Spring Break: Hot/Cold

I am blessed to have a two week Spring Break, which has allowed me to explore both hot and cold climates in one break.

Part 1: Saipan

I started out by break by heading down to Saipan (near Guam, aka the middle of the ocean). I found getting into Saipan was very easy, as it is part of America. No hassles getting though immigration and customs. Once on the Island I decided to rent a car, mainly because I miss driving. The first day I spent driving around the Island, which is only 12x5 miles (19x9km). Needless to say in four days I only used a quarter of a tank of gas. On my initial drive around the Island, I visited all of the historical sites. Most of the sites in Saipan are related to WWII and are quite depressing. But there are many beautiful beaches and jungles. While driving I stopped for a hike to 'Forbidden Island' it's not so forbidden. But the hike was fun. I had to use a rope to basically repel down the trail. The water was awesome and the views were nice.

The second day I spent standup paddle (SUP) boarding, snorkeling, and hanging out in a spa. The guide for SUP was awesome. We paddled out to our snorkeling spot and put on our fins and snorkel. There were tons of fish and the water was amazingly clear. After getting back I had a BBQ lunch waiting for me. After relaxing by the beach, I headed up to the spa, for a few hours of relaxation.
Tuesday I decided I would try diving. I have always been hesitant in the water because I am not the best swimmer, but I wanted to face my fears. I went with DPIS and my awesome instructor Vison. We went to Lao Lao Bay and did a beach dive. I was with a Chinese couple, who had also never been diving. I think the best thing about diving is feeling like a mermaid and breathing underwater. It sounds cliche, but it's like a whole different world underwater. We saw tons of fish, coral and other marine life. The water was pretty clear so we could see pretty far too. After diving I wet for a hike to the 'Old Man By The Sea'. It was hot and the trail was lined with lizards, but the end was worth it. I always love it when things are named appropriately. After hiking Vison called and invited me to 'Happy Hour' with him and his friends. 'Happy Hour' ended up being buying beer and drinking outside another dive shop. It was awesome, I got to meet a lot of new people and try a lot of local food. I also got to meet a man who was doing research and looking for Amelia Earhart.

Old Man By The Sea 

Wednesday was spent sitting on a little island off of Saipan. Managaha Island is a small island only 5 minutes or so by boat. I went with my guide from SUP, Wayne. Wayne knew a lot of the boat drivers and we get a free ride over to the island. Once on the island we basically just sat around and relaxed on the little island. On the way back over we hitched a ride with another boat. Once we got in the boat driver asked if we wanted to Parasail. at first I said no (it's scary). But it was free and it was tandem, so I didn't have to do it myself, so I went for it. There were a few Korean guys on the boat and they went first. After they went Wayne and I went up. The driver had us up twice as high as the other guys (who paid) and we went twice as long. It was a little terrifying, but it was pretty amazing. We saw wreckage of a WWII plane underwater and we saw a large ray swimming underwater. I don't feel like parasailing is something I need to do ever again in my life... but it was still pretty cool. Later that night I went back over with Vison and the crew for another "Happy Hour" and a send off BBQ for the guy looking for Amelia Earhart.

Thursday I want diving again and got a steal of a deal. I went on three dives for the price of about one and a half. The first dive was back at Lao Lao Bay. We went with a Japanese couple. They had a small child so one of them had to watch their son while the other went diving, and then they switched. So I got to do two dives. It was awesome, we went out quite a bit further than we did on Tuesday and saw a lot more marine life. After we dropped the Japanese couple off and ate some lunch we went to the next dive site, Obyan. Obyan was awesome, we went to 18 meters and saw tons of Garden Eels, finding Nemo fish, and hundreds of other fish. Again Thursday night was spent at "Happy Hour" with food from the Saipan night market.

Vison and Julana 

Friday was basically my last day on Island. I spent the first part of the day SUP with one of they guys from the "Happy Hour" dive shop. Then another guy from the "Happy Hour" dive shop has a business running underwater scooter things. The underwater scooter was ok, but not as cool as diving. After that we had some local food for lunch and then I sat on the beach by my hotel and read a book for the rest of the day. Later Vison picked me up for my last "Happy Hour" on island. All the guys as the dive center had a BBQ for my going away shenanigans. Later we went over to the bar next to the dive shop where they had a live Island Reggae Band and dancing. We stayed out until about 2am dancing, it was the best last day! Once I got back to the hotel I finished packing and had to check out of my hotel by 3am, for my 6am flight departure. I was asleep before we taxied. 

Overall Saipan was a wonderful place! Filled with beautiful beaches, and kind people. I will definitely be going back!  

Part 2: Hokkaido 

The second week I spent up in Northern Japan in Niseko, Hokkaido. 

The flight in was awesome, we got to fly on ANA's Pokemon plane. Once we arrived in Hokkaido, we had a two and a half hour bus ride to Niseko. Once we arrived, we hit the slopes. The snow was a little slushy but what do you expect for April snowboarding. We had great views from the mountain to look across to Mt. Yotei, Hokkaido's mini version of Mt. Fuji. 

The second day we went snowshoeing with NOASC Adventure tours. We trekked around a frozen lake. After our snowshoe we went for coffee and lunch at a lovely cafe in Niseko. 

Wednesday was another snowboarding day! 

 Thursday was another Snowshoeing Day. We started out near Weiss Ski Resort for a 3km trek. Then we traveled around ad did a few other short treks to see lots of snow and signs covered in snow.

