
After getting up nice and early we headed to the train station to get a train to Tiene, about an hour away from Sapporo to do some snowboarding. Luckily the JR ticket office in Sapporo station sold packages which included snowboard or ski hire, lift passes and transport which consisted of a 20 minute train journey and bus transfers to the club house.

Our train
This was my first time snowboarding so I was full of excitement, like a fat kid just about to munch into some chocolate chip cookies. After sorting out my snowboard and boots, it was time to head out onto the slopes. It took me about 2 hours to get the hang of it, but after that I could go down a 1 star run without falling over. Now it’s just a matter of practice to get faster and eventually learn some tricks! I had such a blast, and the workout was welcome due to over-eating while in Japan.

View from the Tiene train station

While waiting for the bus to take us up the mountain, I watched this guy feed the pigeons!

Getting kitted out!

I’ve just got onto the snow and can’t wait to get up the first slope.

After a full day of snowboarding, I opted for chicken with green pepper pasta with a boiled egg to finish of a great day!
I can’t until next January to get back up to Sapporo for the Sapporo Snow festival and to get some more snowboarding action in!