Skiing in Niseko, Japan: the powder dilemma

We wanted to begin the Lunar New Year in style and speed, so Niseko seemed to be the obvious destination for one reason: powder! It advertises itself as having some of the best powder ski in the world and it’s just next door – what else could we look for?

We packed heavy – fleeces and socks galore, balaclavas, masks – but didn't get to wear half of it. Siberia tricked us big time, and instead of having a big mass of cold air, we got sunshine and rising temperatures instead. First time I cursed against a clear sky!

Annupuri Ski Resort

Niseko is made of 5 different ski resorts: Annupuri, Higashiyama (aka Niseko Village), Hirafu, Hanazono and Moiwa. All of them are linked but only the first four are included in the All Mountain Lift Pass. We stayed in a lodge right off the slopes of Moiwa, but spent only one day skiing there. The rest of the time, we skied in Annupuri and Niseko Village.

Moiwa Ski Resort

Some who had skied there before were praising the weather and the mountain top being open. Others, like the powder-hungry skiers in our lodge, were disappointed with the icy snow and simply stopped skiing. We embraced the dilemma, and enjoyed some powder-less skiing with a powerful sunshine. The downside of it all was the dangerously icy sidewalks – our legs flew in mid-air a couple of times.

Annupuri Mountain top

There’s little Japanese in Niseko in general. The place is so popular among Australians, Singaporeans and European expats, that it becomes a real challenge to hear any Japanese on the slopes, except for the staff managing the chairlifts and gondolas. This could be the toughest level of the “Marco Polo” game, ski slope version. Hirafu is the most international area, where the most restaurants and bars are also located. If not staying there, be sure to arrange transportation back to your hotel. Taxis are limited and normally take at least 20 minutes to arrive after calling.

Mount Yōtei

We were kind of suspicious when we heard some people saying that they had booked restaurants already in November! We took a Portuguese approach and never booked anything. The only time we had a table booked was in Hirafu and we had called the restaurant one hour before – pure luck, ok, but we proved wrong the pessimism of our front desk staff... at least once, yeah!

There is a restaurant though for which you REALLY (but really!) need to book in advance: Sobatei Rakuichi, in Annupuri. The place is tiny, only with seats at the counter, but it serves the best soba in the area, which by the way is kneaded and cut in front of you. They only accept reservations for dinner which means that you can still try your luck and queue up at lunch time – expect a 30 to 45 minutes wait, unless you have some kind of lucky charm. They open at 11:30 for lunch.

Sobatei Rakuichi

In the future, if someone asks us what’s better, powder or sunshine, we say: hot soba!

Since we were staying in Moiwa, we took the opportunity to try the mixed onsen of the Niseko Grand Hotel. It’s the only mixed onsen in the area. You pay 800 yen per person at the hotel reception and then head toward the locker room. Small and bath towels are also available for a small price at the reception and women can also rent a yuami – a special garment to wear in the mixed onsen. Besides the mixed open-air onsen, there are also women-only / men-only hot bath areas. It was one of the few places in Niseko where we could remind ourselves that we were still in Japan! The majority of the people there were Japanese men, accompanied by their longtime friend, the Asahi beer can.

We spent the last two days of our holidays in Sapporo, which might not seem so captivating at first glance, but as soon as you discover that beer is sold at 200 yen in the Sapporo Beer Museum, well... it just gets a tad more interesting! Sapporo may not be the nicest Japanese town, but the river Toyohira cutting it in half and the surrounding mountains create an exceptional natural environment, and spectacular views! It's still possible to spot foreigners, but not as easy as in Niseko.

Sapporo

Japan never ceases to surprise us: albeit its fast-pace, innovative society, traditions are still paramount, at the table or at the onsen. This was quite obvious during this trip. And, who could expect to find the most international place of all Japan on the farthest-north island of the archipelago? Were we disappointed? No way! Despite some thorns, Japan still makes our curiosity bloom.

Okinawa: Japan at its southernmost limits

I should have written this post almost two months ago but laziness got the upper hand. In October we were in the Japanese tropics for 10 days and absolutely adored it, despite the weather conditions. We have a soft spot for Japan and not even two typhoons (one of them the worst of 2014) could demotivate us.

We started off in Naha. We hoped to do some sunbathing in the first 2 days, so we had booked a hotel in Itoman, 10km south of Naha airport. Our hopes soon kicked the bucket when we realised the first typhoon (Phanfone) was approaching and the swimming pool and beaches were closed for the next days. We pulled ourselves together and decided where to eat. We were told at the hotel that Itoman was bustling, but as far as a small fishing village can bustle!

We had lovely grilled mackerel, noodles with squid ink, sashimi and tempura. We tried for the first time Okinawan awamori, which is drunk with water and ice. Not our favourite but we left the bottle almost empty. On the way back to the hotel we tried to save a little kitten but in vain. This was not the booze seeing things. There was an actual kitten meowing in the bushes.

