This is either really cool or really scary, depending how you look at it. You may have heard of Google Streets, the search engine giant’s somewhat controversial program to provide photo-realistic virtual representation of the world’s streets. They have just added a few local areas including Asahiyama Zoo. You can’t actually go inside the main exhibits, but I was able to get this view of the rhino exhibit.

Maybe because I am in Japan, but I could not get the English interface to come up. In case you are stuck in Japanese:

1. Yellow lines are mapped roads and trails, click the white arrows to move along them
2. Top left controls free zoom and angle
3. Drag the little guy on the bottom right map to move around. When you drag, the available areas are shown in blue outline.
4. Move the mouse over the picture to see other angles available.
5. Click and drag on the picture to freely change the angle 360 degrees. (Each point on the map is actually a full 360-degree panorama!)

大きな地図で見る

If you can’t see the map above, click here to open in a new window.

Bitterly cold rain swept through the Furano valley yesterday evening, and this morning rain clouds lifted to reveal snow on Nishi-dake. The snow line is now just over 1000 m, which means that the next flakes to fall are likely to land on the upper ski slopes. I was hoping to get up with the Furano Mountaineering Club and hike the traverse to Nishi-dake’s peak next weekend, but it looks like the climb may be called off due to early winter. You can see last year’s hike here.

The view from our front steps this morning. From Furano Autumn 2009 Scenery

Clouds are stubbornly sticking to the Tokachi range, Taisetsuzan seems to be getting even more snow! You can also check our weather page for a live webcam of the ski hill, just in case we get a surprise dump at ground level here.

Snowfalls on the moutains are very early this year, hopefully we have a great start to the Furano ski season in store.

Great news for international visitors to the Furano ski resort: Furano finally gets its dedicated English-language snowsport school, Furano Snow School. Best of all, the school will be located in the Kitanomine Gondola Terminal, just 30 m from our front door.

Repeat visitors to Furano will find many of their favorite English-speaking instructors such as Kei and Meg putting their skills to full use in English-only lessons. Furano Snow School also offers the resort’s first and only dedicated English group lessons. These are a great and economical way to improve your technique and make new friends on the way.

The private lesson program has also been fully overhauled to cater to overseas visitors. Among other things, the starting times are now flexible, allowing you to have the first shot at fresh powder with your coach or spend an hour or two warming up on your own first.

Meg leads the way for an anxious first time skiier using the "Magic Carpet" conveyor lift.

Last but not least, we are now able to offer discounts for multi-day private and group lessons. If you have already booked a stay at Fresh Powder, please contact us to reserve your lessons in advance. You may also contact Furano Snow School directly through their website for bookings.

From first-timers to experts looking to improve their enjoyment of Furano’s amazing slopes, the Furano Snow School is a great way to get the most out of your holiday.

Hello golfers!!

Now that the 80% of the audience reading this blog for ski information have left, here is a little secret. For all of September, the Furano Sorachi River Lavender no Mori Golf Course is running a “Twilight Special”. Start from 2:00 pm and enjoy the 18-hole North course for 2,000 yen, or the 9-hole South for just 1,400 yen. (These are weekday rates.)

This scenic riverfront course has to be the most beautiful I have ever seen at less than $30 USD for a full round, and Furano’s clear autumn skies make for an incredible sunsets. (Just don’t get stuck out after dark without a jacket, as it gets very cold very fast due to our continental climate.) They are just 15 minutes drive from here, so add in Fresh Powder’s multi-night discount rates and you have an attractive little golf getaway right there. For those looking to stretch their legs a little, there is also the Palmer-designed Furano Golf Course (25 minutes away), Orika Resort Golf Course (25 minutes), or Park Hills Shirogane Golf Course (1 hour).

Even the Sapporo Golf Club Wattsu Course (home of the Japan Golf Tour ANA Open, and hosted the 24th Japan Ladies’ Open) is not out of reach, at about 2 hours by expressway. Also makes a great last round on the way back to Sapporo Chitose Airport if you have a late flight.

Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s almost 2:00 pm…

Some days it is rather hard to find a blogworthy topic. Today is not one such day.

Introducing Furano Parkside Chalet’s American-style BBQ. I will let the photos do the speaking.

FLAME ON! This unit has heavy cast-iron, adjustable diffusers for maximum grilling satisfaction.

Hiro is grillin' and chillin' Hokkaido style. Note the teppan on the left and the California grill on the right... two handed action for pros like Hiro only!

Bobby Flay wishes he could get onions as phat as in Furano. On the left hand side we have a big pile of Hokkaido's definitive summer dish, Genghis Khan lamb and veggies.

