Hakkoda Mountain

Hakkoda isn't really a ski resort. Most of the ski resorts in Japan are like miniature U.S. ski resorts. They have lifts and lots of groomed runs. Rather than mountains, Japan is full of Volcanos, active and inactive. Think of the ski resorts as resorts groomed out of a volcano side. Hakkoda looks like a huge volcano that you can see for miles. And it really is a huge volcano. In fact, it is an active volcano, with fumes permeating from the sides of the mountain.

There is one very small 2-person lift and then one gondola that takes you to the top of the mountain. Instead of marked runs, there are two "runs" that are marked with a single line of orange poles. But the beauty of Hakkoda is unlocked when you stray away from these runs and find another way down the mountain. This is both exhilarating and sometimes scary. I went with someone who knows the mountain well and we took backpacks, snowshoes and poles just in case we had to do any walking.

We also hit Sukayu Onsen (hot bath) at the end of the day (you can't take pictures there). It is a natural onsen, meaning the hot water comes directly from the volcano. You can tell this by the horrid sulfur smell that permeates the water. But you quickly forget the smell when you bask in the hot springs.

Anyway, I thought I would post a video this time instead of pictures. I know I am not an editing pro, but I did my best. Enjoy!

Happy Valentines Day from my 18 Month Old

Cole surprised with some beautiful flowers for Valentines Day. Thank you sweetie, you're the best. Just realized this was Valentines Day #7 for us. Lucky #7.
Love the Jordan outfit you sent Grandma T. Chase's doctor commented again at his visit this past week that Chase has such an athletic build and to check out his upper body. Which just cracked me up, I guess Chase is doing push ups in his crib before I get him in the morning before he throws out his blanket, bink, and socks over the side.

The Muffin Man right before Church in his Valentines Day outfit. He is getting so big and is in full blown toddler mode(everything needs to be locked or out of reach and sight), but he does still love to give hugs and snuggle up which melts my heart every time. And when ever Cole gives me a hug he runs over and hugs both of our legs to let him in. The guy behind us at church asked me what Chase's name was and after I told him he said that was a great name for someone with a lot of personality(Chase was giving him and the lady in front of us hi fives during church and flirting with them both.)

So here are his 18 month stats:

Weight-25 lbs (40%)

Height-32.5 in (55%)

Head-18.82 in (50%)

Sapporo Zoo & View of Sapporo from Mt. Moiwa

Here we are at the summit of Mount Moiwa overlooking the city. It was breathtaking and took our breaths away at the same time since it was so cold. In order to get to the top we took a Gondola and then took a tractor up the rest of the way to the gift shop/restaurant at the top.
In between the gondola and tractor they had a pretend ice bar with some fun ice figurines inside. This one looks like it is half penguin half bunny.
The tractor we rode up to the top. We chose to be inside with Chase which was a good decision cause those in the sled were all hunched over cause it was so cold.
View as we headed up the mountain in the gondola.
Ice slide they had at the zoo that Chase and I went down together.
Chase is in Tig's lap as they went down this tube slide. Chase didn't like this so much especially since they got turned around. They went down pretty fast.
I think this was the dog raccoon.
It is hard to see but they had a couple of red pandas that were so pretty and so active. The animals appeared to be really healthy at this zoo which is always good to see. And nothing is cuter than Chase's grin:)

Sapporo Snow Festival - Susukino Site

The Susukino Site is in the middle of the young entertainment/shopping area of Sapporo. There had some amazing ice sculptures in this area. This one had crab and fish frozen inside ice blocks.
Chase and Cole in front of the ice Salmon.
So Chase and Cole are standing in the famous Ramen Alley. There are about 20 different Ramen noodle restaurants inside this alley and each restaurant can only hold about 6 to 15 people. It is a great way to warm up from the cold.

I can't say I am a huge potsticker fan, but these just melted in my mouth. So so good.

Cole had crab noodle soup (king crab in the shell, scallops, and clams with a miso broth) and I had a corn noodle soup that were SO good (Cole said it was the best ramen he has ever had). Chase even loved the ramen. He was so cute. We would wrap a noodle for him around a chopstick and he would put it in his mouth and slurp the noodle down. The Japanese consider slurping a sign of good food(which drives me crazy) and a compliment to the chef. Sapporo is also known for their wonderful crab and shellfish dishes.
Ice mermaid and an almost finished ice transformer. We visited this site the day before the festival and they were still working on a lot of the sculptures. Chainsaws and jackhammers.

