Japan :: Day 09

It was a full day of skiing, and I’m happy to report I felt steadier on my skies today. After breakfast we walked over to the life #6 at Tangram and started skiing. The day before we just hit up Tangram, but on this day, we skied Tangram and Madero. Finally ate traditional ramen at a restaurant at the middle of the mountain. Japan has been getting dumped on with snow this year, but the days we were there, it was sunny and in the 40s. Too warm. It got a little icy in parts too because of this, but we didn’t ski anything that was too difficult. We dropped off our ski rentals, grabbed a couple sakes to go, walked back to The Brueys, and plopped ourselves in a comfortable bench to take part in a little aprés. Some chicken wings and my favorite cocktail again. That evening we stayed at the lodge again for dinner. It was taco night. What a great day — and such a cool experience.

Japan :: Day 08

We took an early train from Kyoto to Tsuruga to Iiyama where we were picked up and driven to our next destination — skiing at Tangram and Madero. We didn’t know much about this area, but one of Brian’s work contacts mentioned her friend owns a hotel at a ski area so we decided to check it out. The Brueys turned out to be perfect for us. We were dropped off at the mountain where our skies were waiting in a locker for us. Another perfect Brian planning move. We spent the rest of the afternoon skiing! It’s been at least 10 years since I’ve been on skies -- and a good 25 since I’ve skied a non-Midwest mountain - back when I was snowboarding! Needless to say, I was pretty nervous the first day. By the time we got back to the hotel, I was wiped out. But I rallied. We stopped by the bar where I had an amazing cocktail (Red Mustache - whiskey with cinnamon and maple flavors finished with foam top and cinnamon powder). After getting ourselves together we came back down for dinner. The restaurant, Pinchi’s Place, was fantastic. Since it was still early and we could barely stay awake, we decided to take an evening stroll. It was so gorgeous out. And, just look at all of that snow!