Enjoying Nozawa Onsen

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Over the next few days, I had a great time.  I did as much skiing as I could - making a mental note to myself to work on my legs before my next trip!  Standing on skis all day is surprisingly tiring.

In the spirit of honesty, I should say that I also spent a good amount of time flat on my face.  Whatever - it's all downhill, right?  Snow doesn't hurt - much.

My first day of skiing had been quite warm.  I ended up skiing in a T-shirt, with my snow jacket unzipped.  No need for gloves or scarfs.  There was some snow in the next few days though, which made my grateful for my thermal underwear.

Poor visibility in the snow

One day I was skiing in what I'm pretty sure was a blizzard, although I'm not sure the local snowhounds would agree.  It was very windy, with plenty of snow coming down.  This was my first time actually being snowed on.  It sounds like fun and all, but mostly it's just cold, wet, and miserable.  Plus, the snow on the ground gets very sticky, which makes life tough.

On the days I was too sore to ski, I wandered about town.  There was plenty to see, too - even the buildings were very cool.

Beautifully carved wooden building

Cooking onsen, often used by village locals to cook their eggs & vegetables

My visit was in March, which is pretty much the end of the Ski season.  There can be snow on the slopes into May, but even in March the mountain is pretty empty.

A very lonely mountain

This was great, in my opinion.

No trouble getting a seat in restaurants, and no lines for the ski lifts.

Best part - less people on the mountain for me to crash into!

Later in the week we had a beautifully clear day.  There was fresh snow from the night before, and a bright blue sky.

A beautiful clear day at the top of Yamabiko mountain

I made it right up to the top of the mountain, and it was worth the trip.  If I read the signs right, it's 1,650 meters up.

Skyline Trail

It was a long trip back down the mountain, and I had to stop along the way for a breather. Well okay, I fell down again, but let's not be picky!