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Saturday 12 October 2013

Exploring Japan: My First Skiing Experience


There is always a first time for everything!

Shiga Kogen (志賀高原) lies in the highlands of Nagano Prefecture. Nagano was also the site for the 1998 winter Olympic games! I'm guessing this is very much a touristy area, and so there are frequent trains to Nagano from Tokyo!

This place marks the very first skiing experience in my life! I was really excited, yet worried about it initially.
To get there, we took the Shinkansen (under the JP rail pass) from Tokyo to Nagano and the journey took about 100 min. From Nagano Station, we took the Shiga Kogen shuttle bus to Sun Valley stop, which took around 1 hour and cost JPY1,900.



From: http://shigakogen.blogspot.sg/search/label/bus%20timetable
This was the best timetable I could get online before my trip. I think the timing is still quite accurate as of our trip in December 2012. Depending on which area of the mountain you stay, you can note the timing and make your way to the bus stop just before it arrives. We stayed at Sun Valley area, and for your information, there's a really cute monkey part at Kambayashi Onsen station! But more of that in another post. :)

Ski Trails at Shiga Kogen.
From the map above, you can actually see that there are many different ski trails on Shiga Highlands. And different courses caters to people with different levels of challenges.

You can also download individual maps HERE!

Our lodge is located at Sun Valley area. We stayed at a cosy little family-owned lodge called Villa Alphen. It is run by Captain Nobuo and his family. Everyone is so friendly there! And they love to share their experiences and stories of all those people they met. The wife cooks real good food as well!

You can see how steep the trail is at Sun Valley!


Mini fireplace in their cafe!
Was trying to check in earlier but their room isn't ready yet. So they invited us to have a rest at the cafe while waiting!

Sorry for the tired look. Was tired with all the travelling! 
We had to head to the monkey park real soon before the night fall, so we placed our luggages there and rushed for the next bus! The Captain helped us check and confirmed the timing, and we headed straight to the bus stop worried that we might miss the bus! I think we had to wait for a while if we missed it!

We only got to check in when we return from the monkey park! It was quite an experience there and we almost thought we couldn't make it back! But more of that in later post!

We managed to check in to the room after our return and to our surprise, the room was really big. And our beds were prepared in our room.



Dinner was served shortly after. Since it's still considered early for the ski season, there's only us with one other couple in the villa.


Shabu Shabu for dinner! Looks very delicious doesn't it? 


Decorations at the dining hall!

The other couple was requesting to book ski lessons with the Captain and they asked if we would like to join in. The lesson will be cheaper if the 2 of us joined in. So the 3 of us signed up for the lesson the next day! I don't really remember how much it cost, but I remember it being really expensive together with the rentals. Anyways, you can find the rental price tags HERE and the ski lessons HERE! 

After dinner, we headed for the in house onsen bath! It really feels as though it's private as there were no other people there except yourself! 

Since we stay in Sun Valley, which is not the one popular with night life packed with restaurants and pubs, we headed back to the cafe to spend the remaining night hours there before bed. I believe if you love nightlifes, Ichirose would be a better place to stay in!


It was really cold and so we sat next to the fireplace! The Captain was kind enough to take a photo for us as we thought the fireplace was really cool and beautiful! It was a pretty cosy place to chill at.





We woke up to this beautiful sight outside our window! It was pretty late when we checked into the room last night and we didn't really noticed what was outside! 

Headed for breakfast, and getting ready for the ski lesson! I was really nervous at that time! 

Really sweet apples!
 
Captain, preparing & carefully measuring our ski equipment!
As Sun Valley is considered an expert ski field, the instructor brought us to another bus station for the lessons after practicing for a while.

Maruike Station
Alot less steep than Sun Valley above! I believe we were practicing around location #6! :)
Team mates!


With our instructor!
Overall, it was a really fun experience! Especially when you manage to slide down the slope by yourself! Just don't be afraid to fall, and I'm sure you will make it! The lesson we took was pretty short and we had to stop just when we were getting hold of the ski techniques! I want to try again if I have the chance to, and plan a longer timing in the ski resorts in future! 

Had a quick lunch at the resort (not included in the stay package) as we were waiting for the bus timing anyway! I really do miss this place!! I hope I have the chance to come back soon again!