Archive for the 'Travel' Category

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Fluffy to Krusty

Just got back in last night from YVR aboard AC 047. Had a good first few days on the mountain with deep piles of fresh new snow and lots of unridden, unjibbed terrain features. The clear skies and warmth during the week made snow conditions deteriorate to hideous ice by day 7, but secret Ninja powder stashes, day-long Bigfoot jib sessions, the easy Blackcomb Terrain Garden, and the eventual opening of the Harmony Express chair on our last riding day kept us busy… and in constant pain! …delicious pain!

More later – stay tuned for:

Sushi and more sushi
How many steps?
Snowboard pioneers
Pinocchio’s nose
Die Rektumblähungmeister
Free pants

And more!

Snowboard Panic

“You know we leave this Friday…”

WTF!!!

Fabio came by McBike on Tuesday while I was working on Mitch’s bike and dropped a bomb on me. I knew we were going to meet Kevin and Naomi in Whistler for snowboarding this month, but I thought it was MLK Day week. All those arrangements were made nearly half-a-year ago, so I completely forgot we were going one week ahead. Thankfully I had two nights to pack up my stuff, and my board was still OK after only three riding days in Japan. I packed the park board “just in case”, but the edges are all rock-gnarled and feel like ginsu steak knives! Maybe I’ll drop that one off for a base grind sometime on this trip… All my outerwear and layers were washed and actually were piled up on my suitcase, so packing went rather quickly. I just had to grab some gels, bars, bloks, and drink powders and I was done.

Off to SFO tonight then on to YVR tomorrow morning!

Silence

There’s an odd silence when you go from the creaking of compressing snow on your heel edge at the top of the run and point the nose downhill into a ghostly white void of boot-deep powder and dime-flake blizzard sky. Silhouettes of trees pass by, appearing and disappearing in and out of the ether. At speed comes the wind noise, but it is barely audible through the helmet earflaps and headgear. There is the dull thump of your front leg knee punching through deep pockets, and the low rhythm of the board surfing through the turns and rolling over the hidden bottom contours like waves. Turning into the wind brings the chatter of snowflakes against the goggle lens. Continue reading ‘Silence’

Desperately Seeking Snow

Being sent up to Seattle for the opening of Genki Sushi this comming Mon and Tues. The thought of hitting some of the snow there popped up, but then I looked into it and the late winter was delaying all the resorts. Only one area, Mission Ridge, was open with manmade snow. So it was a wait and see deal. When I decided to stay a couple extra days anyway, it was kind of a pain dealing with the travel arrangements. Trying to change the flight was simply not worth it, would have cost something like $700. So ended up forking out for a new one way ticket, not cheap, but not $700! The Washington ski resorts breathed a sigh of relief when a storm system they were eyeing blew in Friday and hapily stayed on a good track and deposited enough snow for Crystal Moutain and Mount Baker to open this weekend, just in time for my trip! Now I’m going to have to frantically pack and tune the board today before my departure on Sunday. It’s going to be a bit of a haul getting to Baker, 3+ hours from Seattle, but it is the resort that first allowed snowboarding, and all their lifts are going to be running so hopefully it’ll be worth it. Stay tuned for reports on how it is!

Feet Dry – CTS

Arrived in Japan on Sunday and rushed to Immigration in order to pass through quickly and get my bags and get to the kokunai connection in the hour I’d been given. Even though I was the only foreign passport holder on my flight other than the Captain, there was a line at the single open “Foreign Passports” section from a different flight. For some reason, nobody had told these Chinese nationals about customs and immigration forms beforehand, because they hadn’t filled them out, or hadn’t filled them out completely, so the line moved gratingly slowly. When I finally got to the counter, I was in and out swiftly, and off to the baggage carousel in no time. My bags came out reasonably quickly – usually it’s “first in, last out”. Customs was fast and simple. The dude was impressed at my bringing a snowboard for some reason. Continue reading ‘Feet Dry – CTS’

