TR: Eating Powder and Riding Noodles

[spankthepow]

This is an "abbreviated" TR covering 5 weeks in Japan. If you’re interested in more words and pictures, check them out on my blog: www.beermountaineer.com or my Instagram. I’ll post links here as I catch up on my blog, but I figured I’d share some stoke for now. Enjoy!

Last year, Mrs. Spank and I set a plan in motion to quit our jobs and travel. Over the course of a few months, we pinched our pennies, built a sleeper in the back of my truck, and finally gave our employers our one-month notice. (Full Blog Post)

The week leading up to our trip was a bit crazy:

•Wednesday: Last day of work
•Thursday: Pack, pack, and then pack some more
•Friday: Drive from Lafayette, CO to Manhattan, IL
•Saturday: Unpack, repack, wonder what we forgot…
•Sunday: Fly from Chicago -> Seoul
•Monday: Disappeared. Really, I don’t know where it went.
•Tuesday: Fly from Seoul -> Narita, Japan

Within an hour of landing in Japan, we were at the Narita temple. This was an accident, but we rolled with it: (Full Blog Post)





This was our home for a month. It was pretty damn comfy and is going to make living out of the back of my truck difficult. It had a refrigerator, a heater that ran off a second battery all night long, and plenty of room to stay organized and dry gear out. While the temperature outside would be in the single digits, I’d be sleeping on top of my sleeping bag in boxers and a t-shirt…seriously, the heater was that warm and made up for the fact that our van was 2wd.



We visited a friend in Hakuba to get our feet wet, before heading to Hokkaido with the hopes for more snow.



But first we stopped to see the monkeys: (Full Blog Post)



We drove north along the coast and took a 4-hour ferry from Amori to Hakodate.





Then we found some powder!





So after a few days of exploring the area around Niseko, we ventured into Sapporo for some beer, ramen, and the annual snow festival: (Full Blog Post)







After a night out on the town, we headed to Kiroro the next day. This was 1 of 2 of the sunny ski days we had this trip. (Full Blog Post)

[spankthepow]

Sleeping in a van in Japan can be difficult, as they taking their plowing seriously. We saw plows at all hours of the night clearing the lots of snow and getting as close to our car as possible. I’m actually amazed they didn’t take out any mirrors or hit the car at all.

So one morning, myself and a few other campers who thought they’d be out of the plow’s way, got woken up at 6am by someone from the plow crew asking us to move. Completely out of it, I crawled into the front seat, mumbled out some Japanese, and slid across the parking lot (really, I slid since they plow it down to ice and I was in a 2wd van). I looked up and could actually see all of Mt. Yotei. After a sleepless night chasing a mouse around in our van and getting woken up way too early, we figured we might as well go riding. (Blog Post)





The forecast actually called for clouds all day, but that seemed to be a little off. We reached the top and dropped in for two crater laps.







The clouds eventually rolled in, so we skied a few thousand feet back down to the trailhead. I was pooped and ready for a nap.



Instead, we went to the Fridge Door Bar in Niseko for a celebratory drink.



We drove further North to tour around Furano. It was deep!!
(Full Blog Post)









After almost of month of skiing, it was time to do some temple hopping in Kyoto and spend some time in Tokyo. So we hopped on a 19-hour ferry from Otaru to Maizuru. It was kind of eerie as this ship was mostly empty and the restaurants and convenient store had pretty limited hours, Thankfully, we brought our own food and booze on board. I got up early to watch the sunrise: (Blog Post: Kyoto).







On the final night in the van, we watched the sunset over Mt. Fuji.



And then we watched it rise before returning to Narita...



Of course we had to go to Tokyo too: (Blog Post: Tokyo)





But we didn’t just quit our jobs to go to Japan. We want to see friends and family, while exploring the US and Canada. Here’s our general plan until the end of May:



In June, we'll switch our winter gear for our summer stuff and roadtrip around the Western US/PNW. There’s so much here in North America that Mrs. Spank and I have wanted to see, so we’ll be road tripping until August. Hopefully, I’ll get to meet, ride, fish, or even just drink some beers with some of you guys. Thanks for reading!

