Day 3 (14/12) - Rusutsu Snow Resort, Snow Tubing/Rafting (Part 2)
Japan is an incredibly unfriendly place to those who don't know the language. It doesn't help that you can't read the language if it's not Romanized (and it often isn't).
More window views
Walking by a female toilet, I saw a 'powder room' visible from the entrance. Wth.
Hot food vending machine
Slope
Snow tubing slope. Spot the Phantom.
Horses
Snow tubing slope
Basically snow tubing is where you sit in an inflatable tube and slide down a snow slope.
Mother in tubing
Father in tubing
We then took the monorail to the snow rafting venue.
"Note that we will not assume any responsibility for either intentional or negligent accident"
We had to take the monorail anyway.
Automatic soap dispenser
Snow rafting consisted of lying supine in a rubber dinghy while a snowmobile tugged you around at high speeds.
Parents in raft
With the high speed and uneven snow, I got a really good butt massage. I also got to suck on some snow flung into my mouth.
At the resort, I saw my first non-East Asian in Hokkaido - a blonde Ang Moh woman. I wonder if mainland Japan is as racially pure.
Having some time, I looked through their interesting hotel information. They sold white asparagus - though only in May and June!
"This is a guide for safety in case of emergency. We have our perfect safety and security systems, but please read instructions for precaution."
"Tipping: We do not accept tips. Please do not concern yourself with tipping.
Medical Services: ... We do not accept tips. Please do not concern yourself with tipping."
All you can drink Karaoke
This Jap toilet's flush has a double use - you can wash your hands with the water used to refill the reservoir
I then ran out into the snow to see people in snow activities.
Ski lift
Queue
The compartments have a cover. Normally you're exposed to the elements.
I went to kick this toilet bowl, not realising it was made of snow. I thought it was only covered with snow. Oh well.
Help, I've fallen and I can't get up
These people were sitting there for at least a few minutes. Maybe they were having a picnic.
Snow fun
Another toilet bowl. This one has a dial to control the water.
The parts of Hokkaido we went to were incredibly Internet-unfriendly. The first night there was no Internet in or near the hotel. Ditto for the second night (despite the hotel being large). This day, the huge hotel had all of 1 terminal and 1 LAN cable available, the former of which I used to recharge my iPod which I'd accidentally left on for hours (ugh!)
The resort had a lot of restaurants (1 Italian, 1 [International] Buffet, 1 Chinese, 1 French, 1 'Western' and 3 Japanese, with several other outlets to boot), and we had been advised to go to the same restaurant we had lunch in (Oktoberfest - Buffet) for convenience - however, it'd sucked, so for dinner we went to the French restaurant, Belle Vue.
King Crab menu. Everything has crab in it. Gah.
Detox menu, which I had. I didn't see what was so detox about it - maybe the bread was rougher and it had an extra salad. Is sherbert detoxifying?
Night skiing
Vinegared Scallop and Sea Urchin with Cidre. I still don't like sea urchin.
Celery potage with Coriander, Blue Cheese, Bacon and Croutons. They put the solids in the bowl first, then scooped the liquid in. I'm a bit suspicious of the description, since the liquid was the same as my parents' soup, but the soup name was different.
Sauteed Sea Bream and Norway Lobster with Chou-Frises and Deep-fried Burdock
Sherbert
Roasted Lamb with Sauce Piquante
Detox Dessert Plate. Aka Apple Pie and Ice Cream.
Novel way of skewering a lemon slice.
The Chef is one of the "Les Disciples d'auguste ESCOFFIER". Don't pray pray.
