dreams come true

Steve, Judy, Steve and Kim,
originally uploaded by vfowler.

The burning in my thighs subsided to that cosy warm feeling that puts one to sleep. Last night I doubled the futon with a spare and slept soundly.

Biting the head off, then finishing the fish in a second mouthful is the style of eating breakfast here. Racing the boys out the door, I bolted up the road to Toyru where my prayers had been answered. I thanked the guy in the shop and clomped away to Pension Create. Steve and Kim donned their final layers (including helmets) and away we went.

The guts of the day was spent skiing, getting tips from experts, taking a few photos, practicing advice I'd been given, crashing, having smiles and laughs with friends. We generally stuck to the hooded quad lifts in the Hanazono area and only stopped for lunch at the Hanazono Rest House. After we'd filled up with delicious and decent helpings of food, a line through the treed area Strawberry Patch began to show all my weaknesses. The powder snow was deep and soft. As the afternoon wore on, my crash frequency increased exponentially until we called it a day.

Stumbling like a drunkard stagger back to the hostel, I dumped my new skis then crawled back to Toyru to collect my reject skis and my sneakers.

My tired body began to drift off in the 10 minutes before our 6pm dinner. Amazing food. In Taro's car we loaded Tama, Miyuki and I and headed for Makkari onsen. It was the first time I'd been in an onsen and I reckon this might be one of the best in Japan. The rock spa in the open air with snow all around the place and a view of the mountain under the night lights - simply heaven. 68kg was my check out weight.