[DasBlunt]

Sweet Blog! Great TR. Congrats and thanks

Manhattan IL?

[Cruiser]

Jeebus! You guys are winning. Keep the updates flowing!

[phatty]

I was bummed we didn't get to hook up in Hokkaido. I got in a great day at Kiroro and followed your advice on Ramen Alley in Sapporo. Good call. Looks like an awesome adventure.

[m0e06a]

Why the fuck is this in General/Ski Snowboard. Trying to grab more attention by being on the front page like a tool. WRONG FORUM JONG

[WTF is dat]

Why the fuck is this in General/Ski Snowboard. Trying to grab more attention by being on the front page like a tool. WRONG FORUM JONG

Someone posts stoke and you complain?

Wtf.



Thanks for sharing your stoke it looks like an amazing trip

[grinch]

Putting 2 and 2 together. Been following u and some of these pics on IG. Good stuff. Wicked TR

[Mike Pow]

Great to see Hokkaido delivered

[ClarkleberryFinn]

Rad!

[spankthepow]

Thanks dudes!

Manhattan IL?

in laws. We flew in and out of Ohare so we could spend some time with her family before and after our trip. It was also a pretty cheap flight compared to Denver when we booked it.

I was bummed we didn't get to hook up in Hokkaido. I got in a great day at Kiroro and followed your advice on Ramen Alley in Sapporo. Good call. Looks like an awesome adventure.

Bummed as well, but glad ramen alley panned out. That place is awesome, too bad 12 seat restaurants aren't successful/popular here.

[snapt]

Rad stuff, thanks for sharing. Hard to beat a bluebird day in Japan.

[lifelinksplit]

Somebody forgot to tell you guys snowboarding is dead...

Looks like an awesome trip. If ya head towards Montana and want to do some fishing, give a shout.

[adrenalated]

Well spanked, Mr. spankthepow!

Why the fuck is this in General/Ski Snowboard. Trying to grab more attention by being on the front page like a tool. WRONG FORUM JONG

Hey one-post JONG. Stick it up your ass.

[_Aaron_]

Why the fuck is this in General/Ski Snowboard. Trying to grab more attention by being on the front page like a tool. WRONG FORUM JONG

If you're going to call somebody out you might as well have the balls to do it without an alias.

WRONG FORUM JONG!

Looking forward to hearing the stories dude!

[Eastcoastdan]

Unreal! If you guys have some time when you are driving through Prince George I'd be happy to show you around. Ski touring in the winter or hiking, lakes and camping in the summer. Happy travels!

[Dromond]

Awesome looking trip. What was your favorite area around Furano? I've skied the Tokachi area once (which was great) but never got to the resort or any other spots.

[Shadam]

Sweet TR ...

the Ratbaggers might have a bed available for you if your thru these parts ...

[spankthepow]

WRONG FORUM JONG!

Looking forward to hearing the stories dude!

But everyone else is doing it! Hope we can at least grab some beers in Revy next week!

Awesome looking trip. What was your favorite area around Furano? I've skied the Tokachi area once (which was great) but never got to the resort or any other spots.

I didn't get to the resort either, but it's the first year they've got backcountry gates. We spent some time on be flanks of Furanodake. Fun zone.

ECdan: we'll be driving from Seattle to Haines, which brings us thru your neck of the woods I think. Let's get out!

Shadam: I'll bring beer!

[babybear]

looked like a blast

[alpinevibes]

Where'd you rent the van from? 2WD Subaru, if my poor reading comprehension is correct?

[spankthepow]

Where'd you rent the van from? 2WD Subaru, if my poor reading comprehension is correct?

Japan Campers. We originally had a smaller, 4wd van that unfortunately had some issues (camshaft sensor?) an hour down the road. Thankfully, they have a replacement guarantee as long as you're on Honshu and upgraded us for free.

There's a lot of companies out there, but not all can guarantee a replacement van if something out of the ordinary happens.

[spankthepow]

So its been a while since I've posted in S&S, but here's what happened after the Japan portion of the trip: https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...10#post5127210