snowpanda in bamboo forest 😄
I guess you can only do this in Japan 😂
back again
After leaving Japan for several months I’m finally back for the winter season. Japow here I come!
My trip started with the perfect “welcome back” dinner and already the next day Sascha & me were sitting in the plane to Hokkaido. To follow our tradition, we decided to go winter camping again and travel from ski area to ski area. Tough so, because our own camper is already on the way to Germany. The solution: renting a camper at FujiCar and so we are on the road again.
First stop Furano ski area. It’s smaller than Niseko with a less touristic city but nice slopes and some options for freeriding. We were lucky and had some fresh powder but more important: Sun!! Really, this was the first time for me to have such perfect weather when skiing in Hokkaido.
And this continued when we arrived at Asahidake. -17 degrees plus sun! OMG! We met again with Toshi Totori who was guiding us up the mountain. The gondola is not running yet so we hiked up twice that day which means rougly 14km in snowshoes. Worth every step when standing on the top and having a powder field just for yourself! And Toshi had another surprise for us and send us down a 5m drop in between an rocky Mountainfield. Arghhh! Afterwards it felt good 😄
Christmas was coming closer so we moved to Niseko. More touristic, more restaurants and shopping areas and a large ski area! Snow is not yet as high as expected but it’s snowing like hell which is good of course. And Christmas? We had spaghetti in our camper with some sparkling wine in paper cups and very, very withe Christmas days ….
Shikoku – road trip around the underrated island
Until now Sascha and me only shortly passed through Shikoku. It looked really nice so we decided to spend some more time on the not so famous island.
Because of the long distance, we spend one night at Mikawa Bay on a parking space next to the sea. Very calm and with a nice view of some island.
Next morning we drove to Awaji island, passing the famous Onaruto Bridge from where you can see whirlpools created by mixing the Japanese inland’s sea with the open ocean. Maybe it’s more impressive if you take the boat-sightseeing tour.
But when seeing the coastline of Awaji island we decided to stay one day and thanks to Google Maps we did not only find a nice beach but as well a campsite (Fukiagehama Camping Ground). The owners were really friendly, happy about our minor Japanese skills and we could choose any space on the campsite.
After checking the area, where mainly onions are planted, and a nice breakfast on the beach on the next morning, we continued our journey to Shikoku.
There, first stop was Mt Tsurugi – be aware if you come by car – the roads are verryyyy adventurous. Steep, narrow, old serpentine roads up the mountain. We met some friends at the lift station and spend the night in the parking area, to be early for the hike on the next morning. After a 4hours hike (you can shorten it by taking the lift) we enjoyed a beautiful view over the landscape – but we had to share it with a bunch of people due to golden week travel time.
Being in the mountains already we drove to Iya Valley the next day. Again winding roads along river gorges and through old, small towns, ending up at a gorgeous onsen! You have to go by cable car 200 meters down to enjoy the bath next to the river. Worth the travel time 🙂
Next stop: Beach! Driving along the beautiful Shimantogowa including some stops for lunch at the river, we ended up at the seaside of Shikoku in the south-west. The beaches in Futami as well as on Tosashimizu are quite famous for nice waves. Even so, the weather was bad on the first day it was crowded by Surfers. So we just pitched in!
But Tosashimizu does not only have beaches so we made a bike tour along the coastline up to the southern point of the peninsula. Sun was burning and we had to paddle up 9km first, followed by the 30km beautiful coastline.
Impressed by this very calm atmosphere of this part of Shikoku we drove further along the Ashizuri sunny road, ending up at an even nicer lagoon. The parking space included shower and barbecue place, so we just had to stay 🙂
Good decision! The area has very interesting volcanic stone formations which can partly be hiked along the coastline and an Underwater Observatory. And guess what – I never saw that much Puffer- and Box fishes! Afterwards, I learned, this area is famous for diving, so if you ever go there please try!
Being on road trip mode already we drove further to Sokumo Bay, Close to Otsuki. The landscape is getting rougher here, but the water is impressively blue. What else so find here? The whole area contains of small fishing villages and mikan (sort of oranges) plantations. No Kombini, No big cities….
100km further in Ehime, we stayed on the あけはまオートcamping ground next to another white sandy beach, blue water and no person there. When arriving, we were watched a little bit skeptical at first, so I guess not many foreigners have been here yet. But after the first shock, the atmosphere got very friendly 🙂
Last stop on our trip, after a short visits of the Matsuyama castle, was the inlands-sea-island-tour. We did this as any good tourist by bike with a one night stay at the sunset beach on Ikuchi Island. Also here the parking area provides showers and barbecue areas and … a nice sunset!