Dessert anyone? The cherry tree in our private garden is ripe for the picking (so to speak)

Hello blog readers, just thought you might want to know that the Furano Shizen Juku Ecological Interpretation Park English website is now fully online. You can see details of their programs here:

http://furano-shizenjuku.yosanet.com/english.html

I had the opportunity to tour the park and be one of the first participants in the “forest restoration” project a few years ago. The goal of the program is to return an old golf course to a natural forested state, paying special attention to the natural growth patterns of trees in this climate. Compared to square grid “reforestation”, the results of this “forest restoration” are astounding, and it is hoped that this technique will result in more advanced ecological restoration techniques, that can even be used to add natural green space in the middle of cities.

Forest Restoration Project

It’s an overnight miracle, as the +20 daytime temps over the last week have at last coaxed the delicate cherry blossoms (sakura 桜) from their buds. It also happens to be the last day of the ski hill operation. Your dedicated blog boy has escaped from the front desk and gotten some shots from the top! The hill in the very center of the photo below is Asahi ga Oka Park. You can see the little pink puffs of all the cherry trees doing their magic.

Snow and Sakura, Together At Last! (Click for bigger)

Thanks to the kind liftie who snapped this one of me at Downhill #2. You can see quite the contrast between winter and spring! [EDIT: No, that is not a codpiece, I lashed my cap to my belt to keep it from blowing away. Thank you to those who inquired.]

Half Way Down Furano on the Last Day

The park next to our Furano Chalet is also filled with cherry trees. Simon is on site, we’ll see how he does!

SWEET UPDATE: Check out these sakura photos from around Furano.

Furano Golden Week 2009 Scenery

If we’re lucky, the sakura season will last about 2 weeks, but the delicate blossoms are often destroyed by high winds or heavy rains. If you’re in the area it’s worth a trip to check out Asahigaoka Park (near the Sorachi River) or the Highway 38 Jukai Pass (southeast from Furano towards Obihiro.) There are over 1000 cherry trees at each location.

Check out some of these shots on Chuck’s blog. Cycling is a great way to experience the blossoms up close and get great exercise.

Hokkaido culture fact: Our “Hana-mi” (cherry-blossom viewing party) is normally BBQ + beers. Apparently in the rest of Japan they have some other kind of crazy tradition?

Yesterday was another beaut, with amazing clear skies promting even lazy slackers like Jed and I to hike to the top of the Kitanomine Quad station. Here is the view we were rewarded with:

View of Tokachi / Taisetsuzan mountain range from Kitanomine 300 m ASL.

Once the sun dipped below the horizon the temperature dropped like a rock and Jed slightly regretted being out in a T-shirt!

Once the sun goes down the temps drop like a rock...

Kitanomine has mostly melted away, having been untended for an entire month. But you can see the results of the dedicated grooming — that stuff takes forever to melt, even with daytime highs reaching 20 above.

The other side is still skiable to the bottom, and they have a “one coin” (500 yen) ropeway ticket offer for the remainder of the season. You can ride down, or just go up for sightseeing and catch the ropeway back. For the truly foolish you could also take the panorama lift to the top and try to hike Nishi-dake.

Not long until the mountain trails will start to clear up. We’re going to hook up with Chuck of Hokkaido Powder Guides / MTB Hokkaido and try to bring you the early season scoop. Stay tuned… in the meanwhile check out Chuck’s Blog for some shots of biking through the Sakura!

Another night of cultural festivities in Furano — the Furano Tourism Association and a number of cultural organizations within Furano put on a huge international exchange party in Kitanomine. The hall was packed with over 350 visitors, an even mix of tourists from overseas and enthusiastic locals. This is the second year for the party, with last year featuring a visit from authentic maiko (apprentice geisha) from Kyoto.

This year’s party featured a non-stop selection of local cultural events, including taiko drumming, traditional music, singing, a kimono show, and festive dances ranging from the energetic “Yosakoi” (Hokkaido’s most popular summer festival) and the offbeat “Heso Odori” (Furano’s signature Belly Button Dance). The party was further fueled by 1,000 yen all-you-can-drink tap beer as well as food stalls featuring some of Furano’s best known local dishes.

The night ended with a bang - a spectacular fireworks display at the base of the ski hill, just across the street from Fresh Powder.

