I recently went on a
snowboarding trip with my friend Ken, from Yokota Air Base, where we
went to the Naeba Ski Resort in Niigata Prefecture. Although we haven't seen much
snow down here, Niigata has been hammered with snow this winter --
there have been several deaths due to the cold, avalanches and snow
sliding off rooftops. This, of course has been widely
publicized by the Japanese media, which has had the affect of
scaring people away from the ski slopes.
Since the people are staying
away, the hotels are having a rough time, so super deals are readily
available. We were able to swing a two day trip with
transportation, hotel, breakfast, and lift tickets for two
days...and it all cost only $175. As the season winds down,
prices have dropped to ridiculously low levels. Unfortunately,
I don't think I'll have time to make another trip up there this
year.
All of the the photos in this
slideshow were taken through the bus window -- traffic was
bumper-to-bumper once we got off the expressway, but happily it was
a scenic route.