The last day I spent snowboarding some awesome natural half pipes. The weather was amazing and the snow was a little better. 

Flying back we got to fly on the Pokemon plane again! It was awesome! 

I couldn't have asked for a better break, the combination of hot and cold/single and group, was ideal and just what I needed! Hopefully next year's spring break can be just as amazing! 

Ski Break 2013!

We recently had a four day ski break.  A group of us teachers went up to Shiga Kogen near Nagano. Shiga Kogen was used quite a bit for the 1998 Olympics. We actually accidentally went down the Olympic Slalom Course. We were really lucky with the weather and had amazing conditions almost everyday. Here are some pictures from the trip! 

Totoro

Oops....

Overall a great trip with great coworkers! 

Ahhhhh Weekends....

I am now done coaching for the year.... It will be nice to have a weekend, which I'm told consists of two consecutive days without working... I'm looking forward to playing in the snow and sleeping in! Next week we have our ski break, so I will be heading up to Shiga Kogen. Shiga Kogen is where a lot of the Nagano Olympics happened. It is one of the largest combined ski area in Japan, with 71 lifts, gondolas and ropeways. I will be going with a group of co-workers so we should have quite a bit of fun on and off the slopes! I'll post some pictures once we get back!

Gala Snowboarding Trip

Last Sunday I was able to finally get away for a day to get up to the snow. I decided to make an easy trip to Gala Ski Resort. Gala is a great ski resort because it is only about 2 hours away from my doorstep. Also it is convenient! The lift starts at the Shinkansen (bullet train) station. So basically you get off the train, get your lift ticket, and jump on the gondola to get to the lifts. It's pretty AWESOME! 

There were five other teachers who all came along to play in the snow. We had a blast! The snow was amazing, tons of powder! Another great thing was that there were a lot of runs that were un-groomed so there was powder galore and not very many people. Which is an added bonus. The day started a little snowy and then after lunch the sun made an appearance, which made everything a little more pleasant. 

Overall it was a great trip; great snow and great people! I look forward to taking more trips like this once Middle School Girls Soccer finishes up! Then I will have two days for a weekend, instead of one. 

Kamiyama Hiking

This weekend I took the opportunity to go hiking in the beautiful Hakone area with my random hiking friend. From Odawara we took the Hakone Tozan Railway to Gora Station and then traveled via Tozan Cable Car up to Sounzan. From Sounzan we began our hike up Kamiyama. The trek took us up through some amazing fall colors. It took us about an hour and a half to make it up to Kamiyama (1409m) We stopped to have a bit of coffee and a small lunch. After snack time we made our way to the next mountain over, Komayama (1356m). By the time we got to Komayama the fog had set in and the rain began to fall. From Komayama we took the ropeway down to lake Ashi. Overall we went about 4.5km and hiked for about 3 hours. It ended up being a rainy day, but the fall colors were amazing.

Mitake Kayaking

As Fall descends upon Japan the temperatures become mild and the momiji (Autumn-colored foliage) begins. This weekend I had an excellent chance to see the beginnings of momiji from a kayak. Along with a few coworkers we traveled via train up north of Tokyo to Mitake. This small mountain side town was filled with hikers who also appreciate the Fall colors. After getting off the train we walked to the Kayak Center and signed our lives away and began to prepare for our journey. We traveled by bus to the Okutamagawa Reservoir. Once we had a quick demonstration of how to paddle we walked along the river to our entry point. After we got in we were off to explore the reservoir at our leisure. The reservoir was very peaceful and beautiful it was a great start to the day! Below are some more pictures from the day. 

Our Kayaking group Jamie, Elif, Zehra, and me.

A cute little kitten at the Kayak center. 

Overall it was a great day to get outside of the city and enjoy a day in the beautiful countryside. 

A wise person climbs Mount Fuji once in their life, and a fool climbs it twice.

View from the 5th Station 

Sunrise from 12,388 feet

Well I was a wise person... and I will most likely be a fool. This weekend I hiked Mt. Fuji, Japan’s tallest mountain. Fuji-san stands at 3,776m (12,388ft), we started at the 5^th Station which is already at 2,400m (7,874 ft). 

So first a little background.... this whole story starts last year when I went hiking an made friends with an old Japanese guy who turned out to be a hiking guide. We kept in contact and we planned this trip to hike Fuji-san. 

I had a friend from work come along and she brought a friend. Our guide also brought a coworker with him, and she brought a friend. Sadly her friend ended up getting sick along the way and she was unable to finish the climb. But the rest of us did. 

Gotemba Sand Slope

I climbed a mountain

We started our hike at 7pm on Saturday. While we were hiking we saw stunning stars, a fireworks show (from a great distance) and not much else because it was dark... We hiked up until the 8^th Station (3,100m/10,170ft) and took a little nap at 1am. Around 2am we got ready and hike the rest of the way up the mountain. We made it just in time to see an amazing sunrise. After the sunrise a few of us took a hour walk around the crater. After hiking the crater we started our decent. We basically went down the same way we came up for the first bit. Then we took the Gotemba Sand Slope down the mountain. The sand slope was awesome because we basically got to run down sand and gravel and giant boulders. It was very fun! After our little run we hiked back to the 5^th Station where this whole trip started. I absolutely loved this hike! Yes, it was challenging. No it didn’t make me feel like death. It was the perfect challenge, with plenty of rewards. The beauty of that area was breathtaking! 

Our group (Me, Miho, Sangeeta, Neetu, and Yutaka our guide)