Good news!

The end of winter in Hokkaido always brings mixed emotions. I love winter here. I love the beautiful snow and all of the awesome things you can do in it. But I also love late spring and summer here. The cherry blossoms, getting back in the garden, being able to bike around the city, and backpacking in the mountains. Early spring is a bit of a slush pit though, and I`m always a little sad to see the snowboarding season end. But yesterday, as we were hiking in the back country with our Tipi club friends, we got some good news! While the ski slopes tend to close in early April, the back country season doesn`t end until sometime in MAY! It`s the best of all worlds! We can bike to work, plant things in the dirt, and then go snowboarding on the weekend!

But in the meantime we`re taking full advantage of the last days of winter - snowboarding on the slopes and back country, and enjoying the last of the white city before it all turns grey/brown/black and the dog poop-cicles start melting out of the snow heaps.

Two weekends ago, our friend Kelly`s parents came to town and we all headed to Rusutsu for the weekend. It`s rare to get good views from the top there because it`s usually snowing. But we had two gloriously blue, sunny days with the best views we`ve ever seen from the top. Below top left is Lake Toya, top right is Mt. Yotei with Niseko mountain in the background. The next two rows show images from off-piste.

This past weekend we had another back country adventure. This time we went to Mayoizawa mountain, and it was a lovely day, but the snow reminded me of North Carolina (in a bad way). We`ve entered the near-spring weather of warmer temperatures and sunny days which leads to a 2 or 3 week window of really hard snow. After this period, the snow becomes kind of granulated, and there`s still a really deep base so it becomes fun to ride again. They call it zarume yuki in Japanese, which translates to granulated sugar. Now it`s more like 1 year old brown sugar yuki. You know that sugar. The old brick in your cabinet you have to drop from 6 feet up to be able to cook with. But it`s always fun to spend time with the Tipi club. And even when the snow is bad it`s amazing to be in the back country. We even saw some wildlife - a tiny wood pecker and a squirrel (I realize squirrels aren`t that exciting back home because they`re everywhere, but you rarely see them here and they`ve got little tufts of fuzz on their ears that make them look like squirrel-bunnies which is kind of painfully cute).

Top left you can see the city of Sapporo from the mountain. Bottom left - Takahashi San and Brian excited for the ride. To the right here - Shinohara San and Nauki San on the way up.

Takahashi San is usually busy taking photos and videos of everyone on these treks. He recently sent us links to his albums. You can check them out by following the links, but I nabbed a few to show you. The following photo credits all go to Takahashi San.

Hashida San, Brian and I on the way up Shiomaruyama on our first back country trip. Rare photographic evidence of my presence on these trips.

From the bottom up, this is Mrs. Hashida, Brian, me, Yamachan? (maybe), and Shinohara San climbing up Kiroro in a heavy snow. This was our second back country trip, the day we had insanely deep powder.










On the same trip. She actually hasn`t fallen down. She is in fact skiing. The snow is just. that. deep. This is the day we learned to snowboard with poles.

On our third trip at Neopara. Killing it. Just kidding, but I am partial to this picture. Thanks Takahashi San!

You can see more of his shots at these links.
Shiomaru Yama
Kiroro
Neopara

The Past - recent and distant

I`m not very digitally diligent, and I often forget to tell you about various comings and goings.  But these are three things that deserve note.

First and foremost, WE WON A CRAB!!!!!!!  Yes, a crab, that you eat.  And we did.  Win it and eat it.  Hokkaido is well known for it`s delicious shellfishes, they all seem to be sweeter from those icy cold waters.  And long long ago (last fall) we took a trip out to Ikeda Chou with our friends Nat, Kelly, Manabu and Sanae.  We stayed in a guest house there with an unbelievable crab feast - 4 kinds of crab (all from right off the Hokkaido coast) served 4 ways, including sashimi style.  At that guest house there was a drawing.  As far as I can remember Kelly won some cantaloupes, Sanae won a box of little Japanese pumpkins, and I won some soft serve ice cream.  Everything was from Ikeda area, everything was beautiful and delicious.  We also filled out some kind of post card for another drawing in which the winner was to get a crab.  Now, I can believe in drawing slips out of a hat and winning a prize.  There are witnesses.  But I always kind of thought that any mail in drawing was a sham.  "One lucky winner will get...."  nothing right?  Nobody ever wins those things.  But then - we DID!  We won a crab!  Last Monday this box came in the mail.

