Gott nytt år!

Happy new year everyone! May all your wishes come true!!

I wish for a year filled of happiness, a lot of skiing and that i get to stay healthy and get to spend a lot of time with my family and friends!

A perfect day!

I was on the morning-shift today, which means that i was making breakfast for all the guests. After breakfast i went up on the mountain and met up with Jen, Luke and Scott. The weather turned out to be stunning and i've had such a great day!! All of them came up to the lodge for drinks by the fire after skiing and then we were heading out for dinner. So much fun to see them again but like we all said, so weird that we're meeting up in Japan!!!

Off to the tops of the mountain again tomorrow morning and then all of us are bringing the new year in at the lodge ( while i'm working and serving everyone drinks...) Happy times, happy life!!

First swede i've met in Japan...

The new snowstorm has arrived!!! It's been snowing since noon, happy times! And tonight Jen and Luke arrives to Hakuba, two friends that i met through Watson who i worked with in Whistler and visited in Scotland a couple of months ago. I first met them in Scotland when i was there for a visit, at the same time as i was there both of them got a job in Tokyo so i met them again while i was in Tokyo and now they are coming up here. Feels like we're living in a pretty small world.. However, i'm probably going skiing with them tomorrow, lots of fun!!

And guess what, we've got a swedish guest today!! The first swede i've met so far in Japan, feels so weird to be able to talk swedish face-to-face. I felt like i was speaking my second language even though it's my first.. Weird feeling!! 

Stop dreaming, make it reality!

Woke up pretty early today, or my alarm woke me up.. I was going to meet up with Rob and Andre, two guys i did the avalanche course with at 8.30. So i skied down to the lift, isn't it just amazing to be able to ski DOWN to the lift? I love it! However we went up and it was a lot better up there today then i thought it would be!!! Fresh fluffy powder. Even though it was windy, pretty much all of the lifts up at the top were closed... Had a great day and we started to plan our first day in the backcountry to probably sometime after new years!!

Can't explain with words how happy i am, being able to do what you love every day is amazing! In my opinion that's what life is all about. Live what you love, whatever it is make sure that you once a day do something you love and something that makes you to the happiest human being on earth! I'm so inspired by people i meet when i'm traveling, inspired by people who doesn't live the 9-5-life and does what they love. I don't say that working 9-5 Monday through Friday is wrong, because everyone is different and for some people that's the perfect life. But i don't think that will work for me.. We'll see what happens in the future, who knows, who knows...

Today i've been working the bar shift, i'm not as confident as James in the bar but i'm getting there.. He's a bit of an expert so i can't really compare myself with him.. It's a lot of fun though!

Whatever your dream is, stop dreaming them and make sure you're living your dream!

Just a bottle of whiskey.

I insisted James to buy...

... four liters of whiskey yesterday.

Magic eggs anyone?

Quite often you can find funny translations from japanese to english here...

A ceasar salad with magic egg. My question is, how magic can an egg be?

It's just like magic!

Hope all of you have had an amazing christmas! Last night christmas dinner was so good, pumpkin soup as a starter, followed by seared tuna salad, roasted turkey with vegetables, gravy and cranberries and last but not least, creme brulée. Yum! We had plans on going out to the Pub afterwards but all of us were so tired after that massive meal that we couldn't be bothered to go out.. Just went back to the lodge, watched an episode of Breaking Bad, a tv-serie that James and i are addicted to, and then went to bed. A nice and relaxed christmas!

It's been snowing here non-stop since the 24th, do i have to say that skiing has been very, very, very good? Today it was knee-deep powder on the slopes, you didn't even have to go off-piste to get awesome snow! It's still snowing so tomorrow i'm going to set my alarm early, ski down to the chairlift and catch the first chair up!!

Christmas day!

Rudolph the red nosed reindeer says...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Ski-out-ski-in. We can finally ski all the way to the lodge!!

Our christmas fire and our dodgy tree..

Started off the day with skiing, now relaxing by the fire and tonight we're having a 5 course christmas dinner down at a restaurant. Really looking forward to it, roasted turkey, gravy, stuffing.... Yummi! So far my christmas is great!!! Hope you're christmas is as chrismassy as mine!

Lots of LOVE!

Someone is missing..

I want to be a part of this photo...

.. miss you!

Merry Christmas from me and an unknown, happy japanese lady!

Christmas eve morning.

Christmas eve morning and this is what i woke up to...

Merry Christmas to all of you who're celebrating today!!!

All i want for Christmas...

Another day in powder paradise, i've got what i wished for Christmas already... Lots, lots & lots of snow! This is my second christmas away from home, but christmas is probably the hardest time to be away from home. At least for a crazy Christmas enthusiast as me.. Things like decorating the tree, making the ham ready for Christmas eve, waking up on Christmas eve morning and open that first gift is probably what i miss the most. I just love Christmas! But i'll be fine, once you're away from home you learn how to appreciate other things instead. I'm very grateful for having such a lovely family and friends at home but also very grateful for having lots of new friends over here and the fact that i get to live here in Japan for a season is just amazing!!! 

