Around the World

Myoko Times!

bekkie — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:32:00 GMT

So, Ive been in Myoko nearly 2weeks now! I thought i better keep you all updated with whats going on!

The last week especially has been really busy! We have all been hard at work trying to get the rental shop and Kids Centre ready for opening! they are finally done! (check out the fotos in the gallery!) We all chipped in with the painting, cleaning and decorating and it was really nice to feel apart of bringing the ski school together!

We had an Opening ceremony on Friday 18th, with local residents and business owners! It was a fantastic night, and we all managed to commnicate with the japanese guests! everyone seemed really impressed withe the ski school and our japanese!

Saturday was the official opening of the resort, and after the snowfall ( see gallery!), we were lucky to have a few runs open! it took everyone a while to get their ski legs back, but it was great to be back on the snow.

Saturday Evening saw the opening of our bar in the local hotel... 'Castle Bar'. It was a great night packed with japanese food, lots of beer, saki, japanese rice vodka, singing and japanese drum playing. it was a real cultural experience and made me feel like one of the locals!

Also during the week we headed to the Akakura Kanko Hotel. it is a luxury 5* hotel, where the Japanese Emperial Family stay when they are in town. we were shown around the luxury suites, the restaurant and the outdoor onsens! the view was amazing!

There has been no guests to ski school as yet but, we have been out skiing everyday, training and orientating ourselves with the resort! it is amzing to see the transformation from village with no snow, to a snow packed ski resort! AND , I HAVE NEVER SEEN SNOW LIKE IT! in 4 days we had about 90cm, and it looks just like icing sugar! it is amazing to ski on!

so thats it so far! I'm looking forward to teaching again, and my first white xmas in a while!

Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year from Myoko, Japan.

Staff Adventures

bekkie — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

After spending the first night in my new bed, in my new home i was up bright and early ready for our bus trip!

Tom and Nozomi had organised a jam packed day of activities and sightseeing of the local area.

We headed to the local council offices first to get my japanese I.D card. We then drove around the route of the ski shuttle bus that heads to the four ajoining mountians of Myoko ski area. the weather was rainy so we couldnt see too much, but there is certainly a lot of terrain to be skiied!

We then headed towards nagano city, where there is a Monkey Park. After a nice walk through the trees we arrived at the natural springs. The setting was beautiful and we were surounded by snow monkeys! the monkeys are native to the area, and come to the springs daily to 'hang out' and chill in the onsen. they certainly looked to be having a good time. it was a little bit intimidating to be surrounded by wild monkeys, but the little baby ones were adorable.

By the time we had oggled over the monkeys, it was lunch time so we headed to the traditional japanese tourist town of Obuse for lunch. It reminded me of Hahndorf a little bit, with a quaint central street. i was quite keen to eat japanese food for lunch, but the group decided on a japanese Italian. Needless to say, it was very nice and really cheap for only 1000Yen.

After lunch we drove to the immigration office in Nagano to sort out visas and then headed to a temple. The temple is over 1300 years old and is fascinating. we all made a wish at the shrine and it was nice to be spending time with new and old friends again.

after a long and eventful day we drove back to the lodge for dinner and relaxation.

Today was a really good opportunity to get to know everyone and become familiar with the local area.

This is going to be an awesome season!

Up to The Mountains

bekkie — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 23:45:00 GMT

We awoke early to catch our bullet train to Nagano.

We headed to Tokyo station, dragging our suitcases through the subways! It was quite a challenge! We headed to the platform and waited for our train to arrive. The bullet trains look almost like a rocket! they are amazingly clean and go super fast.

The scenery on the way was amazing. we went from large overpopulated Tokyo to the mountain areas within an hour! The mountains in the distance looked amazing.... and at the first sight of snow i began to get extremely excited!

we changed trains at nagano and boarded a local train to Myoko Kogen station. Tom and Nozomi picked us up and it was nice to see friendly and welcoming faces!

They took us up the mountain to our lodge. It is a nice little lodge set amoungst the trees! we were given a guided tour and shown the large kitchen, living areas and our rooms! I managed to get my own room which is nice!

WE then headed up to Ski School to have a look around. It is still a wortking progress but its all looking good. Myoko village is quite large compared to the village at Falls Creek, but very traditional japanese with lots of old buldings. it has a certain charm to it!

In the late afternoon i was guided through the art of the onsen... naked communal bathing! it was just me and the girls in the hot tub.... it will certainly be nice after a hard day on the slopes.