And on Tuesday we feasted on this crab with Nat and Kelly.  A crab feast on a Tuesday night?  Surreal.  As you can see, this is no blue crab.  This is Tarabagani!  King crab.  And he was tasty.  I still kind of can`t believe our luck.  I highly recommend winning yourself a crab sometime. 

Also, long longer ago (last summer) we grew a big garden for the first time ever.  And we lined the edges of all the beds in marigolds and calendula.  Both are edible flowers, both sequester nematodes in their roots, and both have lovely yellow to orange flowers.  But calendula also has healing properties that you can read about with a quick google.  Basically, if you`ve got a minor skin abrasion, calendula`s your bird.  And one of the best ways to get that skin-healing-goodness on to your minorly abraded skin is to make a balm or salve with it.  That`s just what I did and I wrote up my recipe for the Ajet Connect expat magazine and you can take a peek at it  here.  My article is on page 66.

When I wrote the article, I hadn`t actually made the balm yet because my petals were still infusing.  So I had to skimp on the images and even pilfer a finished balm photo from the annals of the internet (the other photos on the link though are mine).  But now, I can give you these, right from our kitchen. 

 The left two images are of the dried flower petals.  Top right is chunk organic beeswax.  On the bottom right is the calendula infused olive oil after 3 weeks of infusion.  Directly above are all of the ingredients I used.  And directly below is the finished product.  

Brian is currently learning web page design, and when he`s done we`ll post a full blown tutorial with these and more photos, but for now if you`re itching to get started, check out the recipe in the Ajet connect link above.  PS - I ended up putting more like 20 drops of cedar oil and 10 drops of orange oil in the mix to be able to smell them over the beeswax.

And in the much more recent past - yesterday we went back country snowboarding again, this time at Naopori, which is located on the back side of Teine mountain.  It was probably the hardest climb we`ve done so far, and the most fun descent.  We started out with beautiful, glowing blue skies and ended with a cold beer in a hot bath tub.  

You can see the rest of the photos from the trip here.

Back country, Round II

There`s a big beautiful snow coming down right now, so it seems appropriate that this post is heavy on the white stuff.  We`ve been busy getting the most out of this winter every weekend, and this will read a bit like a how-to guide on loving Hokkaido in winter.

Step 1 - Go cross country skiing!  Somehow we managed not to do this last year, but the park just across the river from us (Nakajima Koen) offers free cross country rentals and they have a lovely course that goes along the lake and through the woods to follow.  And it`s free!  And they`re not the only park in Sapporo that offers such fun.  It was a beautiful, snowy Saturday when we went.  

Step 2 - Go back country snowboarding or telemark skiing!  This has become my favorite way to love winter in Hokkaido, but don`t attempt step 2 without doing your homework.  It`s not terribly risky, but there is a chance of avalanche and if you don`t know what you`re doing (not that we do, we`re learning, but we`re also going with experienced friends) you could run into some cold deadly trouble.  The following pictures are some of my favorite reasons for back country over ski slopes.

These and the slideshow are all from our trip to the mountains around Kiroro with the Tipi club.  It was a seriously deep powder day and it snowed the whole time we were climbing and coming down.  

Step 3 - Go see the Sapporo Snow Festival. Especially on an unseasonably warm weeknight, as it can get crowded and cold. We went on a Monday night, the first night it officially started, but the week`s warm weather had already left some of the smaller sculptures a little bit battered.  The gigantic ones were still standing strong though.

I do love the festivity of the snow festival, but it`s also nice once it`s over.  It`s much easier to get around downtown when the extra 2 million (not exaggerating) visitors are not on the subways.  Plus, the ski slope population thins out noticeably afterwards as well.  Maybe hitting the slopes should be one of these steps, but I don`t have any readily available pictures from Rusutsu or anywhere else to entice you with.

