The Cove on television

This is a major movie and deserves even more exposure. See it starting Sunday, 29 August at 9PM ET/PT on the Animal Planet.

Japan and whales

Some Japanese argue that Japan has a long-standing history of whaling. While that's a convenient argument, it's a bit disingenuous. Actually, only a few areas in Japan have the history and there's is only of hunting whale in nearby waters. The tradition of whaling to feed the nation began after WWII - hardly a long-standing thing.

Less than 5% of the folks in Japan eat whale with any frequency at all.

For more on whaling and some interesting videos, go here. The whole (origin of this post) story can be found here.

Three-day weekend plans

The upcoming 3-day weekend looks incredible from here. Nagano resorts have been getting pounded and another foot or so of snow should fall between now and Saturday morning. This is on top of existing powder and a good base. Shiga Kogen, with 70 some-odd runs, some lift-assist backcountry, and the best apple pie in the world is on the agenda. Pictures and more to come.

What size snowboard should I ride?

By far, this is the thing that gets the most hits. So, let's make it better.

This is the site I send people to  most of the time. It's got a formula that calculates your needs based on a variety of criteria. I'd add 2 - 3 cm if you ride a lot of powder. It even recommends boards. This is a great place to start. But, you're spending a lot of money. Check thoroughly.

Here's a much deeper look at the subject, including (if you go to the bottom) information on board widths. There's some good info here.

Finally, here's the backcountry.com data.

Wow...all this research is making me hungry. How about some Japanese food?

What's for dinner?

One of the scariest parts about coming to Japan for the first time is eating. I routinely talk to people terrified of the experience. If all you eat is the basic steak, potatoes, and cheeseburgers, stay home. Really. You'll be unhappy and folks will be offended. However, if you're willing to try a few things, Japan is spectacular.

A great thing about Japan is the prevalence of kaiten sushi bars. These are sushi restaurants that have conveyor belts bringing sushi around. You don't need to speak - you just take the plate you want. The plates are color-coded for pricing so that's easy too. Pictured is ebi furai roll. I got it in a kaiten sushi bar but did need to special order it. Ebi furai roll means fried shrimp roll.  It's a large fried shrimp with a lettuce leaf and a very small bit of mayo. Naturally, each restaurant is different - this isn't available everywhere - but it's a bit tasty. The plate shown cost $3 to $4...I don't remember precisely.

I love Japanese food.

What now, gaijin?

You thought it was a respectable restaurant. It came with high recommendations. Then, you were served this. What do you do? Do you panic? Do you run? Do you ask for another flavor? Actually, you use the part around the bottom for your soy (shoyu) sauce. If you need more, grab it firmly and grate - it's fresh wasabi you nasty-minded foreigner!

I love Japanese food!

Stop monkeying around

I love signs in Japan. This is one of my favorites. While this isn't a problem in most places, the sign clearly (loosely translated) says: Caution - Monkey Crossing.

One more H-town version from Springsteen

Liberty Hall...so right. Such old feelings. What a song!

Narita Airport, page 2

Fox in the snow

Borrowing this from The Goat's (Rocky Thompson) backcountry.com blog. Seriously amazing!

Whosoever rides...

A few years ago, my daughter was learning to ride and did some research on this.

Note the size of Shiga Kogen, one of the best resort experiences in Japan...and where I'll be in a couple of weeks! This is a tiny fraction of the area. It's good for lift assisted touring...just cruising the acreage. But, when powder comes, it's among the best then too.

Where am I?

I'm in Seoul, Korea pursuing my day job. I'll be here until Friday night but I have stuff to post.

I got in really late. Why? Snow, of course - Seoul got it's largest snowfall in 115 years, according to newscasters here. Looks like maybe a foot...give or take. Still, the city is transfixed and nearly stopped. So, I'm sleepy as hell and going to get some rest.

I'll put up some pictures of Narita Airport and some recent snowboarding photos in the next couple of days. Maybe some Seoul pics, but trust me, this is no snowboarding mecca.

I don't always like to share

This is very recent Kagura area, less than 30 meters off piste. It's not dawn patrol. How crowded is it where you ride?

A brief essay in terror while en route to snowboarding in Japan

You knew it would suck. There's no need to leave this early for dawn patrol. Still, somehow you got shafted into driving and your so-called-friends crashed out, snoring their lives away.

You drive forever without seeing signs you can read. Paranoia marries sleepiness - you're edgy as hell. Up ahead in the distance, a warning sign looms...what can it be? As you get closer you see...

That's right - this area is swarming with giant, killer tanuki.

Well, not really. First, they aren't very big...at all. Second, swarming is an overstatement...I've only seen them in zoos over here although friends mine...even when sober...claim to have seen them. Finally, they don't kill much other than small rodents and bugs. They're actually kind of cool and a sign of good luck. Wikipedia has this interesting article.

Americans usually call them Raccoon Dogs. They boldly guard entrances to restaurants and shops, displaying their rather disproportionately large juevos to all who care to look...and to those who don't care to look.

Why the cats and dogs?

Simply put, we're suffering a bad series of events. While there is snow, there's also wind so lots of lifts are closed. Adding on, this is the Japanese end-of-year holiday period. So, with more people and fewer lifts...I'm home playing with my dogs. I'm still not writing off the weekend...Sunday is a possibility.

Cat's in charge

Sometimes our pets outshine us...okay, often. At the same stop where the highly skilled Shiba plies his trade, this cat supervised vehicular security. With the engine (and heater running), the driver went to sleep. He slept soundly knowing that Spot the WonderCat would repel all invaders.

The Shiba declined comment.

One man, one Shiba Ken

This is a roadside stop just after getting off the expressway. It has clean, semi-warm restrooms and vending machines, making it very cool. It's even on the correct side of the road if you're on your way to the resorts.

On this day, it offered one additional service - there was a Shiba Ken carrying an ice scraper in his mouth. As I didn't have icy windshields, I'm not sure what the charge for cleaning them would have been.

Stateside dog lovers know this dog as a Shiba Inu. It's a Japanese dog and, over here,  they say Shiba Ken. It has to do with how you read the kanji...oh, well...what do they know? ;-)

BTW, they are outstanding dogs. I have one and he saved my life...literally and figuratively. I may tell the literal story at some point. The figurative one is between him and me.

Blue moon

My Internet friend Rocky posted this on his Liquid Astronaut blog. It's pretty funny and interesting. Being older than the average snowboarder...hell, I'm older than the average person...I have actually heard the expression "once upon a blue moon" to indicate something that rarely occurred. My parents used it a lot when I was growing up.  They would be 100 or so now if they were alive.

As a child, I checked pretty regularly for a moon with this...er....colorway. I never saw one so I dismissed my parent's saying as another sign of impending senility and assumed that anyone who used the expression was either senile or easily fooled.

Rocky reassured me that the expression hasn't died out completely and, since he's young, it's not a sign of senility. I've never tried to fool him so I can't address that earlier belief.

Snowboarding in Japan and not sure which run to take?

This sign at Kagura should clear it up for you. No need to thank me.

How bad was the visibility?

Kagura rocks but it, like lots of places, can leave something to be desired in terms of visibility with snowboarding. For the video, I used my new cam, holding it out in my left (front) arm and operating blind. It came out okay when you consider that's really what it looked like. Still, powder rocks...vis or no vis.