hotel and ski resort in one!

Last weekend we took a few days off work for a ski holiday up north. The weather was rather on the balmy side, a bit odd considering February is statistically the coldest month in Japan! We went to Fukushima...a 3.5 hour drive from here. To kill time on the way up and back, I played the brain teaser game, Sudoku, in the car. (that and it shuts me up, allowing my husband to focus on the road and not me, babbling in English)

The snow was crunchy and icy, definitely not ideal ski conditions! It was snowing when we arrived and most of the next day, making for perfect snowy winter ambiance. There is something very romantic and lovely about falling snow - I just love it, especially when it stays off the roads. Skiing was tough - very icy, slippery, making it difficult to maneuver easily...great training though. The greatest part was: the ski resort was part of the hotel - so we did not have to go anywhere or worry about transporting equipment.

The hotel (Hotel Minowa) we stayed at was luxurious (by Japanese standards) and most information was bilingual. They even had a dress code which prohibits guests from wearing loungewear or pajamas at breakfast. Despite their attempt to appear a classy, upper class hotel...families were abundant, children were noisy, practically making fun at any attempt of the hotel to look elegant. Though if forced to choose, I'd rather stay overnight at a traditional Japanese ryokan (inn)...related to a cozier ambiance? Hmm.

Dinner was really luxurious (according to my weight scale, a bit 'too' luxurious...ha ha ha). 7-course French dinner one night and 6-course Japanese (kaiseki) the next night. Though equally sumptuous (plenty of fancy marbled beef!!!), I preferred the Japanese traditional course...much more food variety and attention to detail and presentation! Perhaps foreigners in Japan find traditional Japanese cuisine more fascinating and scintillating than Japanese themselves. I'll have to ask my friends about that.