Rusutu: I Hardly Knew You

It was a cold day so I wore
my silly fake gray beard face mask
and it did a nice job of
showing how much snow fell.
[No, no face plants that day]

 I am spending this week in Hokkaido skiing with my sister, her boyfriend, and his kids.  Well, to be more accurate I am traveling with all of them and skiing with sister.  The others are very advanced skiers and like to hang out in the trees and ski off of cliffs.  So, my sister needed a ski buddy willing to hang with her on the blues (or reds, as they are here in Japan and other places outside if North America).  

Getting here was a bit of a challenge as I was deplaned from two different planes trying to get from Newark to Toyko.  It created a bit of stress, but I only lost one morning of skiing, so not a huge deal.  The plan for them is to be here for three weeks or so, going to four ski places and stopping by Tokyo.  My plan is to be here a week, so I get to experience two ski areas--Rusutsu and Niseko.  

Too tired to go night skiing
but a nice view from my room

The classic saying is that comparison is the thief of joy, but that refers to envy, as comparative analysis is delightful and the source of much joy.  So, how is skiing in Japan similar and different from elsewhere?

Well, the obvious thing right now is the powder--the lightest, deepest stuff I have experienced.  I have had a few powder days at Whistler, Fernie, Lake Louise/Sunshine, but this stuff is just so much easier to ski through.  In previous outings, I would get tentative and feel like I am skiing through sludge and insta-moguls.  This was just delightful.
They did a great job of grooming so we could move from a few inches of powder to a foot to ... oh my and back. 

For the more specific differences about the design/setup:

• The chairlifts were a bit different as most quads were housed in big warehouse-like buildings
• The lift attendants talked to us each time we got on the list--not sure what they were saying but it sounded welcoming.  North American lift folks sometimes chat, but mostly are just sweeping snow off and moving it around and such.
• The lifts mostly had bubbles that automatically came down--which keep out the window and the snow and limited our vision.  A sacrifice I was quite willing to embrace.
• No sharing! That is, we were two people for four person chair lifts and for six person gondolas.  No one ever joined us, and there seemed to be no pressure to max the people going up on each lift.  Not sure this is just a post-covid thing or was always thus.  We didn't experience much in the way of liftlines so not a big deal.  May be more of a problem at the more crowded Niseko.
• In Canada, you hear lots of Aussie and Kiwi accents--mostly younger people providing much of the service staff.  Here, the Aussie accents are ski tourists--including many families.
  
  
  
• Ski school for kids is funky--all of the kids wear the exact same stuff so only the pinneys with numbers distinguish them. 

We shall see how much of this was Rusutsu specific and how much is more either Japanese or Hokkaido.

 

 

 

 

What was clearly Rusutsu specific was the silliness of the resort:

The resort has a two levell
carousel!

 

 

 

They had a couple of
animatronic bands, including
one inside the Oktoberfest
buffet place.
Good prep for Berlin?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Funkiness of translations: more general.

It is a sign for a spa,
not a bathroom

This is a super once in a life time experience!  I have been addicted to Japan since my last sabbatical, regretted not skiing then, so getting the chance to return, to visit a different island, to get heaps of powder, and to hang out with my sister and her guy and his kids--I am very lucky.