In the evening we headed to the supermarket to stock up on japanese groceries and then it was straight to bed for me!

It was great to finally arrive in my new home for the next 5months. There isnt any snow yet... but i know i'm going to love it here.

Tokyo Day 3

bekkie — Wed, 9 Dec 2009 19:31:00 GMT

What a jam packed day!

we started the day by heading to Shibuya- the youth orientated shopping district of Tokyo. It was similar to that of Shinjuko and Ginza- but not as posh. There areso many bars/clubs ect and even a H&M and a Disney Store! The disney store was particularly impressive with lots of xmas decorations. I was very tempted to purchase some pink mickey mouse shaped baubels- they were awesome!

We then headed to Shibuya Crossing- probably the most famous 4 way intersection. Even out of peak hour the road was a mass of people.

Asakusa was our next stop for the day. It is one of the few areas in Tokyo to have kept its traditional Japanese charm.

We wandered around and stumbled upon a little market- selling everything from tourist junk to freshly made rice crackers and japanese lollies. At the end of the Market stood Senso-ji temple. It was beautiful and set in beautiful surrounds. It was the first really traditional and heritage building we had seen and it was breath taking.

After a quick subway journey we ended up at Imperial Palace- the home of the Japanese Emporer. Although many of the areas are not available for the public, just being there was amazing. The Whole area is surrounded by huge walls and even a moat! We walked through the gardens with all the autumnal trees- the colours were amazing. It was such a peaceful place until we got stalked by a cat who wanted tuna from my salad and bombarded with Japanese school girls wanting to talk to us! It was a beautiful place and I would love to go back.

Overall it was an awesome day- one full of Japanese culture and lots of walking.

I think a quiet night is on the cards! My feet hurt!

Roppinga Hills

bekkie — Tue, 8 Dec 2009 22:06:00 GMT

Oh... What a nite!

We decided to head to the night life captial of Tokyo tonight... and boy was that a good decision!

After taking 3 seperate subway lines we arrived to a beautifully light Roppinga.

We headed to an observation deck to take a look over the city at night! It was an amazing view with so many lights and we had a great view of the illuminated Tokyo Tower. It was spectacular.

we then found a little german christmas market and wandered round there whilst deciding on where to have dinner. I have to say, the christmas decorations here are much better than those in australia!

we headed to a few restaurants recommended by the lonely planet guide. i have to say we arent being very adventurous as we settled for a pizza. needless to say it was delicious and we are slowly becoming accustomed to the Japan culture.

It was a fantastic, colourful evening!

Photos: Japan

bekkie — Tue, 8 Dec 2009 18:30:00 GMT

The Adventure Begins

I heart Tokyo!

bekkie — Tue, 8 Dec 2009 18:28:00 GMT

Tuesday 8^th December.

Another day in Tokyo.

After getting up and having breakfast at the hotel we headed to Tokyo’s central station to explore. It was a very business orientated district of Tokyo…. And the station was just a maze of corridors!

We got back on the subway and headed to Shinjuku to visit the observation decks in the government buildings. The building itself was spectacular but the view from the top was amazing. The city sprawls out right to the horizon- it’s huge. In the distance were the mountains…. And MOUNT FUJI! Apparently it is really rare to see the mountain but we were lucky to have a clear day. It was an amazing thing to see!

We then headed to Shinjuku station- one of Tokyo’s busiest stations, with 3million people passing though every day. It was obvious as soon as we arrived that it was a huge station and again we found ourselves wandering around not really sure what direction we were headed. We finally found our way and headed down the main streets of Shinjuku. It was full of department stores and designer shops… Gucci…. Tiffany & co…Louis Vuitton…. And the list goes on. It was quite overwhelming to be part of such a huge city. We were surrounded by sky scrapers with huge flashing billboards. We continued to wander around and stopped at a supermarket for lunch. I had my first proper Japanese sushi roll. I don’t quite know what was in it, but it was very nice.

We then headed to Ginza… the posh part of time. Again we were surrounded by designer shops but we were headed somewhere in particular…. The Sony showroom. Inside was every form of technology you can imagine. Cameras in every color that track you around and take photos when you least expect, a robotic dancing speaker/mp3 player and plenty of other technological delights. It was amazing. We walked around for a while before heading back to the hotel to give our feet a well earned rest.