The butt hurts, 10 days travel done – time to head back home! One last Ramen (noodle soup) in Onomichi and we were back on the road to Tokyo…
Shikoku? Beautiful underrated island! One of the most beautiful spots of Japan from my point of view!
springtime & hanami
Spring is just the best time in Tokyo! Blue sky, warm temperatures and everything is blooming. First the plum trees and now the cherry blossoms. I’m getting in really good mood by just walking a round and seeing all this fluffy white and pink trees. That is why also this year I would like to share some Tokyo springtime impressions with you all…. Hope you also catch some spring fever 🙂
mini food
New addiction: Mini Food!
Of courses that’s nothing new but nowadays you can find Do-It-Yourself sets in some japanese supermarkets.
My first try was the Mini Burger. You need a little bit of patience, calm hands and a microwave and… Tataaa: Cheeseburger with French-fries and Coke.
The irritating thing is, it really tastes like a cheeseburger o.O
And the bad side effect is all the trash you are creating with one package – that is a good reason to stop this hobby immediately!
last days in the snow
This might be the last snow weekend in Japan for now!
Had a really fun weekend at Ahsahidake beginning of February – Asahidake is famous for being on of the best the powder & free ride areas of Hokkaido. Unluckily when we arrived, there was only harsh snow left over. This was very unusual for February as I learned. Asahidake has only two ski slopes and one gondola, therefore the first day was not really demanding. So we visited the snow festival in Asahikawa which was a funny alternative, even so it might be a smaller festival than the famous one in Sapporo.
Next day the wind was so strong the gondola did not work at all, so we packed some snow shoes and hiked up. Beautiful landscape and even a snow rabbit to see!
Luckily weather and snow were perfect at day three and we enjoyed a real powder day with the local guide Toshi (Totori Powder station), who really knows the area and showed us amazing free ride slopes trough the woods! Thanks for that!
Conclusion: Ashaidake is really a place to go if you are an experienced skier and you want to have some real Hokkaido Powder! But be aware – there is not much else to do (which was perfect for me) and you should not underestimate this mountain! It’s worth spending the money to be guided trough the area!
Now – this weekend it was the time to visit one of Honshu’s famous powder locations: Myoko Kogen, which consist of around 5 ski areas. Best description here: powderhounds. The snow was even higher than in Hokkaido, but also quite different! Even so we had fresh snow it was much more wet and less fluffy. But this is complaining an a real high level! Because on the one hand this years snow is said to be extra wet on the main island and on the other hand: come on – 4m snow and 20cm fresh powder, how bad can it be 😉 I visited Seki Onsen, which is the smallest of the ski areas, but known for a lot of nice back country. I really liked this snowy small village with the tiny Onsen and the nice ski huts! Worth a visit!
So – eventuell war das jetzt das letzte Mal Skifahren in Japan! Snief! Wir waren Anfang Februar in Hokkaido, Asahidake – bekannt für jede Menge Tiefschnee zur Wintersaison. Nach etwas Pech an den ersten Tagen hatten wir dann einen super Tag mit einem Lokalen Guide, der uns die Gegend gezeigt hat! Dank schlechtem Wetter gab’s auch noch einen Kurztrip nach Asahikawa um das dortige Snow Festival zu besuchen.
Und dieses Wochenende musste es noch mal ein Skigebiet auf der Hauptinsel sein, Myoko Kogen liegt in den japanischen Alpen und man fährt entlang 4m hohen Schneemauern hoch in die Berge. Der Schnee ist hier zwar wirklich weniger fluffig als in Hokkaido aber es war auf jeden Fall den Besuch wert 🙂
the panties vending machine & the early cherry blossoms
Found it! During the first weekend on Izu for this year!
When we paddled up the hill with the bikes after a short sightseeing tour, we found a panties vending machine!! Hidden in small, run down shed. What a surprise to find one of the infamous Japanese machines somewhere in Izu… very strange!!
To change the topic – a short summary of the weekend! Even so it was rainy we went to Izu, to visit Kawazu’s famous early Sakura (Cherry blossom) and to do the “Seven Falls Hiking course”. For those who want to see Sakura already: Go to Kawazu now! The Cherry trees are blooming along the river for more than one kilometre down to the seaside!
The Seven falls are nice to visit, but do not expect too much! We did the course from the top as described >>here on page 6, but when we recognized, the main part of the hike is a gravel walk we decide to go by bike. Some parts are handable with an Mountain bike in-between and for some parts you have to carry the bike down the wooden stairs (as usual…)
The annoying part starts, when ending up in the real sightseeing zone, where you have to share the path with all tourist. Not recommendable in peak season!
But the small waterfalls are nice to visits and I could imagine it would be great to take a dip in the cold water during summer season. Just not sure if this would be appreciated…
Habe einen der berüchtigten Unterhosen Automaten gefunden!
