Japanese azalea

ShigaKogen is the seson of fresh green.

There are Fresh Green Festival events on Sunday.

You can also eat soup of bamboo.

LITTLE TRIP

HIGASHI-TATEYAMA-ALPINE-PLANT-GARDE

In Hoppo Onsen

It took the gondola from the Hoppo Onsen on August 15.

Seeing from the top of a mountain and my house were seen.
The ONUMA pond can be seen far away.The weather was bad,this day looked black.When it is fine, it looks blue.


*Flowers in blossom*


OYAMA-SHIMOTSUKE


HAKUSAN-FUURO

TAKANE-NADESIKO

TSURIGANE-NINJIN

Shiga Kogen at Sunset

Yesterday the sky was so beautiful that we decided to watch the sunset. Maeyama seems to be a good choice, because the Maeyama C course it's not so difficult to snowshoe hike. The course it's just about 750 m. and we reached the top of the mountain in 15 min. You just need to ask at the front desk where you can hire some snowshoes and go with comfortable shoes and warm clothes.

We start to walk about 5:15 P. M.

And we were on the summit of Maeyama at 5:30 P. M.

Just in time to watch this beautiful sunset.


Sunset watched from 1810 m above sea level.


From the summit, you can see Kasadake, Kumanoyu Ski Area and all the Hotaru Onsen Hotels

At this time of the day, all the lifts had already stopped and it's very peaceful.



If you have the chance, I highly recommend, it's worth!

Picnic in the snow...

How about a picnic in the middle of snow and trees and under a gorgeous blue sky?

That's how dozens of people are enjoying their Saturday today, snowshoe hiking with Shiga Kogen's guides!

Perfect Day!

Yesterday was a really great day in Shiga Kogen!!! Light snow in the morning and them sunny until the end of the day.

This is Maruike (Maru Pond) yesterday, about 1:00 P. M.

And that's Sun Valley area.

It was a good day to go out and enjoy the snow, skiing, snowboarding or just taking pictures...

Lots of images from Sun Valley coming soon.

Things to do in a very bad weather day

Ok, you have been waiting for your holiday for a while, planning and dreaming about your days skiing or snowboarding...　And when you are finally here, your day starts like this!

Here are things you can do:

-Hang around in the hotel common areas. You probably will meet someone else who is skiing for a while and you can exchange valuable information about places to go, different techniques, brands... Or, if you are here for a while, you can give some tips about a nice view, your favorite area to ski.

-You could meet interesting people, chat and maybe play something. Ask at the front desk, maybe they have card games that you used to play. Even if you dont remember the rules, playing with people from different countries makes for fun times! Everyone may have different rules ;)

-With lucky, you could meet people from different countries and learn a lot about their traditions, or places you never heard about…

-Snowshoe hiking. Today could be a day that you enjoy the snow differently. Lots of people are snowshoe hiking at the moment, even though it is foggy today. Having fun!

-If you like ice skating, go out and enjoy! It's free! But take care... you have to be fine when the fog and rain has gone!

-Come on, you are in Japan! Try new things, new tastes... So far, Kit Kat Pepper and a Shiga Kogen beer - Caffè espresso taste - are the most unusual things I have found here. But if you want to try something more traditional, why not natto (納豆 - fermented soybeans)???

-Take different pictures. We usually wait for a clear day to take gorgeous pictures. But today can be an opportunity to go out and take completely different pictures. Mysterious images, old looking, sometimes almost sepia, like a draw or a dream…

-Or just rest at the onsen and save energy for having fun when the weather is better!

But I have to say that I saw lots of ski/snowboard lovers going out anyway... who cares if it's not sunny and the sky isn't blue today?!

Carpe diem!


*picture taken about 1 hour ago, as you can't see, this is Hasuike Ropeway Station.

Feb 14, 2009.

9:10 A. M.

Saturday.

* How about you? How do you like to spend a rainy fog day in the mountains?

take care...

the trail was icy Monday morning.
but the sun between the trees was gorgeous...

they look so shy...

WHAT TO DO IN A SKI RESORT BESIDES SKI?

Thinking about how someone could spend the day besides skiing, I thought snowshoe hiking could be the best alternative to enjoy one day in the middle of the snow. In the end of the day, I was sure about it!
Before we start, at 10 in the morning, I was almost given up hiking because the day was cloudy and I thought this hiking thing would just be beautiful in a sunny day. I couldn't be more wrong!
The beauty of the snow, the snowy trees and the white sky in the background were amazing! And the fog coming and going, showing a little more of the local nature from time to time was magical!
And snowshoe hiking it’s not just about walk and contemplate, at least not where I was hiking, in Shiga Kogen, about 3 hours from Tokyo, in Nagano Ken. Since I don’t have snowshoes or anything, I decide to hike with the local guides and they hire snowshoes and poles, and showed me all the beauty hidden in the summit of Higashitateyama, a mountain 2.000 m above sea level.
With those genki women, we found footprints, I could smell Christmas trees, learned about local nature and tradition, slide down the mountains and could even taste the flavor of the nature… but there are some details that I believe it’s just better to discover by yourself.
All I can tell you it’s worth, even in a cloudy day!

You can check how much fun we had in this pictures and here, here, here and here. And read about it in Japanese from someone who was hiking at the same day.

スノーシューでハイキング

「楽しいですょ～(^.^)」道のない雪の上をどこまでも、自由自在に行きたい場所行き、坂があったらお尻で滑り降り、雪のシャーベットを食べて・・・雪でテーブルを作り、楽しい昼食　お　い　し　い・・・・幸せ。
茂子.

Snowshoe Hiking...

at Shiga Kogen. Higashitateyama summit, 2.000 m above sea level

So much fun in the middle of the snow!

Shiga Kogen's Guides are great! So nice!!!

Snowshoe Hiking... love it!

Cloudy day...

Yesterday was cloudy during almost all day, but was a great day to enjoy the snow anyway...

I was out snowshoe hiking and was a great surprise to see that even in a cloudy day it's possible to have a good view and enjoy another kind of beauty, full of different shades of white!

More about it in other posts.

This pictures was taken yesterday at the top of Higashitateyama, about 2.000 m above sea level.