Front Row Seats

There were some great New Year’s Eve festivities at the New Prince Hotel in Furano. First were sno cat rides, which is something I’ve always wanted to do, as well as a torch parade down the slopes just before midnight. Having seen that as a kid in Colorado, I’ve always thought that was cool, so I signed up to do that too. Instead of flares, they used real flaming torches! “Hold the torch in your right hand, and keep it away from the other skiers.” Always good advice. Then they gave away a pair of new skis by playing Rock-Paper-Scissors with the whole crowd versus Mr. Kimura, the former Olympian who runs a ski school here. The two finalists were 6-year-old kids! I’m sure their parents were thrilled. To cap it all off, there was a 30 minute fireworks display that started at the stroke of midnight. Quite a lot for one evening.

Today is blue skies with great snow on the ground. It just doesn’t get much better. Wishing you a happy and healthy 2009 from all of us at Fresh Powder.

Japan Fresh Powder announces the grand opening of our newest property, the Furano Chalet.  This three-story, five-bedroom house is fully furnished for long-stay groups of 6 to 10 guests.  While conveniently located within minutes walk from restaurants, pubs, and a convenience store, the Chalet offers excellent privacy.  Best of all, the Chalet backs onto parkland and offers a magnificent view of the Tokachidake mountains from the open kitchen / dining area.

The kitchen is the centerpiece of our design.  Ideal for large groups, with work space for three people to work at once, the kitchen also features a pass-through counter as well as a breakfast bar.  The entire kitchen area offers scenic views from the dining area full-length windows.

Other thoughtful touches include a walk-in ski rack room, dedicated drying room, and a basement play room for the kids.  With English satellite, PlayStation 3, and AppleTV on tap, there are plenty of options for an easy night in.  Popular restaurants and night spots in the area include the Tyrol Lamb BBQ & Cafe, Panier Family Restauarant, Doxon Furano Beer Hall Bakery & Restaurant, and Shojiki-Mura Noodle & Curry Shop.  Just a 5 minute walk away is the new Ajito Sports Bar, which has proven immensely popular already this season with billiards, darts, and several big-screen TVs.

Please take a look through our photo gallery below.  Bookings now open year round!

Fresh Powder guest Dave preparing for his volcano ride adventure

Yeah, we have lots of snow falling this evening. It’s been around a week without any significant snowfall here in Hokkaido, and finally it’s coming down!! I’d say we’ve had 15-20 cm in the last 6 hours, and it shows no signs of stopping. Let’s hope it snows all night.

One of our guests, Dave from Tasmania, is heading up to Asahidake tomorrow to ride some prime pow on a live, honestly smoking, volcano with Hokkaido Powder Guides. This will be his first back country experience, and he’s pretty stoked.

The last week has put us in limbo here in Fresh Powder Land, so we’re really happy to get things rolling again with lots of fresh snow for all. With snow forecast 5 out of the next 6 days, if this turns into a major dump, we’ll be sure to update you here!!

It has literally been snowing all day long in Furano. Never stopped, just alternated between light and heavy snow fall. Huge fluffy flakes. It looked like we were in one of those snow globes. The kids were in heaven. Even our dog has decided he likes to play in the snow, though he was quite hesitant at first.

Just went out and measured the day’s total:  35 cm! Not bad for less than 24 hours.

Only 17 days left until Opening Day! I can hardly wait.

It’s starting to look a lot like Christmas! … Christmas in October you say?  Well, we received a very early present this morning at about 5:00 am in Furano.

Ground temps in the ski village were just below freezing and heavy cloud cover blew in. Minutes later the first fluffy flakes of the season started to fall… and I have photographic evidence this time!  An hour later left the ski hill 80% covered with the white stuff.

At about 7:00, I was snapping a few pictures from in front of our office and was feeling immensely satisfied with myself, when I noticed a familiar dark blue Mitsubishi Delica Chamonix rumbling up the ski hill access road in low-4! Sure enough John had also been awakened by the snowfall and, as always, had to be first to the top.  We decided to split the difference and put all the photos together into one snow report.  Please enjoy!

Update - Looks like the Yukimushi were only one day early. Science prevails!

Japanese cuisine has an incredible variety, including a number of “delicacies” that even a large percentage of the local population cannot stomach. Natto is one such dish, which while enormously popular in Hokkaido and eastern Japan, is largely shunned in western and southern Japan.

Natto is a fermented soybean dish, known for its unique sticky texture and odour.

Natto is a fermented soybean dish, but is radically different from tofu. Made by inducing a particular yeast to freshly steamed soybeans, natto has a stringy, sticky, slimy, almost soapy texture that is very hard for many to overcome. On the other hand, it’s this unique stickiness and natto’s rich flavour that can also make it quickly addicting. Natto sticks to everything, and if you aren’t careful you’ll find youself stuck on natto too!

