Tokyo at some ungodly hour.  That was close!

Snow during this leg of the trip was fair with some 10 - 20 cm snow falls but it was still a bit light on compared to previous years we had in Japan. Oh well... we suppose we'll have to keep coming back to try to match the epic snowfalls of 2013!

Pension Arles was a great place to stay.  Our hosts were so very accommodating, it reminded us both of our mum's, however at times it may have been just a little too much! But we know they meant so incredibly well so we were very grateful for the cultural experiences they afforded us including origami,  home made traditional "oden", language pronunciation,  and a personalised igloo tour from Aruru-San.

It was great meeting Em & Jimmy from the Sunshine Coast who were on their first trip in Japan! We’ll be sure to catch up with them when/(if ?) we get back !  

We also made friends with some of the local animals including reuniting with Kouta Chan and his new sidekick Cinnamon Chan, (golden retrievers at Mon Pigeon - a little rounder than remembered) & meeting Zero-Chan at the local board shop, a huge one year old Doberman Pincher who looked menacing but was just a pup wanting to play.

Echoland in Hakuba is a great place to stay and has become, since Rudy was last there, a little busier with a few more bars and restaurants.  One funky one in particular was called MockingBird, where we had a great night of laughs with Em & James before eating out at the local Isakaya.  Possibly the best one in Hakuba and only a block or so from MockingBird.

Despite the many Westerners that now venture to Hakuba, we found the locals to be very accommodating, especially the barista at Sounds Like Café who would love to have a chat despite being busy on the morning coffee orders.

As always, we left Japan wanting to stay longer and wanting to do more, so  we'll be back to the land of Japow!

Next issue:  The Colorado Courier. 

The sign that spoke for itself

Evening stroll through Echoland to dinner at Mon Pigeon

Hit by a snow meteorite shower

Carls under cover smiling and lighting up the night

Even the house dogs of Mon Pigeon
 love their dinner (Kouta chan and Cinnamon chan)

"Sounds Like Cafe" coffee ritual to start our days in Hakuba 

Meeting and playing with "Zero chan" at 902 board shop in Echoland 

Carls lining up her run at Happo, long run home...

Another view of the Hakuba Valley from Happo

A great end to a day riding Happo

Experiencing traditional meal of "Oden" from our hosts at Pension Arles...

...and an evening of Origami with fellow travellers James and Emily

End result: a few good looking roosters ... I mean cranes!

Aruru san taking Carls and I to the local igloo (carved out of a snow bank)

Carls finding a salty grizzly bear in another igloo after a great night of Izakaya with Jimmy and Em

Great funky little retro bar in Echoland

Night out in Echoland - Mockingbird (re-enactment circa 2014)

Two buddies waiting for the Goryu bus at Echoland - (Rudy and Johnny circa 2009?)

Jimmy and Em chairing up behind us to shred the pow of Cortina  - (no friends on a powder day)

Last tree runs in Cortina before returning to Tokyo

Carla's last run to get back to base and meet deadline of last bus to Happo - just made it!