Wo und wann? In Izu, als wir mit den Fahrrädern den Berg zurück zum Auto hochgetreppelt sind, in einer kleinen runter gekommenen Hütte am Straßenrand. Schräg!
Um schnell das Thema zu wechseln eine kurze Zusammenfassung des Wochenendes! Das erste mal dieses Jahr ging es wieder mal nach Izu, um in Kawazu die berühmte, frühe Sakura (Kirschblüte) besuchen und die “Seven Falls Wanderung” zu machen. Für diejenigen, die jetzt schon Kirschblüte sehen wollen: Ab nach Kawazu! Ca. 1km entlang des Flusses blüht es jetzt schon bis zum Meer!
Die sieben Wasserfälle (Seven Falls) waren nett, aber man darf nicht zu viel erwarten! Wir haben die Wanderung vom oberen Startpunkt (siehe Karte Seite 6) gemacht, aber da der groesste Teil einfach ein breiter Kiesweg war, haben wir kurzerhand beschlossen das ganze mit den Fahrrädern zu machen. Ein paar Stücke zwischen drin gingen gut mit den Mountainbike aber zum Teil muss man das Fahrrad die Holztreppen runter tragen.
Nervig wurde es dann erst am Ende, wenn der Pfad übergeht in den wirklichen Sightseeing Spot – dann sind zu viele Touristen auf dem Weg und es ist besser abzusteigen und zu schieben.
Aber die kleinen Wasserfälle sind auf jeden Fall schön, und ich konnte mir direkt vorstellen wie es wäre im Sommer in die kalten Wasserbecken zu springen.
Allerdings bin ich mir nicht sicher, ob das auf Begeisterung stoßen würde…
doggie stroller & japanese camper
This weekend I had a different kind of sightseeing. I guess everyone following this blog, knows by now I’m somehow addicted to camping, therefore I visited the Japan Camping Car Show in Chiba!
How was it? FUN!!
I learned: if you are a camper in Japan you need AT LEAST 2 dogs. And don’t forget about the right stroller and be aware of the dress code! Sorry, I cannot share all pictures I took of dogs, otherwise it will fill a whole page!
The other fun thing was to check all the KeiCar (Japanese small size cars) Campers. It’s amazing to see what fits into such a mini car! In addition of course a lot of strange ideas like the modular house or the “tree-house” camper solution.
Dieses Wochenende gab’s mal eine andere Art von Sightseeing. Ich denke, jeder der diesen Blog ein bisschen verfolgt, weiß inzwischen dass ich sehr gerne campen gehe – also habe ich die Japan Camping Car Messe in Chiba besucht!
Um gleich jegliche Vorurteile abzuwürgen: es war echt lustig!
Zum Beispiel habe ich gelernt: Wenn man ein Wohnmobil in Japan besitzt oder Besitzen will muss man mindestens 2 Hunde haben. Nicht zu vergessen den passenden Kinder-Hunde-Wagen und bitte auch auf die reichtige Bekleidung achten!
Leider kann ich nicht alle Hunde-Bilder teilen, das würde hier nicht auf eine Seite passen….
Die andere lustige Sache war,sich die KeiCars (japanische Kleinwagen) Wohnmobile an zugucken. Es ist erstaunlich was alles in so ein Mini-Auto passt! Außerdem gab’s natürlich viele seltsame Ideen wie die modulare Haus oder der “Baumhaus” Wohnlösung.
pancakes! and cream!
Did it! Since 2,5 years now, I’m going by Eggs’n & Things close to Harajuku, famous for their pancakes. Usually the waiting queue is about 300m long, so I never even thought about getting some!
But by surprise this Saturday, valentines day, I walked by with some friends visiting from China and there was NO queue at all! So I had real Hawaiian pancakes this weekend for the for the first time.
Oishii – yummy! But be aware about the huge amount of cream o.O – I have to workout the whole week I guess…
Aber diesem Samstag, am Valentinstag (!) war es überraschenderweise anders! Keine Schlange, keine Wartezeit?! Also gab’s Hawaiianische Pancakes am Samstag!