Natto is a common dish in Furano’s school lunches, and I was quickly indoctrinated into the way of natto when I first came here as a schoolteacher. The beans are normally stirred to activate the stringy proteins, then quickly mixed with a light sauce which adds salty flavour and cuts the stickiness down to manageable levels.  Green onion, mustard, sugar, sesame oil, and other condiments are often used to reduce the strong cheesy odour. For those who like a good strong blue cheese, or even those who enjoy the richness of Vegemite, you might want to try this local dish.

What a spread!

This October, Furano Nishi Junior High School held an International Day. The main event was a natto cooking contest, and as a foreigner living in Furano, I was invited as a celebrity judge. The enthusiastic chefs whipped up dishes ranging from natto sandwiches, natto tempura, sticky natto fried rice, natto curry, and natto sushi rolls.

My favourite. Natto was mixed with curry powder to make a spicy sauce, then topped with bacon and melted cheese.

If you’re curious about natto and visiting Furano, I’d recommend trying the Natto and Cheese Okonomiyaki at Teppan Yaki Masaya, located near the Furano train station.  Natto is mixed into okonomiyaki dough, adding a velvety smoothness to the batter. The cheese helps to remind first-time natto eaters that the taste of natto is actually very similar. Tangy okonomiyaki sauce and toppings also reduce the natto smell. And you too can say “natto suki” — “I like natto!”

Hayden Sensei does NOT LIKE NATTO.

The fall leaves began changing about 2 weeks ago, and now they are almost finished. That can only mean one thing…snow is just around the corner. The Furano Ropeway (the fastest 100-person gondola in Japan!) is closing summer operations this Sunday, October 19th. I’m thinking of going up tomorrow with my new digital SLR, hiking around a bit, and snapping a few pics of the ski runs without snow on them. Once the snow hits it hits hard.

The Yuki Mushi or Snow Bugs were out in full force yesterday. According to local folklore, these are a “reliable” predictor of the first snow fall. After seeing the yuki mushi, the snow will reportedly come within 7-10 days. Stay tuned, and we’ll report back with scientific accuracy to verify this for you.

Yuki Mushi!

I’ve just finished participating in a local drama production of King Lear. This was a modern, Japanese adaptation, full of rock music, and Lear dressed as a biker. I played the Fool, got to dress in a kimono, and pretended to be a traditional Japanese comedian. Had a great time. That’s all I’ve got to say about that.

October 17th marked the last day for autumn season operation of the Furano Ropeway.  The fastest ropeway in Japan, this mechanical marvel propels 101 enthusiastic skiers or lazy hikers over 850 m of elevation in under 5 minutes. Cruising speed is a brisk 36 kph.  With ropeways running every 5 or 10 minutes through the ski season, that keeps a lot of people on the mountain.  We’ve found a number of guests at Furano get worn out more quickly than they expected, due to the amount of time actually spent skiing instead of waiting in lines and waiting on slow lifts. We encourage you to start getting in shape now!

In summer and autumn, the ropeway is ideal for lazy hikers (like myself) who would like to abbreviate the bottom 900 m of the hike for Furano Nishi-Dake.  Nishi-dake is the high point of the same mountain as the Furano Ski Hill, and is accessible through a ridge traverse from the top of the Ski Hill’s Furano Zone Panorama Run.

Rushing to catch the first ropeway, I found a fairly good crowd turning out to partake in the spectacular autumn scenery. I even encountered a few expat faces, Hayden and Carlie, who both teach English as native-language instructors at local schools. However, hardcore hikers were already on the way up, considering the bottom 900 m a mere warmup to the ridge traversal ahead.

Using the ropeway, the hike is shortened to about 2 hours total. Once the sun came up, we found the low altitude areas to be T-shirt weather. However, near-freezing temperatures and strong winds at the top quickly reminded us that winter is nearly here. We met up with friendly members of the local mountaineering club, who even put on a pot of coffee for us. Nothing makes it taste better than working for it…

Back at ground level, we took the opportunity to try out the brand new onsen at the Furano New Prince Hotel, “Shisai no Yu”. They spent over a year drilling for the hot water, but it was worth it!

On October 5th 2008, just days after completing production of his role in Furano’s latest TV drama, film legend Ken Ogata has passed away at the age of 71. One of Japanese theatre’s most well-known faces, Mr Ogata will be remembered for his timeless smile and boundless energy. Mr Ogata appeared in dozens of movies and over 50 TV series during his 47-year career, receiving a Japanese Academy Award as well as the Purple Ribbon for Contribution to the Arts in 2000. He is also known for roles in foreign-produced films such as Peter Greenaway’s The Pillow Book.

