In December, Eric and Hayden took a day trip to Kagura for their first shred of the season. Hayden picked up right where he left off last winter on his snowboard.
Lincoln had his first snowboard lesson at the indoor snow hill near base. He did great and didn't mind falling repeatedly.
We spent a day in Odaiba checking out the Gundham Unicorn and Statue of Liberty. The boys also enjoyed eating giant cotton candy and riding their first giant ferris wheel with great views of Tokyo!
In January, Eric and Hayden took another snowboard day trip to Hakuba.
In late January we took a day trip to see the Tokyo Skytree and watch another Sumo Wresting match!
Day 9 of the Grand Sumo Tournament 2019
We celebrated Eric's 38th Birthday by going out for beer and meat in Tokyo!
For the MLK holiday weekend we headed to Nagano to see the snow monkeys and have a family snowboard day at Shiga Kogen! We stayed two nights at a Japanese ryoken with a beautiful view of the Japanese Alps.
Day 1 we hung out with monkeys, had some delicious ramen for lunch, checked out our room, walked to dinner at a nearby Japanese restaurant, and finished the day with a family bath.
Lunch (and beer) after the monkeys...
Our room at Kanbayashi Hotel Senjukaku...
Dinner at Hotaru Tei
Shabu Shabu!!!
Getting ready for the onsen (just the boys) and family bath...
The private hot bath felt good after a cold day...even though the kids were there. :)
Day 2 we headed to the Ichinose Family Resort area in Shiga Kogen to snowboard as a family. This was my first attempt at snowboarding and Lincoln's first time on a real mountain. I failed miserably but eventually stood up and slowly slid down the bottom of the mountain. Lincoln got up a few times but was happier in the sled area for small kids. I hung out with him mostly while the big boys took the lift up. I was super impressed with how confident Hayden was and daddy did great also, despite having to use my board after he had some problems with his.
After a long day, we took another family bath and headed back to Hotaru Tei for dinner. Eric enjoyed his raw fish while Hayden had Shabu Shabu again. Me and Lincoln stuck with Miso soup and French fries.
Beautiful view from our balcony our last morning.
In early March Eric's brother, Sean flew in for a week to visit. We had so much fun showing him Japan and he captured this great photo of us at Chureito Pagaoda. It was a great way to end the Winter Season!