Home Again, Off Again

Got back from Vancouver this past Sunday, and tomorrow (Saturday) I’m off to Sapporo! Had enough time to do the laundry and put everything back in the suitcase. Snow conditions aren’t really that good, but I’m taking the powder board up since the jib board came back from Whistler-Blackcomb a little worse for wear from all the rocks and krap – the edges feel like TV infomercial serrated knives, and there is a new core-shot amongst the field of new scratches and scrapes, not to mention the marred topsheet from when mister big dummy anglo ran me over from behind. Yesterday, Sapporo Kokusai looked as bad as Whistler, with dirt showing through the thin snowbase. There was a good dump last night, so there looks to be a new 10-15cm on the ground, with more to come over the next two days. With any luck, I’ll be out there poaching it on Monday morning!

Hopefully I’ll be able to keep you updated as my trip progresses, and I look forward to what Root and Fabio will put up here and on the gallery from the Vancouver trip.

Beer Is Good – Onuma Brewery India Pale Ale Jibiiru

Onuma IPA frontOnuma IPA colorIndia pale ales are heavily hopped ales originally formulated to survive the long sea voyage from England to India during the colonial days before the advent of refrigeration. The higher level of hopping along with a higher alcohol level helped prevent spoilage. This IPA from Onuma Brewery in Southwest Hokkaido has the typical sweet, fruity flavor common to the variety. The color is similar to other ales. The initial flavor is sweet and flowery with a fruity finish. There is no significant bitter, and the malt flavor is buried by the hops. The carbonation is low. I personally dislike IPA’s, but from memory, this one is not much different than others of this variety that I’ve tried. This one packs a good buzz, having about 150% the alcohol content of most other beers! Continue reading ‘Beer Is Good – Onuma Brewery India Pale Ale Jibiiru’

Beer Is Good – Onuma Brewery Koelsch Jibiiru

Onuma Koelsch colorOnuma Koelsch frontKoelsch beers are old-style beers that use top-fermenting yeasts like ales, but the yeasts are active at warmer temperatures. This variety is the regional specialty of Cologne, hence the name. Koelsch beers are very similar to altbiers in technology, manufacture, and flavor. This koelsch from Onuma Brewery in Southwest Hokkaido has a clear, light malt flavor and a moderate bitter note, typical of the variety. The bitter note is lower than the Hakodate Beer koelsch – the only other example of this variety that I’ve tried. Although the hopping has provided the bitter, it doesn’t impart any sweetness of flowery notes. The blond color and clean flavor is not unlike a light, dry lager. The initial flavor is dry and crisp, with the bitter in the middle, and a light maltiness in the finish. The carbonation is moderate. This is a very drinkable beer. Continue reading ‘Beer Is Good – Onuma Brewery Koelsch Jibiiru’

Honolulu Lolo

Hit the ground running. Landed at 07:19 and I was back at work at 08:20. The one hour of sleep on the plane should be catching up to me right about now…

No Temporal Beings

Got back from Hakodate yesterday. It’s quite a distance from Sapporo, so a fair amount of determination is required if you really want to go there. I don’t personally see myself going out that way again for a long time. On our first day there, we went to Goryoukaku (5-sided fort) and had some good ramen out that way. Hakodate = shio-aji ramen, at least that’s what the tourism authority wants you to believe. Okay, if you were wondering, that distinction is not exactly only “salt flavor”. Keep in mind that even shoyu-aji and miso-aji ramen soup base is initially chicken and or pork based soup with those flavoring adjuncts added. Shio-aji essentially has just the soup base flavoring. In the evening, we went up the ropeway to Hakodateyama. It was a little late and dark, so I didn’t get to go down the road a bit to the old WWII military gun emplacements and magazine tunnels that I wanted to see. I did get a fair amount of otaku-related photography of the ropeway station and the churches and structures at the bottom, though. On the way back to the Hotel, we had dinner at the Hakodate Beer brewhall, along with sampler sets of their current beers, a weiss, an alt, an ale, and some bitter blond German-style brew whose name escapes me at the moment. Continue reading ‘No Temporal Beings’