Okinawan Awamori

The next day we spent it in Naha City, visiting the Shuri castle, which was the palace of the Ryūkyū Kingdom and was almost completely destroyed in the battle of Okinawa in 1945. We strolled along Kokusaidori Street (literally International Street) and had our first Okinawan soba for dinner, and Okinawan doughnut for desert. The Okinawan soba is actually different from the buckwheat noodles known as soba in the rest of Japan. These noodles look more like udon and sometimes have a curly shape. The broth is closer to a ramen broth. Some restaurants have vegetarian options, but the more traditional ones only have the soba with pork on top.

Ishigaki soba

Next day we were off to Ishigaki. The weather was improving and we were happy. The domestic terminal in Naha airport looks more like a nursery than a place where people board planes. The place is packed with orchids.

Naha airport domestic terminal

We rented a car in Ishigaki. Driving on the wrong side again… by this time we should already be used to it, after Malta and the Seychelles. International driving license (under 1949 Convention only!) is required for Japan and they really check. The island is small and traffic is almost non-existent except in Ishigaki City. After checking in to our “villa” in Nagura, we drove straight to Kabira Bay, which is postcard worthy when depicting the Yaeyama islands.

Kabira Bay, Ishigaki island

If you are in for one of the best culinary experiences in Okinawa, then Hitoshi Ishiganto should be on our list. Fresh, melting in your mouth sashimi and out of this world seaweed tempura!

Taketomi island was next. We spent a full day there cycling, looking for star sand and being careful not to step on sea cucumbers in Kondoi beach.

Star sand

We had a diving tour booked for the next day. Diving spots were south of Taketomi and Kuroshima. The sea was pretty rough on the first spot but better on the second and third. We saw for the first time a giant moray and that was worth the bumps and the rain we put up with that day.

The second typhoon was already approaching and the north port of Iriomote, another Yaeyama island (second biggest in Okinawa Prefecture), was already closed. We took a ferry to the south port and a bus to the Urauchi River mouth, and then trekked until the Kanpiree waterfalls (Kampirē-no-taki).

Kanpiree waterfalls

On the next day we were flying back to Naha. After filling our stomachs with tofu and rice (plain is good!) off we went to the airport, surprised to see that our flight was still confirmed. Naha airport was closed shortly after we landed. We checked in the hotel and went for the last time (so we thought!) to savour the local treats in Yunangi: green caviar, seaweed tempura, and squid ink soba.

Green caviar

Vonfong was getting closer. We checked the status of our flight to Seoul (we were flying the next day) but it had been canceled. We were re-booked for the following day. We managed to get our hotel room for one extra night. All hotel doors were secured and only the parking lot door was left open. We never left the hotel, the rain and the wind were simply too strong.

The airport was open the next day and the first ANA flights started arriving. We were stranded an extra day (time to go and try Ushikima Garden) and finally managed to come home 48 hours later than expected. Still, would we do it again? For this, a thousand times over!

Field trip to Tokyo – Lost in Translation (Portuguese version)

Probably the worst time to visit Tokyo is during the golden week. So which time did we pick to visit? Golden week, what else? But it was far from unpleasant, as long as avoiding the shopping crowds in Omotesandō and Shibuya was part of the programme.

We booked a very nice hotel in the Chyoda ward. Tiny rooms but with all amenities (including PJs – this was a first!). After dumping the suitcases we started our culinary scouting with hot soba and tempura. We had to use a machine to order, everything was in Japanese. But an extremely nice lady working there spotted our confusion and came with a menu in English, plus she saved a nice table in the restaurant for us. It will be very hard to return to Europe and leave the Asian sense of customer service behind.

Buying a fish-shaped snack with azuki filling. In Korea it's called Bungeoppang.

Getting around in Japan can be tricky for first-timers but once you know the drill, it becomes logical and simple. Locate your destination on the map at the metro or railway station (if there’s no map in English ask a youngster and he / she will show how much it is on his / her phone app) and the ticket price will be next to your destination’s name. Buy the ticket for that price and off you go. If you change your mind halfway, there’s always a fare adjustment machine close to the exit.

Tokyo has two main subway network companies (Tokyo Metro and Toei) and you’ll have to pay a slightly higher price if you transfer between the two. They are gradually putting up barriers at the edge of the platforms in order to reduce the number of people “accidentally” falling on to the tracks. It's a complex society... 

Having a car is expensive (taxes are high and diesel is not an option), so the majority of the Tokyoites prefer to take public transportation (most of them commuting for hours), which improves air cleanliness and road congestion.

We spent the rest of the afternoon wondering around the Imperial Gardens and Ginza just after. Dinner was at a sushi place close to the Tsukiji Market. It was noisy, the communication didn't really flow but we got what we wanted except for a second bottle of sake, which was probably for the better.

Next day we did Shinjuku and Roppongi. We got amazing shots from Tokyo Tower and the Metropolitan Government Office tower (whose top observatory is free by the way).

