I recently returned from OvRride’s trip to Japan and I cannot express how much of an amazing time I had. Not only was it my first time in Japan, but also my first time riding off of the East Coast! Brother Shredmond and myself were lucky enough to escort a group of 10 awesome people out to the Far East Coast and we all had an epic time.
There’s just so many reasons to go on this trip!… First it’s in Japan. I mean how many people get to go visit Japan? It’s always been one of my dream vacations, and then I get to go there to snowboard? I couldn’t have had my expectations any higher, and amazingly enough they were all not only met but, surpassed tenfold.
The hype is real people. I heard that it never stops snowing in Hokkaido (the small volcanic island north of the Japanese mainland where we stayed for a week) and I just thought “yea yea yea sure…” but seriously. It really never stopped snowing the entire time I was there. It became a recurring joke and we’d all say “Look it stopped snowing!” and every time the joke was met with groans because it just dumps snow non-stop.
This first couple of days were spent at Niseko Resort, which is the most famous and well known Ski/Snowboard resort in Japan and for good reason. It’s nestled into a nice mountain town with all the appropriate restaurants, pro shops, and bars you’d expect in any mountain town, except the Japanese flare elevates the usual suspects into somewhat bizarre and intriguing locales.
But enough about the town because the riding was all time! I’m talking snow up to my armpits! As in enough snow that it didn’t matter what you tried or what the terrain was because when you fell it’d be in about 4 feet of fresh powder. So many times I dropped the biggest cliff I’ve attempted or hit the biggest hit I”d tried and there was no fear, no hesitation, because the consequences were so low. I’d just tumble and come up covered in snow with the biggest smile on my face.
AND THE TREES!!!! The trees are everywhere and they never stop. I don’t think we took one single run that went exclusively down a full trail. We always dipped straight into the trees where you could always find an untouched powder field and create as many fresh tracks as you wanted too. But I don’t need to write about it… Watch for yourselves!
Check back soon for part 2, and another edit along the way!
This is Jeremy Mountain!