Relaxation ....

They start them young on the slopes here!

The onsen really is an amazing invention, so relaxing and rejuvenating. There is a particular etiquette for taking an onsen though - first you must strip off before sitting on a small stool and having a shower before climbing into the steaming water. The water is so hot at first but it is easy to settle in and allow the water to soak away all aches and pains from the day of skiing. It is a little strange at first to sit in a bath with other naked women, but you soon get over any body issues and really enjoy the soothing waters.

'Natural hazards' - Japanese snowboarders.

Konno prepares the sashimi for dinner.

It has been a long time since I have taken a holiday and stayed in the one spot the whole time, so I am finding it extremely relaxing to be in same place for 7 days. We seem to have developed a pattern of sleeping in, reading, skiing, long lunch breaks, more skiing, onsen, napping, reading, dinner and drinking then early nights. What a life!

View from the gondola.

Well, it is a holiday! Naps and books are compulsory!

Mum recently made the observation that my blog seems to be taking on 'food' theme. I suppose that is true but I really believe that two of the best things about travelling are trying different foods and meeting new and interesting people. If I were to judge this holiday by these two criteria, we have had an extremely successful holiday! Konno has taken us to try so many new foods and drinks, most of which have been beautiful. We have tried: Sushi - Definitely tastier in Japan! Sashimi - So fresh and beautiful. Sukiyaki - A meat, vegetable and tofu dish with a sugar and soy sauce base that you cook yourself. Yakitori - Skewers of BBQ meat and vegetables. Quite salty. Nabe - A Japanese hotpot with fish, tofu, rice cakes and vegetables in a miso broth. Shabushabu - Another type of Japanese hot pot where you dip thin strips of pork into a steaming miso broth. Sake - Very strong and not for me. Syochu - Another Japanese spirit made from sweet potato. You drink it with hot water or rosehip tea. Konno was very insistent that this was a healthy drink. Umeshu - A sweet plum wine, known as a 'ladies' drink. I don't like spirits, but this was good!

New friends exploring the small world we live in.

It's our last day of skiing today and unfortunately it is raining, which may mean that most of the afternoon will be spent next to the fire in our favourite little restaurant on the hill, Fushya. We have been here every day for lunch with our new group of friends - Konno, Junko and Ben. Often others we have met pop in too, it's a lovely small community there. We also had dinner there the other night - Konno pulled some strings and they opened the restaurant for us. We skiied until about 7pm, had dinner and then back on the slopes till 9pm - nice!

Gunnar cooking the Sukiyaki under the watchful eye of Konno and Mama.

We are heading back to Tokyo tomorrow for some more sightseeing and shopping before Gunnar heads back to Wuxi on Sunday. I then put on my work hat and head to Yokohama to visit the Yokohama International School to pick their brain about the PYP! How nerdy on a holiday!