View from Tokyo Tower

The highlight of our Tokyo trip was in Shibuya – not the crossing (which was anyway ultra-advertised by Coppola) but the Kaikaya restaurant. It was a feast for your eyes and mouths. A friend living in Tokyo took us there (thank you Hughes!) and it was "oishi" (delicious) and noisy all the way! Giant prawns, amazing sashimi, surprising tuna ribs and to top it up, an OMG-green-tea-cheesecake-awesomeness for dessert. The menu is in English but the waiters speak only Japanese and the smokers room is actually more interesting and livelier than the non-smokers’. If you tell the waiters that your food is tasty they will shout it out loud and the whole restaurant will roar. :)

We proceeded our journey in the Land of the Rising Sun to Kamakura for temple and shrine hopping. Problem was that half Tokyo was doing the same. 

Madness in Kamakura - Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū Shrine

Still, we managed to see a wedding, traditional style, yeah!

Wedding - Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū Shrine

It was a surprise to discover that Japanese don’t see the coastline as we do. We want bars, restaurants, esplanades, food stalls, ice-cream parlors… well, they want a road to drive through and don’t really care about cleaning the sand. Weird!

Kamakura beach

Next day was shopping time. And the thing that stroke us the most is that after paying one of the staff will take the bag and accompany you to the door, hand you the bag and will not move while you are still in his / her sight. So if you’re clumsy and disorientated like us (never know where to go, turning in all directions), then it’s a test to their patience but they will bear with it.

We couldn’t leave town without the earthquake experience. We were far from imagining that it would be 6.2 in intensity but ok. It helped that it was at 5am and we were too sleepy to understand the risks. Anyway, the hotel was quite safe, built for this kind of situation – we could feel the building swaying beneath our feet for a couple of minutes after. Freaky!

And then it was over… domo arigato!

We are now back in the Land of the Morning Calm, kind of…

Hannam-dong, Seoul

Field trip to Kyoto – going zen...

After Osaka we spent the remaining 4 days of our short escapade to the Land of the Rising Sun in Kyoto. We got there in a local train from Umeda station for about 4USD, not bad! They have men in white (literally) helping foreigners in the main stations. Their help purchasing the tickets was priceless.

We were not very lucky with the hotel we picked but at least its location was central, in Kawaramichi dōri. The city was flying off the handle with the sales; it was a challenge to squeeze ourselves between the crowds. We gave in and bought some goodies, since prices are considerably more interesting than in Korea – especially when it comes to booze.

We started with a warm bowl of udon and bought some senbei (salty rice crackers) with sesame seeds for the road. Since ramen was out of question (not vegetarian), udon did just fine. We ended up by buying some takoyaki in the evening but they didn't taste as nice as in Osaka.

The best day was no doubt when we went to the Zen Buddhist temple Kinkaku-ji, the Arashiyama bamboo forest and the Fushimi Inari shrine with its intriguing red tori. Since it was the beginning of the year we managed to get some more treats in the food stalls at the entrance of the shrine: fried sweet potato and some azuki pancake.

Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavillion

Bamboo forest in Arashiyama

Red tori in Fushimi Inari

Another worthwhile experience in Kyoto is Shimbashi (sometimes called Shirakawa Minami-dōri) in Gion, claimed to be the most beautiful street in Japan (even in Asia).

The restaurants in Pontocho were also a nice discovery although touristy. The restaurant we went to (Mimasuya) had some interesting vegetarian options (some not gluten-free) and acceptable prices.

We said goodbye to Kyoto by going to the Nishiki market. There we bought some treats: tonyu doughnuts (sold just next to a bio store) and some sesame balls filled with cheese (to die for) and azuki. We had lunch in one store / restaurant which sells only beans or bean-based products. The meals they served in the restaurant were also prepared with red / black beans, to level our protein intake up.

We almost felt home sick when leaving the market and seeing this stall in one of the shopping arcades:

Pastéis de nata (Portuguese custard tarts)

Até breve! Dewa mata!

Field trip to Osaka – All you can eat!

We spent New Year's Eve in Osaka this time. We took a Peach flight from Incheon airport to Kansai and the price was quite reasonable taking into account how late we booked it.

Apart from the Osaka castle, whose main tower is closed for visits this time of the year (we got impressive pictures from the outside though), there is no much sightseeing to do in Osaka. It's a city where concrete and elevated motorways rule.

Osaka castle

So we spent our time there filling our tummies with "yaki" (=grilled) delicious food: okonomyaki, yakisoba, takoyaki and the like. We finally understood why Osaka is Japan's capital of food. It's like they say: Dress in kimonos till you drop in Kyoto, eat till you drop in Osaka! 

Yakisoba (grilled noodles)

Okonomyaki (pancake with vegetables and, in this case seafood)

We loved the Dōtonbori area: it's bustling with young people every night, and also good for shopping during the day if you can bear the crowds. If a restaurant is moderately good and cheap, there will be a queue, but also a bench where you can seat while you wait. There are also street food stalls where to buy takoyaki on the go. 

Dōtonbori 

And while strolling in Osaka we also discovered a mile long queue of people (some were there from the night before) waiting for the sales in the Apple store. Apparently the main attraction in the sales season in Japan is the "lucky bags" (fukubukuro). Sold by almost every store in the first days of the year, they are surprise bags (normally closed and sold by size, if applicable) and their content is always worth more than the price you pay for it. Apple fans take it to the next level, it seems…

Dewa kore de.