【Japan Travel】【Season 1】S1EP08 A day of skiing in Japan, no, shoveling snow.
【Japan Tour】【Season 1】
2025 Japan Osaka, Mie (Ise, Shima, Toba), Aichi (Nagoya, Tokoname), Gifu (Gifu Castle, Takayama, Dynaland Ski Resort) 12-day tour
S1EP08 Skiing in Japan, no, a day of shoveling snow.
Where should I start today’s travelogue? Should you leave the hotel early in the morning to go to the ski resort, or park in front of the ski equipment shop on the way back from the ski resort, or park after arriving at the hotel? Can we even start from when we parked our car after arriving at the hotel last night? Because during all these periods, we are repeatedly restarting the same process, tires slipping, shoveling snow, continuing to slip, shoveling snow again, slipping again, asking for help, putting up anti-skid plates, slipping, putting them up again, slipping again, just like the famous American movie "Groundhog Day", also in such a near-snowstorm weather, no matter what the protagonist does, the next day is still the same day to start over. The difference is that the story of "Groundhog Day" is always stuck on the 2nd and 2nd day, while ours is on the 2nd and 5th day, with the tires constantly slipping and getting stuck. In the movie, the male protagonist, a reporter, hates to interview the Groundhog Day activities in this horrible weather, so he is stuck on this day and cannot move forward. It is not until the male protagonist gradually falls in love with this job in the repetitive days that he can continue his life. Today in Takasu, Gifu, Japan, we don't like shoveling snow, so our car kept slipping and getting stuck. It was not until we learned how to clean the area around the tires, place skid plates, have someone sit in the car to weigh the rear wheels, and install skid chains on the tires while shoveling snow that we became more and more familiar with these procedures, and regarded them as the most memorable moments of this trip. The car finally gained the power to move forward after running over the skid plates.
We made an appointment for ski school lessons in advance, but we had difficulty moving the whole morning. Under the guidance of the staff, the boss rescued us for the sake of Japanese yen, and the vehicle was finally equipped with anti-skid chains, but we had missed the morning lessons when we arrived at the ski resort. We decided to finalize our afternoon classes first and then have dinner quickly. Here is a brief introduction for everyone. Ski means skiing, and snowboard means single board skiing. Don't ask me how I know this. It's all because of tears.
Of course, we had some good luck today. First of all, the Japanese skiing class was a big surprise. We thought it was a one-on-three course, but there were actually two experienced coaches arranged for us. Secondly, today happened to be a ski day at the resort, and the tickets were half price, which freed us from the repeated comparisons among various price plans and we just went for it without thinking. Thirdly, we completed the questionnaire on Japan travel and successfully won a free drink voucher as a reward, which warmed our hearts and stomachs and allowed us to set off again. Finally, while waiting for the boss to rescue us, we, who still had a childlike innocence, unlocked the skill of snowball fights. This is the meaning of travel, to constantly explore more possibilities for ourselves.
The most terrible thing happened on the road. One of the rear wheel anti-skid tire chains that had just been installed in the morning suddenly broke. It broke right when we had just rented ski equipment and got a big discount, which made us most excited! We were helpless and could only pacify our heroic car and drag the wreckage all the way back to the hotel. The worse news was that the boss had no more stock. This was the last pair of chains he would sell to us, and no other place had chains of our size. So, how can we make up for the disadvantage tomorrow?
Finally, I would like to mention that the person on the cover is our master who can hold a camera, put down the handbrake, and serves as the Minister of National Defense, Minister of Transportation, and Minister of Propaganda.