Since we couldn’t get a flight to Sapporo to go skiing in Niseko, we took a 4 hour bus ride from downtown Tokyo to the heart of Hakuba, another ski town where the 1998 Winter Olympics were held in Japan.  Our friend we had dinner with in HK just went there and had an amazing time, and said there was no need to go to Niseko as conditions in Hakuba were great.  As it turned out we were happy we listened.  Hakuba itself is well known for skiing and the relaxing onsen (hot springs) filled with piping hot mineral water with supposed rejuvenating properties.  It’s a resort town with no less than 9 ski hills side by side.  The village is quaint, and though lacking the manicured  beauty of Whistler or Vail, it’s very charming with a lot of Japanese character.  Instead of burger joints and pubs there are izakayas and soba houses, which we were quite happy about.  Our hotel was at the base of the Happo One ski hill, so that’s where I skied and Di boarded all three days.  We were going to try out the other mountains, but our experience at Happo One was so good that we had no incentive to try the others out.

Since we were in Taipei immediately before Japan, we were able to borrow some winter clothes from one of our friends in anticipation of our time on a ski hill.  We were given some outfits that were pretty cool 10 years ago (think super baggy monochromatic boarder gear).  However people on the hill looked like the boarders pictured above.  I’m not complaining as renting outfits would have cost about 40 US per person per day, but just like in Tokyo, we felt like fashion outcasts.  The first 2 days on the mountain were fantastic.  It snowed heavily so at times, especially at the top of the mountain, the visibility was mediocre.  The snow itself was still good though and it got our coordination on our skiis and boards back to mid-season form.  The third day, however, was epic.  The clouds cleared out and there was nothing but blue sky.  The powder at the top of the hill was knee deep and light, and especially in the morning it was easy to make our own fresh tracks.  Though the mountain was quite small, there was enough terrain to keep us interested, with bumps, powder, steeps and groomers evenly dispersed throughout.  Our muscles finished everyday quite sore, but that didn’t stop us from going all out the next day.  Plus, we had the onsen to soothe the pain once we removed our gear.

The private onsen in our hotel was spotless and luxurious, complete with steam rooms and jacuzzis.  Even with all that, I am still not a convert.  Typically a Japanese onsen has a guy’s side and a girl’s side.  When you go into your respective areas, you’re supposed to get naked in the locker room, and then head to the unisex communal shower rooms where you sit on a stool and clean up before getting into the onsen, in the nude again.  I, for one, am not a fan of sitting around in a hot spring with a bunch of other naked dudes.  Luckily it was never really busy and whenever I was in the pool there was at most one other guy.  The all male nakedness, however, is not the main reason I’m not an onsen convert, the problem is the heat.  That pool of water is scalding hot.  While the other guys looked like they could soak and just relax in the clear mineral baths, I had to strain to just keep myself in there for 10 minutes.  That’s the same reason why I’m also not a fan of steam rooms and saunas, no matter how relaxing the settings are.  Though I could feel my muscles loosening up with the hot soak, the temperature was too uncomfortable for me.  Di, on the other hand, loved it.  Each day I would return to our room after 15 minutes, while it would take Di an extra 45 minutes to make it back. And while I would need to take a cool shower just to get my core temperature down, she would always look refreshed after her soaks.  I thought by the third day I would be more of an experienced onsener which would at least allow me to soak for half an hour; no luck, unfortunately. 

The après ski onsen is similar to the après ski hot tub experience we have back at home.  The last time I went ‘hot-tubbin’ after skiing, I ended up in the same jacuzzi as a couple of self-proclaimed hot-tubbin connoisseurs from the interior of BC.  They were appalled that my friends and I showed up with a single beer each, while the 2 of them had a flat behind them.  For the 30 minutes we sat soaking there nursing our beer and listening to the ins and outs of what makes you a good hot-tubber, they must have downed at least 3 pilsners.  The moment they told me they had been in the relatively small tub for 2 hours already without getting out was the instant I left.  If they had been there for 2 hours and had downed at least 5 beer each, I was certain there was some urine in said jacuzzi.  I gave myself a really long shower after returning to the hotel room.  In fact, I might have taken 2.  They, on the other hand, were amazed that we wanted to leave so quickly, as they had intended to finish their flat over the next few hours while soaking in the bubbles before going back to their room.  Needless to say, the Japanese version of the hot soak after a day on the hill is infinitely more civilized.  I’d way rather sit in a clean tub that has other naked dudes than a tub that has the urine of clothed dudes.  Still doesn’t make me a fan though.

So this is it for our time in Japan this time around.  Though we could have easily spent another week here, we’ll definitely come back in the future since it is hands down one of our favourite countries.  Next time though, we’ll come better equipped with up-to-date clothes (so we won’t look like we emerged from a time machine) and fatter wallets (so we can afford a private in-room onsen; sitting with other naked dudes in the same pool is really not my thing).

That’s the title of one of my favourite Japanese dramas that came out in 1991 (gosh, I’m definitely getting old).  Even for a CBC like Eug, he’s heard of the show before and he has some of the songs from the soundtrack in his iTunes.  I thought the title was appropriate here to reflect how we felt about this city.    