Sapporo Snow Festival - Tseudome Site

Chase and I inside an igloo sitting on heart shaped stools.
Chase liked crawling through these snow tunnels and it was hilarious when he was trying to push himself through.
Baby snow slides that were perfect for Chase.
Ice Slides. So Cool. So Chase and I are at the first slide getting ready to go down. I thought I could put Chase on my lap but they told me at the last second that I couldn't go down. So the Japanese worker tried to put Chase on the slide but he got scared, so I was going to bring him back down. But Cole was yelling at me to just push him down. So I felt horrible, but I pushed Chase and he ended up sliding on his belly all the way down. When Cole picked him up he was laughing, so luckily he loved it and I didn't feel so terrible.
Inside a big sports dome next to this snow festival site they had a bunch of activities for the kids as well. Chase loved the stuffed characters walking around. They must be Japanese cartoon characters cause we didn't recognize them.

Sapporo Snow Festival 2010

Most people have heard of Sapporo. It is Japan's 5th biggest city, with just under 2 million people living there. Sapporo is the capital of Japan's Hokkaido Prefecture. Most people are familiar with Sapporo as the home of the 1972 Winter Olympics or as the home of the Sapporo Brewery. We learned that Sapporo was also famous for their Snow Festival, one of Japan's largest festivals. In fact, approximately 2 million people visit the Snow Festival each year. The Snow Festival began in 1950, when 6 high school students built 6 snow statues in Odori Park.

The city is distinctly different from Misawa. The roads are very wide and the population seemed young and vibrant. It was also very cold. Misawa is not as cold as most people think. In Misawa, the temp rarely drops below 20 degrees Fahrenheit, which is a lot warmer than Omaha. But Sapporo was much colder than Misawa! The first night we were there the temperature was 12 degrees Fahrenheit with a brisk wind.

Ok, on with the pictures! We took a lot of photos, so we will have to break it up into multiple posts again. Enjoy!

Bundle up, it's cold!

Shirokuma Time Square reminded me of New York's Time Square

One of the few places you don't have to walk on snow or ice. This is one of the many indoor malls hidden beneath the streets.

I told you it was cold. This was a designated smoking area made entirely of large ice blocks. This had me chuckling for some reason.

In the background, you can see the Sapporo TV Tower (kind of looks like a miniature Eiffel Tower)

Odori Park

A tribute to the zoo (pics from there later). This massive scene was carved out of snow.

Snow Temple

For those of you familiar with Hideki Matsui. He is a Japanese baseball player who has played for the Yankees in recent years. His nickname is Godzilla. They carved Matsui's face inside of a Godzilla head.

They built a giant snowboard jump in the middle of Odori Park. Cool!

Cole's Mogul Masher Trip & Appi Onsen

A week and half ago Cole went with the Mogul Mashers(base ski group) to Getou Kogen Ski resort which is about 3 hours from here. The group goes every weekend, but Cole has been working the weekends lately but had one off to squeeze in for the trip. Cole said they built this ice sculpture that day while he was up on the mountain. We are excited to head to the ice festival tomorrow which will be filled with huge ice sculptures. Pictured (Cole, Nate, Josh, and 3 random Japanese guys that jumped in.)

So here are two pictures of the onsen at Appi Ski Resort that we went to after a day of snowboarding. We forgot our camera that day which was too bad cause we had a fun day at Appi Ski Resort with some great powder and no crowds and some beautiful views. And we enjoyed a nice warm lunch of wantan noodle soup and a Korean dish Cole cooked himself at our table. The food choices at a ski lodge are really different than what we are use to.
So the Japanese love their onsens and go on a weekly basis, and I finally know why. The men and women baths are seperate. The protocol to go into an onsen is you first enter this room completely in the buff and you walk over to the row of faucets. You sit on a little stool and wash yourself with soap and water so you are clean before entering the bath. This one is really hot, and the outside one is not quite as hot. And they also have a cold bath. It is truly relaxing, and the goal is too only look at faces and not look down. It is so weird how this is normal in Japan, but would be so weird in America. I actually only thought this sort of thing existed back in the Roman times.