Of course, there are lots more ways to enjoy winter in Hokkaido.  These are just the ones that I happened to bring a camera along for.  Hopefully we`ll get a lot more back country in before spring rears it`s melty, slushy, brown-snowed head (Hokkaido is supremely amazing every month except April).  Luckily, we`ve still got 2.5 months of snowy slopes (if not a snowy city) to enjoy!

Into the Woods at Last

Those of you we keep in regular touch with are well aware that come winter in Hokkaido, you can find us on the slopes.  Ever since we first arrived here we`ve been obsessed with powder.  And not long after we got here we`ve been all starry-eyed over the idea of getting away from the ski slopes and into the woods to get our fix.  But only recently did we aquire the rather necessary safety gear to make such a trip happen. 

This year for Christmas, Brian and I got each other avalanche beacons, shovels and probes (thanks Dad and Margo!), and some snow baskets for our trekking poles.  Romantic?  No.  Exciting?  Hell yes.  Now we`re equipped with the goods, if not the knowledge, for safe back country excursions.  Luckily, our friends with whom we made this trip are extremely well versed in avalanche safety and they`ve promised us our next trip will be preceded by a lecture on the topic.  But Shioyamaru Yama is blessedly tree covered and therefore we just got to have fun this time around. 

Sunday morning we got a lift from Takahashi San, a friend and telemark skier.  We rode with him to the little parking area at the base of the mountain where we met the rest of our posse.  Most of the gang where telemarkers, but Nauto snowshoed and boarded with us.  Before this trip I would have thought that skiing up would be easier than snowshoe-ing, but when the going gets steep the shoes are definitely easier.  We climbed for about 2 hours before reaching the top.  There was no fresh snow, so going up was easier.  And the day was relatively clear so the views were amazing.  Our friends were a little disappointed in the snow conditions, but we were too excited to notice or care.  

We had lunch under this tree after having summit-ed and boarded down.  After lunch some of us climbed back up to the top to do it again.  Brian and I both had wondered if we`d like back country as much as a ski slope where you can go off piste (like Rusutsu for example) because you only really only get one ride in.  But the hike up was beautiful.  It really makes you appreciate the ride when you`ve worked so hard to get it.  And it`s certainly nicer to hear birdsong in the woods that J-pop on the gondola.  And those views!

You can click on any of these images to see them larger.

It was one of my favorite days in Hokkaido yet.  We got a call from Hashida San saying that the next trip just might be this coming Sunday.  Can`t wait!

Out East on the island: Lake Akan

As time goes on in Japan we`re finding ourselves with lots of free time at work. It`s going to take creativity and go-getter-ship to make ourselves feel more useful, but I`ve got a bag of tricks to pull from. Even though the work load is less than challenging, my relationships with my schools are feeling more and more homey and happy.



Outside of school we`ve been dedicating ourselves to acquiring cell phones (we`re so connected now!) and soaking up summer before the half-year long winter sets in. In fact, it`s been feeling like Fall ever since this weekend. I`m tentatively loving it. Fall`s my favorite season, but I`m scared the second I rejoice about it a blizzard will sweep in and crush Fall into Winter.



Last weekend we took an end of Summer trip to explore the Eastern side of Hokkaido at the Eastern Welcome Party for JETs. We rented a van with 5 other Sappsters (all rental negotiations thanks to Crystal) and Brian drove us out to Lake Akan. We had a tough time with the navigation system and a side trip to pick up tents; none of us had ever driven in Japan before so it was a new sort of adventure for everyone, but despite all the obstacles we arrived, still smiling, around 3 AM to the campgrounds.



The next morning June caught us as we were waking up and invited us on a hike to the top of a volcano that overlooks the lake. We`d been eyeing that walk in the Lonely Planet, so we were stoked to have somebody with a better idea of how to make it happen around to make it happen.
We picked up another happy camper in the parking lot and by 9:30 June, Brian, Lechey and I were off.



We got going in the wrong direction at first, but it`s lucky we did because it was a gorgeous little walk with such beautiful things to see, like this scene on the forest floor.