This is what we're praying every night for. This is life.

Happy as a child on Christmas.

Found this pretty little thing on my way home.

Even though i'm far away from home, i must have a Christmas tree! That's been my mission for a month, getting a Christmas-tree-stand was almost impossible.. Anyways, two of the guests and i went out a couple of hours ago and got back to the lodge with a tree. It's probably the worst looking Christmas tree i've ever had, but it smells good, it's a tree and i've been cutting it down myself. I'm quite happy with it, can't be picky when the forest doesn't offer a lot of good looking trees...

Here it is; i actually think it looks pretty with the ornaments. I'm happy! Bring on CHRISTMAS!

To all the swedes; Have a lovely Christmas tomorrow!!! And to the rest of you who celebrate on the 25th, be patient, it'll be your turn...

...

I got this picture sent to me from a guest that we had a couple of weeks ago,

it looks like an add for the ski resort, doesn't it?

This is a day on Goryu Hakuba 47 before Happo opened.

Avalanche AST level 1 course - check!

It's been full on the last two days, from early morning till late night! 

And i've completed the avalanche course, i'll tell you more about it tomorrow. Two days full of hard work and very interesting information but also heaps of fun!! Now i'm ready to enter the real back country!

I'm exhausted, have to sleep and get ready for skiing that snow tomorrow...

( It's been snowing non-stop for the last couple of days and it looks like Santa is bringing me even more snow for Xmas!!!)

Worth thinking about...

Remember that your darkest hour only have 60 minutes!

Summer in Sweden.

Tomorrow i'm off for my first day of the Avalanche course. I'm very excited!!

Snow monkeys.

We went on a little road trip today to a place north of Nagano, Yudanaka Shibu Onsen. The only place in the world where monkeys go in the onsens, also the luckiest monkeys in the world... Just because of the hot springs they get to go in and that they get food even though they are "wild". A great trip!!

Monkeys onsen, go right.

Picking each others fur...

Cuddling...

Baby monkey...

... another tiny little monkey.

They really enjoy the onsen!

James and the monkeys.

Mama Monkey and Baby Monkey.

Isn't it so cute!?! And they act like humans, (and look like us aside the fur...) incredible! Such a good day, tomorrow, hopefully skiing knee deep powder as the snow forecast looks PRETTY good for tonight!

Sofia will be happy...

So far it's been a perfect day, started off with skiing amazing snow in the morning. Went back home to have lunch, off to wine tasting with all the locals and in an hour we're heading to the opening party of The Pub! Happy life, happy times!

Happy as a child on Christmas!

I just can't stop smiling, and i guess i'll be smiling for the next week BECAUSE it's snowing like crazy, and it's suppoesd to snow for the next days! ...and it's christmas in a week!!!! Went up there and was skiing knee deep powder all morning, it's just one word to describe it; AMAZING! 

I feel like the happiest human being in the entire world! This is life!

What you do for fresh snow..

It's been a STUNNING day today, blue sky and amazing snow! I went up on the mountain on my own, hiked up to the top since the chairlift up there isn't running yet. After a couple of runs i met Matthew, a guy  from the ski school party we went to last week. So we hiked up again a couple of times and found an awesome untracked spot!! Happy times!

So sweaty after been walking up the hill.

After an fantastic dinner, marinated pork and roasted veggies, we went to the onsen. I love it! Such a great idea. Japanese people, and foreigners, go there in the evening instead of having a shower at home, just like making yourself ready for bed at home but you go and do it in your local onsen. For you who doesn't know what an onsen is, it's a hot bath and afterwards you shower, was your hair etc.

Outside it's clear sky, full moon and stars as far as your eyes can see. The mountains looked so pretty on our  way home. Snow covered mountains is probably the most beautiful thing in the entire world. And when it's dark they look so magic!! 

Now we've just had ice cream with crushed pepparkakor in it. Yummi! Off to bed, gotta get ready for another day on the snow!

The dinner for tonight...

... Nabe!

Tofu, udons, shrimps, chicken, cabbage, carrots, mushrooms...

Doesn't look that tasty but it was actually very good!! You get water and add a special type of sauce, let it boil and then you add all types of veggies and japanese stuff that i don't even know the names of.. We had as well tofu, chicken and prawns in our Nabe. Delicious and so filling!

Live it, love it!

Today we've been skiing all day at Happo, the ski resort next to us. So far is my expectations of skiing in Japan just like i thought it would be, lots of fluffy pow pow snow!!! Now we're off to the onsen, amazing after a day of skiing! This morning our first guests went back to Tokyo to go home to Australia, great people! I've got invited to their house if i'm going to Australia sometime soon. There will be a season full of meeting-new-people, cultures, personalities and lots of dreams to be inspired of. Live it, love it!

Here's a bunch of pictures from the last couple of days. Enjoy!

On the chair..

A kid making a snow cave.

Hot dog in a plastic wrap.

We went to Cortina which is another ski resort in the area.

… and the swede had to show the other two how to make a proper snowman. 

Old school.

On our way back, Happo One in the background.

Dinner anyone?