After 16 months i’ve finally been able to get to the snow for a days Snowboarding. I’ve been to the snow a heap of times but it’s always been on the back of an Onsen Trip, which is considerably different to a day of excercise hurtling down the mountain.

The destination was Kawaba Ski Resort, about 3 hrs on a bus door to door from Tokyo and a grand cost of 5100 yen, including the days lift pass. Having Snowboarded in Australia and New Zealand it’s a pleasant surprise not to be slugged a veritable fortune for a days boarding.

Kawaba – Situated in northern Gunma prefecture, the village is in a rather mountainous area. 83% of it is covered by forests, and five rivers, the Tashiro River, the Sakura River, the Tazawa River, the Usune River, and the Mizomata River flow through. Kawaba, meaning “the place of the rivers” is thought to be named after its many streams.

I’d checked the website during the week and was told to expect fine conditions on the mountain, low teens, good visibility and 3 metres of snow. I wasn’t dissapointed. Turns out it was a beautiful spring day with the temperature reaching 12 degrees C, the snow was 2.9 metres deep and visibility was 100%.

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