And this place, that translates to "the blue place". Aptly named. The water is that color from the volcanic activity in the area. We encountered multiple signs about the dangers of hiking on an active volcano. And the dangers of bears. Next time I`ll get a shot of the bear signs. They`re really funny - bears with two paws up in full attack-to-obliterate position and massive I`m-gonna-eat-your-face-off, fanged mouths. Every Japanese hiker we passed had a bear bell, though I`m not sure how much bears like the sulfur-fume-coated volcanic peaks where most of the hike took place.

It was a pretty tough hike up the steep sides of the volcano. We did a loop that took us up one side and down the other. It was a relentless climb followed by a relentless descent, but well worth it. The forests were lovely, and once they petered out the views were stunning. It was a perfect day for a hike, even though a typhoon had been on the forecast. In my mind that day marked the beginning of Fall in Hokkaido. But in reality there`s actually a national holiday to mark the Autumnal Equinox (brilliant Japan!), on which I hope to find myself hiking again.



This was our first glimpse of the crater (though we smelt it a long way off).

The loose footing made the climb tougher, but the perfect weather, lovely temperature, and amazing views made it that much more rewarding. The crater was massive on this volcano.

Here`s a little panoramic video to give you a better idea of the views.

At the top we met Alan and Shu, other JETs from Sapporo, who`d climbed up from another route. We had lunch together at the summit before trying to avoid falling off the mountain side together on the somewhat treacherous way down. The hike took most of the day, and at the end we soaked away the stiffness in a beautiful little rustic onsen (public bath with natural hot spring water) at the bottom.

Though Brian and I are used to bath houses from being in Korea, this one had some unexpected surprises. Most notably, the outside portion, which is still separated by sex, was not fully separated. One of the screens that separated the two was missing, or never meant to have been there, but from the angle at which I was heading out it looked as though it were blocked off. So I was quite surprised to walk out, look to my right, and see there a man sitting as nakedly as I was standing. Surprise!

Back at the campground more people had arrived and Simon was cooking up a massive, delicious, falafel filled dinner for everyone. It got nice and chilly, but what with the party and the hot foot onsen we hardly noticed.

Sunday we had just enough time to cruise around the tacky Ainu village before driving back to Sapporo. The Ainus are the indigenous people of Hokkaido, but like most indigenous people whose lands were settled by outsiders... the history is pretty bleak. But in 2008 (yes really, only 2 years ago) they were officially recognized as indigenous people of Japan! Check them out on wikipedia. This town is like Cherokee, NC, but not quite so high a level of touristy development. Close though. Disturbingly close.

We got to see some Ainu carvings and marimo (the ball-shaped algae for which the lake is famous) and then got on our long way back. Here`s Marimokkori, the personified marimo with an erection that is one of Hokkaido`s mascots.

It`s a play on words that combines marimo with mokkori, which according to my dictionary is a

"bulge in a pocket or clothing" or "`tent` an erection makes against pants or bedsheets". Somehow, and blessedly, this is perfectly acceptable as a mascot for the island, which leads to hillarious marimokkori dolls, often with some function to it`s mokkori. For example, on one doll you pull it`s bulge and it vibrates. Another you push it`s bulge and the eyes change from 00 to ><>

I love Japan.

Here are the rest of the photos from the weekend.

Next Stop: Thailandia

From Burma we flew to Penang, an island just off the North Western coast of Malaysia, to meet David and Duck. we devoured the delicacies on hand there for a couple of days before busing up to Thailand. Compared with the poverty and difficulty of travel in Myanmar, Thailand seemed a land of luxury and easy living. We spent nearly 2 weeks on the beaches of the South and a week in the mountains of the North. At the end of our trip we came back to Bangkok for the 4th time, but it was the first time we'd had a chance to explore it.

Shannon's pictures are here!

Mongolia through Shannon's lens, Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

You can read more about our trip in older posts. It's only 4 more days til we begin our next big adventure! We're not sure how much internet access we'll have, but we'll try to keep this updated with photos and stories of our travels.

Great Gobi Goodness

After the green and the cold and the waterfalls and the lakes of Central Mongolia, we took a southern turn and headed into the Gobi. We knew we'd arrived when we started seeing camel herds instead of herds of horses.