Oishii – Lecker! Aber bitte auf den Berg Sahne achten – das heisst: Sport, Sport, Sport!
omotesando: more than shopping
One of my favourite places in Tokyo is (still) Omotesando. Reason for that is NOT the long shopping mile with all the fancy big labels, but the small side roads. For example the narrow alley from Shibuya to Harajuku, or as well on opposite side. Here you will find second hand stores, small labels, Cafés and Bars to sit outside. Easy to spend a day! Every time I go there, I find a new place and add a new star on my Map 🙂
Especially since January the outdoor event / beer garden area re-opened! This year it’s called commune246 and its a collection of small bars, trailers, a stage and several snack bars. To avoid frosty fingers you can sit beneath the heater during wintertime or enjoy the Tokyo heat during summer time while drinking all sort of cocktails or beers! And if you live here in Tokyo you know how rare it is to have such outdoor places. In this year you can even have a sleep over in a caravan, if you had too many drinks 🙂
Further Tips for those who do not won’t to stick to the standard Omotesando course:
- Visit the Tokyo store of Maison Kitsune or zip a Coffee in their Café close by
- Shop for a little bit different baby clothes “ストーリーズ“
- visit the “Tree house” close to Design Festa, while walking the side roads
drunken business men #2
Eventuell erinnert ihr euch noch an einen etwas älteren Post zu den betrunkenen Anzugträgern in der Tokyo Metro? Hier ist Teil 2!
Remember my post about drunken business men at the Metro stations in Tokyo? Here is part #2! And and al least Thursday, Friday and Saturday night it’s quite common to experience this kind of scene! Luckily the train conductors seem to be really trained…
hokkaido in winter
Pre-warning.
If you are not interested in winter sports, no need to watch this video. It mainly shows snow. A lot of snow.
in addition to my ‘powder‘ Blog entry, some moving images for Japan tourism promotion and to pay off my GoPro 😉
Achtung.
Falls dich Wintersport nicht interessiert, dieses Video am besten nicht angucken. Denn es geht darin nur um Schnee – und davon jede Menge. Eindrücke von meinem Winterurlaub in Hokkaido hab’ ich ja schon geteilt. Jetzt gibt’s dazu das passende Bewegtbild, damit sich der Kauf der GoPro auch gelohnt hat 😉
Musik: ZOE.LEELA, Pop Up
funny food
Zu Beginn habe ich ja immer mal wieder auch Essensbilder geteilt! Zeit wird’s mal wieder für eine Serie “lustiges Essen” in Japan!
At the beginning of my stay in Japan I shared a lot of food pics. Over the last weeks I could again collect a number of funny food & meals which I only saw in Japan. sometimes I still wonder who comes up with this ideas…
tokyo tip: ochanomizu
If you stay in Japan for longer than a holiday, you might get into the situation of searching something specific but not finding it in this huge city! Here is one tip for those, who are looking for:
a) All kind of Guitars & Violins
b) Snowboards, Skis and clothes as well as Bikes
Ochanomizu (so called Tee-water-street), close to Akihabara, might be your solution! Not far from the station you find a street where you can ONLY buy guitars!
Going further you end up on Yasukuni Dori, where one wintersports-shop is followed by the next! Floor by floor stuffed with skis, snowboard and everything else you need to survive the winter.
Be sure you have time when going there….
powder, powder and powder again!
First of all: Happy new year! Hope you all had a great start into 2015!
Speaking for myself, I had quite a adventurous holiday.
After spending Christmas time in Germany, Sascha & me packed our Camper van for some days in the Hokkaido snow paradise!
Just in case you wonder:
Yes, with the idea of sleeping in the car! Yes, it gets quite cold in Hokkaido in winter time 🙂
Because again we were too lazy to book the ferry from Aorai or Niigata to Hokkaido upfront, we drove to Aomori and took the ferry to Hakodate which goes more often and is more flexible to book short-termed.
Arriving on the northern island, suddenly streets were covered with snow, and I was happy that we came with winter tires and brought snow chains.
After another 2 hour drive we arrived in the Niseko area. Puh, in total our journey took 16hours, and I was not convinced at the first day, it’s gonna be worth it.
The first Ski Area we visited was Niseko Moiwa, known for being less crowded. Which is true, but as well it is somehow small.
But anyway a good, easy start with not as much powder as I expected. This changed over night!
Covered under blankets, the first night was surprisingly warm with only -5 degrees. We parked the Car on a parking area close to the Gondola in Hirafu and next morning we had snow up you the lower door ridge. So therefore the day in the Niskeo Hanazono Ski area was just perfect! Even new powder on the slope and in the backcountry you could totally sink into the fresh powder.
And it continued like this! Only disadvantage was, also the temperature decreased and the wind got very strong for some days, so extra clothes and a hot Onsen bath after the day in the snow was necessary to warm up again.
New Year’s Eve we spend outside with a bunch of Australian people, and a fireworks in front of Mt. Yotei!
And the résumé, of 4 days winter camping in Hokkaido? I have to say, the North of Japan is getting my favourite part of the beautiful country and I’m afraid, I will never have such nice powder snow again back in Europe. Therefore, all the freezing was worth it!
3yearsintokyo 