Last day in Togakushi

Woke up to a beautiful clear day (though still freezing cold).

Last year I had an awesome pink panther snowboard.

This year the guy hands me a board and says with a smile "Do you know Tarepanda?"

The timing of the trip was perfect - the crowds were gone and it was all ours

Andy - Thanks for letting me borrow your goggles, they were great!

At the very top

Kawatobi & Tanaka

I think the reason why Brendon made me do the scary, steep red runs was so I could go down first and take footage of him carving it up and speeding down like a pro past me. I got some good shots of him too, doing jumps and zooming across. After taking some shots, we were on our way down and I was boarding behind him (albeit very slowly) and I thought it would be really cool to take some footage of him while we were both boarding down (although trying to film and board at the same time probably wouldn't work for me) and just as I thought that, he did a major stack. I so wish I had it on camera. It was a classic, hardcore, almighty stack that threw his googles off his head!

After my inital "Oh my goodness! Are you okay?!? Are you hurt?", I couldn't stop laughing. Damn, I so wish I had it on camera. He was totally covered in snow; in his hair, in his ears, down his jacket.

"Babe, is my ear ripped off?"
What?! NO! Ofcourse not. (trying not to laugh)

"Is it bleeding? I can't feel it. It feels like it's been ripped off."

Boo!

Back at the lodge

It just had to be tasted

They dropped us off at Nagano station and we took a train to Nagoya, then switched to a shinkansen to get back home. We were so tired. Oh. So. Tired.

Nagano Station

Brendon in Nagano

Brendon in Nagoya

We walked up the hill to my place and dropped by the yakitori place for something to eat. There we made friends with the owner, who gave us some delicious beef to try and a regular customer, who bought us sake and shochu. Brendon visited this yakitori bar during his last trip when I was stuck at home sick in bed. He had made friends with the owner's son, who was working there at the time, and his mates.

We both had a really good time. Especially because Brendon was with me and was able to teach me how to snowboard. I still suck at it but I'm definately much better at it than last time. But I'm so not a cold, winter kind of person. I'm so over the cold, the sore muscles and the having to wear layers of thermals just to go outside.

Give me the beach anyday.