So, yeah...

Well, it's fair to say that I sort of fell out of the old blog habit over the last 10 months. I've got another 5 months in Japan, so I might as well put together a few entries for old times sake - I know it's all going to feel like a dream once I've been at home for a few months.
How to sum up the last 10 months... Well, I'll fill you in on the last few weeks and then over the next wee while I'll chip in with the odd amusing or interesting biographical incident as the feeling takes me.
Right bang up to date - it's Friday, it's sunny, and I've got nothing planned for the weekend other than snowboarding interspersed with bouts of beer drinking. We have entered the final few weeks of boarding in Myoko - next week promises sunshine and warm temps, so the snow quality will likely drop off pretty fast. When will I get to board again? When again will I be able to buy a season pass for 60GBP? I have very much enjoyed that side of life in Yuki Guni (Snow Country).
Last weekend a group of us went to Nozawa Onsen in Nagano Prefecture. It's only about an hour over the mountains from Joetsu. Nozawa was one of the resorts used for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. The weather on Saturday was awful - thick fog, heavy snow and high winds. With the wind-chill, temps at the top were around -20C. Sitting on the lift was a test, let alone trying to navigate down the mountain with 20m visibility. Anyway, the day concluded with a trip to one of the famous public onsen (hot springs). We chose the closest one to the pension. Unsurprisingly it was jam-packed. There were only two small baths, each about 6sqm in area. We stripped down, as is the style of onsen in Japan, and proceeded to wash in preparation for going into the bath. Luke was first to go and he gracefully lowered himself in. "Ah, can't be that hot" I thought. I finished washing and plopped myself in next to Luke - it was bloomin' hot! It would have peeled the skin off a rhino! Turns out Luke had slipped and had little choice in the speed of entry. He grinned and bared it - this is a test of manhood in Japan! We sat there trying not to move in fear of causing fresh water to lap up against our bodies. After about 5 minutes my whole body was tingling. After 10 minutes I felt a searing heat on my right knee - now is a good time to leave, I thought.
This was the most rustic onsen I have ever been to. The onsen in Nozawa are free to use - you just wander around the town in a dressing gown (well, yukata-type thing) and onsen hop. Good times.
Sunday was a different affair - blue skies, deep powder and warmth! We took the gondola to the top of the mountain and then split up to do our own things. I was with Luke and Russ for most of the day. We had a great time doing a run through the trees from the Yamabiko four-man lift. It was really challenging and every run was different - you find yourself popping out at totally different points every run. I got a call from Luke's phone at one point - he had dropped it on the slope the day before and miraculously someone had found it. A white phone dropped on a foggy ski slope during a blizzard.
The views on Sunday were awesome. We could see our local mountain, Myoko-san, in the distance. The trees were covered in a winter frosting. I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else. Managed to get nicely sun burnt, though...
To top it all off, Russ was driving, so I could enjoy a cheeky beer during the drive home!