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| Nozawa Onsen |
Nozawa Onsen is near Nagano, host of the 1998 Olympics. It's a 6h flight from SG to Tokyo, followed by a 6h car ride (we chartered a van from Chuo Taxi for our group of 8). We had a couple rest stops on the way. I was really impressed with the Japanese rest stops - the ones we stopped at were clean, had warm food, and at least a small grocery. There were vending machines that dispense warm canned drinks!
We stayed at Villa Nozawa, which was very nice. Our family had a two-bedroom arrangement with an ensuite bathroom. The adults had a bed and the kids slept on the tatami in their own room, which they thought was fun. We did find little beetles sometimes in the bedding, not gross - probably just them keeping warm. There was a fantastic dining area for breakfast (french toast, eggs, pancakes, japanese - different things each day - yum) and hanging out. I think they had themed parties on some nights, but we were usually too tired to join. It was a very family-friendly place, kids running around, and the hosts were so helpful with our various adventures that week. First thing they helped with, the morning after our late night arrival, was ski gear.
We didn't do so badly with the weather. It was actually pretty warm already - we could hear the rush of melting snow everywhere. We all got a bit sweaty in our ski gear under the sun the first few days. Then the weather cooled down and we got fresh powder! Very pretty.
Okay, I'm not a ski fan. I was hoping to get away with as little skiing as possible. The kids had a blast though. The other 3 adults were competent skiers, so I volunteered to share a ski coach with the 3 older kids for a couple mornings. Girl (3yo) was placed in a childcare for the two mornings, which she resented, but was necessary while we got the other kids started. The first day, I found my shaky footing. This being my third try, it's not as intimidating. Boy (6yo) had a harder time than the other two initially, but soon found his ski legs as well. He'd gone to ski school in Whistler but probably only threw a lot of snowballs and drank hot chocolate. By day two, we were all good on the ski lifts and the kids were flying down one of the gentler slopes - forget zigzagging, let's see who can get down the fastest!
Then it was time to help the Girl, who by this time was refusing to be left out of the fun. We did get her to ski a little. There were 3 adults watching 4 kids, while I tried to manage on my own. Once, Boy didn't get on the ski lift properly with the other kids and one adult. They let them go on his own! So it went - breakfast, ski, lunch, then I rested with Girl while everyone else skied a little more. Then a break, followed by dinner.
Food options were good. Yummy, basic food on the slopes. We all enjoyed the pizzas, curry rice and ramen noodles. For dinners in town, we had Italian, Korean BBQ, and Japanese, of course. Our favorite was Wakagiri - this family-friendly Japanese restaurant with pretty and tasty food, where we sat on the floor. The main dining strip is a little bit of a walk from the hotel, but not too bad. The village was quiet and peaceful, I guess no longer in peak ski season.
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| Wakagiri dinner set |
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| Furusato No Yu |
We then had a nasty turn of events. I didn't know this, but Boy had taken a tumble during the afternoon ski. The group was skiing through a snow park and instead of avoiding a small jump like Hubby instructed, which the other kids obeyed, Boy went flying and landed on his head. Luckily he had his helmet on. He was very tired that night and when he woke up shaking, Hubby told me what happened. We then monitored him and took him to the local doctor in the morning. Local doctor sent us to the regional hospital for a CT scan. The scan turned out fine and we continued to the airport. The cherry trees were starting to bloom. I have my doubts about the next ski trip, even if Boy seems to have learned his lesson, and both kids occasionally ask about it.
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