Got up almost before I got to bed, at 4:45 am. At 5 am I was downstairs trying to haul a cab. The first one that stopped and opened the door just left while I went for my bags :-O Maybe the driver was at the end of his shift and did not want a foreigner with a snowboard in his car??? No problem though, the next taxi stopped and took be promptly to Haneda airport.

By 8:05 am I arrived in Hokkaido, and by 9:15 I was on a bus on my way to Niseko. 4 and a half hours later I had checked in at Niseko Norther Resort An’npuri and was getting ready for half a day snowboarding.

The weather was great, -10 degrees, sunny with some clouds, and powder in the woods. First rides were easy going but then I climbed Mt. Niseko An’nupuri to go backcountry. Once at the top clouds had started to roll in. And the ride in the backcountry was bumpy with a lot of old tracks in deep powder that had started to freeze again. Hard work, but still fun.

After the backcountry ride from Mt. Niseko An’nupuri I was being more relaxed. I just got on the gondola and rode in the slopes down to where I could go out in the woods where the snow was still soft powder. Great fun… Though a twig smacked me in the face, resulting in blood and a somewhat swollen lip 😛

At 4:30 pm I called it an end and returned to the hotel. Had an early dinner. Took a hot bath in the outdoor onsen. And did part of my GLOBIS homework due next wednesday. Overall it was a great day, though I missed Chie 🙁