Leaving Kyoto around 6:30am for this weekend organized by my company’s Ski Club. I sleep a bit more on the bus chartered for the occasion. We stop twice at highway rest areas that strangely resemble each other. The final stop is in front of a rental shop a few kilometers from our destination. We leave only 10 minutes later with the equipment, as the rental shop had everything prepared in advance.
We finally arrive at the Ski Jam resort: we pass the main parking lot, and the bus parks in front of the hotel. We unload the luggage compartments, change, and walk to the slopes.
The weather is overcast, and it’s snowing heavily. But that doesn’t stop us from skiing or having lunch at the resort’s cafeteria. There’re sometimes a lot of people at the start of the chairlifts, but the slopes are not overcrowded. The ratio of skiers to snowboarders is completely reversed compared to French resorts: the overwhelming majority of riders have both feet on the same board!
At the close of the lifts, we return to the hotel, and then it’s onsen time. Showers, hot baths (indoors or outdoors), sauna… Perfect! A quiet evening at the hotel follows, it’s a good opportunity to have longer conversations with some of the 25 participants. When it’s time to sleep, we move the small table to a corner and lay out the futons on the tatami mats.
The second day is brighter. A few clouds are still there, just to enhance the view of the valley and the surrounding mountains. The resort includes some “off-piste” areas under the trees, great for enjoying the powder that fell the day before!
I change in the bus after one last run, and we head back to Kyoto a little before 4pm. We return the equipment as we pass, and I try to sleep between stops as best as I can. Tomorrow is a public holiday, this is good news!