Fun & Games

We were misled into thinking that the month of February would be a quiet one, allowing for more ride time and general getting-up-to-no-good time. In fact, I ended up being just as busy in this short month as I was the two previous ones. The wallet was quite pleased with this development.

Despite the amount of work, we still found time to have fun and get creative. I decorated my room with origami and paper cut-outs with the help of friends. Tom & Nick created home made board games of Guess Who and Monopoly, featuring our staff accommodations (Sansou & Meika) and mountains we've previously worked at.

Sadly, the end of February meant that people with short contracts are starting to leave. To commiserate these departures, we went to Half-Note in Hirafu, an inn and bar that has a stage filled with musical instruments just waiting to be played. Among these due to depart or already gone is Bonnie: kiwi friend and roomie. Bonnie has always had interesting nick names: Bonbon, Bonita, Bon Weasley, Bonald Trump... you get the picture. In Japan, these names became more culturally adapted. When greeting Bonnie in Japan, one says "BONichiwa" or "ConBONwa". If having a hot spring in her company, it is referred to as a BONsen. In all seriousness, Bonnie, I'll miss you and look forward to seeing you in Queenstown this summer.

Guess Who, Sansou edition.

Snowboard-opoly! A stroke of genius.

Remarks finally being recognized as the gem that it is.

Jeans and ski boots: not a good look. He was told to walk at least 10 feet in front.

Games table at Half-Note, Hirafu.

Hidden musical talent among our fellow instructors.

Japanese lady bug?

Terriyaki chicken on fresh bread at Abutcha Bakery. Heaven.

Sapporo Yuki Matsuri

Erin, Bryan, Pete and I ventured up to Sapporo to explore the snow fest, shop, eat and generally get away from our remote ski area. The "Yuki Matsuri", is in it's 63rd cycle of glorious snowy-ness. It featured live entertainment, snow and ice sculptures as well as a variety of food and gift vendors.

The getaway was two days of freezing our nards off, but was oh-so enjoyable nonetheless. We ate to our hearts content and explored all the hidden used and vintage stores. We gawked at the humongous snow installations and laughed at the japanese boy bands. All in all, we had an awesome time.

Looks so real, doesn't it? Plastic. All of it.

Rollie-pollie, cutie-pie dolls. Japan in a nutshell.

Erin and I with some kind of snuggly sponge monster.

Ice sculpture with dancing, singing entertainment. Complete with cute mascots.

Under the sea themed installation. Way more massive than this picture could ever portray.

Fantasia Mickey!

Pete and his freedom fries.

The giant ferris wheel on top a building that we rode!

Giggling like kiddies.

"Love" ice sculpture.

Real fish and crabs frozen into this one.

Holding up the massive beer in Sapporo Time Square.

Bryan and the wall o'creepy ski masks.

Sansou VS Maika Olympics

Our resident shenanigan experts Nick and Tom organized a banger of a staff accommodation mixer. Shaking off the stress of the Chinese New Year's rush, Hilton and Niseko village staff alike got together for some friendly competition. The details of the challenges were air tight before the night of the event; speculation and rumours kept us all intrigued for weeks. When it finally came, we were not dissapointed. Cheers boys, we were all thoroughly impressed.

Though we (Sansou) lost by one heartbreaking point, fun was had by all. Game on Maika, the cup is ours next time!

James having a go down the luge track, one of two impressive courses built before the event.

Chelsea killing the sock slide.

Picking up a box with your teeth is harder than it looks, especially when it keeps getting smaller, and smaller, and smaller...

Tom and the giant whistle. Sounds like the title to a children's book.

Getting ready for the bra unhooking event.