Following up on my promise to write a series of articles on my trip to Japan in January of 2024 and here is a narrative of the excitement and nervousness of starting a new adventure!
The Standard Disclaimer
Just so you know, I have no financial incentives related to goods and services noted in this article. So any recommendations you may see are genuine.
The Genesis of this Article
This article isn’t going to be another how-to guide on Japanese ski trips. There are many good resources out there and a number of them are written by tour operators specializing in skiing in Japan.. Instead I want to give you a first hand account of the excitement and the doubts I experienced as I was planning and getting ready for my trip to Japan. Trips like this begin with much excitement which eventually transforms into doubt and perhaps fear.
The Genesis of my Interest in Japan
The captivating 1980 minis-series Shogun planted the seeds of this ski trip. The original airing of Shogun (the day I’m writing this it was announced that the star of that mini-series Richard Chamberlain has passed away) fascinated me. This led me some years later to purchasing the book Shogun by James Clavell. Shogun is a very riveting read – I recall devouring the second half of the book in one weekend – only getting out of bed for the most basic of life necessities!
Fast forward to the mid-1990s when I met my wife as I was teaching in the MIddle East. My wife hails from Cebu in the Philippines As such, we frequently travel to the Philippines usually in the winter.. However it seems odd but I tend to feel a bit of frustration being in a warm sunny tropical location when I could be skiing. Of course I’m not too worked up about that – sitting on a beach drinking fresh coconut water or eating sweet tropical fruits is a definitely a good thing. That “frustration” on missing skiing when I’m in the Philippines is mostly but not wholly a joke!
The Genesis of the Trip
Eventually, I started to see all the hype on skiing in Japan. The slopes of Japan with its everfull powder laps sang a siren song to me, a song I could not resist! The idea that Japan is in the neighborhood of Philippines then struck me hard! Why not take a side-trip to get some of those ever-full laps? Then I spotted the fact that there are Japanese ski resorts on the Indy Pass!
That realization was memorialized in this article I wrote to share my excitement and to give me some accountability. Unfortunately, events such as work (yes, I hear you chastising me) and the “Coof” (ie COVID19) got in the way. The the wife’s family announced plans for a family reunion in January of 2024. THE TRIP WAS ON!
Preparation
With the family reunion on the calendar I started to prepare! I’ve been to the Philippines a number of times and I’m surrounded by family so my time in the Philippines is chill. But, the Japanese side-trip was going to be different — a solo affair. Our Manila based nephews with Japanese traveling experience were unable to join with me. So, it was going to be 100% my trip. No one to blame or credit for the trips failure or success.
I started preparing for the food a long long time ago. Another niece introduced me to sushi (I was a sashimi only guy) and I liked it immediately. I then started exploring Japanese flavors as much as I could in the US Upper Midwest. Then as it became apparent the trip was going to happen I started my next phase of preparation – learning Japanese. I started off with Duolingo and used Rosetta Stone a bit (I use Rosetta Stone primarily for Filipino). I figured 1.5 year’s worth of lessons would at the very least be helpful.
Next came the planning of the nuts and bolts of the trip. The whens, wheres, hows, etc. I leaned on You Tube, websites, and The Lonely Planet Guide on Japan for this. I meticulously studied all sorts of videos about traveling in Japan before turning off the lights at night. I would read and reread websites on getting to the ski resorts in Japan. I would read reviews and do it all over again. I also leaned on one nephew in particular who travels to Japan frequently. All of these resources proved helpful. They also helped to keep my enthusiasm soaring!
Into the Air!
So, we packed and left for Manila on Christmas morning of 2023. We arrived in Chicago and the taxi time at O’Hare plus the time it took for us to walk to Terminal five was longer than our air time. We got to our onward gate which was on an ANA flight to Narita. We had to present ourselves to the gate staff for a document check and they inspected my CPAP. It was all quite hectic. The flight from Chicago to Narita in Japan was long but it was fun – especially in live-practicing my (sukoshi) Japanese (すみません、私は日本語が少ししか話せません — Sumimasen, watashi wa nihongo ga sukoshi shika hanasemasen — excuse me, I only speak a little Japanese)! Eventually we arrived in Narita and found our onward gate to Manila and soon I started to hear conversations in Tagalog.
I took some time to stroll around and dived into a ramen shop and got some slurps and a beer. I returned to the gate and eventually we found ourselves in Manila. My wife and I split up to search for her sister and I got sucked into a channel that took me outside. I tried desperately to establish a WIFI connection so I could ring up my wife’s sister. All the while, keeping the luggage under my close watch. Eventually, my sister-in-law saw me (I tend to stick out in these crowds as I am on the tall side) and we piled into the car for the ride to her house. I had not yet learned about eSim cards (soon though). It was such a relief to shed my boots! I wore my winter hiking boots (after all, I’m going to winter on this trip) on the flight to save weight and space in our luggage. My feet were very happy after 24 hours in those boots!
The time between our arrival in Manila and my departure date for Japan was activity packed. Lots of visiting in Manila not only my wife’s family but a trip up to Mexico City to visit the family of my sister-in-law’s husband’s family. We then had trips to Boracay, Coron (Palawan), and Cebu (for the reunion) planned. In addition we did the usual local trips in Cebu and took the ferry from Cebu to Bohol (absolutely brilliant). It was so whirlwind I had little opportunity to fret about the trip to Japan. I continued with Duolingo keeping my streak up and yes I also was working my Tagalog on Rosetta Stone.
Trepidation
Then one morning I found myself at the McDonald’s (for coffee) near my sister-in-law’s house with the trip to Japan only hours away. Do you know what trepidation is? I do! Yes, I was confident I did all the preparation one could be expected to do. I studied the language, I watched hours of Travel-Tube, I read websites, I read the Lonely Planet Guide – what am I missing? The final exam was coming and those doubts I felt as a student were back. Did I do enough? I sipped my coffee and considered bailing, but after all the study, the disappointment of canceled trips, the money already spent – how could I bail? I’ve traveled to East Africa, I’ve done this before I can do this again, right? It was the same feeling I get as I commit to an advanced ski-run – I doubt myself despite having skied that run (and in fact thrived on it) multiple times.
I finished my coffee, strolled back to my sister-in-law’s house and finished my preparations. More to come!
Be the first to comment