These bactrian variety are enormous, but seem friendlier than the one humpers.

Though there are roads (dirt) in the Gobi, we didn't tend to stick to them as often there. Looking out from the van the terrain appeared flat and even, but there were many small canyons, ditches and ruts to look out for. But despite the difficulty of the landscape, we only got stuck once.

Brian and Ryan made quick work of that ditch.

As you can see, most of the Gobi is not sandy. It's mostly rocky with small shrubs everywhere, getting browner as you go deeper, but surprisingly green on a good year. But there are sandy areas. After a night of camping near a cave full of crystals we went to Kongoryn Els, or the Singing Sand Dunes. This is the movie version of the Gobi, and it's gorgeous.

A neighboring ger with the dunes.

Ewwww.

We timed our hour and 45 minute climb up those dunes perfectly. It was sunset when we finally made it. We also discovered why the sands are singing. With each 3 ft step up you take, you slide back 2.5 ft and start a sand slide from about 15 ft ahead of you. The shearing of sand on sand makes a deep reverberating hum that sounds like a train coming on the other side. This of course makes for a very difficult climb, but well worth it.

But the best part was coming back down. The sand was so soft and at such a steep angle that you could jump straight out and run down as fast as possible without fear of toppling forward.

The next day we drove to Bayanzag and got there in time for this spectacular Gobi sunset.

The following morning this guy, our wonderful guide, took us on a camel ride and showed us his secret dinosaur head that he found. The area is famous for dinosaur fossils and has yielded a lot of whole skeletons and the ground is littered with fossil flakes. You can tell the difference between a fossil and regular bone or stone by putting them to your tongue - the fossil will stick (albeit usually only on one facet of the surface) but the others won't. The guide is demonstrating with a fleck from the skull he showed us.

This rock formation is condensed sand, not really rock. We rode by it on our camels.

I love my camel.

When we left Bayanzag we went to a town to restock on food and water. There was a family putting up a ger near where we were staying, so we got to help out and see the process. The land in the countryside is all public and families can set up wherever they wish, but in cities the people have to rent a lot. They still live in gers though. We read that 85% of Mongolians live in gers even though only 50% are nomadic. The other 15% live in apartments in the cities.

They're holding up a layer of felt as it gets tied into place.

Next stop was the Painted Desert. The colors were amazing and the whole thing made me want a big bowl of sherbet.

After the Painted Desert we went to Ice Canyon (Yolyn Am) which was gorgeous (oh the puns) but devoid of any and all ice though it wasn't for lack of looking.

And our last night out in the wilderness Ikman, our driver, took us to a beautiful, mountain wrapped campsite where we built our very own poo fire and had one last look at the starscape before our final drive back to UB.

Scenery near our campsite.

A stupa around the mountain were we camped out.

Back in UB we ate delicious Mexican food and praised something for the change-up from mutton meals, we went to a market where we found amazing, weathered old Buddhist relics, and headed to the main temple in town and the Winter Palace of the Bogd Khan, now a museum full of fantastic Buddhist art and a strange emporium of the bizarre gifts the Khan (King) was given during his life.

A stupa at the temple.

One of the halls in the Winter Palace.

African birds that were once a living part of the Khan's zoo. Look at the bill on that one farthest left.

It was wonderful.

It was certainly the most epic trip I've ever done, and I would absolutely recommend it to anyone who can spare the time to go. The landscapes were breathtaking, but the best part of Mongolia is by far the people and the incredible way of life they've preserved for hundreds, maybe even a thousand years. I think all 4 of us would highly recommend UB Guesthouse (Bobbi even came to the hospital to check on Shannon when she got food poisoning) www.ubguest.com, but if I had it to do over again I would want to spend more nights with families that aren't used to hosting tourists, like we did around the lake.

Brian's working on making videos of all our short videos and Shannon's pictures are coming soon. We're down to 14 more teaching days before then end and life's getting hectic in order to prepare for our upcoming trip and the move home. If you have a job to offer us when we get back, please let us know because we've got 6 months to bum off parents and burn through savings and generally be drains on society until we get one.