Billy V In The Morning

Vacation in Japan/Day 2

@ March 24, 2009 6:37 PM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Today we went to our Japan Family House in Yokohama. Everyone is away though, so we were the only ones there. My son grew up in that house before moving to Hawaii, so for him it was a nice but short homecoming. We were only there for an hour; we had to repack bags for the snow.

After spending time on the Expressway, we crossed over Rainbow Bridge on the way to Haneda Airport. Usually I drive, but today I didnʻt feel like driving. I LOVE to drive in Japan. Plus my AAA license is expired, so I canʻt drive in any foreign country at the moment anyway.

After a hour and a half train ride, 2 hour bus ride, weʻre here at Rusutsu Resort on the northern most island of Japan called Hokkaido, the resort is run by Prince hotels. Weʻll be here for the next 5 days.

I should mention why we are here and not spending our money at home.

Reason we are here is we brought my son to this resort when he was 4. We wanted him to experience something he would not be able to do at home. My wife skied when she was small and enjoyed and continued with her friends thru high school; they came to ski together as high school students. Plus when we first came here, I was the ski newbie. Weʻve come here for the last 2 years...and when we asked my son where he wanted to go (about 6 months ago) he said he wanted to come back here.

Weʻre not using the shoes here at the resort; last couple of years the shoes here have been hurting my feet more and more. It was always part of the ANA (All-Nippon Airways) package. This year we had the JAL (Japan Airlines) package, which means we had to go outside of the resort (across the street lol) of the resort. We walked over to get the feet sized and get the right shoes; wife and son got the ski boots...I got both the snowboard and ski boots. We were transported back (too cold, it is in the teens fahrenheit; -3 celsius) and when weʻre done, theyʻll pick everything up at the hotel lobby so we donʻt have to carry it back (yay!).

Todayʻs forecast calls for colder temperatures, and itʻs been snowing ever since weʻve arrived, light snow since this early morning. I think itʻs going to be a good day for skiing tomorow!