Just like how Eug loves Taipei because of the two summers of his youth he spent there, Tokyo ignites a sense of nostalgia in me because I spent the summer of 1998 here on an exchange program in I.C.U. (International Christian University) and I had a blast.  It was the first time I lived in a foreign city on my own, and for a spoiled girl who never had to handle any toughness in life, it was an invaluable experience.  Coincidentally, Eug was in Tokyo that same summer too.  I met Phil (Eug’s BFF) for the first time then.  That summer was where Eug and Phil had their first (and last) physical fight with each other too, in the ridiculously busy Shinjuku train station no less.  This city is full of fun memories for us.  My dad also lived in Tokyo for 2 years while getting his Masters degree at Waseda University and my mom tagged along for one of those years.  It’s nice to walk around the streets of the city where my parents were young and in love, picturing them living out the stories they used to tell my brother and I.  Coming back to Tokyo again with Eug this time was like a reunion of two travellers, each sharing their individual experiences of the same amazing town.

Our first stop was the Tsukiji Market, a must-go place we both frequent every time we come to Tokyo because of its sublime sashimi.  Tsukiji Market is one of the world’s largest fish markets and it handles over 2000 tonnes of marine products per day.  As early as 3am, the wholesalers begin to lay out the goods in preparation for the auction which starts at 5am.  For us lucky tourists, we get to sample some of this fresh sashimi from the sushi restaurants here.  There are quite a few establishments and though I’m sure they’re all good, only two seem to be quite well known, Sushi Dai and Daiwa Sushi.  Sushi Dai had a long line up, so we walked into Daiwa.  To our surprise all the patrons inside were Japanese, which is actually quite rare as usually there are a lot of Asian tourists (mainly from Hong Kong).  We sat down by the sushi bar and once we put in our orders, our sushi came in no time.  We had the best Uni, Hamachi, and Toro ever that morning, and everything else was exceptionally good too.  Eug gave a nice sigh at the end of the meal while sipping his green tea, saying that was the best sushi meal he’s ever had.

We didn’t have any particular itinerary in Tokyo since we’ve both been here quite a few times already.  After Tokyo, we were planning on going to Kyoto and Niseko for a couple of days before returning to Vancouver on Feb. 22 (yes, very soon!) but an unexpected request came up for us to return to Taiwan on Feb 17th, so we had to cut our Japan trip short by cancelling Kyoto.  And when we tried to book Niseko everything was sold out because it was a long weekend in addition to Valentine’s Day.  After 3 hours of online research in a smoky ‘net café and comic store’ where half of the people were surfing porn sites, we decided to head to Hakuba as our skiing destination instead of Niseko.  So for our 5 days in Tokyo we just chilled and took our time to check out different areas: Shinjuku (picture above), Ebisu, Harajuku, and Omote-Sando.  We met up with Eug’s friend Hisako who studied in UBC for almost 2 years before moving back to Japan.  Her husband Sohei and another friend Yoichiro (who Eug met in New York 7 years ago) took us to an authentic Japanese restaurant in Ebisu, followed by a wine bar with a fantastic selection close by.  Initially she was going to take us out for dinner at the Ritz-Carlton, but our wardrobe consisted of holey jeans, Chuck Taylors and worn out T-shirts.  That, unfortunately, didn’t meet the minimum dress code bar set by the RC.  We also met up with Susan one night as she happened to be in town as well.  It was great to catch up with her again since seeing her last at our wedding in Bhutan.

Eug and I like Tokyo a lot for the same reasons.  The food is excellent, people are polite, the service is incomparable, the city has a great vibe, and it is clean everywhere.  We rarely came across a dirty washroom and I noticed that there were no cigarette butts on the ground this time around.  I later saw signs saying smoking wasn’t allowed on the sidewalk unless you were in one of the designated smoking corners.  In my opinion more countries should implement this system.  Japan is also probably one of the more creative and artistic countries in Asia; there is cool architecture, numerous museums, and super stylish people.  Compared to the average fashion-forward Tokyo citizen, we might as well have been that awkward uncle who wears Birkenstocks, wool socks, cargo shorts and oversized golf shirts.  We felt that uncool.  Though with all its modern chic and trendsetting styles, Japan still retains a strong sense of its ancient national culture and traditions.  It mixes old and new amazingly well, better than any other country we’ve been to, and we both love that about this place.

Tokyo is the best run metropolis on Earth, everything just works well here.  However, it holds less of an allure now than compared to, say, 20 years ago.  Back then, everything Japanese was the future and Japan seemed like it was set to take over as the world’s most dynamic economy and country.  That was the first time Eug and I, as children, went to Tokyo.  Eug has been coming back regularly ever since 1998, and he finds that not much has changed since then.  The city itself is extremely well maintained, but infrastructure such as the railway and metro systems are definitely the same as they were many years ago.  Same goes for the highways and a lot of the buildings we saw.  In contrast, the pace of development in the rest of East Asia, most notably China and Korea and Singapore, has been astounding in the last 20 years.  And you always hear how Japan has the oldest population on the planet, and how their fertility rate is really low and how their population is declining rapidly.  That was always just news, but this time walking around the streets of Tokyo we could readily observe the difference in demographics.  Who knows what the future will hold for this ageing populace, but with the Japanese culture of excellence and their still world-leading innovation, I’m sure the future is bright for the land of the rising sun.