It’s been a busy past few months; Winter just flew by, it seems! The sun sets later, the snow is melting (in between random spurts of blizzards) and it’s undeniably, no matter how much I try to deny it, turning into Spring. With the imminent changing of the seasons, I’ve been trying to enjoy the remaining days of Winter before it evaporates, leaving the green buds of leaves, blooming flowers, and warmth in its wake. The next few posts are a recap of my Winter adventures over the past few weeks.

Part 1
Winter, as with all seasons, brings a bounty of festivals to Japan. The Japanese love to celebrate, whether the reason is big, small, or made-up, festivals are always great times to see the Japanese at their best. A few came to Hokkaido the past few months, including the biggest and best – Sapporo’s Yuki Matsuri. This year it happened to fall near my birthday (which is on another Japanese holiday, Setsubun). A few days of paid holiday turned a long-weekend into one of the best times I’ve ever had in Japan! I spent this week-long combination Birthday, Yuki Matsuri, and early Valentines weekend in Sapporo with Eliza. She surprised me with a night date up scenic Mt. Moiwa and a flambé-style steak dinner where our meal was cooked right in front of us. The next few days were spent looking at the always-impressive snow and ice sculptures of Yuki Matsuri, then heading to Niseko (where I spent most of my Christmas holidays) for good times with friends and an amazing powder day on the slopes. Upon returning to Sapporo the next day, we immediately went snowboarding again at Mt.Teine (site of the 1972 Winter Olympics) with some Japanese friends of ours. On Valentine’s Day, I took Eliza out for 5-course meal at a French restaurant in Otaru where we had the entire cozy restaurant to ourselves. We strolled along the famous Otaru canal afterwards, taking in all the glowing snow sculptures for the last day of the Otaru Lantern Festivals for a perfect evening to cap off an awesome weekend, and 24th birthday.