in transit

Well after two days of solid travelling, I've made it to Niseko, Japan. and you wouldn't think it.

"get off the fucken road ya cock 'ead"

By gingoes this place is full of Australians. You want Vegemite and Tim Tams? No worries mate. The local people have welcomed the Aussie tourist dollar with open arms. Problem is the Australians have mistaken this gesture, and have rugby tackled the locals with a drunken bear hug. I spoke to some Aussies who said they had been coming here for years, and how it used to be so much better before the packs of pissed Aussie came. I was going to point out their hypocrisy, but chose to bite my tongue as I was one of those Skips who have spoilt it for everyone else. That and I had a beer in my hand. They did pass on an amusing tale of a group of pissed Australians pinching a local bulldozer in 2004 and taking it for a ride in the street, crashing it into a snow drift. It caused a big kerfuffle and the tour company was asked to add advisories onto their travel brochures to avoid liabilities.

Aside from all the wonderfully interesting cultural stuff this place has to offer, this place is the place to board. Such a different experience with snow that is as soft as this stuff. No need to read the lay of the land in front of you. You see a bump in the snow? you cut right through it. Get some air? Land on a cloud. And the speed one can reach without feeling like death is nigh is astonishing. We only got out for about 3 hours of night boarding, but it was still the best boarding I've ever experienced. I need sleep now. Will put more photos and words up soon.