Tokyo

bekkie — Mon, 7 Dec 2009 18:27:00 GMT

Mon 7^th December

We finally arrived in Tokyo…. And surprisingly so had our luggage.

We shipped our skis off to Myoko, bought a train ticket and made our way to central Tokyo.

The scenery from the train was great. There were so many trees…. it wasn’t at all what I had expected.

As we got closer to the city the trees dwindled and the houses get closer and closer together. It was near impossible to determine whose house was whose. There were no driveways, gardens or streets, just house upon house.

We arrived in Ueno station and knew our next challenge was probably the hardest thing we had faced yet….. The subway. Surprisingly, though it was very simple, and everyone was so helpful.

We made it to the hotel with surprising ease and checked in straight away.

We had a simple room with bunk beds but located in a quiet street in the heart of Tokyo. It was ideal.

Mark and I decided to for a wander to unearth some of Tokyo’s delights. And that’s exactly what we did.

Walking up the street we discovered Tokyo dome- a huge sports stadium surrounded by an amusement park. It was all set up for Xmas with lights everywhere.

We had a coffee in starbucks and continued to familiarize ourselves with the area.

After a quick nap at the hotel we headed back out to Tokyo dome for dinner. We weren’t quite ready for Japanese cuisine and the language barrier was proving a slight problem. Never the less we managed, and settled for an English pub and dug into fish and chips.

We headed back out the view all the lights at the dome at night. They were even more spectacular at night.

On our way back to our hotel we took a detour and wound up in tokyos sports shop district.

I have never seen so many ski shops in all my life.

Shop after shop after shop jam packed with skis, boots and the brightest and funkiest ski clothing I have ever seen. It was amazing… if not a little tempting to spend all my money.

What an awesome day

I love Tokyo.

Take 2

bekkie — Sun, 6 Dec 2009 18:24:00 GMT

Sunday 6th December. I awoke early to phone the airport to find out our new flight details. The flight had been rescheduled to 12.00. We arrived at the airport to find a queue with over 200 passengers awaiting today’s departure. It took us over 2hrs to reach the front of the line (at which point the check in computer crashed) and it became perfectly obvious that we would not be departing on time…. Again! If the waiting wasn’t bad enough our boarding passes were now being hand written due to the computer problems. It was like travelling in the 80s! To top things off, channel 7 news showed up and was interviewing disgruntled passengers. Personally, I have no complaints about the service. Sure, the delay was an inconvenience, but I’d rather fly on a plane that's mechanical sound than one that isn’t. We were in no rush to get to Tokyo and so we just made the most of the situation. Others weren’t so calm after having to spend a night in a hotel and missing their connecting flight and consequently their European coach tour. We finally passed through security and said our goodbyes again. We boarded the plane fairly quickly and our plane finally took off at 2pm to a huge roar of cheers. We were finally on our way. Now for Kuala lumpar…. The airport is amazing. Designer shops, plenty of eateries and it’s all so clean. We checked in for our flight to Tokyo, had a massage, failed miserably at eating noodles with chopsticks, and before we knew it; we were onboard again bound for Tokyo.

The journey begins... sort of!

bekkie — Sat, 5 Dec 2009 18:18:00 GMT

Saturday 5^th December

The day had finally arrived for my big adventure!! I was excited but nervous about the journey that lay ahead.

I met mark at the airport, we checked in and went through the numerous other airport procedures.

Then it was time for goodbyes.

After a slightly emotional farewell we made our way through to the international gate… From now on we were on our own.

We boarded the plane and made ourselves comfortable for the long journey ahead.

But then…

We were told that our flight was delayed due to a mechanical fault. We waited patiently eagerly awaiting our departure.

No such luck unfortunately. After an hour and a half sat aboard we were told to disembark and wait for the problem to be fixed.

So we waited… and waited…. And waited and waited…. Every half an hour being told that engineers needed another 30mins to rectify the issue.

5hours passed as mark and I sat and entertained ourselves in the airport: music, reading, general chit chat. I felt like Tom Hanks in the movie The Terminal… we were trapped in the airport.

We were surrounded by disgruntled passengers who, like us had missed their connecting flight in Kuala Lumpar.

Finally the news arrived that our plane would not be leaving tonight!

Despite having not left the country, we had to go through immigration and customs and collect our baggage.

Mum and dad retrieved me from the airport and I went home to spend one more night in my own bed after a long day.

Fingers crossed for tomorrow.