Hittin' Nagano's Slopes

The winter season is fortunately coming to an end (fortunate in such towns as mine, where the cold weather does not bring winter benefits such as snow), though as probability would have it, so is the winter sport season. Despite my rookie status when it comes to snowboarding, I have managed to increase my skills somewhat by traveling to the snow twice this year. In January I went west to Hyogo-ken, near the Sea of Japan and strapped myself to a board for the first time in years. It took a bit of time for the muscle memory to kick in, but once it did, I had a blast. And then this past weekend, I went with seven other English teachers to Nagano. We rented a van, drove ( I slept) through the night and hit the slopes first thing Saturday morning. This time, I was a veteran considering my three-time experience trumped all but two people in the group. A scraggly group we were, but the perfect weather, great snow and delirium induced genki-ness compensated for the lack of skill. Though most of us fell off the lifts most of the time, we all improved by days end and were rarin' for more. Unfortunately the Japanese are pretty rigid when it comes to seasons and what is appropriate when (apparently the beaches are empty 'til June, no matter what the weather), and the ski season ends after this month, so that was it for the year.
We finished off the day with much craved, though mediocre, Mexican food and a night at a funky backpackers hostel where we shared in some birthday shochu with some other guests and were treated to an impromptu didgeridoo (sp?) concert. I am now home, sore (mostly in the arms from pushing myself up after falling), sun kissed, wind kissed and with a ring of blisters around my lower legs (from where the boots hit) but quite energized from the trip...though sorry that I won't be around for it next year.