Get out there

2017年4月22日 (土)

I was reminded of Hokkaido’s beauty (yet again) last weekend when some friends and I snowshoed up Mt. Sapporo (札幌岳). The sky was a brilliant blue and the mountain was covered in a deep blanket of snow. The trees have yet to bud, but the birds were singing nonetheless. Our hard work was rewarded when we reached the cabin. We let ourselves in and started a fire in the stove to warm up. An hour later, after a snack and a beverage, we went back outside with our snowboards for some backcountry fun. That night, we cooked a four-course meal on the stove, enjoyed various spirits and listened to music while we played cards.

The next morning we were up early and hiked to the top of mountain for a dazzling 360* view of the Hokkaido wilderness. It was gorgeous. The best part of the trip was riding all the way down the mountain on our snowboards. I arrived home that afternoon tired but infinitely grateful to live in such a beautiful part of the world.

Hokkaido was voted the number one destination in Asia for a reason (Lonely Planet, 2016). So get out there and enjoy it!