Mr Ogata had only just finished his final role in the locally filmed TV drama, Kaze no Garden (Garden of the Winds), written by Mr Sou Kuramoto. The drama series features Ken Ogata as Dr Shiratori, an elderly doctor in charge of end-of-life care for terminally ill patients. Following his death, it was revealed that Mr Ogata was himself suffering from untreatable liver cancer during the production of the series.

According to his sons, Mr Ogata battled cancer for over 5 years, keeping the illness secret from all but his close family. Despite his illness, he was often seen around Furano during the production, greeting the locals with his characteristic optimism and dedication to his profession. Last fall, Mr Ogata toured the country with his one-man stage performance “Shirano”.

Links

• Ken Ogata’s Filmography at iMDB
• Kaze no Garden (FujiTV)

Update:  On 10/15, a final entry was made to Ken Ogata’s Blog.  It reads:

Millions of butterflies swirling about,
Am I in this world, or that?
Or in between, I know not.
The autumn equinox…

(excerpt from Trudging About the Planet - Amazing Views from Earth, by Ken Ogata - English translation by blog boy)

On Furano Ropeway

We planned our holiday to Furano in summer for a mix of relaxation, fun for our two year old daughter Sienna, and showing my mother the local flowers. We were blessed with beautiful weather that woke us up (at 4.00am, or should I say woke up Sienna our daughter) with sunshine every morning. Coming from Hong Kong we appreciated the clear fresh skies, and low humidity. Our regular morning walks had us saying hello to the locals, smelling the fresh bread for sale at the farmers market, and hearing the rush of gas as the hot air balloon lifted up high to capture a view of the township below.

Braving the single track with Chuck

We had a week to enjoy the flowers that make Furano famous, taste all the yummy food and appreciate the magnificent scenery around. Well we accomplished all! My husband even snuck in a cheeky mountain bike ride under the guidance of Chuck the local instructor. The single track looked amazing in his photos, passing by rivers and through forests.

The girls set off to tour the local farms, in search of lavender along with the bus loads of other tourists also in the area. Farm Tomita was our first stop, and by far and away the best of them all. My mother wandered off to marvel at the colours and smells of the lavender (really the main reason everyone is there, there are other flowers too but these aren’t rated as highly). Sienna (our two year old) and I went straight to the ice cream vendor. Ice cream is highly decorated in Japan in summer, and in Furano they make lavender flavoured ice cream to celebrate the lavender season. We stuck to vanilla, and thoroughly enjoyed sitting on the bench overlooking the fields of flowers with ice cream melting down our faces and hands. There are plenty of souvenir stalls also selling everything possible in lavender (soaps, pens, cakes) and this is where we found my mother, a bag overflowing of lavender perfume, notebooks and pencils.

Flowerland was another farm we found that’s worth a visit. It had a little petting farm for Sienna to play with a few animals, and a tractor pulling a train around the area for people who wanted to save their legs. Mum rated the flowers there pretty highly, and once again they had a farmers market to buy corn, potatoes, pumpkin and ice cream.

We got excited on one drive just out of town when we passed Lake Takisato. It was fabulous, a huge lake (actually a dammed part of the Sorachi River which passes through Furano). There was a massive campground right beside this gorgeous lake and we stood there planning a camping trip there next year. It seems on further research that you can only camp during August, quite strange since the summer months of June, July and September would be great for camping too.

Our food tour of Furano took us to the best sushi train going round. The freshest, most tender and delicious sushi is available there at super reasonable prices. Masaya’s was our second restaurant stop another night for unforgettable okonomiyaki. Ordering the flame cooked spare rib was a treat as Masaya cooks it up on hot plates right before your eyes. The radish salad was also a knockout.

A highlight of our week was the Heso (or Bellybutton) Festival. It’s an annual event where locals form teams (usually corporate or sports teams) and paint their chests to represent a face. All sorts of faces appear, some smiling, some poking their tongues out. Participants then cover their heads with a big hat and do a dance in unison with their team mates while walking down the main street of Furano. The town stops for this event, which is held over two consecutive evenings. Music, food and local produce stalls make the event full of excitement and colour.

We had the pleasure of cheering on my husband who joined a local team and had a great time mixing with the locals for an evening (and dressing up in body paint!) The international team, sponsored by the Furano Tourist Association, also made a big appearance with dozens of visitors from overseas joining in the festivities.